Chapter 7-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

 Clear streams of water wrapped around Ye Zheng's fingertips, like harmless little white snakes.

Healer, attacker, supporter... these crude labels were created by humans after the fact, but they in turn limited their ability to develop their powers.

Ye Zheng didn't like to limit herself.

"You guys stay here for now; I've taken care of the monsters nearby."

"I'm going to deal with the core of this Demonic Domain. Once the core is destroyed, you can all leave."

The people Ye Zheng had saved stopped in a daze behind a dune, watching the figure in the gray cloak get farther and farther away, praying that this kind ability user could successfully resolve the core.

The core of a Demonic Domain was usually the most powerful monster inside. As long as it was defeated, the Demonic Domain would dissipate.

Ye Zheng could already smell the core monster.

[You can't destroy the core.]

"Why? Am I not strong enough? This Demonic Domain is at most C-class."

[Because that's the hero's moment of glory in the plot.]

"Ah, so it's already reserved."

"If I use my action points, can I steal this glorious moment?"

Ye Zheng looked thoughtful.

[Snap out of it, this is a big male lead manga!]

[The action points you have right now can only change minor details that don't affect the main plot.]

[You want to steal the hero's screen time? Only if your popularity surpasses his as the absolute protagonist.]

The system tried to discourage her, attempting to completely extinguish the heroine's restless heart.

"That's a shame. I'm still a long way off in popularity, aren't I?"

A hint of sadness clouded Ye Zheng's eyes.

[Let's say the hero's popularity is 100,000, and yours is 1.]

[So, stop thinking strange things. Be an independent, strong, yet perfect heroine who can assist the hero—]

[Also, don't be too conspicuous, it will get in the way of readers shipping male-male couples. Recently, creators have been loving to sell fujoshi bait (fanservice intended to attract female fans who enjoy male-male relationships) to boost popularity.]

"Your demands are really contradictory."

She had to be independent and strong, but leave all the glory to the hero, and not get in the way of fujoshi bait… Wait, what was fujoshi bait?

A faint sense of confusion arose in the cartoon character Ye Zheng's heart.

She gazed out at the endless desert, then suddenly narrowed her eyes. A string of faint, cute footprints caught her attention.

A faint smile appeared on the girl's face. Following the small footprints, she climbed over a small dune and successfully caught a plump white cat at the bottom.

"It's you, after all."

"I told Wen Xin to take care of you, but you secretly ran away. Do you like being a stray cat so much?"

There were many stray cats and dogs in the lower district. Ye Zheng wouldn't actively feed them, as well-intentioned feeding could easily disrupt the balance.

However, this white cat was especially cunning. Perhaps it had sensed her prominent status, because it always vaguely followed her. Even the Sei Curia guards thought it was her pet and treated it with great respect.

Ye Zheng was helpless, so she sent it to Wen Xin to raise. She didn't expect the thing to sneak away in just a few days.

The girl expertly scratched the cat's chin, and it squinted its eyes in enjoyment.

[Wait, this cat isn't…]

Ye Zheng nodded.

"The manga also drew a white cat. It's probably this one."

[Alright, hurry up and say your final goodbyes. Don't be like the original manga plot and get the hero injured while saving it.]

Ye Zheng let out a scoff at the system's words.

"The moment I make a decision, I'm prepared to be responsible for my actions. Whether it's injury or death, I'll gladly accept it."

"But then someone jumps out of nowhere, interrupts my actions in the name of saving me, gets injured because of it, and then people turn around and blame me for implicating him."

[In the plot setting, the hero saves you out of good intentions.]

[You sound a little cold and heartless. Shouldn't a normal person be very moved?]

[You are kind to those people who aren't important, but your attitude towards the hero is always so harsh.]

"To me, he is the same as those people you consider unimportant."

"He's no more important than a cat."

Ye Zheng picked up the white cat, her expression gentle.

"I just didn't care about him or admire him the way you expected, and you think my attitude is harsh."

The system was choked up. After a moment of thought, Ye Zheng had done nothing wrong so far. It was harsh to criticize her based only on her words.

Ye Zheng ignored the system. She looked down at the soft cat in her arms, her eyes curved into a beautiful smile.

So cute! She hoped that God would forgive her for disregarding a man's life for such a cute creature, right?

Lady Saintess briefly abandoned her sense of fairness.

As her fingers stroked the cat's long fur, Ye Zheng suddenly felt the soft body in her arms stiffen, and even its smooth fur bristled.

The white cat, which had been obediently snuggled in her arms, suddenly arched its body, stepped on her shoulder, and leaped out!

It was an ambush!

For lower district residents, it was common to run into a Demonic Domain while grocery shopping. It was the same for animal residents; the monsters in Demonic Domains had a very diverse diet and weren't picky about whether dinner was human sashimi or a little cat plate.

A cat that could live so well was clearly a survivalist in the Demonic Domain, with much higher vigilance than humans.

Ye Zheng turned around and saw the white cat ferociously pouncing on a tender red branch on the sand.

A tall tree with swaying red branches had appeared in the desert at some point.

