Chapter 122

After last week’s manga update, Ye Zheng’s actions in the base sparked another wave of condemnation. Tang Mingxi was so angry she made several highly damaging emoji packs and casually added some dark edits to the rival male babies. Even that wasn’t enough to vent her anger.

Guided by veteran 2D fan Li Yixin, she quietly ventured beyond the main forums and certain blogs to other sites, mainly places dedicated to doujin and fan content.

The #YeZheng# tag had decent traction, but more than half the works were CP-oriented. There were even in-law fights, and some people were still summoning Zhao Mei under the Ye Zheng tag. Tang Mingxi took one look and felt shocked. How were these people’s tastes so weird?

What a venomous crowd. Suspected fetishists.

She casually checked the rival’s situation and was surprised to discover that this week, the fastest rising doujin popularity in Throne of the Aberrant Realm actually belonged to Kieran.

【Mommy’s great mommy! Your weirdest mommy has arrived!】

【Such a bad woman should be ruthlessly smeared…】

【Such amazing output. Wife is overflowing with mother energy. I’ll follow you forever, Ross!】

[T/N- Might seem confusing but This Woman/Mommy is being referred to Kieran a MALE. Yeah.]

Having spent years in cold entertainment circles, Tang Mingxi had seen plenty of male idol “mommies” who called their favorites “little girl,” “baby sis,” or “wifey.” Every time she searched those feminine terms and found the plaza full of male idol photos, she couldn’t help rolling her eyes.

Yet when she saw this group of Kieran mommies, she still felt her horizons had been broadened.

Did no one remember how Kieran used those women for experiments in the manga? How could anyone treat that male character like a woman and adore him like that? Tang Mingxi felt these Kieran mommies owed her a pair of unpolluted eyes!

The forums were still filled with arguments surrounding Kieran. Tang Mingxi usually loved joining chaotic debates, but this time she didn’t even want to look anymore. She only wanted this disgusting man to go offline quickly. Quite a few readers shared the same feeling.

【29L: This is insane. There are actually this many people who genuinely like Kieran. Your tastes are terrifying…】

【30L: Someone liking him is whatever, I can laugh it off. What I can’t stand is them slapping female terms on him. Go look at how the bar next door supports Kieran while cursing women. Wake up.】

【31L: If he hadn’t run that kind of woman-persecuting experiment, I might’ve staned him for his looks and personality. But his actions are really disgusting… though he’s not pure evil.】

……

【78L: Controlling the sky, controlling the earth, now controlling what other people stan? The 2D doujin environment is getting worse and worse.】

【79L: Stanning Kieran doesn’t mean supporting his actions. Liking him doesn’t mean whitewashing him. Such simple logic. Understand?】

【80L: +1 to the above. There are even people attacking artists who draw Kieran. Who exactly can’t separate 3D and 2D? My heart aches for the creators.】

【81L: Got it. You people who like female-insulting trash are subhuman. You deserve to eat at the same table as the bar guys next door.】

【82L: Another fresh “female-insulting” label slapped on. What am I then, writing Kieran getting wiped, fucked, and turned into a streetwalker? I’m just treating a male character as an object of the female gaze. You all take it way too seriously.】

【83L: Support all the Kieran mommies! Bad men like this should be ruthlessly played with and turned into objects of our female gaze!】

【84L: The ones cursing Kieran mommies should sit at the same table as the bar guys. Making men sell ass is a deconstruction of male authority. That crowd only breaks when they see ass literature.】

【85L: I’ve never seen men break over your ass literature. I’ve only seen them break over #SerialKillerZheng#.】

【86L: We villain stans are the ones who most want our favorites to die. Passersby, stop judging us, okay? A character like Kieran is obviously meant to die for his ideals. When the time comes, Kieran stans will probably be happier than you passersby. A perfectly rounded death is an aesthetic…】

Tang Mingxi looked at these eye-blackening comments. Thinking that if Kieran lived one more week in the manga, she’d have to endure this kind of thing for another week, she almost wanted to uninstall the forums.

