Nova Roma - Chapter 225 - Castrum Opus

Chi Shuyan lived miserably in her past life. She obviously has great fortune, but it is ‘borrowed’, and so her great fortune turns into bad luck—a good hand turns rotten. Her family falls apart and dies. Her relatives take possession of her properties. She is reported for cheating during the college entrance exams. Her future is in total ruins.And she still foolishly feels grateful to her best friend who had orchestrated it all.Until one day, a Celestial Master spots the deception and takes her as her apprentice.Chi Shuyan rises from the ashes, becoming a blood-soaked demoness, whose name makes people tremble in fear as she slays all evil people. This ends up ending her own life.Reborn once more, she returns to when she is 17-year-old with the memories of her previous life before the college entrance exam.In this life, she is endowed with supernatural powers and can foresee anyone's fate and future with great accuracy.She vows to trample on all those who caused her family's ruin in her past life.But before she can exact her revenge…One day, she touches a business magnate, and sees herself wearing some kind of cat ears sexy outfit coming out of the bathroom before kneeling at the man's suit pants, calling him Daddy!Chi Shuyan is shocked: How bad is my life going to be in the future? How can it be so indecent!Qi Zhenbai, the ruler of the powerful and deep-rooted Qi family in the capital, fully deserves being God’s favored one - handsome in appearance, indifferent in character, iron-blooded and strong in means and the second most sought after bachelor in the city. He is a hotshot, except for being so weak and sickly that doctors have determined that he won't live past 30.His past life ended at 29.However, this life is fated to be a little different after meeting her.Making money in summer vacation."There are too many crooks these days." “Exactly, they perfectly able, but they don't look for a good job.”A group of people points at Chi Shuyan, who has set up a fortune telling stall. On the one hand, she is discouraged from pretending to be a swindler, but also encouraged to resemble one slightly. Chi Shuyan stays firm, drawing talismans while sucking on a lollipop. One month later…"Master Chi, fortunately you told my fortune. You allowed me to escape the misfortune.""Master Chi, how much is this Ghost Ward Talisman? I want 10 of them!""Master Chi, can you help me calculate my family's luck in passing? Money is not a problem."People’s eyes glow as they look at Chi Shuyan collecting excessive amounts of money. To look so sage-like even when doing a tacky task of collecting money, she's indeed an erudite expert.

Julian D’Aurelius was never meant to live.In this world, villains exist for one reason—to fall. They scheme, they rise, they steal the spotlight… and then they die. Betrayed. Abandoned. Erased so the hero can shine.Julian knows this.Because he remembers every timeline.Every backstab waiting in the dark.Every “loyal” ally destined to sell him out.Every romance scripted to end in blood.The moment he awakens inside the body of the story’s doomed antagonist, he’s bound to the hidden Tyrant System—a cold, calculating force that demands one thing:If villains always die… then become the kind of villain fate cannot kill.So Julian reshapes himself.Cruel when necessary.Charming when useful.Untouchable when it matters.He plays the monster perfectly—while secretly tearing apart the threads of destiny from the shadows.But here’s the problem.The more he tries to distance himself from the female leads…The more they drift toward him.The innocent campus beauty.The sharp-tongued heiress.The aloof genius meant to stand beside the hero.One by one, the women who were supposed to orbit the protagonist begin circling Julian instead.And there’s something even more dangerous— All of them can hear his inner voice.Every cold calculation.Every sarcastic thought.Every hidden plan.All heroines hears it all.But Julian has no idea.This is an urban-fantasy battlefield of ambition, romance, power games, and fate rewritten. The protagonist is trying to avoid the heroines. The heroines? They’re slowly falling anyway.And the more Julian resists destiny…The more destiny seems obsessed with him.

...[Inside an underground basement]“You are going to die for nothing, hahahaha,” the old man's voice thundered through the room, sending chills down my spine.Step.With a swift and ruthless motion, he lunged forward, his sword slicing through the air and slashing my throat, crimson droplets staining the darkness.“We'll see,” I whispered defiantly, my final words escaping as a mere breath against the impending darkness.Slowly, inexorably, my consciousness slipped away, and I descended into a deep, unfathomable slumber.“Huh!?” My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself seated in a bustling tavern, the air thick with laughter and the clinking of glasses.In front of me stood a captivating lady, her beauty juxtaposed with an angry furrow upon her brow, threatening to shatter the harmony of the jovial scene.“Don't follow me around!” Her words pierced the air like shards of ice, the intensity of her emotions palpable as she cast a resentful glare in my direction, before swiftly departing from the tavern....Am I trapped within the confines of a game? The fragments of my shattered common sense scattered before me, leaving me to question the very fabric of my reality.

Japan – National News BroadcastThe polished news anchor sat upright, her gaze sharp as she adjusted the stack of papers before her. The newsroom behind her hummed with quiet urgency, the weight of the moment settling over the broadcast.“Authorities are baffled by a sudden and unexplained surge in sleep-related deaths across Japan,” she began, her voice steady yet tense. “More and more citizens are passing away in their sleep without any prior health concerns. Experts are working tirelessly to determine the cause, but no clear explanation has emerged. Authorities urge the public to remain vigilant and report any unusual symptoms before bedtime.”A graphic appeared, displaying the spike in fatalities over the past month. Behind her, unsettling photographs flickered across the screen—blurred images of individuals found in their beds, their faces frozen in expressions of terror.The anchor’s tone shifted. “Health officials recommend citizens avoid excessive fatigue and maintain healthy sleep habits. More updates will follow as investigations continue.”---United States – Paranormal PodcastIn a dimly lit podcast studio, the host leaned forward, his eyes wide with curiosity. Across from him, a rugged man in a worn flannel shirt, gripping a faded photograph in one hand and a beer can in the other, leaned back in his chair.“So, you're telling me you saw this creature firsthand?” the host asked, clearly intrigued.The man scoffed, shaking his head. “Damn right, I did. Ugly thing had wings bigger than my body—slow but sneaky. Thought it could steal my pigs again, but I was ready this time—camera in one hand, shotgun in the other.”He slammed the table for emphasis, then shoved the blurry image toward the host. The photograph depicted a small, red-skinned humanoid figure with large, bat-like wings, its eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.“Spit, the thing didn’t know what hit it when I fired!” the man chuckled, his voice full of excitement.The host held up the picture to the live chat. “Alright, what do you think? Mothman? Demon? Or is our friend here just seeing things?”The chat exploded with theories—some skeptical, others eager for the investigation to continue.---China – Liangyuan Street MarketSurveillance footage from a bustling night market in China captured a chilling scene. A woman in a red qipao walked gracefully through the crowd, her figure striking in the soft glow of lanterns.Suddenly, she paused. Her body flickered—like a glitch in a video—before vanishing completely, as though she had never existed.The footage zoomed in, replaying in slow motion. In the final frame before she disappeared, her face distorted unnaturally, her eyes hollow and empty.The screen cut abruptly to black.