Chapter 1

　　At the mountaintop manor, Bai Yi stood before the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor, watching the torrential rain outside. She raised her wrist and glanced at her optical computer. The time displayed was 3:39 p.m.

This was the exact time the interstellar flight carrying the protagonist, Ye Sheng, would land on the Capital Planet. It was also the moment the novel Ye Sheng began.1

Three days ago, Bai Yi had still been with her master and his wife on Lu Mountain, protecting an ancient martial arts manuscript. In an era dominated by modern firearms, when martial arts had long since declined, few people were willing to dedicate their entire lives to pursuing the pinnacle of martial arts. The historical value of a manuscript dating back a thousand years had far surpassed the practical value of the techniques recorded within it, and countless collectors were willing to pay enormous sums to acquire it.

Ancient martial arts lineages were already exceedingly rare, so there was naturally no question of selling the manuscript for money. Unfortunately, there were always those who refused to give up their wicked intentions. Bai Yi only remembered someone sneaking in during the night and cutting off the mountain’s power supply. Amid the chaos and complete darkness, the intruder stole the manuscript. Without time to think, she chased after the thief by moonlight. After recovering the manuscript, she intended to turn the culprit over to the police. Unexpectedly, however, the thief was illegally carrying a gun, and while dodging the gunfire, she was forced over the edge of a cliff.

The howling wind still seemed to echo in her ears. She had thought she was certain to die, but when she opened her eyes, she found herself in this unfamiliar world, with an additional set of memories in her mind that did not belong to her.

From those memories, she learned that this was an interstellar era, where technology had advanced far beyond that of her original world. There were interstellar warships, mechas, optical computers, spacecraft… Not only that, but something called pheromones also existed here, and people were classified into three categories based on them: Alpha, Beta, and Omega. Most importantly, the entire galaxy she currently inhabited belonged to the Duote Empire.

When Bai Yi reached this point in sorting through her memories, the name struck her as strangely familiar. Although her daily life usually consisted of nothing but martial arts training and school, her master’s wife occasionally dragged her into reading all sorts of strange novels. Not long ago, she had read a book set in an interstellar ABO universe, and the empire where the female lead lived seemed to have had that very name.

However, Bai Yi had skimmed through that book at a glance, barely retaining any impression of its place names. All she remembered was that it told the story of someone who rose step by step from a desolate border planet to the pinnacle of the empire, eventually becoming an imperial legend. The story began when the female lead, Ye Sheng, disguised herself as an Alpha and passed the Imperial Academy’s entrance examination.

To verify whether she had really transmigrated into the novel, Bai Yi only needed to wait for someone named Read on BaiLianTales Ye Sheng who had come from a desolate border planet.

According to the book, the day Ye Sheng first arrived on the Capital Planet happened to coincide with an imperial celebration. When she emerged from the interstellar terminal, none of the prosperity or extravagant splendor at the heart of the empire belonged to her. Only the pouring rain was there to welcome her.

Bai Yi turned and headed toward the aircraft parking area on the manor’s rooftop. She had already confirmed that there was indeed someone named Ye Sheng aboard that flight. Now, all she needed to do was visit the interstellar terminal and see whether someone would emerge alone, then make her way through the rain toward the Imperial Academy’s temporary reception center. That would be enough to determine once and for all whether this was the world of that novel.

Three days had been more than enough for Bai Yi to familiarize herself with everything in this world using the memories she’d inherited, including optical computers and aircraft.

Through the curtain of rain enveloping everything, a sleek, birdlike aircraft silently made its way toward the interstellar terminal. Bai Yi had no idea what Ye Sheng looked like, but she felt certain she would recognize her. Even while reading the novel, she had been able to sense the female lead’s resilience. Despite her humble origins, Ye Sheng was stubborn and refused to admit defeat, always holding her head high and standing apart from everyone around her.

It was a wonderful idea in theory, but reality caught Bai Yi completely off guard. As someone who had only ever lived on a single planet, she had utterly underestimated the sheer scale of a civilization spanning several star systems, not to mention the enormous area occupied by the Capital Planet’s largest interstellar terminal.

Staring at the terminal map displayed on her aircraft’s screen, Bai Yi’s expression went blank for several seconds before she decisively abandoned the idea of going inside to search for someone.

Fortunately, the protagonist, Ye Sheng, was ridiculously poor. Unwilling to spend money on an aircraft ride, she had walked dozens of kilometers through the rain to reach the academy’s temporary reception center within the terminal complex.

