Picking Up Fragments - Chapter 285: Oh, Meat

The world froze.Literally froze. The chattering students, the falling cherry blossoms outside the window, even the dust motes in the air – all suspended in perfect stillness.“Oh wonderful hero,” a melodious voice echoed through the room. “Your world faces a terrible crisis, and you have been chosen to—”“No,” he said flatly.A pause. Then a shimmer of golden light coalesced into the form of a beautiful woman in flowing robes. She blinked at him. “I... what?”“I said no. I'm not interested in whatever quest or destiny you're selling. Pick someone else.”The goddess's perfect features creased in confusion. “But... but you've been chosen! The prophecy speaks of a warrior with a fierce spirit, one who—”“Lady, I don't care about your prophecy. I've got enough problems here without adding some fantasy world's issues to the mix. Now un-freeze time and leave me alone.”“You don't understand,” she pressed. “Our world is being ravaged by the Demon King's armies! Millions will die without—”

Zhao Du'an, a government official leading a cautious life, finds himself transported to another world where he becomes the favored 'pretty face' of a female emperor and an oppressive, power-abusing villain. Before he can relish the moment, he faces mortal danger for releasing a national criminal. Cornered and desperate, he plans to soothe the female emperor to seek mercy, only to discover his 'leading gigolo' role is a sham.Worse still, his notorious reputation prompts officials and heroes alike to impeach and eliminate him; and martial artists and clerical magicians consider him a disgrace. Overwhelmed, Zhao Du'an decides it's better to stop being human to survive.Starting by betraying his allies, he becomes the Emperor's top lackey. Years later, amidst heavy snowfall in the capital, the female emperor Xu Zhen Guan sighs atop the city tower, 'It was supposed to be a pretend companionship, how did it turn real...'Also known as 'Deceiving and Flattering at the Court of Great Yu', 'The Record of a Villain Going White'.

After two-hundred years of diligent cultivation, Xie Jiuniang successfully achieved Core Formation, yet on that very night, she was killed by her dual-cultivation partner Lin Wangchen.However, Xie Jiuniang was reborn... and she accidentally discovered a great secret.It turned out that in her previous life, she was a child deeply favored by the Heavenly Dao, watched over by some top forces who secretly stole her opportunities time and again, fattening up the esteemed talents of the Cultivation World, with that scum being just one of them.The weak, pitiable, and helpless Xie Jiuniang decided to first become a dark horse, secretly sweeping away all the opportunities.And so...The favored talents were dumbfounded, “Where did my opportunity go?”Her scumbag ex-husband felt wronged, “ ...She didn't like me.”Her cousin with the Heavenly Spiritual Root was shocked, “What happened to the supposedly weak talent, how is her cultivation speed faster than mine?”The big shots behind the scenes also started cursing, where was the great opportunity for the child of the Heavenly Dao to ascend? Something is not right!Opportunities?I've taken them, all of them!His, yours, they are all mine, Xie Jiuniang's!Before she knew it, she had trampled over all the privileged talents, challenged all the big shots, becoming the most formidable name, and rolled up into the number one person in the Cultivation World!

Recently, major news broke out in A City. A rich family discovered that the daughter they had raised for eighteen years was not their biological offspring. The real young lady was found, and the fake young lady was sent away. Lu Ning was now a beautiful swan who had turned into an ugly duckling. Everybody waited for the opportunity to laugh at her. They wanted to see how she would survive after being pampered like a princess for eighteen years. However, Lu Ning wasn’t afraid at all. So what if she was poor? All she had to do was earn money. But before she could bring wealth to her family, they brought her home and started counting stacks of cash. Her eldest brother, a business mogul, offered her a few companies.

“These are all yours now. There are more if you want them. You can choose anything from dining, entertainment, fashion, theme parks, and any industry you can think of.” “Ning, would you like to participate in a talent show? I’ll write you a recommendation letter,” her second brother, a major celebrity, asked. Even her youngest brother, a computer expert, said, “Sis, whoever says bad things about you on the internet will never get to use it again.” “…” Lu Ning was speechless. Wasn’t her family poor and useless?

“Ning, if you don’t like gold, I’ll get someone to bring you diamonds instead. You can have diamonds embedded in all your clothes. What do you think? Hang on. I’ll get someone to do it right away!” Lu Ning’s mother said.”Ning, are you getting bored of the black card? Why don’t I give you one with a credit limit? Is 50,000,000 enough?” Lu Ning’s father asked. “Huh?” Lu Ning was confused. Wasn’t her family so poor that they couldn’t even pay off their mortgage? Lu Ning didn’t even have any opportunity to contribute. There was nothing for her to do.

However…”Come and be our boss!” A secret organization approached her.”Come and be my successor!” The director of a research center approached her.”Is this never going to end? I just want to be an ordinary person!” Lu Ning exclaimed. “Baby! Come into my arms!” Mr. Huo, an extremely wealthy man, arrived at top speed.