Chasing the Villain with a Confused System (GL) - Chapter 3

Song Qi sat on her bed, her gaze vacant. Her mind was entirely consumed by how to get to the Young Heroes Tournament, yet her ears were filled with a constant, noisy chatter. Her roommates were fussing over her incessantly, asking if someone had bullied her or if she was feeling unwell.

It wasn’t that Song Qi didn’t want to answer; it was that she had already told them she was fine, and they didn’t believe her. To drive the “Queen of Arguments” to the point of speechless exhaustion—Song Qi actually felt a bit of respect for her roommates. She even began to suspect they were the hidden final bosses of the Tian Xing novel.

That being said, she had a decent relationship with these three, though much of that was thanks to her being Song Tianxing’s sister. After all, Song Tianxing was the superstar of the Divine Sword Sect.

She recalled the beginning of the novel: the two siblings had sought to join the Divine Sword Sect together. In the end, there was only one spot left for an “inner disciple.” Song Tianxing got the spot, and Song Qi was relegated to the “outer sect.” It wasn’t until last year that she managed to enter the inner sect, and even then, her strength was mediocre, barely reaching the threshold of a B-rank disciple.

With such aptitude, Song Qi had zero confidence in competing against the A-rank geniuses of the sect.

[Hey, Song Qi, the data here shows your talent is as high as 290!]

Well, at least it’s not 250 [1]. Wait, 290? What kind of measurement is this?

“What’s the maximum score?”

The moment Song Qi spoke aloud, the noisy room suddenly went silent. The three roommates stared at her blankly, seemingly trying to process what her question meant.

Song Qi suddenly realized how bewildering her outburst must have been. “Ahem… I mean, I’m a bit tired. You guys go ahead and practice; I’ll join you after a short rest.”

Song Qi couldn’t handle these three right now. She needed to sit down with Hu Tu and figure out everything about this world.

“…Alright, then rest well, Senior Sister.”

The slightly chubby girl was named Qiao Xi. She was the most straightforward of the three, with a passion for eating, and she was Song Qi’s closest friend. Seeing that Song Qi truly needed peace and quiet, she quickly ushered the other two out of the room.

The world finally fell silent. Song Qi felt like her ears were still ringing; the lethal power of those three women’s mouths was truly formidable.

[The maximum is 300. You have 290. In this world, that makes you a peerless genius.]

Hu Tu’s voice finally returned. Song Qi felt a surge of excitement and immediately pressed for more: “A peerless genius? The younger sister who just stood in the background while the protagonist did everything is actually a peerless genius?”

How did this setting work? Did having a system change her innate talent?

[This talent is innate to you; it has nothing to do with me!]

Wait, can this thing hear my thoughts?

“Hu Tu, you’re eavesdropping on my mind?”

Song Qi suddenly felt a lack of security. If she complained about the system and Hu Tu heard it, would it go on strike? Wouldn’t she be stuck here forever?

[We have strict privacy protocols. As long as your thoughts are personal or you are doing something very private—like using the restroom or… mating—the system will be blocked if you don’t wish to be heard.]

Song Qi: “…That’s actually quite humane.”

[Right?!]

Song Qi pulled her thoughts back. Since Hu Tu said her talent was innate, she was a peerless genius. How did she end up so mediocre?

“Hu Tu, how high is Song Tianxing’s talent?”

Since she was a peerless genius, Song Tianxing must be a monster, right? Otherwise, how could he be the protagonist?

[Let me check… Hmm, 280.]

Song Qi laughed. “I knew it… Wait, did you say 280?”

[Correct.]

Song Qi was stunned. Her talent was actually higher than Song Tianxing’s? What was going on? She felt lost—did her body have some hidden ailment that slowed her progress?

[Investigation complete: You have no hidden ailments!]

Song Qi grew even more confused. This meant the original Song Qi simply had no ambition. She possessed peerless talent but lived such a mediocre life that she couldn’t even beat Bai Luoyin?

“What exactly went wrong?”

Song Qi clutched her head, her face contorted in a “mask of pain.” She felt like she was missing something crucial.

[Never mind that for now. I need to import the original Song Qi’s memories into your mind. I couldn’t do it earlier because I was powered down.]

“Hurry up then.”

This was vital. She needed to know the layout of the Divine Sword Sect, the martial arts she knew, and her social circle. The original character was a minor role with little description in the book; Song Qi desperately needed this memory data.

Soon, images and text flooded her brain. It was chaotic at first, but once her head was full, the information began to organize itself logically.

“Holy shit.”

After receiving all the memories, those were the first words out of Song Qi’s mouth. Her face was full of shock.

“No wonder the male lead treats her so well!”

Song Qi recalled subtle details from the book. Everything had left a trail; it was just hidden by the author, and now she had found it.

The book mentioned that Song Tianxing and Song Qi sought apprenticeship together. There was only one inner disciple spot, meaning only one sibling could get the better resources.

The book described how, before the assessment, Song Tianxing practiced day and night, while Song Qi usually rested after sunset. Several times, Song Qi would sit in the courtyard watching him practice and sigh.

The text had said: Watching her brother practice so diligently, Song Qi’s eyes were dark and unreadable, and she let out a soft sigh.

At the time, Song Qi (the reader) thought the original character felt guilty for not working as hard. Now she realized the original Song Qi was sighing because Song Tianxing worked so hard yet still couldn’t surpass her—she was sighing out of pity for him.