Bai Yi enlarged the terminal map and located the academy’s temporary reception center. She lowered her aircraft’s altitude and surveyed the roads below. With rain falling this heavily, there wasn’t a single person on the streets. Only aircraft streaked past at incredible speeds, resembling shooting stars.

After searching back and forth along the route, Bai Yi spent nearly half an hour hovering almost motionlessly in midair. Looking down at the still-deserted road, she frowned slightly. The imperial celebration, the torrential rain, even the academy’s temporary accommodations within the terminal complex—everything matched. By now, ​bailiantales.com​she was almost certain she had transmigrated into the novel. So why hadn’t the protagonist appeared yet?

Even knowing she had transmigrated into a novel, Bai Yi had no intention of using her foreknowledge to interfere with the protagonist’s growth or development. She knew Ye Sheng would inevitably endure certain hardships, but she also knew that her resilient personality would carry her through them to eventual success. She had only come today to catch a glimpse of the protagonist from a distance and confirm that she’d entered the novel. But what if the protagonist never appeared?

Since she couldn’t occupy a flight route for too long, Bai Yi parked her aircraft at a temporary stopping point near the exit. She went inside and searched around, but found nothing. Left with no choice, she returned to her aircraft and carefully thought back over everything that had happened in the past few days. She hadn’t done a single thing that could have affected the novel’s plot. In fact, she’d barely done anything at all. If her presence as an outsider hadn’t changed anything, then where had the protagonist gone? Or was this simply not the world of the novel she remembered?

While she was lost in thought, a smiling girl appeared beside her aircraft. Although it was impossible to see inside from outside, the girl still politely waved toward the pilot’s seat.

Thinking the girl might need help, Bai Yi opened the aircraft’s hatch and looked at her. “Hello. Is there something I can help you with?”

The girl carried nothing but a small backpack. When she bent down and saw Bai Yi clearly at such close range, an almost imperceptible flash of admiration crossed her eyes. She discreetly concealed her momentary lapse behind a smile. “Excuse me, are you here to pick someone up? Which direction are you heading? The rain is so heavy today that I can’t get an aircraft at all. If we’re going the same way, could you give me a ride? I’ll pay you the standard fare.”

Bai Yi noticed nothing unusual. She glanced back at the exit, where there were hardly any people left, and temporarily set aside the question of the missing protagonist. Turning her attention back to the girl asking for help, she said, “You don’t need to pay. I just happened to be passing by, and I’m not here to pick anyone up. Just tell me where you’re going, and I’ll take you there.”

“Really? Thank you so much!” After thanking her repeatedly, the girl boarded Bai Yi’s aircraft. “I need to go to the Imperial Academy’s temporary reception center. Sorry for the trouble.”

The academy’s temporary reception center again? Bai Yi glanced at the smiling girl beside her. Then again, it made sense. The academy’s entrance examination was about to begin, so there was nothing strange about so many prospective students arriving.

For an aircraft in the interstellar era, a journey of dozens of kilometers took no more than the blink of an eye. After landing smoothly in front of the temporary reception center, Bai bailiantales.comYi took a small rain shield from one of the aircraft’s storage compartments and handed it to the girl. Simply holding the device was enough to create an invisible protective space around its user, keeping out all wind and rain.

The girl glanced at it before accepting it. “Then how should I return it to you?”

“No need to return it.” Bai Yi opened the hatch, not thinking much of the matter.

“Then could you at least tell me your name?” the girl asked again after stepping out of the aircraft, one hand resting on the hatch.

Bai Yi’s fingertips shifted slightly against the control panel. After a brief hesitation, she still declined. “It was nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

The hatch closed, and the aircraft soon disappeared into the curtain of rain. Bai Yi actually felt that refusing to even tell the girl her name was somewhat impolite, but revealing it would have been genuinely inconvenient.

It was only through those inherited memories that Bai Yi had learned that, in the Duote Empire, the surname Bai was reserved exclusively for the imperial family. Simply stating her name would reveal her identity.1

According to those memories, Bai Yi’s current identity was that of a distant branch member of the imperial family. Her family had long since fallen into decline and withdrawn from the center of political power, barely maintaining a respectable appearance through what remained of their ancestral wealth.

Coincidentally, her counterpart in this world was also named Bai Yi and looked exactly as she had in her previous life. The only difference was that, owing to years of insufficient exercise, this body appeared thinner and more delicate. If not for that small distinction, Bai Yi might almost have believed she’d fallen straight off the cliff and landed in this world in her original body.