Until she opened this week’s update.

In last week’s chapter, Ye Zheng had killed several people and was caught by Kieran’s men, then locked in the confinement cell. Tang Mingxi had a bad feeling. The author would probably sideline Ye Zheng again. This author always quietly gave the female lead small shoes unless it was a major main-plot event. Even her daily inner thoughts barely appeared.

After thinking about it, Tang Mingxi realized this portrayal had accidentally made Ye Zheng the most discussed character. Distinct personality traits combined with plenty of blank space created the perfect ground for second creators to play with.

Although some of the doujin content reached a level that could kill her as a veteran fan.

When she opened the manga, Pei Xi and Kieran’s faces appeared on the screen. Tang Mingxi quickly scrolled down, wishing she could quantum-speed-read through this part.

She skimmed quickly but still grasped the gist. Pei Xi had gained Kieran’s support, pulled in his two teammates, and even successfully persuaded Sykes to join them. Together they set out to rescue the five hundred thousand people trapped by Zhou Yun.

A completely unsurprising development. Even though Pei Xi had previously tried to kill Kieran over the evils of the Hope Project, he could now calmly talk with Kieran, set aside the base’s crimes, and continue playing the hero for the people.

The only thing that surprised Tang Mingxi a little was that Pei Xi had run into Lu Qi in the base. The hurried Lu Qi seemed to have something urgent to do and refused to follow Pei Xi back to the Cloud Soarers team.

What exactly was Lu Qi planning to do? Had she been turned into an experimental subject as well?

On the screen, Pei Xi seemed to have the same thought. His face twisted in conflict for a moment before he decided to set Lu Qi aside for now and find the others to act.

Seeing this, Tang Mingxi truly felt the Cloud Soarers’ friendship was somewhat plastic. They ignored the evil right in front of them and chased distant justice instead. Was that really justice?

Fortunately Ye Zheng wasn’t part of this protagonist group. She genuinely couldn’t accept the author’s logic behind the team’s behavior.

Next, Pei Xi and Sykes quickly set out with their people. Meanwhile, Kieran watched them leave from the church. His handsome face carried a gentle and profound expression.

Then someone stumbled frantically toward him.

Tang Mingxi frowned because she couldn’t hear what the person said. On the screen, Kieran’s expression changed abruptly. He pushed everyone aside and strode deeper into the base.

Seeing this, Tang Mingxi had a strange intuition. Pei Xi and Sykes had already left, so who in the base could make Kieran lose his composure like that? Ye Zheng!

She scrolled down frantically, her heart itching with impatience. The manga panel switched to Pei Xi’s perspective. A group stepped into the thick fog and encountered an attack from what the base called Fallen Ones, dragon-bodied creatures. After a fierce battle, the party staggered toward the town.

Outside the screen, Tang Mingxi remained fixated on what was happening in the base. Was Ye Zheng really just locked up like that?

On the screen, Pei Xi chopped off one of the monster’s limbs. Suddenly he seemed to sense something and looked back toward the base. Worry rose in his heart for Lu Qi and for Ye Zheng, who was trapped in the base. He had a feeling that something was about to go wrong.

The protagonist’s sixth sense was always accurate. Tang Mingxi’s heart tightened. Don’t tell me something really big had happened in the base?

Carrying that worry, she kept scrolling until Pei Xi and the others entered the small town where Zhou Yun had once trapped the hostages. After learning about the town’s situation, the unease in Pei Xi’s heart still refused to fade.

In the manga, the black-haired, blue-eyed youth walked gloomily alone through the fog-shrouded streets. An inexplicable worry surged in his heart once again.

Suddenly, he bumped into someone. The other person’s black bag fell to the ground, and something rolled out.

Pei Xi immediately crouched down to help pick it up, apologizing as he did. But the feeling in his hand was wrong. His body froze.