Song Qi remembered that on the night before the assessment, the siblings had a long talk. On the day of the test, Song Qi “lost” to Song Tianxing within ten moves. He won easily because during that talk, Song Tianxing had begged her to let him have the spot. He promised that once he became strong, he would protect her forever.

Song Qi had agreed. And Song Tianxing had kept his word; whenever she needed something, he was there instantly. To keep the lie going, and because the original character didn’t care for fame, she had spent years hiding her strength. She had mastered everything she was taught, and her troublemaking was just a way to kill time and make her brother look better by comparison.

Only Song Tianxing knew how much Song Qi had sacrificed for him.

Song Qi began to recall other details. For instance, whenever the original Song Qi faced an enemy, she always managed to survive until her brother arrived. Readers used to call her a “dead weight” who slowed down the plot.

Looking back, those scenes were bizarre. Song Qi had once encountered the Black and White Elders of Wu City and held them off until Song Tianxing arrived—completely unscathed. Everyone had been blinded by the “protagonist’s halo” and hadn’t stopped to wonder how a “useless” girl survived two elite elders.

She appeared to be “useless but loud,” but she had been hiding her light all along, giving the protagonist’s halo to her brother.

Furthermore, she had a secret master—not a teacher from the Divine Sword Sect, but a man who was always drunk. His swordplay was divine and unpredictable. Her hidden trump card came from him.

The original Song Qi might not have known his identity, but the Song Qi who read the book did: he was the legendary hermit, the Drunken Sword Immortal. At the end of the book, he suddenly appeared to help the heroes fight the boss. Reader-Song Qi had wondered why he suddenly cared about the world; now she knew it was because the original Song Qi had asked him to.

The original girl was truly someone who “performed the deed and walked away, hiding both her identity and her fame.”

[By the way, changing the villain’s end is the ultimate goal. Currently, your first main quest is to obtain Wen Wanxi’s sword tassel at the Young Heroes Tournament.]

“…Wen Wanxi would have to be out of her mind to give me her sword tassel.”

Wen Wanxi wasn’t close to anyone, let alone someone she’d give a personal item to. This was a fairy tale.

“What happens if I fail?”

[You lose 10% of your real-world health, 5% of your current health, and 5 points of Luck. If you succeed, those values increase.]

Hu Tu spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Song Qi exploded. This was a 100-star difficulty mission! If she couldn’t do it, she might as well die right here.

[If your accumulated health loss reaches 100%, you die in the real world. Your spiritual energy—your soul—will be imprisoned in a space-time cage for a hundred years for disrupting the order of time.]

“Do you hear yourself?! Is that something a human would say?”

She didn’t choose to come here, and now she was being threatened with space-time prison? Who was the one who pulled her in!

[If you hadn’t come here, you’d already be dead.]

Hu Tu sighed, leaving Song Qi speechless. Her mind was a mess. “Even if I die, I want to die knowing why. Why do I need her sword tassel?”

[I don’t know. This is the task sent down from above; I just publish it.]

“You didn’t think to ask?”

[…Even if I asked, I might not understand the explanation. Even if I understood it, I wouldn’t necessarily remember it. Better not to ask.]

“…You certainly have a lot of self-awareness!”

Song Qi was fuming. This system was here to spite her, not help her!

“Well, I have to get a spot for the Young Heroes Tournament first just to see my ‘Black Moonlight’!”

[That’s true,] Hu Tu said, [but a warning: if you disrupt the protagonist’s trajectory, it might trigger a massive ‘Butterfly Effect,’ making the future plot different from what you remember.]

I still have to follow the script? Then how do I get to the tournament? Her very presence was a variable; the butterfly effect was inevitable. She just had to minimize it so she didn’t increase the game’s difficulty.

“I can just ask Song Tianxing to take me. He dotes on me so much, he’ll find a way!”

Even if she didn’t compete, she could watch. If she just went as a spectator, it shouldn’t ruin the main plot.

[You can try. I’m going back to charging now. Ha~]

Hu Tu let out a yawn. Song Qi felt this system was almost too human—even that lazy yawning sound was perfect.

“You may go.”

Song Qi shook her head. This quest was strange. Why a sword tassel? Was it a quest item?

“Hey, Hu Tu, what is the Luck stat for?”

There was no response. It was likely already charging. Song Qi sighed, got off the bed, and headed back to the male dormitory. Lunch was over, so there weren’t many people in the courtyard. She asked a tall, thin disciple to call Song Tianxing for her.

Since the original Song Qi was a frequent visitor, the disciple didn’t dare delay and went to get him. Song Tianxing, who had been in a lecture, rushed out immediately.

Although he had always protected her, the realization that much of it stemmed from guilt made Song Qi—who was already bad with family—feel even more awkward facing him.

She hadn’t expected that all of Song Tianxing’s brilliance was actually “given” to him by his sister.

“Brother, I want to go to the Young Heroes Tournament as a spectator. Do you have a way?”

Song Tianxing looked a bit troubled. The tournament did allow disciples to watch, but spots were limited—usually reserved for young disciples the elders held in high regard. But if he personally requested it, the masters might agree.

“I’ll try. Once I take first place in the disciple assessment, I can make one request of the Sect Leader. I’ll definitely take you with me then.”

“It’s a deal, Brother.”

Song Qi stuck out her pinky—a gesture they often did as children. Song Tianxing looked touched. Although he had taken her spotlight, he truly loved his sister. This was likely why the original Song Qi had been willing to give up her inner sect spot in the first place.

Song Tianxing hooked his pinky with hers and said solemnly, “Since you want it, Brother will definitely win it for you.”