The Archduke's Songbird - Chapter 18: Change Of Heart

In her previous life, Yun Qin was set up by her stepmother and stepsister, dying a horrible death. After getting reincarnated, she held onto her pregnancy test report and held her waist as she approached the most powerful family in the capital—the Song family. Ninth Master Song, the eldest legitimate grandson of the Song family, was rumored to be cold-blooded and arrogant. He was temperamental and ruthless. However, he agreed to marry the woman who approached him and demanded him to take responsibility by presenting her pregnancy test report. When the news came out, the entire capital exploded in shock. No one believed that Ninth Master Song would truly love an illegitimate daughter with a lowly status. It was harder to believe that a crude illegitimate daughter with low intelligence would be able to secure the position as the Song family’s matriarch for long. Therefore, the entire country was waiting for their divorce and waiting to see Yun Qin make a fool of herself. However, after Yun Qin married into the Song family, she set up a stall on the street to provide fortune-telling services to anyone who wanted to find out about their fortunes or misfortunes, romantic fates, and future undertakings... Eventually, her fortune-telling that never missed stirred up discord among the influential families in the Capital City! The wealthy nearly broke through the Song family’s door just to seek out Yun Qin’s fortune-telling services. Simultaneously, the Song family’s fourth-generation grandchild crawled out from Yun Qin’s abdomen. Yun Qin’s real identity slowly unraveled—nobody dared to belittle her anymore. With each passing year, Ninth Master Song not only maintained the marriage with Yun Qin but both of them fell deeper in love with each other. Everyone started smashing their figurative bowls, saying, “We’re so done chowing on this bowl of dog food!”

Epilogue:

Yun Qin, “Hey, handsome man, I’m afraid you’ll be in a life-threatening situation today. Do you want to exchange some money for safety?” The famous surgeon in Capital City looked at her in disdain, turned around, and left. That night, the surgeon kneeled before Yun Qin, begging her, “Ms. Yun, please save me!”

Yun Qin, “Sir, darkness enshrouds your forehead. I’m afraid you’ve been entangled with bad luck and will soon lose your life. Do you want to exchange some money for safety?” The financial bigshot flipped over Yun Qin’s stall with a single kick. That night, the bigshot kneeled before Yun Qin, begging her, “O’wise one, save me, please!”

Male lead persona: Arrogant, cold, ruthless, and decisive

Female lead persona: After her reincarnation, she was smart and calm. She could see spirits.

Nova scrambled backwards, panting hard, her short locks clinging to her damp forehead as she watched this predator stalk towards her. The vibrant and lively forest hushed, almost holding its breath to watch the scene unfold. Great, she had an audience for what would surely be a gruesome death.Death looked... a little... rugged and in nothing but a loin cloth, defined by slabs of muscle, a trail of hair leading down to such a small piece of cloth to hide a large-A spine-chilling growl snapped her gaze back up to meet his golden-red eyes, fiery, and intense, glaring at Nova as he slammed his hands either side of her head. Pieces of bark crumbled down from the impact.“I told you not to run...” He threatened, his eyes piercing hers, his voice more guttural than she'd heard from any male. His eyes clenched shut as his body trembled. “My instinct is to always stalk, always chase... until I get what I want..”Their faces were inches apart. She could feel his hot breath fanning her face. The forest was humid and hot, and his body was so close to hers that it was almost unbearable. The gruff voice, those words and the intensity of those eyes that reminded her of sunsets caused goosebumps to flourish across her arms.“What do you want?” Nova swallowed, not recognising her voice. She was so out of her depth. His chest rumbled, and more bark crumbled down from behind her head.“You...”Her breath hitched.“To. Do. As. You're. Told.”Paradise was what Nova Winslow was promised when her boyfriend whisked her away to Isla De Tayun, the perfect getaway for their busy lives. It was untouched, pristine, a hidden gem.But it had remained that way for a reason. The island doesn’t want visitors. And neither do the natives.What should have been a romantic retreat, drinking from coconuts and lounging on white-sandy beaches together, turns into a holiday from hell.Mid-argument with her soon-to-be ex, Nova stumbles into a lake. When she resurfaces, her boyfriend, the path she came from, and the resort have vanished.Alone, stranded, and with little survival skills, Nova has only a wet phone with no signal, a pair of heels, and an irrational fear of bats—which are everywhere. She is out of her depth when she falls into a mystical world of beasts.Hunted by tribesmen, stalked by beasts that shouldn't exist, and hearing animals speak, she has no choice but to trust the wild beast the forest itself fears—Yoa, a wanted man. Together, they flee the tribes pursuing them all while battling her growing attraction to Yoa.Can she survive the wild and make it back to her civilised life? Or will she lose herself to the untamed world—and to the man who belongs to it?

What the hell is this? What the hell happened here?

How did my room become so ruined after a single night?

The floor and table were covered in dust, his new poster of Zhang Liang Ying that had just been posted on the wall a few days ago had already become yellow and tattered all over. Even Zhang Liang Ying’s beautiful face became monstrous, as if an old devil was looking at him with a terrifying smile.

The walls were covered by a mist of cobwebs and the fruits placed on top of the coffee table were withered and rotted to the point that the mold on them had turned black. The fruits below even seemed to have turned into mush. The aluminium framed window that the landlord had just installed not that long ago was now covered in a layer of white ash and the glass was filled with cracks and covered in dust.

The computer beside his bed was also covered by cobwebs and was accompanied by an empty water glass with a withered worm inside of it.

Dust filled the air making Wei Xiao Bei choke as he tried to breathe.

Everything seemed to be ash gray without any light, as if looking at television static.

After just one night, it seemed like everything in the room had aged for centuries or even millennia.

Mother… is this a dream?

This must be a dream!

—

One day, Wei Xiao Bei gets dragged into The Dust World, a post-apocalyptic world ruled by monsters from myths, legends, games, etc. He also gains the power to travel between it and the real world, as well as the power called the ‘Status Panel’. With this power, he chooses to strengthen himself to explore the vast mysteries and terror of the other world. What mysteries await him? And what is The Dust World.

- Description from Novelupdates

Five hundred years into the future, animals and plants had mutated into powerful beasts which endangered the human species.

To deal with the situation, the Federal government decided to build academies dedicated to mecha piloting. It marked the beginning of the Mecha Age.

With the help of the mechas, humans would gain the power to fight on equal terms with the beasts.

Years later, Peter was recruited by one of the mecha academies.

He thought that would be his path to become a successful pilot.

However, due to some circumstances, he was only able to choose another course…

The Genetic Warrior course.

As the world was invested in mechas, everyone knew that there was no future for a Genetic Warrior.

The basic concept the circled around Earth was that a human could never defeat a beast without the mecha’s help.

Fortunately, Peter managed to activate a special Divine-Grade Genetic Extraction System.

“Ding! Ant genes detected. Extraction in progress…”

“Ding! Extraction successful. Your strength has been increased by 100 times.”

“Ding! Grasshopper genes detected. Extraction in progress…”

“Ding! Extraction successful. Your leaping ability has been increased by 100 times.”

“Ding! Eagle genes detected. Extraction in progress…”

“Ding! Extraction successful. Your vision has been increased by 100 times.”

“Ding! Thunder God genes detected. Extraction in progress…”

On that fateful day, a mighty Genetic Warrior was born.

He was able to deflect a missile with his flesh and punch a hole in any mecha. He could even destroy a whole planet if he wanted to.