Chapter 2 — System Error

This was a game world.

And Xie Chu was its ultimate villain.

According to his original character settings, he had been born into a family utterly devoid of love. His father had abandoned both him and his mother in pursuit of a higher social standing. His mother eventually became mentally unstable, taking out her anger on him day after day.

She died when he was six.

After that, he lived on the streets, drifting from place to place until his biological father finally came looking for him.

Only to bring him home and subject him to years of abuse at the hands of his stepmother.

It was no wonder Xie Chu grew up with an extreme mindset and an all-consuming desire to destroy everything around him.

The problem was…

I’d broken his character settings.

The system told me that during the game’s beta testing phase, I’d once used an item to give the homeless little Xie Chu a bowl of rice.

Somehow, because of a glitch, that single action had been permanently recorded in the official game data.

As a result, his corruption level had remained stuck at 95%.

There was still one tiny spark of kindness left inside him, preventing him from becoming a complete villain.

He didn’t even care about the female lead—the girl he’d supposedly grown up with.

The entire storyline had gone off the rails.

The game world was about to collapse.

So the system came looking for me—the person who had caused the original bug—to fix his character settings.

I agreed immediately.

Because the reward was…

Five million.

My mother had been bedridden for years. With five million, maybe there was still a chance to get her proper treatment.

Besides, the mission didn’t sound difficult.

All I had to do was make one person completely evil.

Destroy everything he’d ever believed in.

Extinguish the last remaining light in his heart.

And that light…

was me.

Thanks to the “debt of gratitude” from that bowl of rice years ago, I had no trouble getting close to Xie Chu.

For three whole years, I treated him like he was the most precious thing in the world.

When his stepmother yelled at him, I yelled right back.

When his father hit him, I stepped between them.

Again and again, I told him,

“It doesn’t matter if other people don’t like you. As long as I like you, that’s enough. I’ll always be by your side.”

Back then, the look in the boy’s eyes was so pure it could melt anyone’s heart.

He was happy.

He trusted me completely.

When his corruption level dropped to just 1%, I knew…

He had fallen hopelessly in love with me.

The day the mission was supposed to end was also the first day it snowed.

Xie Chu awkwardly wrapped a scarf around my neck.

It was white.

Beautiful.

The only problem was that the stitches zigzagged wildly, looking more like an EKG than an actual scarf.

I hugged my stomach and laughed so hard I could barely breathe.

“Don’t tell me you knitted this yourself.”

Xie Chu gave a quiet snort, his expression dripping with disdain.

“Do I look like I have nothing better to do than waste my time making something that stupid?”

But the tips of his ears were bright red.

So red they practically looked like they might start glowing.

The moment he walked away, the system started screaming in my ear.

【Wake up, Host! He’s just a fictional character in a two-dimensional world!】

I wrapped the scarf tighter around my neck and laughed in exasperation.

“Shut up. I’m just wearing the scarf. It’s not like I’m planning to marry him.”

It took me forever to finally step outside.

Everything had already been arranged.

Xie Chu’s father—the man who had been bedridden for the past two years—had suddenly developed a conscience and decided to start caring about the only son he’d had with his first wife.

He wanted to hand his entire fortune over to Xie Chu.

Partly out of guilt.

And partly because his two children with his current wife were simply too useless to save.

Giving the company to them would be no different from setting his money on fire.

But that fortune had originally been built on his current wife’s family’s backing.

There was no way she would willingly let Xie Chu take it.

Which was how this little scene of “brothers turning on each other” had ended up taking place in this abandoned warehouse.

Just as the tension reached its breaking point, I stepped out holding a stack of documents bearing Xie Chu’s signature.

I’d practically sweet-talked him into losing his mind.

Whenever I handed him something, he signed it without even bothering to read it.

Xie Chu’s face went deathly pale.

He stared at me.

“Qianqian… You didn’t mean to do this, did you?”

I clenched my fists.

“No. I did it on purpose.”

【Corruption level: 10%.】

His voice turned hoarse.

“Are they threatening you?”

“No.”

【Corruption level: 20%.】

“Then did they force you into this? Are they threatening you somehow?”

