I am a Chef in the Modern Era - Chapter 5 - Dried Bayberry

As if it wasn’t enough for me to be reincarnated as a child in the slums, I was taken to a city of crime and became a test subject. But then, when I saw the man that came to destroy the research institute, I realized that this was the world of an angst-filled reverse harem novel.

While living a relatively normal life after escaping from the institute, the heroine of the novel moved in next door. From the looks of it, I might be the heroine’s neighbor extra. Originally, the heroine was to save the unconscious and fatally wounded villain and in return, be subject to a fanatical obsession.

But, why. Why is the sub-villain collapsed in front of my house?

The sub-villain, Lakis Avalon, was the king of the underworld and the very same frightening man that I had met at the institute before.

“…”

I took a moment’s glance around then I kicked the man’s body away.

You’ve got the wrong house, Villain.

I had nothing left to live for.No family. No friends. No future.Just a shattered soul wandering through a world that had already taken everything.Then I died.And that’s when everything changed.I woke in a world of light. A void between realms. A place where gods whisper and broken souls wait to be judged. There, I met Ashen Crimson—a man who had once been worshipped, then feared, and finally cursed by the very gods he had defied. A tyrant who had destroyed his own world.But now, he’s offering me something terrifying:His life. His past. His power. His chance to make things right.The catch?The world of Zerawell is fractured.Ashen’s name is soaked in blood.His fate is sealed—exile, ruin, and eternal hatred.And now, it’s my name.Because I’ve been reborn as Ashen Crimson, heir to a house that both reveres and reviles me. A noble with dormant shadow magic, a shattered reputation, and a cursed destiny I never asked for.But I’ve lived a life of pain. I’ve walked alone through hell already.And I won’t follow his footsteps into madness.With a divine system familiar in my soul, a second chance burning in my chest, and the memories of a monster as my burden—I will rewrite this fate.Let them call me villain, disgrace, or traitor.I didn’t choose this story.But I’ll finish it.Even if it kills me.

Liu Yuan transmigrated into the world of a Xianxia online game named “Shang Yang” after he maxed out the stats for all the playable characters in the game.

Liu Yuan barked, “Usually, people receive a system or cheats when they transmigrate to another world. What am I supposed to do with this illustrated handbook? And I can only target female characters?”

For the sake of survival and becoming stronger, Liu Yuan once again embarked on the journey of gaining the favorability of NPCs. As such, the most despicable liar and outstanding lover in the history of Shang Yang Realm was born.

Jason was just an ordinary student at Westwood University's Hunter Department, known for never awakening any special powers—even at 21. Frustrated and desperate, he spent countless nights dreaming of finally unlocking his hidden potential.One lazy morning, as he lay in bed dreading another day of ridicule, Jason felt a strange surge of excitement. Without warning, he awakened a bizarre but thrilling power: the “Leisure Life.” His smartphone buzzed with a mysterious app, and curious, he tapped it open.In a flash, Jason found himself exploring abilities he never imagined—like using points to enhance his body or entering worlds straight from adult videos. Determined to test his newfound powers, Jason dove headfirst into the explicit world of JAV, a video he'd secretly watched only days ago.Life was finally about to get exciting.