These Familiars Are Strange - Chapter 190: Unexpected and expected allies (1)

Japan – National News BroadcastThe polished news anchor sat upright, her gaze sharp as she adjusted the stack of papers before her. The newsroom behind her hummed with quiet urgency, the weight of the moment settling over the broadcast.“Authorities are baffled by a sudden and unexplained surge in sleep-related deaths across Japan,” she began, her voice steady yet tense. “More and more citizens are passing away in their sleep without any prior health concerns. Experts are working tirelessly to determine the cause, but no clear explanation has emerged. Authorities urge the public to remain vigilant and report any unusual symptoms before bedtime.”A graphic appeared, displaying the spike in fatalities over the past month. Behind her, unsettling photographs flickered across the screen—blurred images of individuals found in their beds, their faces frozen in expressions of terror.The anchor’s tone shifted. “Health officials recommend citizens avoid excessive fatigue and maintain healthy sleep habits. More updates will follow as investigations continue.”---United States – Paranormal PodcastIn a dimly lit podcast studio, the host leaned forward, his eyes wide with curiosity. Across from him, a rugged man in a worn flannel shirt, gripping a faded photograph in one hand and a beer can in the other, leaned back in his chair.“So, you're telling me you saw this creature firsthand?” the host asked, clearly intrigued.The man scoffed, shaking his head. “Damn right, I did. Ugly thing had wings bigger than my body—slow but sneaky. Thought it could steal my pigs again, but I was ready this time—camera in one hand, shotgun in the other.”He slammed the table for emphasis, then shoved the blurry image toward the host. The photograph depicted a small, red-skinned humanoid figure with large, bat-like wings, its eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.“Spit, the thing didn’t know what hit it when I fired!” the man chuckled, his voice full of excitement.The host held up the picture to the live chat. “Alright, what do you think? Mothman? Demon? Or is our friend here just seeing things?”The chat exploded with theories—some skeptical, others eager for the investigation to continue.---China – Liangyuan Street MarketSurveillance footage from a bustling night market in China captured a chilling scene. A woman in a red qipao walked gracefully through the crowd, her figure striking in the soft glow of lanterns.Suddenly, she paused. Her body flickered—like a glitch in a video—before vanishing completely, as though she had never existed.The footage zoomed in, replaying in slow motion. In the final frame before she disappeared, her face distorted unnaturally, her eyes hollow and empty.The screen cut abruptly to black.

Pinning her tall body against the hard wall, he looked into her beautiful emerald green eyes as he spoke in a deep voice, “I have two options for you,” his body came closer to hers as he continued, “Be my girlfriend. Or,” his lips turned into a sly smile as he whispered close to her ear,“Be my boyfriend.” He even dared to wink right before her as his dark orbs glinted amusingly.

-----

There are plenty of things that break not just a heart but a person as a whole.

Some people get broken by love and some by family. But she was broken by life itself.

She left her clan to discover the world but she forgot something her grandfather once told her, ’The world outside is a scary place. It’s filled with people who would want to befriend you only to devour you alive. People like us are an anomaly. And the world calls us monsters but they forget; they are also the monsters wearing a mask of an angel.’

To grow stronger, she seized as much power as she could by Ruling Europe under the disguise of a man- Lord Alev Knight. But now, she’s forced to come back to China where she buried her memories along with herself over a decade ago.

What will happen when those buried painful memories will come to haunt her again. Will she choose the path to destroy the people who betrayed her or someone will alter her idea of revenge? And what exactly pushed her to live with multiple identities? What made her disguise herself as a man? Will she be able to find the hidden truths of her own existence? Or she’ll be buried herself with those truths?

Xiao Zhiren left China when he was a teenager. Now, he’s back in China to find the answers that were left unknown as he watched his mother being murdered before him.

Will he be able to find the enemies wearing the masks of friends? Or he’ll have to wear a mask himself?

’I can conceive death but betrayal is not allowed.’ She had left those words behind for him. Will he be able to find the person who left him with a promise to come back? Or like every promise, he’ll be forced to believe that promises are only made to break you?

Zhou Donghuang, a man from the Earth, is able to destroy any planet in the universe without lifting a finger. His supreme will can sweep across the vast cosmos in the blink of an eye. And his immortal spirit can depart from his body and wander around the universe!

One day in the faraway Blue Boorish Mountain inexplicably appeared groups of scoundrels who came to reside there. It was said that those scoundrels came from the You Kingdom, Yen Kingdom and many others due to their failures in battle. And due to its dangerous terrain, no one had dared to conquer the Blue Boorish Mountain. As a result, this place obviously became a paradise to the scoundrel and thieves. They resided there and ruled the place.

They had also built up the Illusory Perennial Domicile, which meant a place that was their lifetime home. There was a group of scoundrels who had appointed themselves the Great Nine Bandits, and they were seen as the best baddies in the area. They built up a school in which the children of the Illusory Perennial Domicile would come and study only survival skills.

In such a small place appeared an orphan student named An Zheng who also came to study there. He was really a useless orphan in the people’s eyes due to his cowardice. They even said that he was a chicken who did not dare to do anything for himself even in fighting for himself, and no one cared about such a coward except a ten-year-old child, Du ShouShou, his only friend. As a result, he was the center for such baddies to cause trouble.

However, no one knew that orphan An Zheng would change his life forever as he went to a dead end.How powerful was that orphan? How much effort did An Zheng have to make in order to satisfy his passions of the devilish elimination? How would the life of his friend, Du ShouShou change after his after death spawn? And might the Great Nine Bandits be the invincible ones? Was he good or evil? Was his power strong or weak?

Was his world in perfect order or chaos? They were all questions that the little child An Zheng needed to discover during his journey.“Bring happiness to loyal people but chide the evil. However, if the treatment goes wrong, law will become a tool for the evil to force the good, preventing executors. Find a repugnant gateway to pass. Great things win cruel tricks. We learn from the idea of God but we reject the power of Him.”