Ark - Volume 22 Chapter 1

It’s 2100, and Vincent Carter – Ying – is a twenty-year-old virgin with a penchant for profanity, he has but three guiding principles:“In a world where honour and valour seem like unaffordable luxuries, cowardice remains the pragmatist’s ultimate virtue. Spinelessness isn’t shameful, it’s simply self-preservative romance.”“Doubt is unironically the cheapest superpower a person can have, after all if it’s human, it’s probably plotting something. And if it’s plotting something, it’s probably hiding something. And if it’s hiding something… well, you get the idea. So question everything, one sceptical step at a time.”And lastly,“Muscle heads – because who needs brains when you can just flex your way through life? Couldn’t be me, I’ll tell you that much.”Armed with nothing but these… questionable (?) values, as well as experiences shaped by a hellish life in the slums, Ying dives headfirst into the latest VR sensation – Cultivation Climax, a world brimming with great magic, ancient mysteries, and blood-curdling conspiracies just waiting to be unravelled.However, because Ying’s life is just that kind of special, he is greeted with a rather ‘lovely’ surprise upon opening his eyes to the new world…Ding![Your misfortune is truly astounding!][You have awakened the absolute WORST talent for Cultivation!]‘…’“…W-what?!”Yes, what indeed.

-- WSA 2025 Entry --“Five… Four… Three… Two… One…”As the countdown towards the new year went on to the last second, Miles looked up to the sky, just as everybody else did.In the middle of the crowded street, Miles for once felt like he belonged. Being a teenage gamer, living with his parents, and trying to build a life as a streamer, he did not feel like leaving his room every day.But there, in the middle of that crowded street, with everyone around him paying attention to the sky, the countdown on the digital billboard, and mostly anything else but him., Miles felt like a ghost.A welcomed ghost, but a ghost, after all.With a smile on his unseen face, he looked up as the countdown reached one, and everybody sang in unison.‘HAPPY NEW YEAR!”But Miles’ eyes widened as he watched in utter horror, and curiosity, even, hovering above him, a holographic screen with a few lines of text written in it.All around him, although he did not pay much attention to it, a few other people seemed to experience the same situation.[Updating home-world 39515’s version][Version 20.25 update brings a lot of fun and games with the new and improved survival mode][Do you want to convert your previous avatar to home-world 39515’s latest version?][Yes] [No]“Survival… Mode?” Miles’ lips quivered.Before he could think of anything else, though, the people around him began to scream…

Claire Reed thought she married the man of her dreams, Evander Kensington, but she had no idea that their marriage was built on a lie; a family vow that trapped him by her side.His heart, however, belonged to another woman, his white lotus.No matter how hard Claire tried to win Evander’s love, he only grew colder, and his family treated her like she didn’t exist.When she lost their unborn child, Claire’s world shattered. She wanted to see Evander, but he didn't bother to check on her. Instead, he went to meet that white lotus.Unable to bear the betrayal, she decided to free Evander from this marriage, leaving behind a letter and divorce papers, claiming she now had someone else she loved!~~~~“You’re mine, and I’ll never let you go!” he declared, his voice dark with possessiveness.“But I don’t want you anymore! You can have Susan—I’m now in love with someone else!” Claire shot back, her words sharp and final.“You can't be with anyone. Do you even know how sleepless nights I've without you?” Evander's hold on her tightened. “I'll see how you become some else when I'll claim you,” he pronounced before crashing his lips on her.

After a long slumber, Zhou Yi wakes up in a wasteland era. He discovers that the new humans, to avoid the daylight supremacy of the Guangna species, only dare to come out at night, meekly whispering in the darkness and scavenging for trash. Exasperated, he questions how humans could have deteriorated to such a state. Lamenting that each generation seems to be worse than the last, Zhou Yi decides to show them the ways of the older generation. Embarking on a quest to transform the wasteland, he aims to rebuild the lost splendor of humanity.