Chapter: Chapter 119: The Royal ClamJohnny drove away slowly. Not because the car couldn’t move faster—it could—but because his hands were still steadying themselves on the wheel. The road ahead stretched wide and clean, lights reflecting softly on the polished surface of the Bugatti La Voiture Noire. The engine purred like it didn’t know struggle had ever existed, vibrating up through the seat to tease his crotch. Behind him, the old apartment building faded into the distance. The Valley. That was what people called it now. Short. Flat. It wasn’t worth more words. The Valley sat low, pressed between cracked roads and tired streetlights. Buildings leaned into each other like they were too exhausted to stand alone. Paint peeled. Windows stayed shut even in daylight. It was where people lived when life didn’t give them options. Johnny used to know every street there. He had walked those roads with empty pockets and heavy thoughts. Walked them at night when buses stopped running. Walked them in the ra
Last Updated: 2026-02-09
Chapter: Chapter 118: Eight Hundred MillionChapter 118The caretaker let out a strange sound—half laugh, half cough.“You’re joking,” he said weakly. “This has to be a joke.”Johnny didn’t answer him.The owner’s calm expression finally cracked. Not into anger—but into disbelief.“You’re serious,” he said slowly.Johnny nodded.“I am.”The caretaker shook his head rapidly. “No. No, no, no. This is impossible. You think money is a joke? Eight hundred million dollars isn’t something you say lightly!”Johnny slipped his phone from his pocket.The caretaker’s breath caught.The owner watched closely now, eyes narrowing, heart clearly pounding beneath his calm surface.Johnny unlocked his phone.He didn’t rush.He didn’t smile.He simply waited, and asked again“Check or transfer?”And the silence in the lobby grew heavier by the second.The silence after Johnny’s question this time felt heavier than anything he had said before.The caretaker—who had been laughing just seconds ago—stared at Johnny like the man had suddenly started
Last Updated: 2026-02-08
Chapter: Chapter 117: At least you still have some sense leftThe words hung in the air longer than Johnny expected.Then tell me how much the entire building costs.For a brief second, no one spoke.The caretaker was the first to recover. His face twisted, like he had just swallowed something sour, and then his mouth opened wide.“What kind of nonsense is this?” he barked, his voice echoing off the narrow walls of the lobby. “What kind of joke do you think this is?”Johnny didn’t turn to look at him.The caretaker took that as permission to continue.“So now that you’ve paid your rent—late, by the way—you think you can just walk in here and start talking rubbish?” He laughed sharply, the sound ugly and loud.“Who gave you the confidence? Who told you that just because you suddenly have money to clear rent, you now have the balls to buy a whole building?”He paced a step closer, pointing a finger at Johnny’s chest.“This building?” he scoffed. “Do you even know what you’re talking about? This isn’t some roadside kiosk. This is real estate. Big m
Last Updated: 2026-02-06
Chapter: Chapter 116: Old cleaning liquid.Johnny didn’t look back as he stepped into the building.He didn’t need to.He could still feel the caretaker standing there, frozen, mouth hanging open like something. Johnny heard the door close behind him, the sound dull and familiar. Too familiar.The hallway smelled the same.Old cleaning liquid. Dust. Something damp that never really went away no matter how many times they tried to scrub it out. The lights flickered once, then steadied, buzzing softly overhead.Johnny paused.For a second, his body reacted before his mind did. His shoulders tensed. His steps slowed. A part of him expected someone to shout his name, to complain, to remind him of something he’d done wrong.Nothing happened.He exhaled and kept walking.Each step down the narrow hallway felt like stepping backward in time. The carpet was thin and worn, darker in places where too many feet had passed over the same spots. The walls were scuffed with old marks that no one bothered to paint over anymore.A young tenant
Last Updated: 2026-02-05
Chapter: Chapter 115: Keep the ChangeDownstairs, the Nebula Hotel moved with its usual quiet efficiency. Staff greeted him respectfully. Someone asked if he needed the car prepared.“Yes,” Johnny said. “I’ll take it.”Minutes later, the engine hummed beneath him as the car pulled away.The city changed as they drove.Tall buildings gave way to shorter ones. Clean streets slowly became cracked pavements. Billboards replaced glass walls. The shine faded, replaced by something rougher. More honest.Johnny watched it all through the window.This was where he had lived.Not the dream version people imagined when they talked about struggle. The real one. The boring one. The exhausting one. The kind that didn’t build character so much as test how long you could endure.When the car finally stopped, Johnny stepped out.The building looked smaller than he remembered.Older.Paint peeling. A stair rail held together by rust and stubbornness. The smell hit him immediately—dust, old food, damp concrete.The building smelled the same
