Brett Hand Inside Job

Kade Reyes thought he’d left war behind. Once a soldier in humanity’s brutal fight against the alien Vaelith, he now survives in the neon-lit streets of New Ardent, hiding from both his past and the world. But when the sky cracks open and the Vaelith return, the city becomes a battlefield—and Kade is their target. Inside him lies Ish’Rael, a sentient relic capable of predicting and shaping war itself. As alien forces descend and human factions betray, Kade must navigate a city in chaos, protect those he cares about, and confront the very part of himself that could save or destroy—humanity. In a war that refuses to stay in the past, Kade faces a choice: cling to his humanity or embrace the weapon he was always meant to be. Neon Ashes is a fast-paced, heart-pounding urban sci-fi saga of survival, power, and the cost of destiny.

Aella “whirlwind” Harlow was looking at the screen of her phone with earbuds on, the live speech of Aniya Rossi in the United Nations. She sighed and mumbled when it ended, “Dumbass… Werewolves accepted by society, protectors, helping Humanity achieve greatness. Yeah, greatness my butt! A good Werewolf is a dead Werewolf! Spoiled brat… Stupid bitch…” She checked her quiver, counting the darts still there. A quick glance at the pistol crossbow on the left side of her belt, and at the Ruger gun inside the holster under her left armpit. Grabbing her faithful Labrys, a double edge axe, was the last thing she did before hearing a howl nearby. Aella frowned and mumbled, “Showtime…” (It is the sequel of "The Flesh-Eating Werewolf", set 20 years in the future, but can be read as a stand alone, but with minor mentions to events in the first story, and some previous characters that will appear in this story.)

Beneath Manhattan’s glittering skyline lies the Silver District — an urban quarantine zone where the city hides its failures. Inside its shadows roam the Lycaon, humans mutated by illegal genetic conditioning. Governments insist they’re extinct. They are very wrong. Caleb Mercer — former security officer turned fugitive — survives on the fringes after escaping a classified experiment known as Program Howl. Every night, he battles a violent transformation ripping his humanity apart. Every day, federal strike teams hunt him as an “uncontrolled biological threat.” When an explosion tears through the Silver District, exposing the existence of a second generation of engineered shapeshifters, Caleb becomes the only one capable of tracking the outbreak’s source. He doesn’t want to be a hero. He just wants revenge — and answers. The truth? Something worse than werewolves is evolving in the city’s bones.

🏆["Silver Medal" in System Category of "Meganovel Annual Writing Contest 2022"]🏆 Aoi, a Japanese kid, stumbles upon a portal and witnesses his parents die in front of a masked man wielding a gun in his hand. He becomes an orphan and lives with a foster family, which fortunately treats him as their own child. Hina, Aoi’s step-sister, grows up and takes a liking to Aoi. However, something terrible happens. After twelve years, portals have emerged once again and granted most people powers beyond their imaginations. And Aoi is one of them. He receives a system and a sniper as his primary weapon. But after everything he has been through, Aoi struggles to use his sniper and system. So when a portal materialises in their school, Aoi has no choice but to fend off the monsters inside the portal and hunt down the masked man who killed his parents twelve years ago.

harold Ethel was born into greatness… but fate branded him worthless. In a world where tamers command dragons, giants, and divine beasts, Harold cannot control even the weakest monsters. Despised by his tribe and abandoned by his family, he becomes the laughingstock of the legendary Ethel Clan. Then everything changes. During a forbidden ritual, Harold accidentally forms a contract with a tiny black serpent — a creature considered lower than trash among tamers. But the serpent hides an impossible secret. It can think. It can speak. And it can transform into a sword capable of devouring monster souls. As kingdoms begin to hunt him, ancient ruins awaken, and terrifying truths about the Taming Hand emerge, Harold finds himself dragged into a war that could destroy the world itself. The weakest tamer has become the center of destiny. And the serpent by his side may be the greatest monster ever sealed.

Miguel's hand crept to his face in shock. "Did you just slap me?" he asked Annabelle. Shock was written all over his face. Nothing like this had ever happened. Annabelle folded her arms across her chest and stared back at him without any sign of remorse. "I would do it again if you don't learn to accept your place," she told him coldly. "My... place?" Miguel said. He would be angry that she hit him in the face, but at that point he hadn't fully understood what was happening. Just then, Mrs. Adolfo stepped forward to stand in front of him, just beside her daughter, Annabelle. "Enough of your ranting," she said to  Miguel. "Ranting is all you can do. While your mates are out there making money, you are ignorant of everything else."

He was a man who had nothing to his name nor anyone he could call a family. Just living as a corpse without any goal. He had lost all motivation to live and was just pushing the days because of a promise he made. 'Make sure to enjoy your life' He remembered the face of a woman who gave up her whole life for him. He looked at the rope in his hand, feeling disgusted at himself. He felt like his life had no motive. But that's when it happened. [The Necromancer System has chosen you] [The system is recommending you climb the Tower of Myth] [If you successfully climb to the top of the Tower, any one of your wishes will be fulfilled, no matter what it is] [Do you want to take the test of the Myth Tower?] [Yes/No] A reason for him to live appeared. The story of the One who had regained his will to live is about to start....

After being thrown out by his noble wife and humiliated by her powerful family, Jake Foreman is sentenced to the cursed borderlands, a place where death plagues devour healers faster than they can scream. But the borderlands awaken something ancient inside him. Jake begins seeing life threads, disease spirits, and emotional scars with inhuman clarity. He thinks he’s losing his mind. Everyone else thinks he’s a monster. Yet every time he’s pushed, mocked, bullied, or cornered, something primal in his blood takes control, letting him perform supernatural feats of healing that should be impossible. Rumors spread. Soldiers whisper. Commanders tremble. Jake’s ex-wife’s family realizes too late: Jake is the last Shadowborn, the heir to a godlike line of healers who were wiped out for being too powerful.

years after the world was nearly destroyed by the Last Plague, humanity clings to survival under the fragile illusion of order. The “Cure” has stopped the infection but not the guilt, madness, or memories left behind. Dr. Nella Rider, a court-appointed psychiatrist, is assigned to the most infamous trial in human history: the Plague Tribunal. Her task is to determine whether Dr. Adrian Pazzo, the brilliant scientist accused of unleashing the virus, is mentally competent to stand trial and whether his remorse is genuine. Inside the frozen halls of the world’s most secure prison, Nella meets Pazzo for the first time, a gaunt, hollow-eyed man who radiates both intellect and menace. His words are measured, his humor unsettling, and his sanity fragile. Yet as Nella digs deeper, she begins to suspect that the truth behind the Plague and the mysterious “Last Cure” that saved humanity is far more complicated than the world wants to hear

BLURB "Sign the papers, Ethan. You were never enough for her anyway." She sat across from him in a prison visiting room with a settlement offer and a sealed expression, told him he was holding her back, and slid the divorce papers forward without flinching. He signed them. He refused her money. He asked only for the pendant his mother left him and walked away without a word. What Vivian Shen did not know was that her useless, disgraced ex-husband was not a criminal. He was a Five-Star General, buried inside a cover so airtight that loving her was not enough reason to break it. What she did not know was that the charming, polished man now standing beside her had already selected her as his next target. And what neither of them knew was that the only person who could stop it was the man she had just thrown away.