Twitch Turbo

On the eve of the National Robotics Championship, I smashed my carefully designed bot to pieces and announced my withdrawal. Everyone said I was a fraud who was quitting out of fear of being exposed. Online, the netizens mocked me relentlessly. Only one person, Adrian Cross, the so-called genius of the century, spoke up in my defense, his voice dripping with false sincerity, "I believe in River Lowell’s skills. Only he deserves to be my opponent. No matter what setbacks he’s facing, I hope he comes back to the arena and proves himself." In my previous life, the robot I built was identical to his. No matter how I tried to prove he had copied me, Adrian stood before the cameras, wearing his benevolent mask, and said, "It’s fine. This robot can go to River. I can always build something even better." His fans swarmed me, tearing me apart online, and no one believed in my talent. I swallowed the humiliation and vowed to rebuild my robot from scratch. However, when I was assembling it, the Power Core in my kit exploded, shattering my skull. That same night, I was rushed into the ICU. Netizens clapped and cheered, saying I got exactly what I deserved. That night, my girlfriend, Lila Hart, signed the hospital’s DNR consent form without hesitation. Until the day I died, I never understood how Adrian had gotten my robot’s data or why Lila had joined forces with him. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day of the competition.

“How could you…” ah! My words dissolved into sobs, cruelly racking out of my throat. I was crumbling like a sandhill right before both of them. “HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT!? YOU LOVE ME, LOGAN! YOU LOVE ME!” “Where's it, Mother?” His voice was ice cold, sharp at the edges as he darted his gaze towards her. Where's what? “Right here!” She chimed. “I remembered to pick it up.” After which she immediately handed him a file in an envelope. “Here!” Logan slapped the document on the table before me with a loud bang that caused me to jump. “Sign it. And leave!” *** From the ashes of heartbreak, a new queen rises. Alaina Bloodrose, a victim of a brutal divorce by the only man she's wholeheartedly loved, kickstarts her streaming career. Concealed behind a mask and alias, she builds a new life as Queen of Dawn, determined to make the world bow to her feet after all the bullying she withstands for being a lowly Omega, cursed to bring only woe and ill-luck! Alaina navigates her newfound fame and the attention of her enigmatic boss, the Icy Alpha, she must confront the demons of her past and her ex husband, who reappears, unforgiven and relentless. But he isn't the only one who wants her back! Will she emerge victorious, or will the shadows of her double identity consume her?

David is a lawyer with a passion for videogames, even if his job doesn't let him play to his heart's content he is happy with playing every Saturday or Sunday in his VR capsule and, like everyone else, waits impatiently for the release of Steel Soul Online, the first VR Mecha game that combined magic and technology and the largest ever made for said system, But his life changed completely one fateful night while riding his Motorbike. Now in the world of SSO, he'll try to improve and overcome his peers, make new friends and conquer the world!... but he has to do it in the most unconventional way possible in a world where death is lurking at every step!

My fiance, Justin Fox, was a workaholic. We were about to get married in a matter of days, but he remained consistent with his two-hour legal consultation livestreams. But today, he unusually ended his livestream fifteen minutes early. Puzzled, I checked out the broadcast recording. Everything was just fine until one of the consulters spoke. "Mr. Fox, I just had a divorce, and I have some disputes over the separation." I recognized the voice—it was Justin's ex-girlfriend. She was crying as she complained about how unhappy married life was for her, and that she regretted marrying her ex-husband. Justin straightened as he listened in silence, his expression impassive… until he sighed. "I regret it very much too. If I had known, I wouldn't have let you go." Livestream comments started flashing through the screen rapidly, as the viewers smelled gossip and promptly asked Justin what that was all about. Still, he didn't answer them and merely ended the livestream. "Sorry. Today's livestream is over." It was only now that I understood that the happiness I thought I had was just him making do. In that case, I would walk away from this engagement too.

My boyfriend's childhood sweetheart bound herself to a transfer system: everything she ate would be redirected straight into my stomach. She opened a streaming account and broadcast herself eating for twelve hours straight. She earned a fortune. Meanwhile, I collapsed with acute pancreatitis and was rushed to the hospital. When I explained the situation to my boyfriend, he only stared at me like I was insane. "How could something that absurd exist? If food could really be transferred, no one in the world would ever starve. You're just jealous that she's making money from streaming." After that, every time his childhood sweetheart went live, I ended up hospitalized again. I kept hovering between life and death. I sought medical help, but the doctors couldn't explain my condition. Some even wanted to commit me to a psychiatric ward. Then, one day, in order to outdo her rivals in a PK match, she devoured ten pounds of rice in a single sitting. At that very moment, my spleen and stomach ruptured, and I bled to death on the spot. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day of her very first livestream. This time, I was prepared. I rushed out and bought twenty takeout meals. "This time," I said, "I'll eat first."

SHIFT! I hear Will's voice clear as day in my head.  SHIFT! SHIFT! SHIFT!  It develops its own rhythm, playing in a loop, like a chant giving me incentive.  I get lost in the feeling of disarray, I endure the splitting of cells, the realigning of bones, the discarding of the outer layers of my frame.  In the blink of an eye, it's over.  I've transformed.  Three years ago, on her 18th birthday, Sincere Rose discovered she is not an ordinary girl. She has an ability, a very special ability, that is worth killing her for.  Being on the run from people who plan to murder her, and authorities who want to imprison her, she is forced to do the unimaginable to live.  Amid these struggles she meets Will, who tells her she is a being that hasn't existed in hundreds of years.  She is thrown into a world of war and magic, where she is known not by her birth name, but her ability  THE SHIFTER