Wildness and Masks - Chapter 88 – Swordsmanship

“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.

The hero who was killed by the demon king ended up reincarnated as the son of the one who killed him! Thus began the life of the hero who donned in the mask of the ideal demon prince to topple his own kingdom while doing his best to prevent anyone from discovering his identity―― But to do that and blend into the demon tribe society, he had to kill his former comrades. Nevertheless, to become stronger, to save humanity, he had to walk through all kinds of paths of carnage! This is the tale of the demon race’s fake prince destroying his own kingdom.

O Hero, Trample Those Who You Should Protect!

TN: Most part of the other character in the novel is depicted from a non-human perspective so expect something that is completely different from the common sense of human.

What people do, heaven sees. Evil-doers will receive punishment. But there is always someone who thought that because they have the protagonist halo, they could do whatever and bully whomever all they want without any consequences. Then, let’s just remove their halo and tear down their mask of hypocrisy. Let those scum men and goody two-shoes experience “putting yourself in other’s shoes”, so they would know they were at fault.

At first, Lu Jingqian thought he had to sacrifice his body in order to complete the task. But there are three benefits in doing so; having great items, living a good life, and having a high face value. After a long while, he also felt quite good… what to do?

System, “Can you be more modest? Please remember when you first rejected the idea, what about those just and upright words you said before?”

Lu Jingqian looked at the sky, “Modest? What’s that? Can it be eaten?”

- Description from Novelupdates

In the midst of the blue and purple neon lights, under the gray, metallic sky, it is the frontier of all data, the aftermath of a scientific revolution, also the border of fiction and reality.

Steel versus body; the past and the future.

Here, the Outer World and the Inner World exist alongside each other. It seems like the wall of time is right in front of your eyes.

Darkness gradually swallows the world.

But listen, my friend, we cannot use kindness to survive the darkness. We need fire.