MTL - The Male Lead’s Villainess Stepmother - Chapter 10 tenth

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.

Mary was an only child. She came from an ordinary family and worked at a publishing house. She worked diligently every day but was always harassed by her manager.

Song Yuan accidentally picked up a 5-year-old child.

The child has bright eyes, chiseled features, and prideful demeanor. He referred to himself as “this prince” and his mannerism was wild, cool, and stuck up.

“This prince will never eat such lowly food!”

“How dare you flirt with other men behind the back of my imperial father?”

“He insulted this prince and you sided with him? This prince will sentence his entire clan to death!”

Song Yuan was very disturbed. The DNA test had confirmed that the child was, indeed, her son, but why did he act like he was delusional?

More importantly, who was the father of the child?

The prince was going mad from worrying; Imperial Father, if you don’t come soon, Imperial Mother is really going to cheat on you!

- Description from Novelupdates

The emaciated old man with an alien-like appearance grinned maliciously, while the young girl cried and howled.“Worm, worm, worm, worm, worm, worm...”Countless worms surged towards the girl like a tide, seemingly intent on devouring her completely.The girl instinctively closed her eyes and let out a desperate wail.“Someone... save me!”A breathtaking beam of light cut through the dimness, dispelling the girl's fear and the swarm of worms that filled her vision. Accompanied by a voice that was young but carried a hint of sunshine.“It's okay, I'm here. Big brother is here to protect you.”The boy with purple hair and purple eyes held a scythe in his hand, blocking in front of the girl, and issued a declaration of death to the old man.“You deserve to die, Zouken Matou. No, Makiri Zolgen!”