The rise of Stella Rogers as the last clan of mixed-blood red foxes makes vampires vying for the blood of the Half Blood. Despite changing her name, changing the color of her irises, and even smelling like a human, Stella Rogers, who is now Federica Dawson, must face various obstacles to protect herself from those who try to resurrect a half-blood vampire named Grim Ripper.
The metallic black-painted cruise ship cruises leisurely along the Gordon river that cuts through the wilderness of Franklin National Park. The warm air and sunny weather in February this year are suitable for traveling and including some tourists who look engrossed in taking pictures against the backdrop of towering forest rows of Huon pines and eucalypts.
The calm flow of the river is decorated with the chirping of various birds endemic to the island of Tasmania; Thrush Birds, Periwrens Birds that have a striking bright blue forehead, Tasmanian Rosella or Tasmanian parrots. In addition, the friction of the leaves between the trees seemed to add to the comfort of the tourists until suddenly, one of them screamed hysterically, startling everyone.
"What's wrong, Mary?" The chubby man looked at the woman beside him. "I'm so sorry; maybe she's daydreaming too much, ladies and gentlemen," he continued, feeling awkward seeing his wife acting impolite in public.
"Doesn't that rock look like a human, Freddy?" Marry-a blonde-haired woman whose face looked pale, pointed to the right of the river, trembling. "Why does it look weird?"
Freddy narrowed his eyes. "Hey, Man. Can we get close to that thing?" he shouted to the crew.
"No, sir. We have limited tour time," said the crew in black and white uniforms.
"I don't think it's just a rock," said another passenger standing not far from Marry. "What if it's a corpse floating from the riverbed?"
Everyone shuddered in horror while whispering. Their eyes and minds could not deny the strangeness of the blackish-brown stone, which was very similar to a human in a sitting position. One of the other passengers even said that the stone was identical to a rock in Indonesia, with a prevalent Malin Kundang stone myth.
"You'd better call the police. I'm sure it's not just a rock," Freddy told the crew.
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The discovery of chunks similar to humans has shocked residents in Strahan, Tasmania. The police, assisted by a forensic archeology team, removed a 55-kilogram stone for investigation in downtown Hobart. At the same time, the location of the incident is given a yellow border for further research that allows the discovery of historical sites, including the remains of skulls of living creatures in ancient times and the ice age.
Initially, many thought that the boulder contained a murder victim until there was speculation of serial murder. Considering the past few weeks, many people have suddenly disappeared. However, the condition of the large gravel and the bodies found in general made some people guess that maybe he was not a murder victim. But the mummy remains of an Aboriginal woman who died drowned in a river for hundreds of years until silt and river currents brought her to the surface.
"The Gordon River doesn't have a strong current; what if the rock floats on its own?" asked one of the emaciated policemen when he saw the stone apparition in the forensics room. "Unless it's a huge pumice stone, I'm still unsure. It's impossible, isn't it?"
"Even if it's a corpse, it shouldn't be like this. Even an animal that drowns in a river gets edema all over its body and doesn't immediately turn to stone. This is weird." another policeman argued. "This is a good sign if she is on the missing list. We can catch the culprit."
"Right, I hope so."
Then, a man wearing a plaid shirt and thick glasses with an ID that read 'Nicholas Houston' came. He approached the rock and touched it with a hand clad in a white glove. His eyebrows knit together to feel the soft texture of the human-shaped lump after being cleaned by a team of archaeologists with high-pressure water. Hesitantly, he pressed the side of the bow with a slight push.
What a surprise when Nicholas' hands squeezed a deep hollow. He frowned even more curiously and then tried to insert his finger to find something behind this strange object in front of him. As he wanted to touch it, he felt something chewier than the texture of hard rock. Nicholas removed the layer of silt that had begun to soften, and there was something pale white resembling human skin.
"Jack! Jack!" he shouted with wide eyes. "It's not a rock! It's a corpse!"
