“Let me tell you, even if Terracotta Army were here you would still have to work for me!”
In bustling, neon-lit street, the shrill sound seemed to penetrate everyone’s ears.
The shopkeeper was a thin short middle aged man with somewhat mean spirited face and sharp eyes, paced back and forth across the grime streaked pavement, hands tucked behind his back. His razor sharp eyes fixed on the young girls crouching on the ground.
They were busy washing dishes when among the girls the girl in a clean pink suit, with a remarkably straight posture subconsciously raise her head and frowned, clearly taken aback by his ridiculous boast.
With her fair skin, delicate features, and an air of dignified background, she looked entirely out of place on this gritty street.
The shopkeeper paused, catching the look of sheer disbelief in her eyes. A disdainful sneer spread on his face as he opened his mouth to snap at her the sounds of approaching customers cut him off.
His demeanor shifted instantly. Glaring one last time at the girl, he whirled around and some in fawning sycophantic whine, ” Coming, Coming! Welcome, please come in!”
Leaving the girls on the gritty pavement to silently wash the dishes.
Huo Wuxi frowned as she stared at the thick foam covering her hands mentally complaining to the “Villainous Cannon Fodder Salvation System”: This cheap dish soap smells awful. Even when I’m washing dishes, I should be using absolute best.
The voice of also Salvation System sounded utterly dejected, answering with a completely irrelevant question [How could you kill him?]
Wuxi ignored it and continued complaining; And that boss’s voice is so harsh. I felt like my eardrums were about to burst.
System: [How could you kill him?]
Wuxi sighed, This boss doesn’t even have the decency to provide few pairs of rubber gloves for the dishwasher.
The system finally raised is voice to a near-shriek: [How could you actually kill him!!]
At this Wuxi’s became expressionless radiating cold air. Transmit the mission data.
The system finally shut up and begrudgingly transferred the memory files to her. The sheer helplessness in its digital heart was almost tangible; it deeply regretted binding itself to such absurd host in first place. This woman is an absolute drama queen!
She was clearly just a minor cannon fodder character meant to save the villains. All she had to do was to quietly complete her tasks. Yet, she somehow always managed to hijack the script and turn herself into the protagonist!
In the previous world, she had transmigrated as an orphaned beggar girl. Her only mission was to shield another villainous beggar from an assassination attempt to save his life. Normally, turning the tide of a villain’s tragic fate like that would ensure a successful mission.
But what did she do? She somehow precisely controlled the angle at which the sword pierced her body, successfully surviving the assassination while perfectly solidifying her role as the ultimate savior to the exiled, villainous prince. From then on, wherever the villain went, he kept her by his side, even using his own bodyguards to protect her.
And her? She shamelessly exploited the villain’s unconditional trust to befriend countless legendary figures and court the sons of powerful, high-ranking officials. Using the system’s rewards, she secretly built various factions, amassed a massive following, and effectively became the wealthiest woman in the entire Great Xia Kingdom.
In the end, the villain who was rightfully supposed to ascend the throne was imprisoned by her instead, as she crowned herself the Empress.
Even more absurdly, the villain still believed in the depth of her tragic love for him, thinking she had some noble, hidden reason for her betrayal. He had willingly embraced death at the tip of her sword.
And the worst part? The system’s sensors declared the mission a total success! The moment she executed the villain with her own hands, the progress bar hit a flawless 100% completion rate!
The system found it utterly mind-boggling. Before binding, the host was supposed to be an ordinary person at most, a highly talented actress who had won Movie Queen at a young age. It never expected Huo Wuxi to be such a terrifyingly ruthless character.
Closing her eyes for a brief few seconds, Wuxi quickly integrated the massive influx of information.
The villainous cannon fodder of this world was a man named Huo Wuchen, a relatively famous online web novel author. However, public perception labeled him as a man of vile character who plagiarized lesser-known authors and used his massive fanbase to cyberbully and dox his victims.
The “protagonist” of this world was Jian Shao, the young, victimized author whose work had supposedly been stolen. After suffering such a massive setback, Jian Shao had been so deeply traumatized that he stopped writing entirely. This evoked immense sympathy from netizens, who flocked to his Weibo account in droves to offer comfort.
Eventually, encouraged by his loyal fans, Jian Shao resumed writing two years later, completing his unfinished novel. The book successfully sold its film adaptation rights, and the movie went on to sweep the prestigious Golden Flower Awards, producing both a Best Actor and Best Actress.
Later, the public discovered that the author, Jian Shao, was actually a famous, wealthy second-generation heir on Weibo. He had attended UN conferences and was a renowned painter whose artwork fetched tens of millions at auctions. This revelation drove his fans wild, cementing his status as a flawless, multi-talented prodigy.