“Pei Xi, give it to me, okay?”

In the thick fog, the other person’s figure flickered in and out of sight. Then the youth forcefully took the round object from Pei Xi’s hand. At last, the youth’s face became clear.

Ye Zheng held a terrified, ugly head. She stood up and looked down at Pei Xi with a smile, as if she were greeting him.

The manga’s perspective followed Pei Xi’s gaze, looking up at this horrifying and chilling scene.

“Aaaahhh!”

Tang Mingxi shouted in excitement. She replayed the scene over and over again, then eagerly clicked into the forums.

This time, the forums were once again filled with wails and screams.

【1L: @NotOrdinaryMangaWorker Look at what you’ve drawn!】

【2L: I’m done. Someone tell me that head isn’t Kieran…】

【3L: Hair color matches, eye color matches, even the mole under the eye. But it’s still possible that Kieran faked his death, right?】

【4L: Kieran stans, don’t cry yet. Based on how the author built him up, how could Kieran die so easily? And in such an ugly way.】

【5L: What I can’t accept is how ugly the death is. Your weird first-beauty mommy died like that. Are you okay with it?】

【6L: Why is it Ye Zheng again? I used to stan Yin Kong. Someone analyzed that he was already killed by Ye Zheng. Now Kieran too?】

【7L: @Author Refund! I’ve never seen an author treat characters so casually. Only Ye Zheng is your real daughter, right?】

【8L: Why drag Ye Zheng into this again? Killing isn’t new for her. Why didn’t you speak up for the random male victims she killed? Oh wait, you did speak up for those woman-abusing random males.】

【9L: Ye Zheng stans, stop selling swords here. Look how much hate your fave has accumulated.】

【10L: Wait. Kieran stans have the nerve to say Ye Zheng has accumulated hate? Even if the dead deserve respect, your audacity has gone a bit too far.】

【11L: Ahhh, the person upstairs is speaking facts!】

……

【107L: Aren’t Kieran stans the ones who treat him as a female-gaze plaything? Then why are you cursing a real woman, Ye Zheng, over a female-gaze plaything?】

【108L: Oh my god, aren’t Kieran stans the ones who most want Kieran dead? Hurry up and celebrate.】

【109L: Stop talking. Kieran stans are actually so happy they can’t even speak. They’re frantically thanking Ye Zheng in front of their screens for fulfilling their wish that their fave dies a fitting death.】

【110L: (Comment blocked by moderator for extreme language)】

【111L: The person upstairs curses so viciously. Are these really the same women who build doujin of Kieran selling ass for love?】

【112L: Stop it. The Kieran dream boys in the bar next door are breaking down too. They’re calling for refunds lol.】

【113L: No, the author is the one most wronged here. Most of them aren’t even reading the paid version, right? They’re just scheming to scam the author for money.】

【114L: boys hurt boys (light a candle)】

【115L: I’ve got a feeling Ye Zheng is about to get massively blackened again. Poor paper girl. She spends every day eliminating evil for the people, yet she still gets anti’d.】

Tang Mingxi left the thread while mourning Kieran’s “grave.” After refreshing the homepage, sure enough, a brand new Ye Zheng hate thread had appeared. She clicked into it without surprise and found it even more exciting than the Kieran mourning thread.

The title alone was absurdly creative, and it made her chuckle darkly.

【Who’s with me to report this manga by real name? Ye Zheng’s image has already influenced teenagers’ understanding of social order and good morals.】【hot!】

【1L: Who’s with me to report this manga by real name? Ye Zheng’s image has already influenced teenagers’ understanding of social order and good morals.】

【2L: This is the first time I’ve seen a manga where someone tortures, kills, and even beheads people, yet her fans still defend her crazily. It promotes a vicious, negative value of “destroy the world if you’re unhappy.” Call it righteous evil if you want, but it’s just disgusting rot. Normal people wouldn’t do those things.】