Last Updated: 2026-02-04
Chapter: Chapter 114: The Room He Left BehindJohnny stared at the screen of his phone for a long moment after reading the message. He didn’t move. Didn’t curse. Didn’t rush. He just stared. Your belongings have been moved out. The words sat there, calm and final, like they didn’t understand what they meant. Like they had no idea who they were talking to now. Johnny let out a soft breath and leaned back against the headboard. Then he smiled. Not a big smile. Not the proud kind. Just a small, crooked smirk that came from the sheer absurdity of it all. He lifted his eyes and slowly looked around. The Sky Sovereign suite stretched out before him, quiet and expensive. Floor-to-ceiling glass showed the city waking up below, cars moving like ants, buildings catching the early light. The air smelled clean. Everything was polished. Ordered. Designed to impress people who already had too much. This place alone was worth more than anything he had owned his entire life combined. And yet— Somewhere across town, a man was threate
Last Updated: 2026-02-01
Chapter: Chapter 46: The Commander?The table was dead silent.Every pair of eyes was locked on Jaxon, but Jaxon’s eyes were fixed squarely on Alexander. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on — Alexander was keeping a low profile, hiding who he truly was. But Jaxon’s mind burned with one question: At what cost?Was his reason truly worth sitting there and swallowing insults from people not even worthy to shine his boots, let alone breathe the same air?Seraphina noticed Jaxon’s gaze and followed it. The moment her eyes landed on Alexander, something clicked in her head — faster than in anyone else at the table.And then it hit her like lightning.Alexander… was the Commander?It made no sense. And yet… it explained everything and nothing all at once. Her thoughts tangled. How could her quiet, seemingly unremarkable husband be that man? The man whose name echoed through military history?She remembered whispers, rumors — of a man called the Green Knight, the undefeated strategist of the Eastern Front, t
Last Updated: 2025-08-11
Chapter: Chapter 45 – Dinner with WolvesThe Lockwoods were ushered into the Intercontinental Royale with all the reverence of crowned monarchs. The hotel staff bowed, bellboys whisked away their luggage, and the concierge personally escorted them to the penthouse floor. Champagne was poured the instant they stepped into their suites; silk curtains billowed in the soft breeze of the ocean-view balconies.It was luxury the Lockwoods thought they deserved… and now they reveled in it.Later that evening, Lady Lockwood summoned everyone for a family dinner in the grand, chandelier-lit restaurant of the hotel. The table was long, polished to a mirror shine, laden with silverware and enough gourmet dishes to feed an army.Alexander sat quietly at the far end, as though the whole spectacle were none of his concern. Beside him, Seraphina sipped her wine in silence.The conversation started politely enough. But soon… the fangs came out.“Seraphina,” one of the Lockwood elders began between chews of roasted lamb, “why have you refused
Last Updated: 2025-08-09
Chapter: Chapter 44 – The Silent King’s MoveAlexander stood alone in the parking lot, hands tucked in his pockets, as the Lockwoods stormed off — pride bruised, anger simmering.This wasn’t his problem.He didn’t owe them anything.Walk away, he told himself.But then… he smirked. “I’ll join you in a second,” he’d told Seraphina earlier. “Just need to make a quick call.”Once the coast was clear, he pulled out his phone and dialed a secure number.The line clicked. “Hello, Master Caspian,” came the warm, measured voice of Geoffrey — his butler, his shadow, the one man in the world Alexander trusted without question. “Geoffrey,” Alexander said calmly. “How much would I need to buy to become the majority shareholder of the Intercontinental Royal? And I mean immediately. Two minutes, max.”There was a pause.Then Geoffrey’s voice shifted gears — into that smooth, surgical rhythm of high finance.“Based on current valuation,” Geoffrey began, “the Intercontinental Royal is owned by a conglomerate of luxury investors. The Fisher F
Last Updated: 2025-08-07
Chapter: Chapter 43 – The Intercontinental Royal Incident“Jaxon, what’s wrong?” Natasha rushed to her fiancé, panic flickering across her face.“I think he dropped something,” Alexander answered calmly, almost casually — before Jaxon could speak for himself.Natasha blinked, confusion written all over her. The same expression mirrored on every Lockwood face. Their minds scrambled for answers, trying to process what they had just witnessed.“Yeah… I dropped something,” Jaxon stammered, his voice uneven. “Thought I… thought I dropped something.” His eyes, however, never left Alexander’s.Alexander’s lips curved into a faint, knowing smirk — a silent thank you that only Jaxon would understand.A collective gasp of relief rippled through the group. The explanation, flimsy though it was, was infinitely more believable than the truth. No one pressed further. Not yet.Lady Lockwood cleared her throat sharply, eager to sever the awkward silence strangling the air.“Alright,” she said briskly. “Why don’t we get going? We’ve arranged for your stay at
