Path to Transcendence - Chapter 20: His Friends

“Block him.”“He's technically still my boss.”“Then block him with dignity.”The call ended again.And then started again.I let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a sob, then finally answered with the enthusiasm of a snail crawling through salt.“Yes, Mr. Walton?”“Have you changed your mind yet?”I collapsed onto the towel and gazed at the sky as though it might consume me entirely if I pleaded sweetly enough.“Do you ever take a break?” I asked, shielding my eyes with one hand.“You're avoiding the question.”“Because it's a dumb question.”He exhaled, the sound sharp and irritated even over phone. “It's not a dumb question. It's a business offer.”“It's a weird offer-one that I already said no to.”There was a brief pause, and I could practically hear him clenching his jaw through the speaker.“You are acting unreasonably.”“ Unreasonable?” I sat up. “I'm not the one drafting fake girlfriend contracts like it's a normal Tuesday.”“Isabella-”“Certainly not, Mr. Walton.” I mimicked his tone perfectly. “I told you I'm not doing it. You need to find someone else to play pretend with.”SYNOPSISIsabella Miller thought saying no to her boss’s fake dating offer was the end of the story.But Adrien Walton doesn’t take no—especially not when he’s convinced she’s a gold digger.Suddenly, her student loans are piling up, her father’s vet clinic is on the brink of eviction and her brother is about to be kicked out of college. Coincidence? She thinks not.Adrien Walton is calm, calculating—and he's just pulled every string to corner Isabella into the perfect position.Now she’s stuck choosing between pride and survival.So she agrees to his offer: be his fake girlfriend.No feelings attached. No drama. Just business.Or so she thought.“Conference Room B. Fifteen minutes,” he said, passing by without a glance.The folder he pushed across the table landed with a thud.I opened it. The contract. All of it.---Enemies to lovers? Check.Slow burn? Hmmnyea.Banter so sharp it might file your nails? Yes.Delicious workplace tension? Of course.Tension that could melt steel?Absolutely.Smut?? Wanna find out?Welcome to corporate romance warfare. There’s no escaping this contract.

In 2122, the “game” came.
【Are you terminally ill? Disabled? Disfigured? Unbearable pain? Do you feel that life is meaningless? Come join the game! Survive, win, win with high scores, and you will gain a healthier body, a better appearance, and greater abilities…you will—evolve! 】
[Global live broadcast of the game, registration starts now——]
Eighteenth-tier star Lu Tingliu entered the game with a terminally ill diagnosis certificate in hand.
*
After each player enters the game, they will draw a basic card of their own, which will determine their evolutionary direction and their basic ability.
The card Lu Tingliu drew is called [Split].
Skill introduction: You are a splitter. You are a mercenary that money can buy, you are a doctor who is good at anatomy, you are a great detective who knows everything, you are a god, you are a car mechanic, you are a stunning beauty, you are a weak child… You are a splitter. You are the top actor, you are the most insane lunatic.
Current Split Personality: 2/147
*
In the era of gaming, players have become the most high-profile stars.
Lu Tingliu is the most mysterious, the most heretical, and the most insane among them.

【Reading Tips】
1. Not scary, not brain-burning, the heroine of the battle department upgrades the cool text
2, the male protagonist Chu Hongjing, Meiqiang miserable loyal dog
3. Efforts to update ing

Content label: Shuangwen live broadcast
Search keyword: Protagonist: Lu Tingliu ┃ Supporting role: ┃ Others:
One sentence introduction: Become a goddess

- Description from novelbuddy

In a world ravaged by fiend beasts and spatial rifts, humans fight back using “”Soul Contracts”” to tame these creatures, turning them into protective spirit animals. Amidst this chaos, Zhou Mu, born with inadequate soul intensity and physical prowess, struggles to become an esteemed Animal Whisperer.With only a low-tier grass snake as his spirit animal and limited chances to pass the Whisperer’s test, Zhou Mu’s future looks bleak. However, an unexpected twist comes with the discovery of a mysterious system that allows him to trade personal attributes for power. As he navigates this new potential, Zhou Mu faces the challenge of overcoming his limitations and rising to power in a world where strength determines one’s fate.

Ling JingXuan, a secret international doctor and killer. Can save people with one hand and kill with the other. Right or wrong, both paths without exception would cause people to be terror stricken. One morning he crossed over, with only four bare walls for a home and was also given two free stir fried little buns. Ling Jingxuan can’t help but be speechless.This life, can this pit be any bigger?

Yan Chengrui, Qing dynasty’s only prince with a title of General. On his first mishap on a mission, a good man forcibly became a slave wife. There was no one who was not disappointed from the imperial family. But, don’t know when slave wife learned it but poison concubine’s poison was incomparable, who dares to try to straighten him out?

“What? 30 Wen? You’re robbing from people, so expensive!”

One day of the month of a certain year, Ling Jingxuan takes the two little buns to the market to buy living necessities.These five year old little buns after hearing the price have to hold back their red faces. Fried little hands rigidly held onto the broken wallet, Ling Jingxuan suddenly wanted to cry but had no tears. Sons, we earned money but not spending it, don’t tell me its left for the foals?

At the end, it was obvious they carried two liang of silver. Stuff that was sold at the last minute were the cheapest. Seeing the smile of satisfaction from the little fried buns, Ling Jingxuan secretly vowed. One day he would develop them into super meat buns，a rich 2nd generation family!

- Description from Novelupdates