Chapter 4-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
After Browse the manga app on her phone, Ye Zheng exited, only to find a new icon on her screen: Forum.
This was a new term for her.
According to the system's introduction, in the real world, there's something called the internet that connects people worldwide, allowing them to communicate through electronic devices like phones and computers.
Ye Zheng found it incredible. In this world, computers were exclusive to the Royal Academy of Sciences; ordinary people didn't even know they existed. Phones, on the other hand, were limited to basic communication.
Curiosity piqued, she tapped the [Forum] icon on her phone.
Rows of horizontal text appeared, some followed by "new," others by "hot."
"New, hot... these are discarded words."
The Empire used A-Z to denote order, but letters forming words had been abandoned and were barely used.
The common language of the Holy Sei Empire was identical to the language used in the manga and forum app. Now, she was exposed to other writing systems from the real world.
This implied that the real world had more than one popular civilization. Two, three, or even more?
The system's voice chimed in: [New means latest, hot means trending. This forum is for King of the Demonic Domain readers. You can gauge your public perception through reader feedback here.]
[The top trending post is discussing you right now, go check it out!]
Ye Zheng, ever compliant, clicked on the first "hot" title.
[Analysis! What's the real deal with all the mysterious characters who haven't appeared yet?]
Entering the thread, a vibrant stream of text filled the screen. Ye Zheng's gaze swept over it, spotting several familiar names: imperial princes and princesses, the King, the Pope, the Chief of the Ability User Association... these figures, considered taboo in her world, were being hotly debated by real-world readers.
But she wasn't in a hurry to scroll down.
Ye Zheng's eyes fixed on a corner of the screen.
2024-05-13 09:11:28 Jinhai.
This must be the real world's time and... location?
The girl lowered her eyelashes thoughtfully.
[Check out post #57, it mentions you!]
The system prompted excitedly.
Ye Zheng scrolled down and quickly saw someone mention her.
[#57: Is no one analyzing the mysterious person who recently saved the protagonist group? Feels like they're a big shot.]
[#58: My guess is the Pope. The Sei Curia and the Imperial Family are at odds, and the protagonist team has been constantly challenging the royal team, so the Pope secretly sent someone to help the protagonist group.]
[#59: I also think the Sei Curia's attitude towards the Lower District is hypocritical. They just send a saintess to pose for pictures all day. Even though she saved the protagonist group, her attitude towards them was terrible.]
[#60: The person above reminded me, could the one who saved the protagonist group be that Sei Curia Saintess?]
[#61: Probably not. According to rumors, the Saintess is very friendly towards the Lower District. Whether it's an act or not, she should have given the protagonist group a proper reception.]
[#62: Is it someone from the Divine Academy's team? Percy and his team might be up against the Divine Academy next!]
[#63: I feel like the person above hit the nail on the head. It should be someone participating in the academy battle. I'm betting on an ambiguous (neither good nor evil) handsome paladin!]
"How interesting, everyone perfectly ruled out the correct answer."
Ye Zheng propped her chin on her hand, reading with great interest.
"Although I'm just the Sei Curia's PR (public relations) stunt, I genuinely do those things. What everyone is saying makes me a little sad."
Ye Zheng understood that the Imperial Family and the Sei Curia weren't portrayed positively in the manga, but that didn't stop readers from liking and admiring the strong individuals within those factions. As the Saintess, even if she did good deeds all day, no one would be moved.
"I know my 3 action points—huh, they've become 5?"
[Because your popularity is still rising. More and more readers are discussing you and anticipating your unrevealed character.]
The girl's eyes held a smile. "This also means my next appearance had better meet their expectations, or my popularity will drop."
[Current popularity value: 500. If your next appearance causes a decline, your action points will be deducted.]
"Ah, how stingy."
"Then I need to carefully consider how to use my 5 action points."
Ye Zheng sat at her dressing table, her fingers gently touching her exceptionally beautiful reflection in the mirror. She had no makeup to remove; the creator had endowed her with natural, pure beauty, radiant even without embellishment. Even the most critical Imperial Crown Prince had to admit her beauty.
But she didn't believe this was the creator's favoritism towards her. The creator simply doted on the male protagonist, and the partner he received had to be exceptionally beautiful.
Without the need for artificial enhancement, Ye Zheng rarely wore makeup, yet she spent a considerable amount of time on her appearance daily. Ye Zheng combed her long, thick hair. Soon, the maids would come in to wash and care for her hair, a process that took at least three hours every day.
Her movements suddenly paused, then she opened the cabinet under her dressing table and pulled out a pair of scissors.
Ye Zheng grabbed a handful of her lustrous hair with one hand and held up the scissors with the other, her smile slowly widening. The girl in the mirror shed her formal smile; even her brows and eyes brimmed with joy and anticipation, as if she could finally shed a hated burden.
"This hair really gets in the way of my actions. If I didn't have it, maybe I'd already be a Level 5 ability user."
"Using 5 action points, I want to cut my hair."
Her ankle-length hair was part of the manga's setting. As long as she spent action points, she could change the manga's plot. From childhood, carrying such heavy and hindering hair, she had already shown great restraint by maintaining her pleasant demeanor; she was doing this world a favor.
[Stop! That's your basic setting!]
[In manga, the more hair a beauty has, the more beautiful she is. If you lose your beauty, how will you gain popularity?]
The system yelled frantically in her ear.