【3L: It also promotes disorder and disrespect for procedural justice and rules. It’s suspected of encouraging vigilante justice. Teenagers could easily develop lawless personal-hero tendencies.】

【4L: …Sis, are you memeing?】

【5L: Add me to the report. Everyone look at my attached guide (flowchart).】

【6L: I’ve wanted to say this for a long time. Ye Zheng’s character really has messed-up morals. Seeing so many people like her makes the influence terrible.】

【7L: Wait, you’re serious? No one reported Kieran’s rotten character, but Ye Zheng killing a few beasts gets reported?】

【8L: Not even Ye Zheng stans think this is reasonable. I mean who would think Ye Zheng killed your dad…】

【9L: No need to report. Just go protest under the author’s Weibo. Some sisters are already preparing big-character posters (attached image).】

【10L: Ye Zheng stans upstairs, stop muddying the waters. Don’t lump everyone who hates Ye Zheng together with Kieran stans. Hating her doesn’t mean supporting Kieran.】

【11L: I’ve endured Ye Zheng and her stans long enough. Today’s final panel scared me to death. A shonen manga shouldn’t have this kind of character!】

【12L: Who still remembers that this manga is rated 16+? If Ye Zheng keeps doing this, the whole thing might really get taken down.】

……

Tang Mingxi declared that this was the most absurd thread she had seen since she started stanning Ye Zheng.

Where was the promised tolerance of a niche circle? Ye Zheng eliminated evil for the people and still getting reported. She simply couldn’t understand it. What exactly did these people hate about Ye Zheng?

Fortunately, most of the comments under this unhinged thread opposed it.

【279L: Male-baby dads at their most absurd moment. I don’t know who thinks Ye Zheng is starting World War III. She just killed a few non-humans.】

【280L: I told you that stanning too many male babies rots your brain. Are you hating Ye Zheng’s morals or hating her for suppressing your male babies? You know the answer in your hearts.】

【281L: I’m a Pei Xi stan. The final panel shocked me a bit, but shouldn’t people like Kieran be killed? If you keep abusing Ye Zheng like this, I might actually start stanning her…】

【282L: Same. I wasn’t interested in stanning anyone before, but lately I keep speaking up for Ye Zheng. It feels like I’m about to become shaped like her…】

【283L: Kieran stans acting like villain stans while reporting other villains is kind of hilarious.】

【284L: Honestly, Ye Zheng killed several people. That’s really bad. I want to intensely gaze at her in revenge (attached Ye Zheng modern cop outfit doujin).】

【285L: I’m just strolling through the forums and still getting fresh food! Being a Ye Zheng stan is too blissful.】

【286L: Look at this little bad girl! Everyone come worship her! This is a deconstruction of female authority! (attached Ye Zheng ultra-wide-shoulders crazy domme image).】

Tang Mingxi had come prepared for an exciting battle, but as she scrolled further, the thread had completely turned into a Ye Zheng doujin supremacy contest.

【293L: Oh my god. Suggesting that OP report this to the police is way too serious. Everyone come female-gaze this mommy wife baby sis~】

【294L: Eunuch mommies step aside! Ghost sculpture is Ye Zheng’s true sculpture. Everyone must absolutely not let this little female ghost go! (attached Ye Zheng hugging head smiling image).】

……

【337L: I can’t take this anymore. How are there really Ye Zheng Eunuch mommies fighting in this thread? Doesn’t anyone care about OP’s report?!】

【338L: This OP called Ye Zheng a “hero” instead of a “heroine.” Identified as Ye Zheng Eunuch. Case closed.】

[T/N: “Eunuch”=Simp(here not actual meaning) is Chinese fandom slang mocking male fans who obsessively defend a female character.]

【339L: Passersby are really laughing themselves to collapse in this thread. You Zheng moms are something else…】

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Authors Note  

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This report thread was based on actual report content I received. The original was exactly this absurd. I even toned it down a bit. When I saw the report text, I laughed until I was rich.