Chapter 54

 “Eh, why has our little saintess come today?”

The middle-aged man entered the hall with a smile, gazing at the saintess who stood bowed and waiting. The saintess, maintaining a reverent posture, looked up upon hearing him. Her face was somewhat pale, her expression hesitant.

“Pope, the Crown Prince, his Highness, is personally going to the lower district to handle that aberrant realm.”

Wen Jian showed a surprised expression. That deliberate, artificial gentleness vanished momentarily, and a flash of gloom passed through his eyes.

Ye Zheng blinked. It seemed he had not yet received the news. Whether it was an illusion or not, his mood did not seem good today. It appeared that he had encountered more than one unpleasant matter.

“That realm? Why would the Crown Prince suddenly act on a whim?”

Even his tone was unsteady, lacking his usual calm persona. A trace of impatience leaked out.

“Today, in the Crown Prince’s room, limbs belonging to children trapped in that realm were found. His Highness was extremely angry and is already preparing to depart.”

“People around the Crown Prince allowed him to jump into such an obvious trap?”

Wen Jian found it unbelievable. Someone had clearly set a trap to lure Sykes into the realm, yet Sykes still leapt in.

Ye Zheng smiled bitterly and helplessly.

“You know His Highness Sykes’ personality. He is very straightforward.”

Wen Jian paced in place, then suddenly turned his gaze to the saintess standing at the center of the hall.

“You were at the scene?”

“Yes. I originally wanted to ask His Highness Sykes about the tournament.”

“Such matters are unnecessary to ask the Crown Prince.”

The Pope interrupted her.

His brown eyes, always smiling, now held a deep scrutiny. He stood on the steps, looking down at her with a smile.

“You are the pure and beautiful saintess of the church. You are not some deceitful, wicked child full of lies, are you?”

Ye Zheng felt the cold, viper-like probing gaze of the middle-aged man sweep over her. She lowered her head further, showing no trace of panic, and gave the answer she had long prepared.

“Besides, I also wanted to request some things from His Highness Sykes. Such as for my brother and my father. Both are capable and loyal people. Perhaps in this chaotic time, they could share His Highness’ burdens.”

Upon hearing Ye Zheng’s answer, the Pope’s smile became more genuine. He nodded.

“I did not misjudge you. A good child who thinks for her family.”

Ye Zheng spoke with a hint of unease and respect in her tone. But beneath the shadows cast by her lowered face, her expression was extremely calm. When she lifted her head, sunlight filtered through the stained glass painted with images of God, illuminating her features. She displayed a timely look of gratitude.

“Sykes is a straightforward and generous child. As long as one is loyal, he will satisfy such requests.”

“Of course, do not forget that you are a person of the church.”

Wen Jian reminded her gently, without any previous oppression, sounding like a kindly elder.

He was the same type as Yu Tianming.

Ye Zheng listened with a smile, while calmly thinking to herself.

As Pope, Wen Jian held no faith whatsoever. He was a creature driven purely by interest. Naturally, he viewed everyone else as beasts that could be driven by interest as well.

At the same time, he believed himself extremely intelligent, enough to see through and control everyone.

Ye Zheng looked up at the lofty middle-aged man. There was not a trace of respect in her heart. This was the man who had frequently appeared in little Ye Zheng’s nightmares. At seventeen, Ye Zheng had already seen through his logic of action. It was as though he believed he was easily manipulating a child.

“My lord, I have one more impudent request.”

“Speak.”

Wen Jian’s mood improved somewhat. At least most things were still within his control.

“You gave me the chance to assist His Highness Sykes. I am very grateful. During this period, my actions have made me realize that things are not as simple as I imagined. Especially today, after seeing those things in His Highness’ room…”

The girl seemed to recall the horrifying scene. Her voice carried an almost imperceptible tremble.

Wen Jian understood.

Peers from the tournament had been turned into cruelly arranged corpse parts as provocation. Ye Zheng was intelligent and ambitious, but still an inexperienced young girl. Fear was inevitable.

He knew what Ye Zheng wanted to ask, but he did not answer immediately. He simply stared at the girl’s pale and fragile face in silence.

Perhaps it was because the recent uproar surrounding the blood-colored aberrant realm was so similar to that incident from years ago. Wen Jian looked at the tall girl standing below him and, involuntarily, recalled a now-blurred figure from the past.

A short, chubby little girl, heavy in his arms. When faced with the blood-red realm, her round face had turned deathly pale, fragile as porcelain.

He had probably found her bewildered expression, squeezed helplessly within the crowd, somewhat amusing. On a whim of rare benevolence, he had reached out and pulled the little girl away from the group fated to die.

Thinking back on it now, it was one of the very few genuinely kind acts he had performed in his entire life.

Ye Zheng watched as the middle-aged man suddenly laughed, as though recalling something amusing. She felt puzzled, yet unwilling to pry, and instead turned her gaze aside, a faint trace of distaste flickering through her eyes.

“Assisting the crown prince is no easy matter, but do not belittle yourself,” Wen Jian said calmly. “Your abilities are indispensable. If you need anyone, simply give the order in my name. I know you are a clever and measured child.”

“Thank you, my lord. I will do my utmost,” Ye Zheng replied.

She bowed deeply in gratitude. The Pope’s expression was visibly warmer than when she had arrived. Both parties appeared satisfied with the outcome of this meeting.

