Hitman x Wives - Chapter 176 - Operation: Behemoth (Part 17)

Deep below the earth's surface, a mystifying subterranean seascape lurks, an archipelago bathed in inky blackness where suspense and horror hold court. Here lie strange islands and even stranger monsters, far beyond the realms of human imagination. In this domain, mankind is far from dominant; instead, madness and death rule supreme.

Pleading for mercy from the unknown creatures of the deep only leads to a slow, tortured existence. The trapped survivors gradually distort, losing what made them human, both physically and mentally, to the gloom as they remain trapped in this eternal obscurity. Their only hope? A perilous expedition into uncharted sea territories.

Fueled by determination, Charles embark on this daunting voyage aboard his steamship, aiming to reclaim humanity's past glory. Together with his crew, they sought a way out of this hidden sea world, a path back to the sunlit world above, where humans once stood tall.

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I read a few comments from Chinese readers that compared this novel with Lord of Mysteries because of similar elements: Lovecraftian, western fantasy, first industrial revolution, and steampunk. However, I have yet to finish reading Lord of Mysteries to do any actual comparison, but I do think those who have enjoyed that novel would enjoy this as well. Also, the author of LotM, Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, also did a shout-out for this novel, so I guess he approves of it too?

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Dear readers! Without any ads, maybe you will prefer .

Transmigrating into a world of cultivation, you find yourself at the lowest rung of the sect's hierarchy. Everyone wants to bully you to gain some benefits. Fortunately, there are always a few junior brothers and sisters who are 'generous and understanding', allowing you to improve peacefully and secretly grow stronger. Years later, unbeknownst to anyone, you successfully become a deity within the sect. This day, your master visits you at the sect's request.'The upper echelons of the sect believe you have been diligent and loyal over the years, and though your strength is mediocre, you are an honest person, so they've found a marriage alliance for you.''An alliance marriage?''Not exactly. The other family has a rule: marrying into their family means taking their surname.'Is this... becoming a son-in-law who marries into the wife's family?

After dying from a strange terminal illness, Ling Lan was reborn into a world 10,000 years into the future. Although she dearly wished she could just live a peaceful and uneventful life in her new healthy body, fate had other plans…

Forced to disguise herself as a boy just so she could inherit her deceased father’s premium military benefits, Ling Lan’s journey to adulthood was full of challenges. After much difficulty, she finally turned sixteen when she could drop the charade. But before she could grasp her newfound freedom to get married and start her own family, a twist of fate results in her being thrown into the Federation’s top military boys’ school.

With these twists of fate, Ling Lan had little choice but to walk further and further down a path of no return, one of cold and aloof dominance…

- Description from Novelupdates

Zhang Ruo Chen was the sole male heir of one of the nine emperors of the Kunlun Field. Ruo Chen’s father was known to all as the “Enlightened Emperor”, however Ruo Chen didn’t just leech off his status as emperor’s son. He proved himself to be a dragon amongst men, possessing a heaven defying body, and managing to cultivate to Greater Perfection within the Yellow Horizon Realm, at just the young age of 16.

But even though he stood at the summit of the younger generation and had a boundless future, he sadly died at the treacherous hands of his own fiancee at a young age.

Reincarnated 800 years later in the body of a young boy who shares his name, he found out his former fiancee already unified Kunlun’s Field and built the First Central Empire, and was now known as Empress Chi Yao… Empress Chi Yao—Her Majesty governed the mortal world and enjoyed prestige in all directions as well as an eternal life.

Zhang Ruochen stood outside of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, looking at the statue of Empress Chi Yao, and the flames of hatred burned in his heart. “After I practice for 13 years, I shall send the empress to her doom!”

- Description from Novelupdates