Chapter 261-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
In her dorm room, Ye Zheng finished reading the latest manga update, then tapped into the forum and was surprised to find quite a few familiar-looking threads.
It took her a while, with the System's help organizing the information, to understand what had happened.
As her popularity grew, more and more readers rallied behind her, speaking up about the injustices she'd suffered. Interestingly, many readers only realized those injustices existed because they'd come to like her first.
Ye Zheng pressed a finger to her lips, unable to suppress a soft laugh. The readers really were quite entertaining.
Those negative comments had never once made her sad. She had only ever been moved by words that were warm and caring—and right now was no different.
"System, how many Popularity Points do I have now?"
It had been a long time since Ye Zheng checked her Popularity Points. Ever since she killed Sykes, the original plot had all but collapsed, and this world could no longer possibly follow the storyline of King of the Demonic Domain.
She was free of constraints now. Perhaps Percy still carried a "Protagonist Halo" under the manga Creator's influence, but before her will, the halo could no longer prop up Percy's position as the protagonist.
Seeing people on the forum once again requesting resources for The Biography of Ye Zheng, Ye Zheng's dark eyes curved into a smile.
The System told her that phrase had already become a viral meme—not just on the forum, but across every platform wherever discussions about King of the Demonic Domain popped up.
In this real world, people shouldn't be divided into "protagonists" and "supporting characters." Being someone else's "protagonist" was both a heavy burden and an honor. If The Biography of Ye Zheng truly existed somewhere in this universe, Ye Zheng hoped every reader could find happiness.
[Popularity Points have surpassed 800,000. Remaining Action Points: 5,200]
The System reported.
"Popularity is climbing so fast, but it's a shame there's nowhere left to spend Action Points..."
[On the original plot's timeline, the King of the Demonic Domain anime went massively viral, each season bigger than the last. Even though the plot has changed quite a bit now, it shouldn't affect the anime's continued growth.]
[In fact, the anime is even more popular than it was at the same point on the original timeline—and generating far more discussion!]
The System's voice was excited, tinged with unmistakable pride.
Ye Zheng mulled it over, then looked up at the System's excited tone and asked, puzzled, "Would this kind of plot really be that popular...?"
[The original-plot timelines I can observe are limited. Based on my projections, the company on the original timeline very likely also discovered King of the Demonic Domain's potential and mobilized all kinds of resources to push it into the mainstream, in order to establish a link with this other world.]
"Come to think of it, what exactly are Action Points? Why can they counteract the resistance of the original plot?"
Ye Zheng asked thoughtfully.
[Similarity in consciousness frequency creates a degree of connection between two worlds, and their energy fields influence each other. Popularity Points are the quantification of consciousness frequency, while Action Points are the quantification of influence.]
[In short, the greater your influence on the readers, the stronger the energy field you generate. Even a will from a higher-dimensional world cannot distort your existence.]
Ye Zheng listened carefully, nodding from time to time. Then she suddenly asked, "Since you say influence is mutual, and Action Points are the quantification of influence..."
"Then the use of Action Points shouldn't be limited to removing the original plot's suppression. I should also be able to use Action Points to—exert reverse influence on your higher-dimensional world."
The System was startled.
[Th-theoretically yes, but I can't currently find an operational pathway for what you're envisioning.]
[For the higher-dimensional world, your time and space can be browsed at will, like flipping through a manga. But a character inside a manga can't manipulate someone outside the book—at most they can change the content within the book and thereby indirectly influence people outside it.]
[The dimensional limitations of your world restrict how Action Points can be used. It's like how rain only falls from the sky to the ground—it can't flow back up from the ground into the sky.]
After finishing the explanation, the System realized this analogy didn't quite work for Ye Zheng, since she might genuinely have the ability to force water back up into the clouds.
[Anyway, I currently have no way to let you reach out from inside the book and slap a reader.]
"I wouldn't slap a reader." Ye Zheng replied.
[That's not the point—if you actually did, some readers would probably be thrilled.]
Ye Zheng had no choice but to set aside the Action Points for now, though she still itched to try.
Killing Sykes had only cost 1,000 Action Points. Going forward, her Action Points would only keep growing, yet she had nowhere to spend them—
She'd assumed overturning the death ending would require a huge amount, but perhaps it was because the "Ye Zheng" of the original plot had merely sensed the constraints, deliberately fading from Percy's story rather than truly dying.
So killing Sykes didn't actually count as breaking through the death ending.
Ye Zheng opened the manga platform on her phone once more.
The latest chapter ended with Bai Yi revealing to Percy that the Divine Sword could destroy Dragon Bone, and Roy confessing his true identity to Percy and declaring where he stood.
Three days had already passed. She had traded the Sei Curia's promise to relinquish Dragon Bone in exchange for Qin Lu's return, but the Emperor refused to publicly clear his name. So Qin Lu was placed at the Holy Journey Knights Order's base in the lower district, forced to live under a concealed identity for the time being.
Since the Dragon Bone confiscated from Sierra was being kept at the Holy Journey Knights Order's base for guarding and research, Ye Zheng specifically arranged personnel to evacuate nearby residents and prepared corresponding compensation and relocation sites.
Quite a few people left out of fear of the Dragon Bone, but many others chose to stay.
Not because they were unsatisfied with the compensation or relocation options, but because they believed in Ye Zheng—believed the Holy Journey Knights Order would protect the people of this land. The Order had always done exactly that, and many people had seen it with their own eyes.
At the same time, news of the Holy Journey Knights Order's open recruitment attracted many women who came from all corners of the Empire. For a while, the area actually became even livelier.
The Emperor still had the audacity to demand she hand over the Dragon Bone she already possessed. Ye Zheng simply ignored him.
She had planted quite a few informants in the palace, but none of them could match the convenience of Heath's position.
Before their deal, Ye Zheng had never once asked Heath for important intelligence. She didn't want to put her in danger, and she was also mindful of Heath's allegiances.
Now, Ye Zheng no longer needed such reservations.
At least until the Emperor was dead, their interests were aligned.
*
Inside the palace, Heath quickly received the message Ye Zheng had sent.
Roy had revealed his identity and chosen to stand with Percy.
Heath had long sensed Roy's inclination. Her blue eyes showed not a flicker of emotion.
Roy was no fool. Perhaps the Emperor had once dangled an extraordinarily tempting future before him, but given the current dismal state of affairs, who would still believe in him?
Yet clearly, Roy wasn't a smart man either—jumping from one sinking ship onto another.
Heath rubbed her temple. Not a single one of her brothers gave her any peace of mind. If Roy chose to betray the Emperor, she would lose her reason to stay in contact with him and monitor Percy's group's movements...
Wait—Roy choosing Percy didn't necessarily mean betraying the Emperor or breaking with him entirely.
Roy aside, that Percy had already accepted Bai Yi—a sinner who'd concealed the truth about Dragon Bone—so he surely wouldn't refuse the Emperor's goodwill and assistance, would he?
Percy was currently acting behind the Emperor's back only because their interests temporarily didn't align—the Emperor had shown clear reluctance when it came to handling the Dragon Bone.
Heath couldn't help but break into a light smile. How simple! As long as you controlled a person's desires, you controlled that person.
Author's Note:
Sorry everyone, I've been revising the fourth draft of my thesis these past two days. It has to be submitted by April 30th, so I could only squeeze out this update in a panic...
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