Steel and Mana - Chapter 212 – Casting the Bait

This was a world where technology and cultivation co-existed.

Lu Ping had been single his whole life. He didn’t have any cultivation resources and all girls hated him.

All he could do was dating a girl he had met online.

However, at his graduation, Lu Ping accidentally exposed his personal information to his girlfriend.

From that moment onwards, his life started to change strangely.

When the two had finally agreed to meet, the Nine Heaven Golden Phoenix suddenly appeared and covered the sun with its wings. Everyone thought that the world was about to end.

Lu Ping drew his sword, ready to defend his home.

“Honey! Stop! It’s me!” Feng Xiaoqi, the phoenix, pleaded.

Lu Ping looked at the phoenix in awe as he dropped his sword.

“We have Xu Xian in the past, and we have Lu Ping in the present! Long live humans!”

“I thought Xu Xian was already unbeatable, who knew Lu Ping was even stronger than him!”

“Lu Ping! You shouldn’t play with a girl’s feelings!”

“He’s right! You have to show her the fine tradition of us humans!”

“What do you need for your wedding gift? We humans can give you anything you wish for!”

Lu Ping looked at his fellow human, completely dumbfounded by the situation.

“Not even the gods can stop me from finding my family!”Max only wanted to reunite with his parents and sister. But for that, he had to awaken a class.With no high expectations, Max would’ve been satisfied with a C or D rank.But fate had other plans. He unlocked a legendary SSS-Rank class.[Dimensional Keeper]This class changed everything.Max mastered every skill to perfection and grasped the Concepts of Space and Time while his peers were playing around with swords.In no time, he ascended to become the Keeper of the Universe. Armed with unimaginable power, Max’s journey to find his family had begun.Nothing could stop him now—not fate, not enemies, not even the mighty gods!

My older brother, who was my only family member, lost his memory. “I have a sibling? Are you kidding me?” He was a fool who cared for me ever since he brought me from the temple… “I can’t even take care of myself, so what is this…” I left the family because I didn’t want to be a burden to my older brother, who had no memory, and was helpless in the tragedy that followed. So I turned back time. That too, to the point when my brother lost his memory. “I don’t have anything in my head, so I don’t know what to do next. What if I have a kid with me?” We must not repeat the tragedy of the past life. So I grimly said, “That’s right. I don’t have anything on my brother’s head right now.” “…What, what?” I chuckled and took out a document I had prepared. The contents of the document, written in crooked, large letters, were simple. [I transfer all the property in my name to my younger sister.] While my gaping older brother was checking the documents, I took out his seal from his drawer and smeared it with ink. Then I put it in his hand and said with a very sad expression. “So stamp it. Now.” I will protect you in this life.

“Block him.”“He's technically still my boss.”“Then block him with dignity.”The call ended again.And then started again.I let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a sob, then finally answered with the enthusiasm of a snail crawling through salt.“Yes, Mr. Walton?”“Have you changed your mind yet?”I collapsed onto the towel and gazed at the sky as though it might consume me entirely if I pleaded sweetly enough.“Do you ever take a break?” I asked, shielding my eyes with one hand.“You're avoiding the question.”“Because it's a dumb question.”He exhaled, the sound sharp and irritated even over phone. “It's not a dumb question. It's a business offer.”“It's a weird offer-one that I already said no to.”There was a brief pause, and I could practically hear him clenching his jaw through the speaker.“You are acting unreasonably.”“ Unreasonable?” I sat up. “I'm not the one drafting fake girlfriend contracts like it's a normal Tuesday.”“Isabella-”“Certainly not, Mr. Walton.” I mimicked his tone perfectly. “I told you I'm not doing it. You need to find someone else to play pretend with.”SYNOPSISIsabella Miller thought saying no to her boss’s fake dating offer was the end of the story.But Adrien Walton doesn’t take no—especially not when he’s convinced she’s a gold digger.Suddenly, her student loans are piling up, her father’s vet clinic is on the brink of eviction and her brother is about to be kicked out of college. Coincidence? She thinks not.Adrien Walton is calm, calculating—and he's just pulled every string to corner Isabella into the perfect position.Now she’s stuck choosing between pride and survival.So she agrees to his offer: be his fake girlfriend.No feelings attached. No drama. Just business.Or so she thought.“Conference Room B. Fifteen minutes,” he said, passing by without a glance.The folder he pushed across the table landed with a thud.I opened it. The contract. All of it.---Enemies to lovers? Check.Slow burn? Hmmnyea.Banter so sharp it might file your nails? Yes.Delicious workplace tension? Of course.Tension that could melt steel?Absolutely.Smut?? Wanna find out?Welcome to corporate romance warfare. There’s no escaping this contract.