Crown of Thorns - Chapter 45

Deceived into marriage, exploited for a lifetime as a nanny without pay, and finally beaten to death by her adoptive mother in front of her adoptive father's sickbed, Shen Mianmian's miserable life came to an end.When she opened her eyes again, she found herself back at fifteen. Shen Mianmian vowed to escape her past fate, punish her malicious cousin and adoptive mother, but accidentally shone too brightly in the process.The third-to-last student in school suddenly rose to the top, becoming the candidate fought over by prestigious universities, causing a sensation among all the teachers and students...While others were busy studying, Shen Mianmian was busy starting small businesses to make money...While others were preparing for the college entrance exams, Shen Mianmian purchased the two most notorious haunted houses in Beijing in one go... becoming an oddity in everyone's eyes, they mocked her that even if she had the fortune to buy them, she might not have the life to live in them.While others graduated and were busy looking for jobs, the haunted properties purchased by Shen Mianmian were requisitioned by the government, earning her a considerable amount of demolition compensation.Those who had mocked her couldn't help but slap themselves twice... inquiring everywhere where there might be haunted houses for sale.Shen Mianmian, originally needing to borrow money for tuition fees, used the demolition funds and leveraged her rebirth advantage to buy a suitable plot of land and built a rental building, transforming into a Beijing's wealthiest and most prosperous landlady...One day, Shen Mianmian, carrying a bag of keys and having just collected the rent, was dragged to the Civil Affairs Bureau.“Shen Mianmian, it's time for you to pay back what you owe me.”

How does it feel to lose your parents at the tender age of four?Imagine the trauma, the psychological scars. Now, take it a step further—what if they died right in front of you?That was Kael’s reality. As a young boy, he watched his parents perish while desperately protecting a golden coin.At the time, Kael had no idea of its significance. He only knew that their deaths were tied to it.Fleeing from his father’s murderers, he was forced to survive on the unforgiving streets, learning to fight, steal, and endure.Twelve years later, he had transformed into one of the deadliest assassins the world had ever known.He had no official title. No known employer. No traceable identity. Just a calling card.They called him The Coin Flipper.Not because he left his mark, but because after every kill—just as the body hit the ground, as the last breath escaped—he would flip a coin.No one knew why. Some believed it was mockery, a cruel reminder that fate had turned against them. Others thought it was ritual.But what they didn’t know was that each coin held power—literal currency of the Core System embedded in Kael’s soul.Every kill earned him millions. Digital fortunes funneled into off-grid accounts with each confirmed target. Blood turned into bounty, pain into profit.And one thing was certain: if you saw the glint of a coin spinning through the air, death had already found you.

She pulled the trigger.Time shattered.And somehow… I survived.Kentaro Takamiya thought he was just another broke college student.Until the day a silver-haired girl appeared in his classroom, froze the world… and nearly erased him from existence.Now he’s the only human ever to survive contact with an Alberline.Beautiful, mysterious girls whose emotions are so powerful they can bend time, space, and reality itself.Some, like Halcyon, believe Alberlines can be saved.Others, like Cradle, see them as living weapons that must be destroyed.And then there’s Spire, a private force moving in the shadows, willing to burn nations to harness Alberline power for their own secret ends.Kentaro’s caught in the middle, with one impossible mission:Enter their minds.Make them fall for him… enough to save the world.And stop their emotions from tearing it apart.But with each connection, the truth unravels.The memories he’s lost begin to surface.Factions close in around him.And someone in the shadows is watching his every move, waiting for their moment to strike.Because Kentaro isn’t just syncing with Alberlines.He’s becoming something else.And if he loses control…it won’t just be his mind that breaks.It’ll be reality itself.

Wang Zhong arrived in an alternate world and became embroiled in this world's global war.What he gained was a cheat, akin to a real-time strategy game's overhead perspective, and he could even see through the eyes of his subordinates' units!So, he decisively started micro-managing, “Shift the machine gun position five centimeters to the left! Place the anti-tank cannon in the forest on the right!”Three years passed in this manner, and Wang Zhong looked at the marshal's baton in his hand, then at the double-headed eagle flag behind the emperor's envoy.“In my hometown, there's an old saying, 'Princes and generals, are they not sprung from the masses?' Envoy, do you know of it?”