Chapter 3-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
Centuries ago, after the demonic domain descended upon the Empire during its industrial revolution, technological advancement stalled, and the focus shifted to the study of ability users.
With the shadow of death looming over everyone, who had the time or inclination for entertainment?
Therefore, Ye Zheng couldn't imagine the rich variety of entertainment available to people in the real world.
"A manga app?"
So, besides making calls, sending texts, and playing simple block games, phones could also be used to read manga?
Ye Zheng tapped into the manga app. A vibrant, innovatively designed interface instantly popped into view, making her eyes widen in surprise, like a lost foal stumbling into a concrete jungle.
She clumsily scrolled through the interface, tapping here and there.
[Electronic manga is popular in the real world right now; you can read it on your phone. King of the Demonic Domain is serialized on this website.]
The system's words made her even more curious. The real world seemed technologically advanced.
"I've been reborn, reborn on the night my husband embraced his mistress and humiliated me..."
Ye Zheng, with a studious attitude, held her phone and recited the manga's promotional blurb in the tone of reading scripture, achieving an effect comparable to audio readings from Jingjiang Literature City.
"The Buddhist disciple from the capital city twirling prayer beads, the aloof campus heartthrob wanting to give his life for me, running away with a child and becoming obsessed with raising kids..."
In contrast to the advanced technology, the entertainment themes were strange yet familiar.
Although the Church and the Imperial Family strictly controlled entertainment, there were still plenty of themes popular among girls in the private sector, such as "The Overbearing Crown Prince Falls in Love with Me," "The Aloof Saint Dotes on Me," and "Becoming the Group's Favorite After Entering the Ability Academy." These themes were welcomed in every district.
Ye Zheng's curious sparkle faded, and much of her desire to explore the real world vanished.
Creativity cannot be separated from life. No matter how rich the manga world's setting, it's still a microcosm of the real world.
Class conflicts, gender differences, domination, and domestication... these also exist in the higher-dimensional real world.
In fact, it's precisely because the real world is this way that the manga world she now inhabits exists.
Just as Ye Zheng was about to exit the manga app, she saw several large characters float across the homepage.
King of the Demonic Domain is Hotly Serializing!
Ye Zheng clicked on it, only to find the phone screen blank.
She kept scrolling down and finally reached the colored panels.
A kaleidoscope of hair colors mingled together, walking down a wide street. Ye Zheng identified them as the main characters based on their hair colors and the familiar scenery.
"The people from the Church are still so arrogant, looking down on us with their nostrils when they kicked us out."
"Just wait until their noble Divine Academy gets crushed by us in the league!"
The creator's drawing skills were undeniably excellent; the vibrant expressions of the young people were depicted vividly.
Ye Zheng understood: this was what happened after the main characters were refused a meeting with her.
The information was minimal; it only showed their dissatisfaction with the Church.
[As a lower-dimensional being, observing too much of the plot can lead to you being erased by the rules. Therefore, you can only see events that have already happened, and a small portion of future events related to you.]
Ye Zheng continued to scroll down.
A highly impactful panel entered her view: a black-haired young man blocked the demonic beast's gaping maw with an arm transformed into a greatsword, while another smaller demonic beast seized the opportunity to bite the young man's thigh, tearing off a bloody piece of flesh.
"Percy!"
His teammates shouted in alarm, rushing forward to help.
After a dazzling flurry of ability attacks, the demonic beast was quickly dealt with. Percy gasped for breath and looked back at the girl behind him.
"Thank you for saving me."
The scene zoomed in and froze: a black-haired girl sat on the ground, holding a cat, her pure and beautiful face looking up at Percy to thank him.
The creator had put a lot of effort into drawing this black-haired girl; even her eyelashes were depicted in meticulous detail. The overhead angle made the girl appear slender and graceful, like a delicate gift.
The scene shifted, Percy's pupils reflected the girl's beautiful face. His usually handsome and steady expression was somewhat dazed; from his magnified expression, his sudden infatuation was clearly evident.
Ye Zheng looked at the delicate black-haired girl and felt only absurdity.
Her finger wanted to slide further down but accidentally pressed a corner, and moving text popped up on the phone screen, covering the manga content.
"What is this text?"
[These are bullet comments (a type of real-time comment overlay), where readers can express their thoughts on the scene they're watching.]
Bullet comments? Another new thing. Ye Zheng silently processed the unfamiliar term.
She carefully read through the manga's bullet comments.
[Ahhh, Lil' Percy, no, Momma won't allow you to fall in love!]
[She's not the female lead, is she? Please no!]
[Perfect angle, too bad this girl's clothes are too conservative, creator's chicken leg allowance is docked tonight.]
[Such a brain-dead female lead, saving a cat is such a silly plot device, it's hilarious.]
[My heart aches for the injured male lead, please creator, be kinder to the male lead...]
[Stupid girl, why save a cat in this kind of world?]
"Everyone seems to have some opinions about 'me'."
Ye Zheng played with a strand of her hair, blinking innocently.
[This is the direction of the future plot. You get into danger to save a cat, implicating the male lead who saves you and causing him injury. It's normal for readers not to like you.]
[You currently have 3 action points. You can change this silly cat-saving plot to reverse the negative reviews of you being a burden.]
The system prompted.
"A silly plot device?"
Ye Zheng murmured, continuing to scroll down.