As for the villain, Huo Wuchen, he reaped what he sowed and became universally loathed. In the end, he allegedly had a “change of heart,” committing suicide as an act of atonement, which earned him Jian Shao’s magnanimous, posthumous forgiveness.
But in reality, the truth was completely flipped. The real plagiarist was the glamorous victim, Jian Shao, whose glittering facade masked a rotten, predatory nature. Huo Wuchen had been framed from the very beginning.
If a villain is as pathetic and easily crushed as Huo Wuchen, can they even be called a villain? Wuxi thought, pouting slightly. He’s just pure cannon fodder.
The body she currently occupied belonged to Huo Wuchen’s older sister; another certified piece of cannon fodder.
The original owner of this body was a girl who loved money. Lured by the promise of high-paying jobs, she had traveled abroad with a friend, harboring overly idealized fantasies about foreign countries.
Yet, upon arriving in West Africa, reality hit her hard. The only job she could secure was washing dishes at a gritty local restaurant for a meager 100 yuan a day.
To save face, however, she kept the grueling truth hidden from her family. She spun her miserable dishwashing job into an “enriching experience to understand life,” boasting to her younger brother that she was living luxuriously in West Africa.
In reality, everyone around her knew she was just stubbornly putting on a front. To maintain her illusion of wealth, she spent every penny of her meager salary along with the allowance her brother sent her on designer clothes, leaving herself with barely enough money for food. Whenever she starved, she just endured it.
Just moments ago, the original owner had actually starved herself to death, which allowed Wuxi to take over the body.
Suddenly, Wuxi keenly sensed an unfriendly gaze from beside her.
A young woman glared at her with blatant disdain, snorting sarcastically, “Hey, Huo Wuxi. Didn’t you say some hotshot offered you a high-paying job as a senior corporate executive? Why hasn’t their luxury car come to pick you up yet? Surely you’ve had enough of ‘experiencing life’ by now, right?”
Wuxi quickly pulled herself out of her thoughts and turned to look at the woman with a slightly strange, unbothered expression.
With a look of innocent confusion, Wuxi replied smoothly, “Of course not. To truly understand life, one must experience it deeply. I’ve only been working here for less than two months, how could I possibly leave so soon?”
The woman speaking was Liao Ling, the companion who had traveled to West Africa with the original owner.
Liao Ling sneered, “Heh, keep pretending. I’ve never seen anyone in my life turn down a high-paying corporate desk job just to squat on the pavement and scrub grease off plates.”
Wuxi paused for a brief moment, then sighed softly. “You just don’t understand. Life cannot be measured merely by material wealth. After all… the last thing I lack in this world is money.”
(Though, technically, her current bank balance was zero.)
“Right, right. Whatever you say!” Liao Ling rolled her eyes in sheer disgust.
She truly couldn’t comprehend how a materialistic, vain, and boastful woman like Wuxi could have such a sweet, warm-hearted younger brother like Huo Wuchen. Wuji’s wages were pathetic, but because her brother constantly sent her money out of worry, she could afford a single outfit worth several thousand yuan. Even while crouching on the dirty floor washing dishes, she kept her posture impeccably straight and elegant.
She’s nothing but a fake, Liao Ling thought bitterly.
Filtering through the original owner’s memories, Wuxi dried her hands and walked toward the restroom. Pulling out her cheap phone, she bypassed the standard channels and directly dialed the personal number of the Copyright Director at the Green River novel website.
As soon as the call connected, she stated calmly, “I want to purchase the film and television rights for the novel ‘High Above’ by your author, Wuchen.”
On the other end of the line, Copyright Director Gui Mei was utterly bewildered. However, her professional training kicked in, and she politely asked, “May I ask which company you represent?”
Without batting an eye, Wuxi lied smoothly, “I am the Chairwoman of Dingjin Investment Group. My opening offer is ten million yuan. Please contact the author to draft the agreement as soon as possible.”
Before the editor could respond, Wuxi hung up the phone.
Gui Mei stared at her screen, completely baffled. The request was wild enough on its own, but the fact that it involved Wuchen made it downright insane.
Even a month ago, before Wuchen’s reputation had completely imploded, his work wouldn’t have commanded a ten-million-yuan price tag. Now, Wuchen was an absolute pariah in the industry infact a street rat that everyone actively spat on. What kind of idiot would throw that much money into a radioactive property? It felt like a blatant prank call from a dedicated anti-fan looking for amusement.
However, less than five minutes later, a formal notification popped up on Gui Mei’s computer.
An email had arrived containing Dingjin Investment Group’s certified corporate qualifications, official banking credentials, and a legally airtight draft contract.
Gui Mei’s eyes widened in shock. “Impossible…” she muttered under her breath.
She scrutinized the documents over and over, but she couldn’t find a single flaw. The paperwork was completely legitimate. The only strange detail? The massive investment conglomerate wasn’t registered domestically its global headquarters was listed in a small, obscure country in West Africa.