Chapter 278-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
Morning. Crystalline sunlight streamed onto the desk. Ye Zheng sat at the table, one hand propping up her chin, the other scrolling through her phone.
The light sculpted her deep-set features, still as a cathedral statue.
Since before dawn, the hurried footsteps outside the window had barely let up, startling the birds into circling overhead, afraid to land. The tree canopy swayed ceaselessly.
Outside the Holy Journey Knights Order Base, East District residents jolted awake by the news scrambled out of their homes, all gazing in the same direction. The clamor roused yet more sleepers.
Around the base's perimeter, the three most influential aristocratic lords of the East District had brought their forces under cover of night and surrounded the compound. They accused Ye Zheng of keeping the Dragon Bones in the East District out of selfish motives, bringing unprecedented disaster upon the district, and demanded she hand them over.
The two sides stood at the ready across the high walls. The knights atop the watchtowers gazed down with solemn, razor-sharp eyes, radiating an unyielding resolve.
And Ye Zheng, at the very eye of the storm, was the calmest person of all.
The way she held her phone looked like she was reading a book—as if this were nothing more than a leisurely morning pastime.
Ye Zheng browsed the latest manga update, then scrolled through the forum. She couldn't watch the anime that everyone was discussing so passionately, but the screenshots alone were enough to fuel her imagination, and she enjoyed every moment of it.
Ever since the manga Creator's physical body had died—leaving only a brain active between the two worlds—the serialization of King of the Demonic Domain had been handed off to other artists. The story content was extracted from the System's observations.
She and the System had reached a tacit understanding: it wouldn't leak information about Ye Zheng, adhering to the original format by providing only Percy's perspective.
Ye Zheng had no intention of letting the company gain access to her information. Her goals included severing the link between the two worlds, foiling the company's plans, and eliminating the mutual threat the two worlds posed to each other.
Seeing forum readers complain about the lack of her content and blame the company and Creator for it, Ye Zheng found it both funny and touching. The company was probably racking its brains trying to observe more of her situation as well.
Lin Zhixing had told her that the Creator's consciousness served as the foundation of the link, while her growing influence was deepening the connection between the two worlds—becoming the company's new hope.
Her rising popularity in the readers' world wasn't purely a good thing. Two worlds of different dimensions shouldn't be entangled with each other. She had to pick up the pace.
Boom— An explosion detonated somewhere in the distance. Ye Zheng looked up from the window and saw flames shooting skyward.
She set the phone down. The screen dimmed. Just as she was about to stand, she caught a new thread that had popped up on the forum.
"Crowdsourced doxxing, doxxing... what happened?"
Ye Zheng's composed expression stiffened slightly. She sat back down and read carefully.
"...So that's what happened. Will this person face any consequences?"
A few days ago, a girl had posted something on the forum that offended a segment of male readers. Her comments were screenshotted and shared on another platform, where those men not only hurled abuse at her but also dug up her personal information and exposed it publicly.
[This is illegal, but most of the time these cases go nowhere. Getting the other party to apologize at a police station is already considered a decent outcome.]
The System chimed in.
"I see."
"I'm suddenly a little unhappy."
Ye Zheng said with a smile.
Among the vile insults hurled at the girl, liking Ye Zheng was listed as one of her unforgivable "crimes."
If the girl had never liked her, she might not have been targeted. But the only people truly at fault were those thugs who lorded their cruelty over others from behind their screens.
[If you're angry, I can infiltrate their computers and punish them. It wouldn't be difficult for me.]
"Thank you, but I think I'd rather teach them a lesson personally."
"Please stop the girl's private information from being spread any further first."
Ye Zheng looked out the window at the figures rushing past. She needed to go take charge of the situation now.
She quickly typed a line on her phone and posted it in the forum thread where people were comforting the girl.
A reply from the ID "Ye Zheng" appeared at the bottom of the thread.
The replies were piling up rapidly, but Ye Zheng had no time to read them. She pushed open the door and strode forward into the sunlight and the acrid haze of gunpowder.
"Your Holiness, they're trying to force their way in and take the Dragon Bones!"
A knight fell into step beside Ye Zheng, her face taut with anxiety and apprehension.
She'd faced countless Demonic Domains without flinching—had been snatched up in a monster's jaws without batting an eye. Yet now she was visibly on edge.
Facing monsters and facing people were entirely different.
They all shared a common enemy. Why turn their blades on each other?
"Don't be afraid. Wen De has trained you for this, hasn't he?"
Ye Zheng turned her head. Her dark eyes seemed especially vivid in the shadow of the colonnade.
She placed her hand over the knight's white-knuckled grip on her sword hilt, feeling the tremor.
"You're ready. Your blade is thirsting for blood."
"Face your own killing intent. Don't run from it, don't let it consume you—learn to harness it, and it will make you unstoppable."
The young woman's steady, powerful voice had a quality that stilled the soul. Gradually, the knight's hand stopped shaking.
Ye Zheng withdrew her comforting hand, looked away, and walked on without breaking stride.
Author's Note:
Was too exhausted after the convention, could only manage a short one today...
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