The original owner… Bai Yi wasn’t even sure whether she could call her that. What she saw in those memories didn’t resemble the life experiences of a living, breathing person. Instead, they seemed more [stolen content]like a prewritten program. After all, no normal person would spend every day from the age of two, when they first learned to walk, repeating the same handful of activities in this manor: waking up, eating, watering flowers, taking walks, and sleeping. Everything happened at exactly the same time each day. Going out to school was no different. She avoided all social interaction, maintained average grades, spoke very little, and mechanically repeated the same routine day after day, existing as an invisible person whom nobody ever remembered.2

Could it be that she was merely an unimportant NPC, with no consciousness of her own, existing only to fill out the population of this world?

But that didn’t seem right either. Over the past few days, Bai Yi had spoken with the manor’s butler and servants. Every one of them was a living, breathing person with their own consciousness and distinct personality. There was no reason the original owner should be nothing more than a program.

There were simply too many things she couldn’t figure out. Bai Yi landed her aircraft on the rooftop and was just about to return to her room when a message appeared on her optical computer, notifying her to report to the Imperial Academy’s examination site on time the day after tomorrow.

Wasn’t that the very examination the protagonist was supposed to take? Bai Yi remembered that, based on “her” academic performance, she shouldn’t even have passed the Imperial Academy’s preliminary screening. So what was going on?

The useful information contained in her inherited memories was pitifully limited, leaving Bai Yi no choice but to ask the butler. Living up perfectly to the stereotype of an all-capable butler, he kindly provided a reasonable explanation.

Imperial privilege.

Even though Bai Yi currently belonged to a distant branch of the imperial family, she was still a member of the imperial family. Naturally, that entitled her to admission to the Imperial Academy without taking an entrance examination. In fact, no matter how poorly she performed in this particular examination, she wouldn’t be eliminated. At worst, she would simply embarrass herself.

Hearing this gave Bai Yi another strange sense of familiarity. A distant member of the imperial family, admitted to the Imperial Academy through special privileges, with an antisocial and gloomy personality… Why did this sound increasingly like the character setup of a vicious cannon-fodder villain who appeared later in the novel?

In the original novel, after Ye Sheng worked hard to pass the examination and enter the academy, her outstanding unauthorized copygrades quickly distinguished her among the new students. Her many impressive performances earned her the appreciation of the academy’s instructors and the military, allowing her to successfully secure an opportunity to gain practical experience within the armed forces.

It was at this critical moment that Ye Sheng’s roommate discovered her Omega identity. The roommate had secretly harbored improper desires toward Ye Sheng for a long time and tried to use this secret to blackmail her. When that failed, the roommate, determined to destroy Ye Sheng, reported her true identity and even fabricated additional accusations against her. As a result, Ye Sheng not only lost her opportunity to train with the military but was also forcibly expelled from the Imperial Academy. In a single stroke, she fell from the heights of her success to rock bottom and was sent back to the desolate border planet, forced to start all over again.

The original novel never mentioned this roommate’s name. It only stated that she was a distant member of the imperial family who had gained admission to the academy through special privileges, consistently failed to meet academic and performance standards, and possessed a twisted, perverse mentality.

Surely it couldn’t be that much of a coincidence?

When Bai Yi had read the novel, she’d despised the roommate’s despicable behavior. In particular, seeing Ye Sheng forced to endure all those hardships had made her so furious she could barely contain herself. Yet now she was discovering that “she” might actually be the very culprit responsible for everything?

Clinging to one last faint glimmer of hope, Bai Yi turned toward the butler beside her. “Apart from me, are there any other distant members of the imperial family among this year’s incoming academy students?”

“No, there aren’t.” The butler shook his head, shattering Bai Yi’s last shred of hope.

That settled it. Not only had she transmigrated into a novel, but she’d also become the protagonist Ye Sheng’s villainous roommate.

Fortunately, none of it had begun yet, and “she” hadn’t done anything wrong. Of course, Bai Yi would never do such a thing in the future, either. She raised a hand and rubbed the space between her brows. Originally, she’d intended to respect the protagonist’s fate and refrain from interfering, but under the circumstances, that was beginning to look rather difficult.

Of course, Bai Yi could simply choose a different dormitory and avoid becoming involved with Ye Sheng altogether. But would changing dormitories prevent someone from reporting her? If Bai Yi wasn’t Ye Sheng’s roommate, what if someone else discovered her secret and reported her instead? Was she supposed to stand by [read the original at bailiantales.com]and watch Ye Sheng suffer all the persecution and hardships she’d endured in the original novel?

She hadn’t been able to bear it even when she was merely reading the book. Now that she was actually here, it seemed she couldn’t bring herself to stand aside and do nothing, either.