At times, the Pope’s tolerance and generosity toward her were almost unexpectedly excessive. As Ye Zheng reflected on it, she wondered whether, beyond her partial immunity to Sykes’s ability, she possessed some other value that caused him to hesitate.

Perhaps the fact that her Stream could even faintly resist Sykes’s Destruction was itself a rare and precious asset. If so, it would explain why the Pope harbored a measure of wariness toward Sykes.

Her figure gradually receded into the distance, leaving the Pope standing alone, his gaze fixed thoughtfully on her departing back.

✧✧✧✧✧

After an exhausting half-day, Ye Zheng finally returned home. She changed out of her long white dress and into soft pajamas, then lay down on the bed, no longer maintaining the rigid posture she upheld outside.

She rested for less than half an hour before her clear, sharp eyes opened again. Reaching over, she picked up the phone from her bedside.

『Rest a bit more.』

『Today you confronted two major villains back to back. Even the protagonist is not this busy.』

The system sounded genuinely weary on her behalf. From its perspective, Ye Zheng did not need to push herself so hard just to live well in this world.

“Mm. I just need to send this message first, then I will rest,” she replied.

She had nearly forgotten to inform Pei Xi that Zhao Mei could rejoin the team, and that he should bring him along when entering the realm.

Even without spoilers, Ye Zheng could already predict what would happen. Given the personalities of the Cloud Soarers and the inertia of the plot itself, the protagonist group would definitely choose to enter that realm proactively. Wu Shu would likely go as well, driven by her obsession with scores.

Ye Zheng herself was curious. In a realm so eerily similar to the Blood Flower incident, what kind of plot had the author arranged to await them?

After sending the message, she stared at the phone screen for a moment before suddenly asking, “System, you’ve been disappearing more often lately. Did something happen?”

The system hesitated.

“Vacation?” Ye Zheng continued. “Your world must have many fun places to visit.”

『I did not go on vacation. As your responsible system, I have been very seriously assisting our Throne of the Aberrant Realm. First capitalist royalty. Stormy top female lead flow. Zhengzheng mama’s most pitiful baby in the entire world.』

“Ah,” Ye Zheng said softly. “You manage that many things too?”

Lying on the bed, she rubbed her eyes with one hand and yawned quietly.

『I just told you to rest properly. You are clearly not fully awake yet.』

“I am awake now. Tell me, is there any news from your world?”

『The Throne of the Aberrant Realm is releasing a new batch of merchandise. This time, it will very likely include you.』

“Merchandise?” Ye Zheng asked.

She had often seen the term on forums but had never quite understood it.

『Merchandise refers to two-dimensional peripheral goods. They use your image to make badges, standees, and similar items to sell for money. Essentially harvesting fans.』

“Badges and standees?” Ye Zheng frowned slightly. “They do not sound particularly useful. Do people really buy those?”

As a paper character born into a dangerous and resource-scarce manga world, Ye Zheng found it difficult to grasp the existence of such things.

『As long as your popularity is high enough, a single badge can sell for hundreds or even thousands. Never underestimate the two-dimensional world.』

“Rather than useless badges,” Ye Zheng said thoughtfully, “I would prefer that people who like me use that money to live well.”

She paused, then added, “If the manga officials really release something like that, I should probably remind everyone on the forums not to fall into the traps of black-hearted merchants.”

『People who like you feel happy simply by owning your merchandise. Sometimes, paper characters can bring unimaginable spiritual value. Moreover, if your merchandise sells well, the platform will see your commercial value and may give you more development space as a character.』

『Unfortunately, this batch of merchandise is determined by group popularity votes. Only the top two groups will receive merchandise.』

“Group popularity?” Ye Zheng asked.

『For example, Pei Xi, Roy, and Yinkong are one group. Sykes, Yu Tianming, and Ryan are another. You are grouped with Lu Qi, Bai Muqing, and the other female characters.』

『Pei Xi and Sykes have strong popularity due to their looks, so their two groups are very likely to win.』

The system sounded regretful.

“What about Zhao Mei?” Ye Zheng asked, curious.

Zhao Mei’s popularity seemed quite good as well.

『I almost forgot. Zhao Mei and Ye Zheng are in the same group. Some fans call it the true sister treasure group. The official mud sculptures are already being made.』

The system added this last part subtly.

Ye Zheng laughed softly. “Then I think our group has quite a bit of hope.”

『Your popularity is already decent, especially after the recent plot update. The forums are full of speculation about you. But female characters generally still have lower popularity overall.』

“Updated again?” Ye Zheng caught the blind spot in the system’s words.

The system then remembered and explained awkwardly.

『Because the plot is about to enter the blood-colored realm, the author updated a transitional chapter. Although it is short, you appear quite frequently.』

Ordinarily, encountering Pei Xi again and being frightened by things in Sykes’s room would have been treated as a classic vase or curse-bearing tool character moment, just like the original Ye Zheng.

However, for some reason, perhaps because this version of Ye Zheng had consistently exceeded reader expectations, readers had grown accustomed to deeply analyzing her role.

Ye Zheng maintained a flawless mask in front of the people within the world, but from the readers’ limited perspective, her character instead became increasingly intriguing.

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Authors Note

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Returned to school today only to find the dorm completely moldy. Spent forever cleaning it up, so could only manage a short chapter...