Dawn had just arrived. In the lavishly decorated bedroom, on the red silk bedsheets, lay a young woman with a graceful figure and stunningly beautiful features.
Cold sweat kept seeping from her forehead, and her dark hair clung messily to her cheeks.
Suddenly, she bolted upright in bed.
Ji Qiuge’s pupils trembled violently as her mind replayed the scene from moments ago.
A massive mushroom cloud loomed before her—the explosion of light and heat instantly flooded the entire world, and her body was torn to shreds in that very instant.
She looked up at the room, then touched herself, on the verge of breaking down, unsure whether this was still a dream, because she had already woken up eight times within it.
[You are truly awake this time.] A mechanical voice suddenly sounded in her mind.
Ji Qiuge was startled.
“Who’s there?”
[Greetings, esteemed host. I am your System. Everything you experienced in your dreams was real. This is your ninth rebirth.]
Ji Qiuge’s expression twisted for a moment.
Her mind had just been filled with the image of the atomic bomb exploding, but with the System’s reminder, she suddenly recalled more details from the dream.
For instance, this world was merely a book—a very indescribable romance novel.
The male lead, Fu Yunjing, in the end, set off eighteen atomic bombs in a row to celebrate the female lead Su Xiaoxiao’s birthday.
Then Su Xiaoxiao, deeply moved, shed tears of joy, and the two of them lived happily ever after.
Hap-pi-ly ev-er af-ter!
And she—as the vicious female supporting character who ran through the entire story—her greatest daily function was to stick her face out and let people slap it.
At first, when she learned this in her dream, she had been shocked. But after experiencing death by atomic bomb eight times over, she was certain that this ridiculous plot and getting her face slapped meant absolutely nothing.
That was an atomic bomb!!
Damn it!
Fuck Fu Yunjing—could she just go kill him right now?!
How the hell did he manage to set off eighteen atomic bombs in a row?!
Where did he even get atomic bombs?
[Well… because he is the Child of Fortune. By the later stages, he had fully become someone who could manifest anything he wished and control the world. Whatever he wanted, he had.] The System explained at just the right moment.
Ji Qiuge: “??”
Ji Qiuge: “Does that sound reasonable to you?”
[It is indeed very unreasonable. After he set off eighteen atomic bombs, the entire world was destroyed. To change all of this, the World Consciousness specially sent me to find a host who could alter the course of the world.]
“So you found me?” Ji Qiuge picked up the thread.
[No, in fact, you are the last host we found. Across the previous eight worlds, we searched for hosts seven times. That is to say, apart from the world’s first destruction, in the seven subsequent iterations, we attempted to change the ending.]
[Unfortunately, every attempt failed. You are the final candidate among all the choices, because in our estimation, your probability of success is only 1%.]
Ji Qiuge: “…”
The System let out a very human-like mechanical sigh.
[Among the hosts previously selected, the first one we chose was actually the female lead. Her success rate was 99.9%.]
[Unfortunately, she had a lovesick brain. She thought that a man setting off eighteen atomic bombs and defying the entire world for her was incredibly romantic.]
Ji Qiuge: “…”
This isn’t just being love-struck anymore—this is having no brain at all!!
[After that, we also tried the second male lead, third male lead, female supporting characters, and extras, but all failed. It’s not that the protagonist is too difficult—it’s that you, as the only villainess who gets slapped in the face relentlessly from beginning to end and serves as the sole antagonist throughout the entire book, have the lowest probability of success.]
[But this is also our last chance. May I ask, Host, are you willing to save the world with me?]
Ji Qiuge: “…”
Ji Qiuge: “If I say I’m not willing, will I avoid being blown up by an atomic bomb? Can you just grant me death directly?”
[No, you are a core character in the book and cannot be directly erased.]
Great, so she didn’t really have a choice, did she?
“How do I kill that pair of bastards?” Ji Qiuge asked directly once she’d made up her mind.
To be honest, she never actually liked Fu Yunjing.
The male lead, Fu Yunjing, is 28 years old. At 5, he was fluent in multiple languages; at 7, he became the leader of a mercenary force; at 9, he founded his business empire; and at 18, he became the world’s richest man, with industries spanning the globe.
With chiseled features, handsome looks, and an oppressive aura, women all over the world flocked to him.
But he had one flaw—he was allergic to women.
And this flaw could only be cured by the female lead, Su Xiaoxiao.
Such an absurd premise, when heard, would normally raise eyebrows, but under the influence of the book, no one found anything unusual about it.
Ji Qiuge used to be the same, but that was just the effect of the plot.
Now that she knew everything, the mental constraints imposed on her thoughts no longer existed, and she only found it ridiculous.
Fluent in multiple languages at 5—honestly, does that even sound reasonable?
But then again, considering he could fire eighteen atomic bombs in a row, it didn’t seem all that strange anymore.
Ji Qiuge’s emotions were on a rollercoaster.
The System, being experienced, didn’t disturb her and gave her time to process.
Ji Qiuge didn’t immediately ask how to save the world either. The previous seven attempts had all failed, which meant it was extremely difficult.
So she got up and washed her face first, letting her heated mind gradually cool down.
To be honest, on her way to wash her face, countless methods of assassinating Fu Yunjing ran through her mind, but none of them could possibly succeed.
Because in the novel, that was exactly what she did.
In the early stages, she viciously targeted the female lead, and in the later stages, she went after the male lead, only to be successfully sent by him to work in a mine, where she was finally blown up by an atomic bomb.
Fu Yunjing and Su Xiaoxiao—the Children of Fortune—once they got together, they were the Heavenly Dao itself.
What they wanted, what they wished to do, no one could change.
“Tell me how I can change the ending.”
Saving the world and all that—she had no interest in it, but she didn’t want to be blown up by an atomic bomb again.
“Is it impossible for me to avoid them?”
[Correct. As long as the plot exists, you must collide with them according to the rules of the plot.]
[And to change the ending and save the world, the only way is actually to change the plot.]
Ji Qiuge furrowed her brow slightly, then slowly relaxed it.
“Go on.”
[It’s simple. We have collected a large amount of Protagonist Power from other worlds. All you need to do is recite their classic lines and perform their iconic actions, and you can obtain a sliver of their help, thereby gaining the right to modify the plot.]
Ji Qiuge asked suspiciously, “That’s all it takes? Then why did the previous seven attempts fail?”
[Faith. Their sense of faith was too weak. Those with weak faith cannot become protagonists.]
Really? Ji Qiuge grew even more doubtful.
If everyone knew they were going to be blown up by an atomic bomb, wouldn’t they have a sense of faith?
“Show me those lines.”
[The lines are issued based on the mission. Would you like to begin receiving the mission now? Successful completion of the mission will grant you a reward for modifying the plot.]
“Yes.”
[Ding—Mission issued.]
[Within 24 hours, in a gathering of no fewer than 200 people, perform an action with a sense of faith and speak the following lines: Huo Daxiong, let me Dume you! Shining Dance Technique, Dume Celestial Maiden, transform!]
[Reference action video has been sent to your email.]
[Upon mission completion, you will earn the right to modify one character.]
Ji Qiuge: “…”
Ji Qiuge slowly typed out a question mark.