When Lin Qiao woke up, she found herself sitting in an antique sedan chair.
The sedan chair swayed gently, making her drowsy.
It was beautiful, but... Wait a minute. Where was she?
Wasn't she just holding a big bag of chips? Wasn't she just leisurely reading a novel? Wasn't she just munching on chips while dissing the novel *Don't Run, Emperor; The Harem Spans the World*?
So! What was going on now!
Lin Qiao lifted the curtain of the sedan chair. There were two little girls walking beside it, both as delicate as flowers. One of them looked panicked when she saw Lin Qiao poking her head out. "Holy Maiden, sit back quickly. We'll be at the palace soon."
Holy Maiden?
What a cheesy title. Lin Qiao couldn't help but shiver.
Trying to stay calm despite her extreme discomfort, Lin Qiao asked, "Why are we going to the palace?"
The little girl who had just called her Holy Maiden started to sob when she heard the question. "Holy Maiden, this servant knows you don't want to come for the marriage alliance. That emperor is both promiscuous and extremely old, but..."
"Don't talk nonsense. We're already in the territory of Yunjin Country," the other little girl interrupted. "Holy Maiden, since we're here, we might as well make the best of it."
Yunjin Country? It sounded familiar.
Yunjin...
An emperor who was promiscuous and extremely old...
Damn it. Had she somehow transmigrated into the very novel she was reading?!
This cultivation-themed novel *Don't Run, Emperor; The Harem Spans the World*, which was extremely popular across the website, was truly terrifying. Lin Qiao had been unable to forget it long after reading it.
The male protagonist, Luo Nanchen, the seventh prince of Yunjin Country, suffered all kinds of humiliation in his youth. However, he also had numerous opportunities. Eventually, he endured all the hardships, killed the crown prince, eliminated the villains, and ascended to the throne, seizing power. After becoming the emperor, not satisfied with the small territory under his rule, he began to conquer the entire continent. After experiencing all kinds of hardships, he received help from countless beautiful women, found countless treasures, and finally reached the peak of the throne on the entire continent.
It was a male - centric novel. In the early stage, the protagonist was a pitiful little puppy, but in the later stage, he became a black - hearted emperor with countless cheat codes. There was constant fighting and non - stop excitement. Along the way, there were countless beautiful women and prosperous scenes. His harem had more than three thousand concubines. He had a great time with women on both sides, showed his grand ambitions, and unified the continent. He was a winner in life in every sense, fully satisfying the male chauvinistic psychology of the readers.
But the real reason why Lin Qiao remembered this novel so clearly was...
The male protagonist's vicious step - mother had the exact same name as her...
In the original novel, Lin Qiao was a nightmare for Luo Nanchen from his childhood to his teenage years. After marrying into Yunjin as the Holy Maiden and becoming the queen, she adopted Luo Nanchen. From then on, Luo Nanchen fell into a devil's den, unable to live or die. Even after Luo Nanchen ascended the throne, Lin Qiao, as the empress dowager, held power behind the curtain. She had an immoral life in the harem, kept male lovers, colluded with treacherous officials, and brought Yunjin Country to the brink of collapse.
She even lusted after Luo Nanchen's body when he grew up...
She was the representative of the villains in Luo Nanchen's tragic childhood and the most crucial factor in his transformation into a black - hearted emperor.
Finally, she achieved the "accomplishment" of being turned into a human swine.
Yes, exactly the same kind of human swine that Lady Qi was turned into.
'In a dark room, Luo Nanchen stood coldly. His beautiful star - like eyes were filled with killing intent. In front of him lay a wriggling creature, which was Lin Qiao. Lin Qiao was covered in blood. Her eyes had been gouged out, and she was shedding bloody tears. Her ears had been deafened, looking like charred and rotten flesh. Her throat had been poisoned, and she could only make hoarse sounds. Her hands and feet had been cut off, and blood spurted out, but the blood was almost coagulated, covering her body like a tortoise shell and smearing her head and face. She looked extremely disgusting. The little eunuch standing beside her almost vomited out the leftovers from last night.'
This was the description of Lin Qiao's ending in the original text.
As a reader, it was natural to clap and cheer when seeing this vicious step - mother who had done so many bad things being punished so severely. But if this vicious step - mother was herself...
Lin Qiao could already strongly empathize with the pain...
Oh, later in the book, the female protagonist exposed Lin Qiao's affair with the treacherous official, and Lin Qiao in this pathetic state was drowned in the pond.
While recalling, Lin Qiao was shocked and couldn't help but curse. "Damn it. What kind of bad luck is this?!"
Suddenly, a voice similar to Siri sounded in her head. It wasn't very loud, but every word could be heard clearly.
【Congratulations to the host for binding the system. Activation code: What kind of bad luck is this】
【Congratulations to the host for binding the character Lin Qiao, the Holy Maiden of Le'an Realm. Subsequent identities are to be unlocked】
【The host needs to complete the plot tasks to ensure the smooth progress of the plot】
【System No. 12345 is at your service】
Having read time - travel novels on various platforms for so many years, Lin Qiao was already familiar with all kinds of time - travel routines. At first, people would transmigrate to ancient times, then to fictional dynasties, and later to cultivation worlds. Now, it was directly transmigrating into a book.