“No. It’s not that either.”

【Corruption level: 30%.】

His stepmother sneered from beside him.

“A bastard son like you, born to some worthless woman—what could you possibly offer to keep her? Qianqian has already been with Lang for a long time. Once you go to prison, we’ll even send you an invitation to our wedding.”

Xie Chu looked at me, his eyes bloodshot and terrifying.

“Is that true?”

I bit down hard on my teeth.

“It’s true.”

【Corruption level: 40%.】

“Lin Qian.”

He spoke each word through clenched teeth.

“Come here. Come here right now, and I’ll pretend none of this ever happened.”

His eyes were red and wild, like he was on the verge of snapping.

I turned my head away.

I couldn’t bear to look at him anymore.

Meanwhile, the system was losing its mind even faster than he was.

【Look at him! Say something even crueler! His corruption is increasing too slowly!】

I drew a deep breath and forced myself to turn back.

I looked at him with a heartless, icy expression.

Suddenly, Xie Chu kicked the table in front of him across the room.

Crash!

“I told you to come here!!!”

【Corruption level: 50%.】

I clenched my fingertips.

“Three months from now, I’m marrying Xie Lang. Don’t forget to come to the wedding.”

【Corruption level: 50%.】

“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve never liked you. Not once.”

【Corruption level: 50%.】

“Who told you to be so stupid? Give you a little sweetness and you obediently wag your tail like a puppy.”

【Corruption level: 50%.】

The system screamed so loudly I thought my eardrums were going to burst.

【Useless! He doesn’t believe you! Qianqian, go all in!】

I gritted my teeth and slipped my arm through Xie Lang’s.

Xie Chu’s brow twitched violently.

The next second, he charged forward and punched him.

His two younger brothers immediately rushed in to fight him, but even with both of them attacking together, Xie Chu beat them down like punching bags.

【Corruption level: 40%.】

【Qianqian, he saw through your expression! Use the final move! Now!】

His stepmother screamed from the side, too terrified to get any closer.

After knocking both of his brothers to the ground, Xie Chu grabbed my hand and tried to drag me away.

【Qianqian, you can’t go with him! Three years are up! If you don’t complete the mission, you’re going to die in this world! Where’s the knife?! Where’s your dagger?!】

My entire body trembled.

One of my hands was trapped in Xie Chu’s grip, his fingers squeezing so tightly that it hurt.

My other hand…

was wrapped tightly around the dagger.

But I couldn’t bring myself to pull it out.

【Qianqian, he can’t die! He’s the final villain of this world! The corruption only makes him stronger! If you miss this chance, you’ll really be killing yourself!】

Xie Lang’s face was bruised and swollen as he staggered after us.

Then Xie Rui rushed over too.

His stepmother joined the chaos.

The whole warehouse descended into absolute madness.

I was shoved aside.

The only thing left in my head was the system’s desperate voice:

【Qianqian, do it! If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for your mother! If this world collapses, Xie Chu will truly disappear! Do it! Right now!!!】

The moment the blade plunged into Xie Chu’s chest, the entire world seemed to fall silent.

Fresh blood splattered across the white scarf he’d just wrapped around my neck.

Bright red.

Like plum blossoms blooming against the snow.

Xie Chu stared at me, disbelief written all over his face.

His dark eyes slowly clouded over.

The system screamed in my ear:

【One last line! That’s all! Say it!】

The final line…

I heard my own voice trembling as I spoke.

“You filthy bastard… You should’ve died a long time ago.”

The light in Xie Chu’s eyes went out instantly.

【30%… 20%… 10%… 5%… 1%…】

【Warning: World collapse imminent.】

【Corruption level: 100%.】

【Mission complete.】

The warehouse doors were kicked open.

Someone rushed in and kicked me away from Xie Chu.

As my body went sprawling backward, I heard the system let out a quiet sigh.

【It’s finally over. I’m taking you home.】

Before I lost consciousness, I saw Xie Chu.

His face was deathly pale, smeared with blood.

His hands were stained crimson.

He shoved everyone out of his way and staggered toward me.