Ye Zheng ignored it, ruthlessly drawing the sharp, small scissors across her meticulously cared-for hair—
Not a single strand fell.
Unwilling, she continued to poke the scissors at her hair.
[Warning! Warning!]
Flashing red text filled her vision, covering her unwilling and distorted face in the mirror.
[Character setting is collapsing! Initiating character self-awareness detection, consciousness obliteration program starting—]
Ye Zheng's eyes became bloodshot, and the intense pain in her brain instantly caused her hands to go limp. The scissors fell to the ground, and she slumped weakly onto the table, clutching her head, shaking uncontrollably.
A buzzing sound filled her consciousness. After a long while, she heard the familiar mechanical voice again, lifting a tear-stained face from her arms.
[I told you that's a basic setting; major changes can cause big problems!]
[I'm here to help you improve your character settings, not to make your character completely OOC (Out Of Character). Deviating too much from the setting will lead to obliteration by the manga world's operating laws!]
[I managed to suppress it this time. Otherwise, if the consciousness obliteration program started, your consciousness would be completely wiped out, leaving you as an empty shell controlled by the manga persona!]
Ye Zheng seemed to be still recovering, breathing slightly. After a while, she spoke.
"I just wanted to be more agile after cutting my hair, to increase my combat power a bit, and not cause trouble for the protagonist group... Maybe that would make me more popular with readers?"
"After all, everyone expects so much from me."
Her voice was light and low, like a feather gently stroking the surface of water, creating ripples that stirred emotions.
The system had braced itself for Ye Zheng to argue fiercely, as she was incredibly rebellious and loved to find fault and delve deep, causing it immense headaches.
But as soon as Ye Zheng softened, the harsh words it had prepared suddenly became unspeakable.
The system had to stiffly change its tone: [Your character isn't positioned as a powerhouse, and even powerful female characters are required to be both beautiful and strong. Have you ever seen a strong female character in a manga who isn't beautiful?]
[Alright, as a paper person, you haven't seen many mangas, so that's forgivable.]
[In any case, don't be so reckless next time.]
The girl lowered her eyes, muttering a faint "Mm," appearing very well-behaved and obedient.
Yet, the system still felt a bit uneasy, always suspecting Ye Zheng might still be planning something. After their short time together, it had realized that this female protagonist had already deviated slightly from her character setting even before it arrived in this world.
Deviations were normal. Mangas always exaggerated character traits, and outside the manga's stage, these characters lived like normal people. Humans were multifaceted, and it was normal for them to have sides readers didn't know about.
As for Ye Zheng, she was indeed as described on her character card: kind (genuinely helping the Lower District), sensitive (sensitive and nitpicky about its words), and understanding (always able to discern unreasonable things).
Looking at it this way, the problem wasn't big.
The system comforted itself, wanting to give Ye Zheng a few more pointers, when urgent knocking suddenly came from the bedroom.
Ye Zheng, who had been resting, straightened up from the dressing table, frowning slightly.
She walked to the bedroom door and opened it, revealing a young face that bore some resemblance to hers.
"Sister, you're not resting yet, are you? Let me in."
Ye Di tried to squeeze through the gap in the door. Ye Zheng subtly blocked his way.
"What's wrong? Coming at this hour."
Her voice remained that gentle, good sister's tone.
"Sister, I... I just wanted to invite you to a banquet."
"A Royal Academy banquet, celebrating the end of the second stage of the National Ability User Competition. You're also a student of the Royal Academy, and everyone hasn't seen you in a long time. They're all really hoping you'll come."
"I've already accepted the invitation for you."
Ye Di's expression was fawning, but he couldn't hide the arrogance deep in his eyes. He shoved the ornate invitation into Ye Zheng's hand. Ye Zheng's status was special; although she had been admitted to the Royal Ability Academy, she was also the Saintess of the Sei Curia. She usually worked for the Sei Curia and rarely attended academy classes.
A hint of mockery flashed in Ye Zheng's eyes. This was thanks to their father, who played both sides, wanting the Sei Curia's protection yet not daring to offend the Imperial Family, thus placing her in an awkward position.
"The Crown Prince also invited that lowly Lower District team; there's definitely going to be a good show!"
Ye Di's eyes sparkled, and his smile became much more genuine.
The protagonist group is going too? Ye Zheng thought, perhaps even if she refused, the plot would push her to go. Or rather, Ye Di coming to find her was part of the plot's arrangement.
"Sister, so it's settled then. This weekend, we'll go together."
Ye Di didn't give Ye Zheng a chance to refuse. He dropped the sentence and turned to leave, only to suddenly hear Ye Zheng call out to him.
"Ye Die."
"You invited me here at the Crown Prince's behest, didn't you? The Royal Academy not only stumbled with the lower district team this time, but their scores also couldn't compare to the Divine Academy."
"My existence is just like that lower district team, meant for the Crown Prince to vent his humiliation and anger on."
The girl's voice was completely calm.
Ye Die turned her head in the dim corridor, her smile a bit forced (gritting her teeth).
"Sister, you're a Saintess! How can you compare yourself to the commoners of the lower district? No matter how willful the Crown Prince is, he wouldn't dare directly offend the Sei Curia."
Ye Zheng chuckled softly.
"You don't really think that if you use me (literally 'take sister') to curry favor with the Crown Prince, he'll agree to let you join the competition team, do you?"
Ye Die's smile completely froze.
Author's note:
[System: No big deal, everything's under control.]
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