MTL - Accompanying the Phoenix - Chapter 42

He lived from BC to the Middle Ages, from the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution, and from Cyberpunk to the Interstellar Age. He has been a king and a prophet, a knight and a nobleman, a versatile artist, a genius inventor…
This is a four-thousand-year human epic——
“To us four thousand years from now:
“Is the world at peace? Is famine extinct? Can people touch the stars? How long is the human lifespan? How far is the boundary of the earth? Human…do you remember us?”
——Excavated from Earth Age Tenth Century BC, Solomon Prayer Book.

- Description from novelbuddy

Wrongly imprisoned for a crime she did not commit, Ye Qiao was freed from the iron gates that locked her away for seven years with nowhere to go, no one to see, and nothing to move on to following the passing of her husband, who she had never appreciated. The man was part of the Special Forces and had been killed during a mission.

The year was 2026, and the world wasn't what it used to be. Ever since the Abyss Gates cracked open three years ago, spilling monsters and dungeons across the planet, life had turned into a chaotic mess. Cities were half-ruined, half-rebuilt, and people clung to whatever normalcy they could find. Hunters—those brave or crazy enough to fight the monsters—became the new heroes. Everyone else? Well, they just tried to survive.Fin wasn't a Hunter. He wasn't a hero either.He was just… Fin. A lanky 19-year-old with messy brown hair, a chipped front tooth from a dumb skateboard accident, and a power that everyone called useless. Absorption. Sounds cool, right? Like he could suck up energy or steal someone's strength. Nope. All it did was let him “feel” things he touched a little more than normal. He could tell you the exact texture of a brick wall or how warm a coffee mug was—big whoop. No fireballs, no super strength, no flashy moves. Just a glorified touchy-feely trick.“Fin, you gonna eat that sandwich or just stare at it like it's gonna confess its life story?” Meg's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.He blinked and looked across the rickety table at his best friend. Meg was short, loud, and had a wild mop of dyed purple hair that she swore made her look “intimidating.” It didn't.

She always knew there was a woman hidden in his heart, so when that woman appeared, she obediently withdrew. However, unexpectedly, he abandoned his 'beloved' and instead frequently invited her.“Mr. Fu, didn't you say there was a contract to discuss?” He pressed her against the cold wall, continuously approaching: “If you were a bit uglier, perhaps I would want to talk contracts and drink tea with you, but you're so beautiful, I only want to talk love with you.”To him, Qiao Mo was like his most cherished treasure, and whenever others looked at her, he felt they were trying to steal her.