On the next page, an arrogant red-haired character appeared. He wore a luxurious red uniform, his expression provocative, followed by equally arrogant teammates in uniforms.
"Ha, you guys really have nine lives."
The red-haired man held his head high, disdainfully looking at the battered main characters.
Ye Zheng observed this familiar "red-haired" (meaning red-haired and somewhat flashy or arrogant) character for a while. From his personality and appearance, he was Ryan, the youngest son of the Central District Mayor.
Speaking of which, this arrogant minor antagonist got along well with her younger brother, Ye Di. Could Ye Di also be joining the antagonist faction?
The manga plot continued.
"Controlling demonic beasts is your ability. It seems everything that just happened wasn't an accident."
Percy looked coldly at the red-haired boy, tensing his body, ready to attack.
Ryan shrugged, noncommittal: "Just playing around, don't be so serious."
The handsome red-haired boy had a half-smile, his eyes full of certainty.
The two sides stood opposite each other, and an ability user battle seemed imminent. The creator depicted both sides with great tension and aggression.
Ye Zheng continued reading.
Again, a blank space. No matter how she scrolled, it was blank. It seemed she could only see this much of the plot this time.
Ye Zheng opened the bullet comments, curious about readers' opinions on this section.
[Young Mistress Ryan makes a grand appearance!]
[Young Mistress, just say you have a crush, following our Lil' Percy every day~]
[So it was Young Mistress who caused trouble, no wonder the demonic beasts suddenly appeared!]
[Hahaha, soon it'll be a domestic abuse scene, Lil' Percy, go easy on your wife.]
[Can you shippers tone it down? Not everyone ships PercRyan...]
Ye Zheng browsed the bullet comments, tilting her head in confusion.
She pointed at the arrogant red-haired character on the screen and asked, her tone surprised: "System, was Ryan always cross-dressing as a boy? The Central District Mayor's family hid such a big secret?"
[?]
[The character card states Ryan's gender is male.]
"If he's a male, why does everyone call him Young Mistress?"
[It's a bit complicated to explain. He's nasty and tsundere (a character who is initially cold and hostile but gradually reveals a warmer, softer side), not very bright, but his appearance is beautiful. He's more like a 'young mistress' than a 'young master,' so it's normal for there to be more 'momo' (a play on words, as "momo" 嬷嬷 can mean nanny or a general term for older women, here used to refer to fans who treat a character as bottom in any pairing).]
Ye Zheng's mind went blank; she understood even less after the system's explanation.
"I am the Young Mistress of the Ye family. I know many young mistresses, and none of them are like Ryan."
"Nasty, foolish, and arrogant—these are personalities that pampered boys in families tend to develop, like my younger brother."
Ye Zheng maintained her gentle expression, yet her words about her brother were merciless.
"It's clearly a very annoying personality, so why does everyone's attitude become so doting when the title 'Young Mistress' is added?"
Ye Zheng showed a thoughtful expression.
"Next time in the plot, if I introduce myself as the Young Mistress of the Ye family, will everyone be more tolerant of me?"
[No, because you're a girl. They don't like 'young mistresses' (female), they like 'male young mistresses'—male!]
Ye Zheng, like a curious child, continued to ask.
"Oh, and what is a 'momo'? It seems to be an old East Asian term for elderly women, but in your context, I can't understand the word."
[...Other characters' evaluations have little to do with you; no need to delve deep.]
[In short, prepare for the upcoming plot and focus on improving your popularity. That's what you should be thinking about.]
Ye Zheng shook her head in disagreement. "Studying their evaluations is very important. I need to understand the preferences of real-world readers to find ways to increase my popularity."
[...Alright, do you have any other questions?]
Ye Zheng smiled slightly, and the system had a bad feeling.
"The demonic beast attack was planned by Ryan, and Percy's injury from saving me was his own decision. I never asked him to."
"But no one blames Ryan for being vicious, and no one thinks Percy is foolish. In this plot, everyone hates me the most."
"And I merely followed my heart and saved a cat."
The system realized: this Ye Zheng either said nothing, or when she did, she was hard to deal with.
[Your actions objectively led to Percy's injury. If it weren't for you, he could have avoided Ryan's demonic beast attack...]
"You also admit that Ryan hurt him. If everyone truly cared about Percy's injury, the person they'd hate most would be Ryan, who intentionally harmed him."
"Clearly, everyone doesn't hate Ryan."
[Because he's the antagonist! People always have lower moral expectations for antagonists!]
"Is that so... an antagonist?"
Ye Zheng stopped speaking. She blinked slowly, like a machine trying to operate rusted parts.
"An antagonist is someone who opposes the protagonist..."
Ye Zheng was still thinking.
Under her long, fluttering eyelashes, the girl's eyes glowed faintly.
Seeing that Ye Zheng finally stopped refuting it, the system quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Ye Zheng didn't need to be so particular. The female lead in male-oriented stories is destined to be an accessory to the male lead, a temporary source of satisfaction for readers.
She was just a gift bestowed by fate upon the hero.
All she needed to consider was how to package herself to be more appealing, to become a presentable gift.
Author's Notes:
Trying a new genre again. If you like it, please collect and support it, babes?
Translator's Note: It's a mixed world setting so there are some Chinese name some English name, I chose to keep some of them as English name to make it more natural. Also I changed the Country name and Curia name to make them differ from real history, if there is anything weird pls let me know!
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