All Aboard

Chu Lai grew up in the Lower City, getting by on scams and cons. She did the dirty, exhausting work, lived in a cramped apartment, and ate cheap synthetic meals. By chance, she came across a ticket. It was for a luxury cruise ship developed by a major corporation. The ship didn’t check citizen ID cards and was bound for Libo Harbor, the famous City of Freedom. It was the perfect chance to sneak out, escape, and make a fortune. Only after boarding did Chu Lai realize the voyage was a party cruise hosted by an escort club. The person she’d impersonated had never shown her face, yet was famous for topping the spending charts year after year. Chu Lai went from a low-level street punk to the ship’s most distinguished VIP. She moved into a luxury suite, enjoyed the attentions of handsome men from every walk of life, and made a fortune with ease... Then she was murdered in front of everyone. Wait, that wasn’t how it was supposed to end. Chu Lai’s eyes flew open. She sucked in a sharp breath. She found herself standing in front of that ticket again. Either she’d be murdered again for impersonating the mysterious original ticket holder, or she’d make it to the end of the voyage and start a new life with the fortune she’d made aboard. Chu Lai slapped her forehead. Reborn? A chance like this wouldn’t come twice. Get on the ship! ...Later, after dying for the nth time, Chu Lai stood in front of the ticket and roared in fury. A chance missed is a chance lost, but this one keeps coming back. How do I get out of this cursed loop?!!! * Time-loop premise * A heroine who grows over time. She has flaws and makes mistakes, so don’t read if that bothers you. * For the sake of new readers, please don’t spoil later events in the early chapters. ^^ * To be absolutely clear: don’t use my book to attack other authors or their books! ---- Coming soon: Little Assassin, Find Your Mom ---- In the cyberpunk era, I’m a gaming shut-in living in the Lower City. Luckily, my mom is an assassin, so she can earn enough to support me. Sure, she’s never home, runs all over the world, left me to be raised by a robot, and loves playing pranks. Every time I’m eating, she sends me pictures of the scenes where she’s taken care of some nasty business. But she’s my mom, so I put up with it. ...Not because I’m planning to use her reward money to buy the latest game console. Then one day, she disappeared. You can’t live without your mom... or without money for food. Anyway, I set off to find her. Along the way, I follow in her footsteps and get hired by her organization, doing a bit of cleanup work. As you can see, I’m a gaming shut-in who can’t do a thing. I can’t hold a knife steady in close combat or keep a gun trained at a distance, and I’ve got two deadweight teammates, one disabled and the other an idiot. But somehow, every mission gets completed in an unexpected way. Teammate A, my mom’s old coworker, says my mom’s spirit is watching over me. Teammate B, my mom’s biggest fan, gets furious when she hears this and calls her a jinx. She insists my mom is secretly keeping an eye on me and steps in to help when it counts. After arguing, they both yell at me to watch the road and stop veering into ditches. Having an assassin for a mom is great. I even get to inherit her connections, so I’ve got company when I have to run. And why do I have to run? Of course, because I inherited my mom’s enemies too. Ha, you never know until you get out there. The world outside is so exciting. * Road-trip story, told in third person. * My take on a cyberpunk setting: extreme wealth disparity, high technology, low morality, and no order. Theme: Longing for freedom