Transmigrating into a book was great...
Damn it. Knowing such a tragic ending, it was anything but great!
Right now, Lin Qiao, who was eager to save herself, didn't care about the Siri - like voice in her head, let alone the progress of the plot. "Progress your sister... Sacrificing my life for the plot of a book? Do you think I'm stupid?!"
After spitting out this last complaint, Lin Qiao immediately rushed out of the sedan chair and started running as fast as she could. The farther she could run, the better.
Fortunately, in the 21st century, she was a well - developed student in all aspects of morality, intelligence, physique, aesthetics, and labor. She had passed the 800 - meter test in one go. Moreover, the people who came with her for the marriage alliance didn't expect Lin Qiao to run away, so no one managed to stop her.
Lin Qiao's escape was extremely smooth.
The two delicate little girls chased after her, out of breath. Looking at Lin Qiao's crazy running back, they sighed helplessly. "We're already at the palace. What's the use of the Holy Maiden running away now!"
Lin Qiao had no idea that she was already inside the palace. She only knew that this place was beautiful with mountains and rivers, and full of birdsong and flowers, but it was still not safe. She had to find a backer first. She remembered that there was a high - ranking official who was a spy from Le'an Realm in the court.
She quietly hid behind a rockery. Her head was buzzing with the Siri - like voice.
【OOC warning! OOC warning!】
Along with the Siri - like voice came a deafening alarm. It was hard to tell whether it was a siren or an ambulance siren. Anyway, it was extremely noisy and came with a dense pain.
She didn't make a sound but talked to the useless system in her mind. "Wait. First tell me what OOC is."
【OutOfCharacter, abbreviated as OOC, means 'out of character, unexpected', referring to the character's behavior that doesn't conform to the original work's setting】
Lin Qiao took a while to digest this. "Are you bullying me for not reading enough?"
【Don't worry. Every system will serve the host whole - heartedly】
Damn it. This useless system was clearly mocking her for being uneducated.
"What will happen if I'm OOC?"
【The B - level of the original work will decline, the plot will get out of control. When the B - level drops to zero, the host will be sent back to the original world】
The original world? That would be great!
Just thinking about her old life as a social animal but with free time and no life - threatening danger, Lin Qiao was eager to try.
【The Lin Qiao in the original world has died in a gas explosion in the community】
Lin Qiao: "..."
Fine. It was just bullying her. No matter what, she couldn't escape death. Either it was a gas explosion or being turned into a human swine.
Why was it that when others transmigrated into a book, they were either the male protagonist's lost love or a substitute for the male protagonist's lost love. At worst, they were a vicious female supporting character, but they could still save themselves through OOC and start a new life!
What about herself!
Was she really going to be a vicious step - mother obediently and then be turned into a human swine?!
Lin Qiao took a deep breath and said word by word, as if she was ready to face death. "Little Siri, listen. Everyone must die someday, either as weighty as Mount Tai or as light as a feather. Damn it. It's a male - centric novel, right? I'm going to find the male protagonist and die with him."
The Siri - like voice seemed to be in a hurry. 【If the host completes the primary - stage tasks, they can be unrestricted by OOC】
Lin Qiao smiled triumphantly. Threats were indeed the most useful.
She was going to roll up her sleeves and have a good fight. She even seemed to see how happy her life as the empress dowager would be. Her voice became a bit lighter. "Hey, Siri. What's my first task?"
Oops. She accidentally spoke out loud...
She was hiding behind a rockery, but she didn't expect it to be so good for hiding. Just as she finished speaking, the pile of dry grass inside trembled, and then a little boy crawled out.
The little boy looked terrified. He stared at her for a while. Maybe he thought Lin Qiao wasn't a good person, so he turned around and ran outside.
If Lin Qiao wanted to survive, she had to secure the position of the queen in the first stage of the original character. Of course, she couldn't make any mistakes.
Without hesitation, Lin Qiao grabbed the little boy back and covered his mouth. "Shh, don't make a sound. I'm not a bad person."
Although the little boy was dirty, his big eyes were looking at her. His eyes seemed to contain the stars in the sky, bright and shiny. There was a lot of collagen on his little face. If it weren't for the dirt, he would be truly cute.
As cute as he was, she still had to scare him. Lin Qiao put on a fierce face. "Kid, do you know who I am?"
The little boy shook his head and trembled slightly.
Lin Qiao pretended to be even more ferocious. "I'm going to be the future queen. You didn't see anything today, got it?!"
The little boy still didn't say a word. There were tears in his eyes, looking pitiful.
"Alright, alright," Lin Qiao was always soft - hearted. "Go. Don't say you've seen me, got it?!"
The little boy nodded aggrievedly.
【Congratulations to the host for completing one of the primary - stage tasks: intimidating the male protagonist】
【B - level increased by 10. Current system B - level is 10】
【When the B - level reaches 100, the host will be unrestricted by the original character's personality】
Holy shit? This was the male protagonist?!
Lin Qiao was stunned.
Completely stunned.
She seemed to see the future male protagonist with a solemn and handsome face, cutting her into a human swine bit by bit...
That was her dim and hopeless future.
Lin Qiao wanted to cry but had no tears.