MTL - Technological Empire Starts From Shanzhai System - Chapter 557 stormy sea

After being awakened from their slumber, billions of people found themselves dispersed in various sealed crypts. Surrounded by earth, they each had only a shovel.

Year 2035. A groundbreaking game—“Glory Lords: Arcane War”—takes the world by storm.With cutting-edge VR immersion, players can feel the pulse of magic, the tremors of battle, and the weight of every decision. But more than just a game, it becomes the ultimate stage for global esports. Elite teams rise, billion-dollar prize pools emerge, and the entire world is swept into the frenzy.But for Ethan Parker, this isn’t just a game. It’s a gamble with fate itself.Las Vegas. Midnight. A secret high-stakes game.On the table lies the world’s only Legendary-tier artifact—the Stone of Glory.Its value? Far beyond a billion dollars. Because hidden within it is a secret—one that can rewrite the very rules of reality.Ethan bets everything. And loses.In that moment, he doesn’t just lose the artifact—he loses his future.Then, the world changes.The game and reality merge.Earth is no longer the world it once was. Society collapses, replaced by a brutal new order where a person’s rank in “Glory Lords: Arcane War” determines their status in real life.The strongest players become kings.The weakest? Slaves.And the one who won the Stone of Glory—Griffin Musk—rises to absolute power, ruling over this new world as its supreme leader.As for Ethan? Once the #1 player in the world, he loses everything—his account, his status, his freedom. Reduced to the lowest class, he suffers, tortured until his final breath.But now—he’s back.Reborn with the memories of his past life, he returns to the moment it all began.This time, he wins the gamble.This time, he won’t let the world fall into Griffin’s hands.But fate has more in store for him…When he logs into the game, he realizes something is off.Not only is he the first player in the world to own private territory, but he also acquires something unheard of—the only Legendary-tier unit in existence: the Green Dragon.And then—something even more shocking.These two Green Dragons aren’t just powerful units. They’re heroes. With growth potential and combat abilities surpassing even top-tier players, they have the power to change the course of the entire game.At that moment, Ethan knows—his path to the top has begun.But the real world isn’t done with him yet.Governments, military forces, corporate giants, secret organizations—and even Griffin himself—are now watching his every move.This time, it’s not just about revenge.This time, he’s taking control of the future.The war of heroes has only just begun…

The world is destroyed, the era is restarted, and the survival qualification called the lord is issued to everyone.

Territories, heroes, arms, treasures, resources, all the servers achieved by thousands of continents are open.

Qin Muye looked at his own panel like a cannon fodder, with a broken suffix, and he was rather weeping without tears.

There is no god-level talent, no hidden hints, and no anti-sky career.

“If that’s the case, then there is only one way to live.”

- Description from novelbuddy

The year he was fifteen, Ling Ke realized he was gay, and that he fell in love with a hot guy the same gender he was! Ling Ke spied on the other’s online friend group, payed attention to that person’s every move, and privately, started his fanatical fanboying actions. Unfortunately, the hot guy he liked was someone who changed girlfriends like he changed clothes, a pretentious and straight male.

A few years later, Ling Ke and the hot guy he was secretly in love with got into the same university and became good friends. In order to prevent his beloved from hating him, Ling Ke repressed his true feelings and forced himself to pretend to be a 24k, pure gold straight guy.
……

Having high-spec looks, Qi Feng was a networking expert, but in order to preserve his all-around shining and popular hearthrob image, he always hid his true sexuality, that he was gay. He got himself (fake) girlfriends all throughout school, literally playing himself into being branded as a skirt-chaser.

Until one day, he met his true love. The other looked delicate and gentle, cold and out-of-reach, as if the ideal lover he’d dreamed of in his heart.

Except, there was just one thing. That guy also looked completely straight……

In short, this is the love story of two scared, in-the-closet gay guys pretending to be straight while mutually trying to feel the other out.

- Description from Novelupdates