Last Updated: 2025-08-05
Chapter: Chapter 42 – The Return of the CreedSeven months had passed since the Maverick Contract saga. The Lockwood estate, though as grand and orderly as ever, buzzed with restless anticipation. A new storm loomed on the horizon, whispered in hushed conversations and stolen glances — Natasha Lockwood was coming home. And she wasn’t alone.“Seraphina,” Lady Lockwood’s voice cut through the quiet like a blade. Her tone was calm, but laced with the authority of a matriarch who commanded obedience. “Get ready. You’ll be coming with us — as an elder of the Lockwood family — to welcome your sister and her fiancé at the airport.”Seraphina froze where she stood. Her face betrayed what her lips dared not utter.Lady Lockwood’s gaze sharpened. “What? Do you have a problem?”Seraphina swallowed her words. The last thing she wanted, barely weeks after becoming the youngest elder in Lockwood history, was to say something that would drag her back to the rank of a nobody. But deep inside, resentment churned like molten fire.“No… not really,
Last Updated: 2025-08-03
Chapter: Chapter 41: Elder by force “I must have heard wrong,” Lady Charlotte Lockwood said, leaning forward, eyes narrowing. “No, Grandmother,” Seraphina replied steadily. “You heard me right. I’ll accept the position as project head for the Maverick contract… on one condition.” She paused. “I want to be made an elder of the Lockwood family.” Silence fell. Lady Lockwood froze. She had expected Seraphina to demand something bold, outrageous even—but this… this was beyond anything she could have imagined. It wasn’t audacious. It was unthinkable. “You must be out of your mind. That’s insane,” she finally managed to stutter. In all her long years, no one had ever dared request something so absurd. Seraphina said nothing. Her eyes flicked toward Alexander, searching for silent reassurance. Her heart pounded wildly, her nerves frayed like exposed wire. What the hell am I doing? she asked herself. She didn’t know why she was trusting him—she had no reason to. Except for the fact that Alexander Chase, her enigmatic hu
Last Updated: 2025-07-07
The Gambling System
In a world where gambling dictates status, power, and survival, Peter Donovan—a seventeen-year-old delivery boy who despises gamblers—has spent his life avoiding risks. But when his ailing mother’s life hangs by a thread, Peter is left with no choice but to enter the high-stakes world he’s always loathed. Desperation forces his hand, and Peter bets everything—only to lose it all.
Beaten, broken, and left for dead in a rain-soaked alley, Peter prepares to fade into the darkness. But as the last of his hope slips away, the impossible happens.
A faint glow pierces through his pain—a semi-transparent interface appearing before his eyes.
[System Initialization... Loading T.I.M.E Protocol]
Welcome, Time Gambler.
Welcome to the Gambling System]
Now Peter can wager minutes, memories, even years of his life—to manipulate fate itself. But every second spent is a second he'll never get back.
To save his mother, to defeat the gamblers who destroyed him, Peter must master the cruelest game of all: time.
One wrong move, and his future disappears. One right one, and he might just rewrite destiny.
Read
Chapter: Chapter 145The final rotation slowed...Click.The tile locked.A pause — stretched too long.Peter leaned in.And then — the number flared into view.NEGATIVE FOUR MULTIPLIER.–4XThe red pulsed across the board like a warning siren, deep and final.Peter stared.Froze.Time stopped.“What the fuck...” he whispered, the words falling out of him like broken glass.The crowd gasped — not just surprised, but horrified. A ripple of stunned silence spread through the arena. Even the anchor didn’t speak — for a moment.Then:“...OH NO.”The Anchor's voice cracked with disbelief. “Peter Donovan has landed a –4X! That’s the highest penalty on the board!”Gasps turned to roars. Shouts. Chaos.It was like someone had thrown a match into dry brush — disbelief ignited into pandemonium. The arena screens zoomed in on Peter’s face, pale and stunned. His chest rose and fell, sharp and uneven.Across from him, Chloe didn’t blink. She didn’t smirk.She simply tilted her head. One degree.As if saying: Now we’re
Last Updated: 2025-06-12
