Smiling Under Lanterns - Chapter 21 - 20 Rave Reviews_1

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.

Note: There's no magic in this novel. This was previously in the Realistic Fiction genre but it's not included in the choices. So I picked the closest one to it.

Onoda Ruki is just your ordinary high school student. He strived for being the Classmate A who's unimportant to the story.

Despite being the Classmate A. Onoda has a secret desire which he always had ever since young and that was to steal each and every girl from their guy.

Join him as he entered his high school days as he conquer and steal every girl he sets his eyes on. And along the way, the growth in his character and those around him.

*I do not own the cover photo. I will take it out if requested.

*DISCLAIMER

This is a work of fiction.

All names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious way. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Moreover, the ages of the characters appearing in this fiction are 18 and above.

A strange store which sells everything suddenly appears in the town. The Owner of the store is a young man and anyone who tried to mess with him %$#@.

The products of the store are expensive, yet the queue outside the store never stops.

“So what, If you're an emperor. I'll fight to the death with you if you try to break the queue.”

It all began with a poor orphan who would work every day for long hours to pay for his Aunt's medical bills.When his life begins to fall apart and he is homeless sleeping in an alleyway he hears a robotic voice.{Do you wish to integrate with the Dungeon System}“Yes” he answers, without much to lose.And from then his life had never been the same.He was taken into a dungeon each night to hunt and he began to realise just how little he really knew about the world that was much wider than he thought.