The white cat was able to easily subdue the soft branch at first, but after a while, its body gradually weakened as the branches wrapped around it.

"Poisonous."

Ye Zheng observed calmly, inching closer to the trapped little figure.

"Desert plants absorb a lot of water. I can't deal with it the same way I dealt with the lizard monsters."

[This red willow's ability counters yours. Using water to fight a plant is like throwing a stone that won't come back (a futile effort).]

The system's voice sounded a little gleeful.

[In the original plot, you got into a crisis trying to save this cat, and the hero got ambushed by a demonic beast while saving you.]

[You just need to get away from this mutant plant and use 5 action points to delete the cat-saving plot. Neither you nor the hero will get hurt.]

[His metal-type ability can easily deal with this mutant plant.]

"But even desert plants can be drowned by water."

Ye Zheng acted as if she hadn't heard the system at all.

She grabbed the branch wrapped around the cat's body, and a slight numbness immediately spread through her hand.

Water poured from her fingertips, seeping into the tender branch. The small branch swelled larger and larger, as if it would burst any second.

She took advantage of the branch's softening to scoop the white cat into her arms, giving it a little rub.

The red willow swaying in the distance seemed to be enraged, and countless branches waved and attacked the person and cat.

[Okay! You've saved the cat, now run!]

The system's heart sank when it saw Ye Zheng choose to save the cat, but it hadn't expected her to actually save it on her own.

If she ran now, it would be in time. She wouldn't implicate the hero and wouldn't be blamed by the hero's fans—

"I can handle it, so why run?"

The sky was filled with branches weaving into a net that obscured the sun. A dark shadow enveloped the slender figure in the gray cloak.

Ye Zheng thought, this must be the core monster of the Demonic Domain.

The girl closed her eyes. She could feel the red willow's intricate root system beneath the desert and the immense amount of water it had stored.

Countless tiny streams coursed through the sand, gathering together. The sand beneath the girl's feet began to sink, as if some giant monster was about to burst from the earth—

She was about to bring a curtain of purifying water to this desert!

Even the swelling red willow sensed the danger. Countless branches went wild and attacked the girl.

"Be careful!"

A low male voice suddenly came from behind the girl.

Ye Zheng, who was concentrating on charging her ultimate move, was suddenly knocked over by a surge of sword energy. She awkwardly propped herself up, and when she opened her eyes, countless branches were falling all around her.

Ye Zheng's eyes moved blankly, staring at the figure that was practically glowing.

She turned her head sharply, and just as the black-haired boy's single sword strike cut down all the vines, the figure of a demonic beast silently appeared.

The girl tugged at her cloak, shaking off the bits of broken branches, and had no intention of warning the boy.

Ye Zheng looked up at the composed boy. She slowly blinked, and in the next second, the swift demonic beast charged toward the boy who had just dealt with the mutant plant.

Percy noticed the movement to his right. He was about to dodge but suddenly realized there was a person behind him.

He couldn't dodge!

He raised his right arm, which had transformed into a greatsword, to block the demonic beast's high-impact maw, but he couldn't defend his other side. Another lurking demonic beast bit his thigh fiercely.

"Percy!"

The rest of the protagonist's squad finally arrived. A flurry of dazzling abilities kicked up a gust of sand, and the two demonic beasts biting Percy were quickly dealt with.

The system watched the whole thing in silence, its heart utterly dead.

The plot didn't change at all! The heroine's official debut involved getting the hero injured, with no moment of glory, just a huge fail!

The mystery she had built up by refusing to meet them before was completely ruined. With greater expectations came greater disappointment. Readers were very likely to hate this heroine even more than in the original version.

Oh, its KPI!

The system watched heartbroken as the plot developed step by step according to the original setting. Percy resolved the crisis, the Demonic Domain gradually dissipated, and the boy turned to look at the person he had just saved.

The disheveled figure in the gray cloak stood up, the white cat in its arms snuggling around comfortably, and its paw accidentally pulled down the hood, which had been intentionally lowered to hide the face.

Percy's pupils suddenly contracted. A face so delicate and beautiful it was difficult to tell if it was male or female was imprinted in his eyes.

"Thank you for saving me."

In the swirling sand, the gray-robed person's voice was slightly hoarse. The beautiful face was stained with specks of sand, yet it still shone brilliantly, making it impossible to look away.

The young ability users present fell silent, and even the system was speechless.

[Action points deducted by 5, remaining: 0]

[Popularity increasing… Reader feedback loading…]

Ye Zheng uncomfortably ran her fingers through her short, black hair, then gave the stunned protagonist's squad a gentle and elegant smile.

"My name is Zhao Mei. Thank you all for the rescue."

This was the last trick she had up her sleeve.

If she couldn't kill the monster herself, she would reveal herself as a different person for now.

Ye Zheng had already discovered that the world inside and outside the manga was more lenient toward men.

What if she changed her gender and went through this idiotic plot?

Author's Note: The male disguise won't have much screen time. I'll drop the disguise once the popularity goes up. This setting is mainly for satire. The same action gets a completely different reaction when a man does it...

← Previous Chapter Next Chapter →