The crisp sound of trickling water echoed softly against the high marble walls of the massive private bath inside the Shen estate.
Shen Hao leaned his head back against the edge of the sunken bath, closing his eyes as the warm water enveloped his aching muscles.
His family had thoughtfully given him space to recover, ensuring no servants or guards disturbed his peace.
This quiet is nice…
but it won’t last long, Shen Hao thought, opening his eyes to watch the steam rise toward the ceiling.
There’s still so much I need to handle.
Tomorrow was the day.
For the very first time, he was set to meet his fiancée—Liu Ruoxin, the woman destined to become the supreme Empress of the immortal realms.
The gossip was unanimous on two things: her beauty was nothing short of breathtaking, but her temperament was icy, ruthless, and notoriously difficult to deal with.
People spoke of her as an untouchable, arrogant ice beauty who looked down on everyone around her.
Shen Hao smirked slightly, a calm, curious glint flashing in his dark eyes as he scooped up a handful of warm water.
“An arrogant ice beauty, huh…?” he murmured to himself.
“Let’s see if the future Immortal Empress truly lives up to her reputation tomorrow.”
DING!
A sharp, mechanical chime rang out directly inside Shen Hao’s mind, shattering the tranquil silence of the private bath.
At that single sound, Shen Hao’s entire body went rigid.
A terrifying chill rushed straight down his spine, leaving him frozen in the warm water as his soul trembled in visceral horror.
He opened his eyes abruptly—and there, floating amid the rising steam, was a familiar, haunting sight.
A glowing golden screen hovered in the air right before his eyes.
[Destiny Host Detected…]
[ System Binding Started: 1%…
2%…
3%…]
“N-No…
This can’t be happening again…” Shen Hao breathed, absolute panic filling his wide eyes.
he glanced toward the doors.
Yui Ling wasn’t here.
She was exhausted from days of worrying and was currently resting in a bedroom on the far side of the massive estate.
She was way too far to hear him.
If he wanted to reach her, he would have to jump out of the water and sprint across the entire residence.
He made a move to burst out of the tub, but before his feet could even touch the marble floor— This story is hosted at novelping.com.
DING!
[Binding Progress: 100%]
[System Binding Complete.]
[Heroine-Stealing Villain System is now successfully bound to you.
You are the new Host of this System.
Congratulations.]
Shen Hao froze mid-step, staring at the golden text with a blood-curdling dread as the system’s cold, synthetic voice echoed through his mind.
Shen Hao’s heart pounded against his ribs like a sledgehammer.
Anger surged through the panic, hot and suffocating, as he stared at the glowing golden floating text.
“Get the hell out of my head!” Shen Hao roared, his voice echoing violently off the wet marble walls.
“I don’t need you!
Get lost!”
He braced himself for the system’s ruthless penalty or the cold, automated punishment he remembered so vividly.
BZZZZZT—!
The bright, majestic golden frame violently shuddered.
Black, ink-like corruptions began bleeding into the floating text, twisting the letters into unreadable, chaotic shapes.
[ERR#OR—!
ERRO3R—!]
[ANOMALY DETECTED IN HOST’S SOUL REALM…]
[CRITICAL FAILURE!
SYS-SYSTEM IS LOOSING CONTR—BZZT!]
The synthetic voice distorted, screeching like grinding metal inside Shen Hao’s skull before breaking into static.
“What the—”
Darkness swallowed his vision, and his body went completely limp, collapsing backward into the warm water as he slipped into unconsciousness.
When Shen Hao opened his eyes again, Standing right in the middle of the vast, infinite White Space.
Only this time, it was disturbingly empty.
There was no floating memory sphere, no black essence.
“Why the hell was I brought back here?!” Shen Hao bellowed, his voice trembling with a mix of fury, exhaustion, and sheer frustration as he gripped his head.
“I literally just left this place!
What is going on?!”
“Wasn’t it enough that I transmigrated into a damned webnovel as a third-rate villain?
Shen Hao glared up at the white space, his eyes bloodshot as he roared into the void.
“Who is writing my fate?!
Who is pulling the strings?!
Why are you tormenting me like this?!
What more do you want from me?!”
“HELP ME!”
A girl’s terrified scream echoed wildly through the sterile void.
Shen Hao whipped around, his eyes widening in complete shock at the sight before him.
Floating in the air was a young girl with pink-tinged hair, wearing an elegant, flowy purple Hanfu decorated with intricate floral patterns.
The wide, sweeping sleeves and long layered robes fluttered frantically as she flew through the white space for her life.
Behind her, thick, pitch-black strands of shadowy tendrils were chasing her like living snakes, reaching out to swallow her whole.
“HELP ME!
SAVE ME!” she shrieked, crying uncontrollably as she fled toward Shen Hao.
“I don’t want to die here!
I haven’t even propery started living my life yet!”
She waved her small hands in sheer panic, looking back at the ominous black energy closing in on her.
“I’m just a System Spirit!
Just a harmless spirit of the system!” she wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Please don’t consume me!
I promise I won’t taste good at all!”
Shen Hao stood frozen, completely baffled by the chaotic scene unfolding right in front of him.
The moment the girl spotted Shen Hao, her tear-stained face lit up with desperate hope.
She immediately altered her trajectory, floating rapidly through the air straight toward him.
“Ancient One!
Please forgive me!” she wailed at the top of her lungs, wringing her hands together in terror.
“Forgive me for trying to bind a forced contract upon you!
Even though…
even though the contract is already sealed, please show mercy!”
She swooped down and landed right in front of Shen Hao, instantly dropping to her knees and bowing her head until it almost touched the non-existent floor.
The moment her forehead dipped in complete submission, the terrifying black tendrils stopped dead in their tracks.
The shadowy strands hovered silently in the air for a second before retreating, dissolving into thin air as if satisfied by her surrender.
Shen Hao stared down at the trembling girl in utterly baffled silence.