To His Hell and Back - Chapter 491: Checkmate Game

“Everyone deserves a happy ending, don’t they?”…In the brutal fantasy RPG Fall of Ares, saving the world came at a cruel price — the deaths of every heroine the player had grown to love. No matter how skilled you were, their sacrifices were inevitable. The game warned you not to get attached.But one young man did.After beating the game and lamenting their tragic fates, he wakes up in its world — reborn as an extra, armed with one mission from a mysterious system:[Change their endings. Let them live.]Now enrolled at Mysteria Academy alongside the heroines doomed to die, he must rewrite fate itself. For every girl he saves, he’s rewarded. But the world resists change. Calamities draw closer. The true enemy — the Children of the Sky — are watching.And one of the heroines… remembers it all.

【Exhilarating】【New Ultimate Path Plus Points】【Dry Humor】 The world plummets; who shall uphold the heavens? Demons spawn from earth and sky, the Taoist stands valiant and resolute. I am Yi Chen, ’Chen’ as in dust, styled Yi Chengzi, eighteen years old, fearful of violent evil spirits, fond of making money. With a cold heart and ruthless hands, he transmigrated to a bizarre world where goblins and malevolent spirits dwell, becoming the eldest senior brother of the Hidden Dragon Pavilion, and as his master lay dying, he entrusted Yi Chengzi with the duty to uphold the path of benevolence and righteousness, to take good care of his younger Taoist brothers; he promised he would. However, his understanding of the path of benevolence and righteousness differed slightly from that of his master. What is benevolence? Slicing evil men and ghosts in half is benevolence. What is righteousness? Smashing the heads of evil men and ghosts into their chests completes righteousness. After his master’s death, unable to awaken ’spiritual essence’ for cultivation, he set upon an unorthodox path of cultivation with the help of the Golden Finger. Facing the wolves eager for a fight after his master’s demise, he struck with heavy fists, understanding the true essence of righteousness. Confronting the malevolent spirits that stood in his way, he naturally reformed them with the iron fists of love. He slew demons, exorcised evil, and tested his sword against various spiritual cultivators, enjoying the landscapes of the world. When he reached the summit and looked around, he was shocked to find that demons were but minor afflictions and that this land and sky were falling... A millennium-long scheme, an eternal enigma, slowly unveiled itself. Strange, it has arrived, and it does not die or perish. Witnessing this scene, Yi Chen laughed. Even the malevolent dogs passing by his Taoist abode had to endure a couple of slaps; how dare someone be so disrespectful to him? Yi Taoist stomped one foot and soared into the heavens! The onlookers exclaimed in shock, “Taoist, stop fighting, the great ’Dao’ is nearly worn away!”

“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.