The Master Programmer - Chapter 139: Banquet of Masks 3

A conversation with a handsome stranger leaves Ariane chained in a cellar with a strange affliction. She soon discovers that the darkness of the nineteenth century’s Deep South hides many dangers. Mages, wolf shifters and the humans who hunt them play a risky game where to stumble is to die, all under the amused gaze of the apex predators of the supernatural world: vampires.

It is never healthy to attract the gaze of the aristocracy of the night. It takes much to survive in this merciless world, but Ariane will not let that deter her. The southern belle has a bite, and she is willing to learn and to grow in this hostile new world. She will use whatever means necessary to reclaim her freedom, be it guile, charm, or those intriguing new instincts that make blood so delectable.

This is a story of vampires as I believe they should be, with their strengths and weaknesses, with their remnants of humanity and the beast inside. Updates every Friday. Mind the tags.

Cover by Antti Hakosaari: https://www.artstation.com/haco

Special thanks to Svensonsen for getting me started, as well as Omi Nya, Hesketh, Rhaegar, Yaksher, Selkie and Raven for proofreading my stuff. Thanks to my patrons and you dear readers, for the support. I could not do it without you.

Journey is on Amazon, both in ebooks and audio. here is a link to the first one:

https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08DK6G8Y8

The story probably exists in your local marketplace as well of I can tempt you.

The World Tower had unimaginable wealth and treasures inside it. As long as one made it to the higher levels, they would rise above the common folk and enjoy a glorious life.

The tower had 1000 levels. Some said that one could obtain all the wealth in the world if they reached Level 1000. Others claimed that beyond Level 1000 was a beautiful new world or even heaven. Some people said that one could obtain the abilities of a god. Others claimed that any wish of theirs could be granted.

The current most powerful team in the world made it to Level 929, where no one else had ever made it to before. They still ended up being wiped out tragically. The members of the team placed the unique treasure they obtained on the body of their captain, Wang Wen.

Wang Wen managed to survive.

However, he was sent back 20 years ago.

With his previous life’s emotions and experiences in a new life, Wang Wen stood before the World Tower, calm and determined.

While reading a novel, Fu Erdie thought more than once that if she arrived in an apocalyptic world, she could only wait for death.

The cars could not be driven, roads could not be recognized, they could not even cook food.

There was also physical strength involved…there was no need for her to encounter a zombie because with just a sudden drop of temperature, she could get a cold and fever and die from it.

As a useless person of the new century, she sincerely hoped that the whole world would be prosperous and free of disease and calamity. At the same time, she could just draw at home and earn living expenses while muddling through.

As a result, God played a joke on her.

After a shower of rain, the world changed. There were zombies and dead plants everywhere.

She looked down from a window on the 10th floor and saw the crowd panicking. The cars rammed and blocked the road, and the small noodle shop she often went to was now stained with blood… Everything pulled back Fu Erdie from her fantasy.

The world had truly changed.

Fu Erdie decided to go out to find her relatives, and she would bet on whether she would become a zombie or an alien. She gathered her courage and opened the door, then stepped back and closed it. The zombie neighbors in the corridor were horrible! It is impossible to fight zombies, you can only wait to die in a wretched manner. And any chance, there was a lot of stored food at home that she could eat for a month.

But her ending was probably one of the two choices she had in her mind, to die now or die in a month. And she chose to lay down and continue her everyday normal life. She would just wait to meet the upcoming water and electricity cuts.

On the first day, everything was the same. The next day, everything was the same. The next day after, everything was still the same. The next…

A month later, it was time to pay the utility bill. The internet got disconnected and she did not pay the bill. The rest of the building was pitch black.

But her room was still bright.

The flush toilet could be used as usual. The natural gas could be used for her luxurious bathing. The small kumquats, small peppers, and shallots planted and grown on the balcony even thrived at a rate that did not conform to the laws of nature.

Fu Erdie suddenly found out that she had not mutated, but her own house had mutated?!

- Description from Novelupdates

Chase C. Miller is an actor with chillingly glowing purple eyes that could violently take one’s heart and a beauty that draws everyone’s eyes. After spending a heated night with him, Josh was imprinted behind his ear and he now had a secret that must never be found. It was none other than the fact that he was pregnant with Chase’s child!A few years later, Josh, who had been hired once again as his bodyguard, is astonished by his appalling character. Despite this, every time they meet eyes and stand close together, Josh cannot seem to be able to stop his heart from beating faster.“Oops, are you all right?”“You f*cking bastard, how dare you—”“Yes, I somehow dared to touch my client’s dick. I sincerely apologize.”