The two cops were shocked when Nicholas scraped the silt that wrapped the corpse. They were even more curious when Nicholas attempted to dismantle the mud layer covering the corpse's body. And it was even more shocking to know that behind the big lump was a naked ginger-haired woman with many scratch marks that looked very new.
"How could it be?" asked the skinny cop called Jack. "When we were at the site, the rock was not silt that would become mushy when exposed to water. Even a quarter of the rock was submerged in river water. Shouldn't it have been soft from the start?"
"Okay, now I'm sure she's one of the missing, Jack," said Jack's police friend with a pale face. "Psychopath or sociopath, I'm sure he will get the punishment he deserves for his murder."
Jack was silent, his irises still looking at the wounds all over the corpse. His brow furrowed, and many questions roamed his mind, but there seemed to be no common thread. But he also agreed with his police friend's statement, and maybe this was a serial murder involving a psychopath or sociopath.
"Interesting case," Jack muttered, turning to his friend. "We'd better take it to the Royal Hospital."
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The Hobart Police Department was baffled by a discovery that started as a foreign rock and ended up finding a woman's body in a state that didn't decompose as if she had been murdered a few hours ago. A team of forensic doctors examined the traces of death on the body of a woman who was estimated to be sixteen years old. Miraculously, no trace of identity was left at the scene. Even on the missing person list, no physical characteristics are the same as the victims. It was as if the female corpse was new to Hobart.
"Do you believe in conspiracy theories?" asked Chloe-one of the investigators had blonde hair. He massaged his forehead, staring at the rows of data on the computer screen with his three colleagues. "How can he not be a citizen of Hobart or even a citizen of this country? Even if she's a foreigner someone smuggled in on purpose, immigration officials should have the data, right?"
"Yes, you're right," Oliver replied, taking a serious look at the photos of the female corpse labeled Jane doe-the unidentified body on the board to Chloe's left. "But I don't believe in a conspiracy or anything like that, Chloe. Even though we know this corpse is very and very strange." The bald man with bright blue eyes looked at Chloe and pursed his lips. "I'm confused. My head feels like exploding on a case like this."
Chloe nodded her head while rubbing the back of her stiff neck. He had not slept for several days to solve this mysterious case. "What if the missing people weren't killed by animal attacks, Oliver? And what if suddenly they would appear in the same pattern?"
Oliver laughed in a voice that sounded like he was mocking Chloe. "Oh, come on, how can that be? We've been down the river Gordon, Chloe. And we've been on the case for almost six months. It's a big zero. They're gone like smoke, and I don't think it has anything to do with Jane."
Chloe's thick lips tightened with a clenched jaw. He was the same as Oliver; his head almost exploded in two equally confusing cases. On the other hand, doctors concluded that the body was not from Tasmania. If he was the best mummy, his skin should not be pale like the physical characteristics of Europeans, but a blackish brown typical of the Aboriginal tribes. They argue that the corpse also has a genetic abnormality in its irises which have different colors that humans do not have.
The liver extraction results found a large amount of snake venom with animal scratches as deep as about five centimeters. However, no cracks were found in either the sternum or skull. They suspect that the body was killed by wild animal attacks and the bite of a giant snake, but they have not solved the problem of why its body could be wrapped in silt and turned into stone in the river. While waiting for further investigation by the Hobart city investigators team, Jane doe's body was finally stored in a unique cabinet at a temperature of four degrees Celsius for further research.
Choosing to be happily single seems to be a disgrace for Wendy Aurelia's family. At the age of 31, Wendy was forced to marry to silence her extended family's scorn and comply with her mother's request. So she invited Bimo Hartawan, who had just left his fiancé. Through a secret agreement, Wendy and Bimo finally got married. But will their lives run as smoothly as Wendy planned?
Life changes like a wheel that spins endlessly, like Elizabeth Khan's journey after meeting rich businessman Alexandre Jhonson—unfortunately, someone from Elizabeth's past returns to stalk her and ask for what she once gave. Will Alexandre be able to protect Elizabeth? Will Elizabeth be able to find her happiness? Can the two of them be united in love?
