Chapter 4: Playing Another Self

Yun Ruoxi was resisting such a future.

But just as the script said.

If she really ran away with Lin Zhen, the overlord who had been in constant contact with the battle camp would find out.

To cover up his massacre of the Night Lan family, he would definitely move to silence her.

Unless she could become stronger than the overlord, or find a way to completely hide her whereabouts…

Otherwise, this was a dead end.

What was even more troublesome was that.

She was about to be stripped of her bloodline. When that happened, she would be even weaker than her original self in the script.

The difficulty of changing her fate would only increase.

“Playing by the rules and gradually gaining popularity won’t change the future. I have to drastically alter the plot to earn enough popularity to turn things around!” Yun Ruoxi set her goal.

To achieve this, she couldn’t just be content with being the villainous second female lead who only had enough screen time in the second season.

She had to appear in front of the “camera” as much as possible—in other words, in front of the Super Spacetime Audience—to build her presence.

Only then could she accumulate enough popularity to change her destiny before the twelve episodes of the first season ended, completely overturning all misfortune.

【Friendly Reminder: At the end of the first season, character popularity rankings will be tallied. Those who rank high will earn Spin-off Qualification, securing more screen time in the second season.】

“Besides screen time, are there any other benefits to Spin-off Qualification?”

【Characters with high ranks not only ensure substantial plot weight in the second season but also have the chance to launch exclusive Side Stories, and possibly even personal derivative series.】

“I see… Spin-off Qualification is really necessary then.”

Yun Ruoxi’s eyes flickered as she pondered.

According to the original script.

Though she was in the same battle camp as the protagonists, she was assigned to a different group.

Apart from the initial Unified Selection and a few tests, she hardly had any chance to meet Lin Zhen and the others.

That was the real reason she always lingered on the outskirts of the protagonist group in the original script.

“Changing my group is difficult. I can try a little, but I also have to consider how to get more screen time and popularity in the limited opportunities I have if I’m assigned to a different group.”

Confidence.

Yun Ruoxi thought deeply.

With limited chances, to get more screen time, she had to ensure she became a key driver of the plot.

For example: squeezing out other characters’ screen time, or simply changing the story so that critical plot points centered around her.

But just getting screen time wasn’t enough.

She also had to make the audience truly like her, preferably to the point where they would be emotionally invested in her fate.

Only then could she secure enough popularity.

A solid, attractive character setting was crucial.

Though it sounded like bragging, as the famous beauty—the Princess of the Night Lan Family—she was quite confident in her looks.

In the star era, at least, she was a Beauty of the Star System level.

But beauty was just a bonus; it couldn’t be the absolute factor for a good character in the eyes of the audience.

Pretty without other charms was just a vase.

The audience might appreciate a vase, but they wouldn’t be emotionally invested to life-or-death extremes because of it.

“The popular female supporting characters in past anime basically followed a few patterns: comedic, contrasting, cute, airheaded, or cool and bold.”

“But that alone isn’t enough. The heroine already holds that position in the series. She naturally gets more screen time, heavier plot focus, and is easier to gain audience favor.”

“If I want to outshine her, I need a more special highlight.”

“Preferably something that can break out of the original audience circle, attract attention even beyond it. If that’s the case… there seems to be only one choice left.”

Images of several characters flashed before Yun Ruoxi’s eyes.

The hair gel master high above the heavens, the gentle ninja burdened with the sin of clan annihilation, the worthless vampire who loves eating small breads…

All were undoubtedly breakout characters in their respective series, with tremendous popularity and longevity.

And they had one thing in common: they were villains.

As the protagonists’ foil, villains naturally gained enough popularity through their confrontations with the heroes.

If a few elements were added on top.

Like style, tragic strength, and a touch of scumbag traits.

That made breakout characters even easier to create.

Yun Ruoxi’s own role was villainous by definition. She didn’t need to forcibly hijack another character’s role; she just had to “refine” herself along this direction.

This was much easier than forcibly stealing the heroine’s script.

“But to stay close to the protagonist group and not be hated by the Super Spacetime Audience, I have to be a villain who acts only out of necessity, reluctantly targeting the protagonists but actually caring about them.”

“In that case, combined with my background, the beautiful, strong, tragic label… it really fits me perfectly.”

Yun Ruoxi whispered to herself, a bittersweet smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

“System, open the exchange list.”

【Opened. Current popularity: 97,100. Listed are the items the host can currently redeem.】

A long list unfolded, dozens of pages.

Yun Ruoxi had enough time to review every item carefully and thought for a long while.

Finally, she made her decision.

“Redeem Master-level Acting, Real-time Danmaku Frame, Beast Combat Instinct…and Pain Shield.”

【Popularity points deducted. Remaining: 37,000.】

Yun Ruoxi had barely acted in her past life or present, and if she just played herself, that would be fine.

But now, she had to perform a different version of herself in front of billions of eyes in another world.

So acting skills were very important.

Master-level Acting cost 20,000 popularity points, and she chose it without hesitation.

Beast Combat Instinct, though requiring 30,000 points.

Could give her a powerful advantage in close combat, very useful in the upcoming battle camp selections.

Pain Shield, costing 10,000 points, would help her endure the self-inflicted suffering she chose to build her character—after living a pampered life for ten years, her body was fragile, and she was indeed afraid of pain.

As for Real-time Danmaku Frame, costing only 100 points, it was more like a system-provided bonus.

With it, Yun Ruoxi could see whether she appeared in the series’ scenes via the real-time barrage and even gain information only accessible from a godlike perspective through the danmaku.

Especially as the episodes progressed and the butterfly effect changed the plot dramatically, the real-time danmaku might provide some very important information.

“37,000 popularity points left.”

Yun Ruoxi didn’t intend to leave the remaining points unused. She already had plans.

But she would only start redeeming them after she lost her bloodline.

“System, you can now cancel my forced calm state and let me return to rest.”

【Understood. Removing calm and alert status. Please remain calm, host.】

In an instant.

Yun Ruoxi felt as if she had shed a puppet’s costume and removed the mask from her face.

All her emotions were exposed.

The overwhelming pain, grief, and rage, repressed for so long, erupted like a volcanic explosion.

She wanted to cry, scream, tear everything before her apart, even cut her own throat.

But the just-redeemed Master-level Acting was like an invisible mask, firmly covering her true emotions.

In the end, only a nearly serene calm remained on her face.

Drowsiness rolled in like a tide. Yun Ruoxi slowly closed her eyes, a warm tear finally sliding down.

“I’m sorry.”

Buzz.

The Rest Pod purified the impurities in the hibernation fluid, turning them into steam and releasing them.

Yun Ruoxi’s face was free of tears now, only peace remained.