The Returner - Chapter 40: You don’t trust your son that much? (5)

Athena, Earth’s most glamorous lone assassin and the seal bearer of the Death Goddess, met her end on her final mission. She succeeded in eliminating the world’s most powerful Mafia leader with her bare hands, but it came at the ultimate cost, her life.Or so she thought.Instead of the eternal rest she expected, Athena’s soul transmigrated into the body of Athena Demerin, a rising celebrity in the Interstellar Era of the Andromeda Galaxy. As the cherished granddaughter of the Northern Duke on planet Asenus, the original Athena had strived to carve out her own path to stardom without leaning on her family’s immense power. But ambition came with a heavy price. She died from exhaustion… or so the official story claimed. The truth? Someone orchestrated her death.Now, the new Athena has inherited not only this body but its unresolved mysteries. Determined to unravel the secrets behind the original Athena's death and fulfill her dreams, she must also navigate a world of fame, family legacies, and interstellar intrigue.But life throws her another curveball, a marriage to Major General Mors Jericho, the galaxy’s most brilliant young warrior. Revered by millions, he is admired for his strength, intelligence, and commanding presence. Yet beneath the surface of this union lies a web of secrets that could shift the balance of power across the galaxy.As she uncovers the truth behind the forces conspiring against her, Athena must confront her own feelings about Mors.Can a marriage built on duty transform into love? Or will her husband turn out to be her greatest adversary?Will she follow her heart, carve her own destiny, or succumb to the shadows of her past?

Yan Hongyin saved a man.Although he was kind-hearted, he was frail and often coughed up blood.But Yan Hongyin didn’t mind.She lacked nothing – status, martial arts, or wealth.All she required of her husband was that he be good-looking, harmless, and not one of those martial artists that cause trouble on weekdays.He didn’t need to study hard for the imperial examinations or become a high-ranking official; she’d seen enough of those stuffy civil officials in the court.Ah Yu was perfect just as he was.****Sect Leader Yu was saved by a gentle and delicate pharmacist.His rescuer was a fascinating woman: beautiful, skilled in medicine, but without martial arts prowess. The renowned heroes admired by ordinary people were, in her eyes, nothing but troublemaking hypocrites and villains.Initially, he stayed only to recover from his injuries, but later he discovered that his wife seemed to have many unusual and numerous little secrets. For example, the hidden passages in their room, the poisonous carp in the pond, and the countless hidden weapons on her person…****Later.Two groups of men in black arrived outside the thatched hut in the suburbs of the capital.Commander Yan, observing the group trying to capture the Loucha Sect leader’s weakness, pondered for a moment, then put away her hidden blade.-Maintain a gentle and virtuous demeanor.Sect Leader Yu, watching the group attempting to seize the Jinyiwei commander’s weakness, fell silent for a moment, clutching his chest and coughing.-Appear frail and refined.

“Mu Yingying,” or the Seventh Young Lady of the Mu family, vividly remembers the cruel past life she endured.Due to the evil schemes of her stepmother and half-sister, the three descendants of the Mu family met tragic ends...The eldest son died dishonorably, the eldest daughter became mentally deranged,And she, the second daughter, was unjustly sentenced to death!Even her own father heartlessly cast his children aside...Now, she has returned once again, to the third year of the Xingping era, when “Mu Yingying” was only 5 years old.She has come back to the starting point of everything!Very well... She will drag the traitors down into the depths of hell.Her return is not for forgiveness... but to reclaim what is rightfully hers and to exact retribution on those who wronged her!“Death is not the end, but the beginning of the regret you will face.”

The world was never the same after that day.Humanity learned that they weren't alone in the universe, but that wasn't something they had the time to worry about.Their realization was accompanied by catastrophe.Creatures beyond their wildest imaginations poured down from the sky and appeared from the earth. They slaughtered humans as if it was their singular purpose, driving them to the brink of extinction.The people of the world did everything in their power, developing unique traits and technologies to create a united front their enemies couldn't penetrate.They secured victories and repopulated, feeling as if they stood a chance against the foreign invaders.They fought and they fought, doing everything they possibly could to ensure their survival.Until the Great Calamities appeared.In front of them, humanity was nothing regardless of its efforts.One by one, the worlds were turned into piles of rubble in between the cracks of their teeth. Civilization was torn apart, and the evolved humans living within could do nothing to stop its collapse.Humanity itself was left extinct, and in the end, only a single man was left alive amidst the chaos.Why?For what reason were they punished so?Nobody knew why the attacks began in the first place.He looked into the distance at the memories of the past and firmed his resolve.“It can only be me.”He knew of a miracle that could return him to the place of those memories.He knew of a way to make the wheels of time spin in reverse.And using it, he alone would save humanity from its doomed fate.That was his sacred duty as its final survivor.