Starting from a small incident that happened to Barbara, Anna Asmita was invited to dinner by Jake Batara Luciano. Unfortunately, when Anna came home, she was followed by Milo Durran - her ex-boyfriend - who accused her of having a rich boyfriend. Anna agrees to let Milo go. But Milo forced Anna to give him a wad of money. Rejecting firmly, Anna was beaten and almost fucked. Trying to escape, Anna caught Jake's figure standing before the pub. Urged by the situation, Anna approached Jake and kissed him. So, will the kiss be a passionate love story or a disaster?
Fascinated with Louisa Bahr since becoming the main character in the film 'From the End', Dean Cross offers a relationship without status to help Louisa take revenge for the betrayal of her ex-lover, Troy Austin. A romantic relationship shrouded in passion turns out to ignite love in Louisa's heart. Will those feelings be reciprocated, or will it create a deeper wound?
Ansel Balder has it all. Good looks, wealth, and position. People considered him a helpful and kind man, not knowing the scandals he kept from the world. Ansel Balder loves his own employee's wife. When Matthew Tjia offers Daphne Tjia, his daughter, in exchange for paying off his debt, Ansel Balder agrees. Not to make her his wife but to make Daphne Tjia bait for fishing, Rachel Colleen, the dark lover, is jealous and willing to accept his proposal. Then, will Ansel Balder be caught in a trap he made himself?
She was a diamond covered by ashes.... King Dakota was known as the most Powerful Alpha King of all times - more powerful than any other King that had ruled from his lineage. He was cold hearted, introverted and dangerous in anger. Cursed by the Moon goddess, King Dakota had to get married to three wives all in search of a male child that would become his heir, but it was impossible as the curse would only let his wives bear she -wolves. But on a different day, the King meets a lady who offends him and as a punishment, he took her home as his fourth wife. Her name was Shilah. Shilah was a powerless wolf and as a result, was disregarded and intimidated by all. But, when she begins to do things that the King had never felt for years, he began to wonder who she really was. Slowly, she crawled her way into his icy heart and turned out to be something nobody ever expected - a storm.
June Rivera was divorced by her husband after three years of marriage because he wanted to be with her sister who was pregnant for him. Kicked to the curb with a divorce and rejected by her parents,she struggles to make ends meet and get a job until she saves Luis Ambrose from an accident - the only child of Rafael Ambrose, a widowed man and the CEO of Ambrose Corporation. When little Luis asks to have her as a nanny, and Rafael's mother pressures him to get married, they draw a contract. To be Luis's nanny and his fake wife for one year in exchange for 50 million dollars!
As a simple assistant, messaging the CEO in the dead of night to request shares of adult films was a bold move. Bethany, unsurprisingly, didn't receive any films. However, the CEO responded that, while he had no films to share, he could offer a live demonstration. After a night filled with passion, Bethany was certain she'd lose her job. But instead, her boss proposed, "Marry me. Please consider it." "Mr. Bates, you're kidding me, right?"
Lucia Balstone thought she had chosen the right man to spend the rest of her life with, but he was the one who ended her life. Their ten-year marriage seemed like a joke when her husband stabbed her with a dagger. Fortunately, God is never blind to people's tears. Lucia got a second chance. She was reborn at the age of 22, before all the terrible things had happened. This time, she was determined to avenge herself and let those who hurt her pay! She made an elaborate list of her goals, and the first thing on her list was to marry her ex-husband's enemy, Alonso Callen!
In her previous life, Kimberly endured the betrayal of her husband, the cruel machinations of an evil woman, and the endless tyranny of her in-laws. It culminated in the bankruptcy of her family, and ultimately, her death. After being reborn, she resolved to seek retribution against those who had wronged her, and ensure her family's prosperity. To her shock, the most unattainable man from her past suddenly set his sights on her. "You may have overlooked me before, but I shall capture your heart this time around."
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”