A Clever, Ruthless Lead. No Female Lead, and No Idiot Side Characters Either 聪明杀伐，不要女主，配角也不能是弱智

1. 1 无 The One Without Desires 无念者 Qian Xiao千笑Urban1.7M WordsCompleted [Signed for print publication] [Chinese-style superpowers] [One heroine] “Hey! No using Hidden Spirits in front of ordinary people!” “What are ordinary people?” “Just regular people. They call them Muggles in the West.” “And what are Hidden Spirits?” “Superpowers. We call them Hidden Spirits in China.” When you discover the hidden truth of this world, will you choose to join? Or expose it? 34.2kReads9.3Score3.5k14d adds

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   It's a perfect match, so it's hard not to recommend it! I'd be sad if even one person missed this book 😢

2. 2 穿 The Book Transmigrator Tears into the Reborn Woman, Even Ripping Out Her Hair Ornaments 穿书女手撕重生女，头花都扯掉了 Camellias and Wine茶花与酒Ancient Romance507k WordsCompleted (Don’t worry about the rating. New books have few readers at first, but it will rise.) [A transmigrated woman takes on a reborn woman] [Fictional ancient setting, no need to nitpick] Gu Qingli transmigrated into a satisfying revenge novel about a woman reborn. She wasn’t the heroine, but the wicked supporting character who had killed her, and the first person the heroine would take revenge on after being reborn. Gu Qingli herself had been born into a political family. She was gentle, quiet, an 13.1kReads8.9Score1k14d adds

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   🍓Recommendation📕 Reborn female lead After waking up, the reborn female lead is determined to make the scoundrels who killed her in her previous life pay for their crimes! But why does everyone around her side with that villainous eldest daughter? She was originally born into a political family, with a quiet, gentle, dignified and generous nature, and she can also... Kill without shedding blood.

3. 3 犯 The Usurper 犯上者 Li Ma李马Urban2.7M WordsCompleted [The print edition has been signed, so read with confidence] (No System, no invincibility, plot-focused, explores human nature, not a formulaic power fantasy) (The protagonist grows and changes as the story unfolds) (An ensemble cast: supporting characters aren't one-dimensional, and respond with genuine emotions to the changes around them) No one knows when this world began to split in two. 221.5kReads9.4Score36.1k14d adds

   Reader note

   This story has a female lead, but the main and supporting characters are all quite intelligent. The storyline is basically hidden throughout the entire text, and you'll understand it after reading it once. It's a bit of a brain teaser though.

4. 4 狼 Smoke and Mirrors: Wen San Drives a Cart to Kill the Japanese 狼烟鉴宝：文三拉车杀鬼子 Yi Ran Zou Chen Shuang弈然走沉霜Urban950k WordsOngoing Wen Shen transmigrates into Wolf Smoke Over Beiping and becomes Wen San, a rickshaw puller. He obtains a secret art of immortality: killing or sparing lives can earn him longevity. Since he's already here, and the times make heroes, Wen San decides to pull his rickshaw by day and punish evil by night to cultivate immortality. They say anyone in Beiping can slap Wen San twice, except for dogs. Of course, everyone who's ever slapped him has died, but since he's already here, he might as well take 4.4kReads8.7Score23614d adds

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   Decisive and ruthless. Unconventional and independent.

5. 5 太 The Empress Dowager's Retirement Life 太后的退休生活 Zhou Xinhan周信含Ancient Romance1.1M WordsCompleted [Palace intrigue + female lead is the mastermind behind the scenes + no romance + plot-driven + ensemble cast] After transmigrating to the Great Jing dynasty, Su Minqing entered the palace as the empress. She worked tirelessly at palace intrigue for over a decade and finally fought her way to becoming the Empress Dowager. The only catch was that there was another Empress Dowager in the palace besides her. As the emperor’s adoptive mother, she was named the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces. The 6.1kReads8.4Score35014d adds

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   Family, I mean, she's smart and rational, and doesn't lose her mind because of love. She's truly number one in my heart! Look at her!

6. 6 大EN A Freshman Internship, and You Go to Bureau 749 to Contain Monsters 大一实习，你跑去749收容怪物 Gaara's Sand我爱罗的沙Urban4.0M WordsOngoing [Decisive killing] [How could any monster be good?] [All monsters deserve to die] [Ruthless] During his sophomore summer vacation, Lu Ding had planned to use the time to take an internship and earn some living expenses. Who could have expected that the construction site where he interned would excavate a bleeding stone? The workers fled one after another, but Lu Ding charged in with a rotary hammer. After transmigrating to this world nearly twenty years ago, Lu Ding’s golden finger, the Monster 513.4kReads9.5Score39.7k14d adds

   Reader note

   The plot is full of ruthless killing, with no hesitation or delays.