Chapter: Chapter 144: What the fuckChloe didn’t hesitate.Her eyes flicked briefly to the board—just once, just long enough to assess the remaining tiles. 5x unflipped, Six unknowns.But unlike Peter, she didn’t pause to consult a system. She didn’t flinch.She moved.A single, fluid motion: her hand rose, fingers curved like a conductor mid-symphony, then drifted downward and tapped tile 4.The crowd barely had time to react before the hum returned.Click—click—click.The flipping began.Peter leaned in.He watched—not the tile, but her.There was no tremble in her hand. No shift in her gaze. But her breath — there it was. A single, almost imperceptible hitch in her inhale. Not fear. Not panic.Just... calculation failing to resolve.Click—click—click.The rotations slowed.Light glinted off the edges of the spinning tile like silver teeth waiting to bite.Click.It locked.A cold pulse spread through the board.NEGATIVE ONE MULTIPLIER.–1XThe number glowed red. A soft, almost mocking tone accompanied the display. An
Last Updated: 2025-06-11
Chapter: Chapter 143: 4x"System, give me the probability odds of the remaining tiles landing a 4X."---[PROBABILITY VISION ACTIVATED]Calculating...Using Probability Vision for 8 tiles will cost 24 minutes.Would you like to proceed?{YES/NO}---“Yes.”---[TIME BANK: 121 minutes → 97 minutes][Skill Activated: Probability Vision (Level 3)]Calculating...---Tile 1: 30%Tile 3: 17%Tile 4: 11%Tile 5: 18%Tile 7: 12%Tile 8: 25%Tile 9: 9%Tile 10: 22%---Peter’s eyes flicked across the shimmering data overlay on his display, absorbing it all in a heartbeat. Sweat prickled beneath his collar, but he kept his breathing steady.His first flip had landed. But Chloe’s cold 5X had already shifted the entire flow of the match.No more room for safe moves.Still… he couldn’t risk a reckless one.Tile 1. Best odds. Highest probability. No hesitation.Peter extended a single finger toward the board. The surface of Tile 1 pulsed faintly beneath the glass-like sheen, as though sensing the weight of the moment.He
Last Updated: 2025-06-10
Chapter: Chapter 142: First flipThe crowd was still vibrating with energy as the Anchor gave a sweeping bow and stepped back from center stage.A quiet hum pulsed through the vast hall, as though the room itself was holding its breath.On the holo-display, the game board flickered into readiness — the sleek digital grid shimmering faintly in the dim light.10 tiles loaded. Coin flip pending.At their seats, Peter and Chloe faced each other across the elevated table — a sleek black surface bordered with thin neon-blue lines. Their personal displays hovered in front of them, responsive to their slightest touch, transparent but pulsing faintly in rhythm with their heartbeats.Peter tightened his grip on the tablet, knuckles white for a moment before he forced himself to breathe. His pulse thrummed painfully in his neck.Across from him, Chloe sat like stone. One leg crossed over the other, tablet resting lightly on her lap. Not a flicker of tension showed in her face — only cold, clinical focus. A chessmaster waiting f
Last Updated: 2025-06-09
Chapter: Chapter 141: The next dayThe next day finally arrived. Autumn had fully set in across Monte Carlo Gambling University — the crisp air biting with an edge of chill, fallen leaves skittering across the cobblestone pathways.And there they were.Peter and Chloe marching through the winding campus grounds toward their destination — the grand Designated Gambling Hall. Their paths aligned, yet their thoughts worlds apart.“I’m going to win this gamble and prove myself.”For Peter, the need was primal. Unquenchable. It radiated from every step, a hunger that no one had to explain — you could see it in his eyes, in the set of his jaw.Chloe’s resolve, though just as fierce, was buried beneath layers of carefully constructed artifice. She wore her usual corporate-inspired attire: a crisp white blouse tucked into a fitted black pencil skirt, tailored charcoal blazer hugging her slender frame. On her feet — sharp black heels that clicked a steady rhythm across the polished floors. Her look was elegant, cold, commanding
Last Updated: 2025-06-08
Chapter: Chapter 140: Later that NightLater that night.Somewhere across a quieter side of the Monte Carlo Gambling University Campus.Chloe sat alone in her dorm room, a small island of light amid the creeping darkness. A vintage brass desk lamp cast a warm, narrow glow across her cluttered workspace. The rest of the room was draped in shadows — the only other light came from her laptop, its screen flickering softly, washing her face in cold blue.A notebook lay open beside her, its pages crowded with scrawled diagrams and hurried annotations. Pen in hand, she hovered just above the paper, deep in thought.She was studying. But not textbooks. Not theoretical models. No — in front of her was something far more specific, more obsessive.A recorded gamble.On screen: Peter Donovan facing off against Noami. The match had long since ended, yet Chloe — known to most by her gambling alias, Noir — had watched this tape at least six times already. Probably more. She clicked the timeline backward again, freezing the frame on Peter
Last Updated: 2025-06-07
