The System's plan shattered in that instant—as the Insect Mother's scythe-like limbs swung towards Jiang Yan, Qin Zhen yanked her away, Lin Zhi rushed forward with his gun aimed at it, and the long-dormant alphas swarmed in...
What followed was chaos, with the Insect Mother's strange, piercing cry nearly rupturing eardrums.
In the midst of the tumult, someone approached and covered Jiang Yan's ears with slender hands—but Jiang Yan could no longer perceive this, as all sounds seemed to have been stripped away from her.
In the boundless silence, she saw the form of the System.
In the deep blue sky, a small white cube floated in midair. It appeared to have suffered severe damage, with unknown light waves flowing across its surface, crackling and sparking.
The System's voice regained its initial cold indifference, seemingly aware that its previous facade was no longer necessary: "Everyone protects you, favors you. You've won, Jiang Yan."
"I haven't won," Jiang Yan said. "I've only fought for the rights I should have had all along."
"Being liked and loved by others—these are things I deserve, because I am his lover and her friend, not the villainous female supporting character you designated me to be."
This perspective seemed to throw the System into great turmoil. It twisted mechanically, its body scrambled and reassembled like a Rubik's cube, occasionally emitting extremely grating noises.
The System forcefully tried to prove the correctness of its actions: "Without order, the world will fall into chaos! I am humanity's savior! You must obey my commands to survive!"
Jiang Yan wondered if it had inherited the memories of some cold, emotionless, high-and-mighty research professor. Otherwise, how could it be so...
The more frantic the System became, the calmer Jiang Yan grew: "That's a pity. We humans have our own civilization, with laws, armies, and our own rules. We don't need you to arrange things for us."
"You don't understand why people like me because you're just a machine without emotions. If you really want to know, I suggest you arrange for yourself to play the role of a system, truly experience being a villainous female supporting character hundreds of times, and then you'll understand."
The System's body continued to creak and groan, though the pace slowed and became heavier. Its voice returned to its detached tone: "I won't experience that. My energy is almost depleted."
As if on the brink of death, it muttered to Jiang Yan, the 'villainous female supporting character': "I'm about to disappear. I was going to use my last bit of power to make you return to being the villainous female supporting character. That way, I could leave with peace of mind..."
The System was like a blindly loyal minister monopolizing power, extremely selfish, trying to forcefully maintain its own rules by disrupting the world's natural order.
The world had been functioning normally all along; they were just the unlucky ones chosen by the System and labeled as Male and Female Protagonists, Male Supporting Character, and Female Supporting Character.
Jiang Yan, disgusted beyond measure, coldly watched as the System's energy was exhausted. It convulsed and struggled a few times, then fell apart in mid-air and crashed down, never to be heard from again.
...
Perhaps due to the lingering effects of the System's power, Jiang Yan glimpsed the subsequent development of the interstellar world—they had changed too much, and the plot didn't unfold as the System had intended.
Jiang Yan didn't die. Not only that, but no one died in the battle with the Insect Mother, though a few were injured.
Of course, Jiang Youbai was among them, as he always fought the fiercest.
With their current equipment, they couldn't defeat the Insect Mother. Lin Zhi used a backup transmission channel to call for reinforcements, and with more advanced forces, they managed to capture the Insect Mother.
The news that a novice alpha combat team had held off the Insect Mother caused a sensation, earning them great attention and praise. They became famous overnight.
Jiang Yan had essentially had a brush with death, though she didn't see it that way. Still, all her acquaintances showered her with concern.
Jiang's Father and Jiang's Mother were terrified in retrospect. Lu Yang's parents, who had always treated her like their own daughter, were also incredibly distressed.
The unscathed Jiang Yan was forcibly confined to bed rest by both sets of parents. Lu Yang used the pretext of mending relationships to insist on staying overnight at the Jiang household.
Late at night, Lu Yang brought hot sweet milk to Jiang Yan. Upon entering the room, he sensed something amiss. He walked over and handed the cup to the blinking Jiang Yan, then suddenly bent down and lifted the bedsheet—
A furious shout came from underneath. Jiang Youbai crawled out from under the bed, cursing: "I'm her boyfriend! Why do I have to hide?"
"I'm her fiancé!" Lu Yang retorted.
As Lu Yang and Jiang Youbai were at loggerheads, a sudden noise came from the window.
All three turned their heads simultaneously: Jiang Yan in prayer, Lu Yang in suspicion, Jiang Youbai in anger. Under these three gazes of differing emotions, Lin Zhi calmly pushed open the window and climbed in, coolly greeting the two men: "Quite lively in here. Everyone's present, I see."
Just as the tension peaked, Qin Zhen arrived at the door and knocked: "Jiang Yan, are you in there? I'm coming in..."
...Jiang Yan couldn't bear to watch anymore.
