MTL - The Crimson Dragon - Chapter 22

“It’s true… So why does no one believe me?”Sometimes, I play small pranks, but they’re really just small ones.I’m not the mastermind at all.

A next-generation virtual online game, a hardcore gamer, a glitch that shouldn’t have existed… By sheer coincidence, Meng Jingtian ended up being the sole player god in a game. Thus, while ordinary players worked themselves to death running missions for NPCs to win their favor, NPCs prostrated before him! While ordinary players almost vomited blood grinding for gear so that they could solo bosses, the king of divine beasts kneeled before him, willing to offer its life and worship him. And while players went to suicidal lengths to trigger random events and lucky encounters, transcendent beings came to find him so that they could offer their precious treasures as tribute.

Bai Ran had been married to Chen Chen for three years—three years in a secret marriage, only to have him hand her a divorce agreement. He asked her to sign it because he wanted to give his ultimate unattainable lover, Hu Wan, a beautiful ending. Chen Chen said, "Go and see Hu Wan tomorrow. If she asks you, tell her that you already have a boyfriend." Bai Ran said, "Okay." Chen Chen said, "You have to do everything it takes to convince her and make her happy." Bai Ran answered, "Okay." Staring at Bai Ranran's calm face, Chen Chen felt an inexplicable sense of frustration and uneasiness. Seeing the lack of hesitation on Bai Ran's face as she signed the divorce agreement, Chen Chen regretted it. To Bai Ran, ever since she signed the divorce agreement, Chen Chen's name had been erased from her memory. Even though she had loved him for more than ten years, once she gave up, she would never look back.

Ethan's head throbbed violently as he opened his eyes, his vision hazy and unfocused. A dull ringing filled his ears, drowning out his thoughts.“What’s happening…?” he thought, his mind sluggish, struggling to catch up with reality. One moment, he was asleep—or at least, he thought he was—and the next, searing pain forced him awake.His vision swam, shapes blurring together in a disorienting mess. But then, muffled noises filtered through the haze—frantic, panicked sounds. Someone was trying to scream, their voice smothered, choked by something.A cold shiver ran down his spine.As his sight gradually sharpened, Ethan's breath hitched.He was on all fours, looming over someone. A girl.Her body twisted and writhed beneath him, ropes biting into her wrists and ankles. Her mouth was gagged, muffling her cries. Her wide brown eyes, brimming with fear and fury, glared up at him.Ethan's body locked in place, his blood running cold.“What the…?” His mind reeled, thoughts slamming into each other in chaotic disarray. “What kind of bizarre dream is this?”Panic clawed at his chest. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps as he scrambled backward, only to realize his limbs felt sluggish, uncooperative, like they didn’t belong to him.“Is this… is this some kind of twisted fantasy I never knew I had?” A sickening thought slithered through his mind, making his stomach churn.The girl's frantic squirming slowed for a moment, her gaze flickering with confusion as she took in his expression—his trembling hands, his wide, horrified eyes. But the fear returned just as quickly. She struggled harder, her body arching, her muffled screams rising in pitch.Ethan wanted to speak, to say something, anything, but before he could force out a word, a glowing blue window materialized before his eyes.His breath caught.A translucent, hovering screen?“What…?”Lines of glowing text scrolled across its surface.---[System Activated…][Host Confirmed.][Simulating Previous Data…]Ethan awakens in a mysterious world, shackled by a curse that clouds his judgment and drives him toward choices he never wished to make. Burdened by guilt and responsibility, he must navigate the fallout of his actions while unraveling the truth behind the curse—and his place in this enigmatic new reality.