Starting Today, I'll Work as a City Lord - Chapter 102: The Crazy Merchants In North Wind City

“That monster’s prefix is two hundred meters long?!”“It’s back. Who can stop it?”Isaac never planned for Celestia: The Eternal Realms to change his life. The game promised 100% immersion, a completely realistic world powered by quantum brainwave interfaces. But the moment he entered the game, Isaac was thrown into an entirely new world, no longer the player, but the played. His character, a “Lesser Hyena-Wolf,” came with the dreaded “Weak” prefix, reducing his stats by 20%.Isaac quickly realized that this wasn’t a game he could simply log out of. It was his new life, and there was no escape. To survive, he had to evolve, to fight, and ultimately, to conquer. He knew the game inside and out, but this wasn’t the same reality he’d logged into. This time, he would have to become the monster, instead of fearing it.Every step he took, Isaac grew stronger. He realized that monsters weren’t bound by the same rules that governed the players. He could evolve, gaining new powers and unlocking Monster Reputation. With every kill, every victory, he unlocked a new level of power. The prefixes that marked his growth—Normal, Strong, Especially Strong—were a testament to his evolution. And the players began to whisper.

In the year 2090, technology has advanced to the point where Simulation Boxes, (Sim Box for short) are common place, allowing for the user to link up their brain's neural network to a full dive Simulation. While initially used for educational purposes, recently a large gaming company, Averon, released a fully fledged immersive MMORPG simulation where users can become anyone they desire, level up, choose their class, and become a hero or a villain. The name of this simulation is The Shattered World Online.

Eli Winters had no interest in playing it. His father, a jobless bum who spent his entire life playing games in the hope of becoming a famous player or streamer, was able to use the release of The Shattered World Online to gain wealth and fame, quickly becoming the number one player and a household name as the game took the world by storm. He immediately abandoned Eli and his mother in favor of being with someone from his guild, despite his mother having worked two jobs to support them and raise Eli by herself. Eli had nothing but spite for his father and the game.

When Eli's best friend convinces him to try out the game, his father's fame begins to interfere, culminating in him being singled out and shunned by his peers, and his father offering to pay for his university tuition in return for Eli hiding their relationship and quitting the game. Instead of complying with his father's wishes, Eli decides to prove to everyone how useless a guy his father is by challenging him that if Eli is able to surpass him in the game world he must delete his account and quit his streaming career. His father accepts the challenge believing his son to be useless at games - but Eli will soon show him just how ambitious a spiteful person can be.

After being plotted against by her scumbag ex-husband and perishing in a fire, Gu Jia Ning unexpectedly undergoes rebirth. She finds herself in the situation where she jumps into the river during a cold winter to persuade her elder brother to relinquish his job to her ex-husband’s favored educated youth, Wen Zhqing.In her previous life, her family compromised, leading to her marriage with Wen Zhqing. However, they remained childless for years despite being married. Wen Zhqing took advantage of her to drain her family of their benefits, leading to their downfall. He even plotted against her, causing her death in the fire so he could marry a rich and beautiful woman.To stay away from the scumbag, after being fished out of the river this time, Gu Jia Ning immediately grabs the matchmaker’s leg who was about to leave and agrees to Sheng Zexi’s marriage proposal.Broad shoulders and a slim waist, high position and authority... She learned after her death in her previous life that she was indeed the apple of Sheng Zexi, a military bigshot’s eye.More than a year ago, Gu Jia Ning accidentally found the injured and unconscious Sheng Zexi in the mountains.She kindly removed her clothes to give to him to wear, leaving herself shivering in the cold.Sheng Zexi: “Not as good-looking as me, and even without clothes, doesn’t look better than me.”Gu Jia Ning: “This person has such a sharp tongue, he’ll definitely never get a wife.”He was severely injured and unconscious, unable to drink the herbal medicine. She kindly wanted to pry his mouth open to forcibly feed him.Sheng Zexi: “Keep a bit of distance from me; I’m afraid your stupidity will rub off on me. Obviously, a small bamboo chip would do.”Gu Jia Ning: “This person’s tongue could cut paper, surely destined to die alone.”Who would have thought that more than a year later, upon learning she fell ill after jumping into the river, the already-gone Sheng Zexi sneaked in through the window with supplies?“Gu Jia Ning, are you tired of living or is there not enough water in your brain? You actually jumped into the river for a pretty boy!”While scolding her, he fed her painkillers and sweet wine boiled eggs that dispel cold and replenish blood. “If you still foolishly yearn for that pretty boy...”Gu Jia Ning: “Then I’ll marry you.”Sheng Zexi was stunned on the spot, then went ahead laughingly and married Gu Jia Ning swiftly, even bringing her to join the army!The military camp wives all said:Sheng Zexi’s wife is a little rascal, delicate and vain, unwilling to do heavy work, often complaining about fatigue. One day, Sheng Zexi would surely abandon her.Who would have thought that as soon as the little rascal arrived, she became a doctor in the military district hospital, not only achieving frequent pregnancy but also becoming a famous fertility specialist?And Sheng Zexi, always rebellious and a thorn in the side, turned into a good father and husband washing sheets by day and diapers by night.