Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 388: What can a month bring(2)

It was the turn of the 20th century, and in the Philippine Islands, the fledgling Philippine Republic waited to be crushed by the overwhelming superiority of the American colonial forces.But John McClain, a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars, dies and finds himself in the body of the governor of a remote Philippine province in the year 1898. Initially reluctant to take up arms against his former country and skeptical of the chances of success, he eventually decides to fight for the Republic.Now living his second life as Martín Lardizábal, politico-military governor of Marinduque and armed with modern military knowledge, he will change the course of the Philippine-American War.

Ash Burn was just an ordinary gamer—an orphan scraping by in the real world—until he accomplished the impossible: beating the hardest VR game ever created, Apocalypse Online. But instead of the promised riches, he’s thrown into another world—one eerily familiar.It doesn’t take long for Ash to realize where he is: the chaotic, doomed universe of Heaven’s Favorite: Wrath of Gods, a novel he once read. Worse, he’s not the protagonist or even a supporting character.He’s just an extra.Armed with fragmented knowledge of the future, an unyielding will to survive, and the secrets of the Runes—mysterious power coveted by gods and demons alike—Ash must outmaneuver a reckless hero, power-hungry angels, and an inevitable war that threatens to consume everything.But as he treads the fine line between altering fate and unleashing chaos, he begins to realize something chilling: the endgame may not be as simple as he thought.In a world where survival hinges on power and cunning, can an ordinary extra change the fate of an entire world, or will he become just another casualty of destiny?Was he ever just an extra to begin with?Note: The image on the cover is not mine.

“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.

Everyone has friends in their lives, right?They can be anyone—good friends, bad friends, or even... friends with benefits.Ahem!Anyway, the point is, everyone has friends. And so did I.I was friends with author of web novel.Yeah, was.A small argument over how the main character should act in novel of [World’s Greatest Hero] led to a fight with my friend, the author.Still frustrated, I stormed out of his house... and that’s when Truck-kun hit me.But that wasn’t the worst part.The worst part? I woke up in a different body—the body of a side character in my friend’s novel.A character who is supposed to die in the prologue.[Your body is dying!][You don’t have much time left.][The creator of this world is mocking you.]F#ck you, Author.F#ck this novel.I will survive, and when I do—I'll beat you to a pulp!---