City of Sin - Book 9, Chapter 4

“Mana to breathe, mana to eat, mana to fucking live,”Inhale: -0.001 MP… oops! You're out of mana points.(Pay-to-breathe RPG.)Humanity's last walled stronghold._____In the world Elio lives, every gasp of air comes at a price.A floating indestructible book for every human, a magical system that turns survival into a pay-to-breathe RPG.Here, poverty isn't just being broke, it's choking.Surrounded by barren land and a sea of monsters on top of it (No water, just literal monsters), each day is a suffocating dance of survival, a balancing act between mana for air and mana for food.In this economy, holding your breath isn't just a game, it's a retirement plan.Driven by desperation (and the city's miserly rulers that don’t cut anyone a break), Elio dives into the Book System’s trials to save his family.Along the way, he unlocks powers he didn’t ask for and starts to figure out... Who he really is.Immerse yourself in an adventure where one young man's stubborn refusal to become a statistic could spark a revolution. Who knew being a pain in the system's rear could change the world?Because in Elio's world, breathing is just the beginning of the revolution and... he's gasping for change.But hey, who said saving the world had to be all doom and gloom? Join Elio as he kicks monster butt, uncovers ancient secrets, and maybe, just maybe, figures out how to grow a tree or two along the way.__________Warning:May contain traces of world domination, an unhealthy obsession with the periodic table, damage points, progression math, and yes, even a sprinkle of that old “power of friendship” magic. Because sometimes, you need a buddy to help you remember which element does what or even help you calculate those sweet, sweet stats.A quick heads-up:Despite what the cover might suggest, this isn’t a hack-and-slash adventure. Think more along the lines of a turn-based RPG, where strategy and choices matter as much as action. Get ready for a different kind of challenge!If you want to know more about the cover:Yep, that's our first FL crying and crossing the transparent barrier straight into a pixelated, indistinguishable sea of monsters. Because why not mix emotions with chaos? She's crazy like that! (Not really... or is she?)Discord to check the visuals: https://discord.gg/W3CjfC2cw4I’m still working on it in the little moments I find between writing, editing, making more character images, etc.Little by little, we’ll have a Poked... uh, a full SummonDex! Meanwhile, you can check out the ones on Fandom with their... funny descriptions? Or at least I hope so... orzWarning 2 (Privilege 4 and 5):I just wanted to stick to the novel’s level system, so I had to add those '0s'!!! Don’t be an elephant... unless you’re an enormous one... A whale! Seriously, nooooo!You’re going to make me die from the pressure, and I’ll feel terrible!! It’s just one chapter!!! You can wait... But if you’re dirty rich and really, Really, REALLY want to support, well... okay, though I’ll still feel bad!!! orz

Zhang Xiao Qiang is a nobody in this apocalyptic world with danger lurking everywhere, he is forced to wander around and learn the rules and principles to survive. Over the course of time, Zhang Xiao Qiang’s character and laziness slowly wore away from the experiences he faces. Zhang Xiao Qiang becomes more resilient, of course also gaining power whilst watching the lunatics of the apocalypse trampling on everything they could trample on. Zhang Xiao Qiang always maintained a bit of conscience in him. He never had the thoughts of being a hero, yet he doesn’t mind sharing bread from his plate. Zhang Xiao Qiang will continue to live in the cracks of the apocalyptic world until the crack can no longer hold him.

He was the powerful and influential heir of B City, the merciless head of the commercial world, but the divorce papers made him lose his cool.

“Sign the divorce papers, daddy,” said the 5-year-old boy.

This man had the divorce papers thrown in his face by his wife six years ago, and was now being pushed by his own son to sign the papers.

“That would make you a single-parent child,” said Gu Juexi coldly.

“Mommy said unicorns don’t exist but men like you do,” the boy leered at his father and said.

Gu Juexi’s face fell. ‘That damned woman.’

“You haven’t signed the papers,” the boy reminded as the man left. As usual, the door shut in his face.

Good lord… Dad and mom are not getting a divorce and are giving him a baby brother? How worrying!

When Bai Zhen Zhen woke up, she had actually become the main character of your typical Mary Sue novel.

Car crash, miscarriage, amnesia… In order to fight with her for the male leads’ affection, those vicious women would stop at nothing.

Bai Zhen Zhen said: Who wants a bicycle! Only by walking the way of Buddha I can live a life free of worries till my old age!

As a result, she resolutely avoided the first, second and third male leads, and found a passerby to sign a contract marriage.

The day after obtaining the marriage certificate, shocking headlines stunned the world:

The only grandson of the world’s richest Huo family, Huo Xiang, who had been missing for 22 years, has finally been found!

Bai Zhen Zhen: Such coincidence? His name is exactly the same as yours!

Huo Xiang: Darling, it’s me.

Bai Zhen Zhen: ?

On a certain day after the marriage, Bai Zhen Zhen took out several sheets of paper from the bottom of a box. It was the noninterference agreement they had signed before getting married.

On the cover, a string of gilded bold letters almost burnt her eyes –– 《Bai Zhen Zhen x Huo Xiang’s True Love Filling 10,000 Years of Sweetness and Love Premarital Agreement》 ––

Meow meow meow???

//Male Lead’s version//

On a certain day, Huo Xiang was suddenly bound to a “Saving the female lead” system, and he transmigrated into a book with the mission of rescuing the female MC who was on the verge of experiencing a life full of suffering and torments.

Side quest 1: Find the female lead. If the mission is completed successfully, your health will be restored.

Side quest 2: Marry the female lead within a week. After the mission succeeds, a new identity will be unlocked.

Side quest 3: …..

Besides completing the side quests that pop up from time to time, he must do his best to love the female lead and let her reach 100 points of happiness.

As a result….

Huo Xiang: Darling, I have cut the fruit for you, let me feed you, ok?

Bai Zhen Zhen’s happiness points: +0.1.

Huo Xiang: Darling, the green tea bitch2 that came to pick up a fight with you has already been driven out by me.

Bai Zhen Zhen’s happiness points: +1.

Huo Xiang: Darling, I will be busy these days, you will have to play by yourself.

Bai Zhen Zhen’s happiness points: +10.

Huo Xiang: ???

- Description from Novelupdates