Top Grade Pure Beauty CEO - Chapter 23 - Ten Fingers, Ten Questions

Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria, or The Empty Box and The Zeroth Maria, tells the sinister story of Kazuki Hoshino, who is almost madly attached to his everyday life, and his antagonist Aya Otonashi, who suddenly transfers into his class—for the 13,118th time. She majestically announces to “break” him, without paying heed to anyone else around them.

Deep below the earth's surface, a mystifying subterranean seascape lurks, an archipelago bathed in inky blackness where suspense and horror hold court. Here lie strange islands and even stranger monsters, far beyond the realms of human imagination. In this domain, mankind is far from dominant; instead, madness and death rule supreme.

Pleading for mercy from the unknown creatures of the deep only leads to a slow, tortured existence. The trapped survivors gradually distort, losing what made them human, both physically and mentally, to the gloom as they remain trapped in this eternal obscurity. Their only hope? A perilous expedition into uncharted sea territories.

Fueled by determination, Charles embark on this daunting voyage aboard his steamship, aiming to reclaim humanity's past glory. Together with his crew, they sought a way out of this hidden sea world, a path back to the sunlit world above, where humans once stood tall.

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I read a few comments from Chinese readers that compared this novel with Lord of Mysteries because of similar elements: Lovecraftian, western fantasy, first industrial revolution, and steampunk. However, I have yet to finish reading Lord of Mysteries to do any actual comparison, but I do think those who have enjoyed that novel would enjoy this as well. Also, the author of LotM, Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, also did a shout-out for this novel, so I guess he approves of it too?

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I once believed I was the heroine of a modern fairytale, blessed with beauty, wealth, intelligence, and a powerful legacy. Men adored me, women envied me, and I was engaged to the most desirable man, Cole Fay. My life seemed perfect, a dream where I held the starring role. But on my eighteenth birthday, that illusion crumbled. The truth hit me hard: I wasn’t the protagonist, nor even the villain or a side character. I was just cannon fodder, a disposable part of someone else’s story. But when fate recognized the cruel joke of my life, I was granted a second chance. This time, I’ll write my own story, living for myself. And this time . . . I will never love you again.

When the world became a landscape for a game, humans immediately became dolls who no longer moved nor breathed, frozen like items on display in a shelf.

In the beginning, Bai Youwei thought this was an alien prank. Nobody knew why the humans suddenly became dolls. That was until they were all gathered together and sucked into a bright fog before being greeted by a mechanical voice,

“Ding! Welcome to the Game of Dolls! The rules are as follows:

1. Refusing to play the game will result in dollification!

2. Failure to beat the game will result in dollification!

3. Beating the game to win a doll!”

Bai Youwei walks into the embrace of Shen Mo trembling. “I’m scared, I’m just a weak little girl…”

Shen Mo takes her hand, places it on his abs and says, “Now you don’t have to be scared anymore!”

The game systems starts ringing in the background, “Alert! Alert! Please respect the game and focus! No dating inside the game!”

This is a story of how an intelligent and calm young lady works with a boy with nothing but a hot bod to beat the impossible Game of Dolls!

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