7. 7 刑 Criminal Investigation: I Can See Crime Records 刑侦：我能看见犯罪记录 Beneath the Fuli Shrine佛狸祠下Mystery1.3M WordsOngoing Cen Lian was a junior-college general education teacher who did just enough to get by, and always thought he would keep coasting through life. Then a cheat ability fell into his lap: every criminal revealed their crimes in front of him. Driven by a simple sense of justice, Cen Lian began matching wits with criminals, both smart and stupid. He became a specially appointed consultant and, alongside a group of like-minded partners, embarked on a career solving criminal cases. 27.3kReads9.2Score1.7k14d adds
8. 8 全 The World's Number One Assassin 全球第一杀手 Lamb Who Found Its Way Back迷途知返的羔羊Urban1.3M WordsCompleted He survives beneath the light and walks through the darkness. Together, light and darkness weave a glittering world. Volume One: The Traditional Urban Assassin. Volume Two: A Dark Feast at the End of the World. (It leans more toward science fiction in the middle.) 18.9kReads9.2Score1.8k14d adds

   Reader note

   The protagonist of this book forges his own path to power through sheer brutality. The story begins in a zero-sum game environment, so the protagonist's personality is truly ruthless and decisive, cold-blooded and incredibly cool. Watching him fight is genuinely satisfying. Highly recommended for those who enjoy ruthless and decisive characters.

9. 9 换 The Swap Marriage: Turning My Nightmare In-Laws Around in the 1980s 换亲嫁对郎：我在八零爆改极品全家 Yu Er玉儿Modern Romance1.3M WordsCompleted [Madcap antics + feel-good wish fulfillment + period setting + sweet romance] My fake stepsister saw how gloriously I lived in my previous life. After being reborn, she stole my man, never imagining that her married life would be pure misery: her father-in-law despised her, her mother-in-law made her suffer, and her husband was infertile, abusive, and unfaithful... I was supposed to be tricked into marrying a loser who had married into a wealthy family, but instead I turned the tables and marrie 15.7kReads8.0Score2.9k14d adds

   Reader note

   🌻🌻The female lead, Su Zhen, and her stepsister are both reborn. After being reborn, the stepsister quickly steals her fiancé and tries to force her to marry her own. Does she think she's still the same pushover she was in her previous life? She resolutely refuses. If her family agrees, then things get messy. She smashes the TV and knocks over the refrigerator. In those days, these were all precious things!

10. 10 重 Reborn in 1990, I Traded My Ex-Husband for Eight Houses 重生九零，我用前夫换了八套房 Autumn Colors Crimson秋色绯绯Modern Romance1.3M WordsCompleted [Strong leads x no pocket dimension x no System x loving family x building wealth x career first, romance later] Bai Zhenzhu is reborn on the very day she divorces her scumbag husband. The mistress pulls out a stack of cash and asks her: “How much do you want to agree to the divorce?” Bai Zhenzhu replies, “One hundred thousand. Not a cent less.” One hundred thousand to get rid of the scumbag, twenty thousand in divorce compensation, and twenty-four thousand in child support. Bai Zhenzhu takes t 19.7kReads9.3Score2.7k14d adds

    Reader note

    #We recommend searching in conjunction with the hashtag "villain's intelligence is online"; the stronger the opponent, the more the heroine's wisdom is highlighted.

11. 11 八 Married with a Baby in the ’80s: My Mortal Enemy Becomes a Henpecked Husband 八零奉子成婚，死对头成了妻管严 Nong Wuyou侬无忧Modern Romance796k WordsCompleted When Lin Xiangyi woke up, she learned that she had transmigrated into a book, a period novel written by her stepsister. Her stepsister was the heroine, and she was the vicious supporting character. Her father didn’t love her and her mother was gone. As if having to survive under the thumb of her wicked stepmother since childhood wasn’t enough, her scheming stepsister stole her fiancé and set up her nemesis, the street thug Xie Qingxiao, to ruin her virtue. She became pregnant by accident, and af 13.3kReads8.6Score1.3k14d adds
12. 12 乡 The Real Heiress from the Countryside Is Actually a Feudal Ancestor 乡下来的真千金，竟是封建老祖宗 Bright, Gentle Laughter笑语晏晏Modern Romance541k WordsCompleted Originally titled The True Heiress from the Countryside Is Actually a Feudal Ancestor When Sang Ning opened her eyes again, she found herself the real heiress who had been left behind in the countryside by a wealthy family. She had been born the legitimate eldest daughter of a distinguished family, raised from childhood to become its matriarch. But when she opened her eyes, she had arrived in a strange new era. Fortunately, she was still the legitimate eldest daughter. Her fake sister thought 30.5kReads9.3Score3.6k14d adds

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