Leap Forward Comics: Watch How I Become a Villainess

Chapter 55: The Tempting Rules

Duanmu Cong's blood splattered high, and along with the iron rod, it lashed out at Lu He's face.

"Ah!" Lu He woke up with a start, realizing it was a nightmare. She was covered in cold sweat. She touched her icy face and looked at Xia Lan, who was still under the effects of the medicine, lying next to her.

Looking around, she realized that Xia Lan had been drugged and she had to spend the night in the office's private rest area.

I received a call from Xiao Yang before going to bed. I learned that the kidnapping had turned into a murder, and there was also that photo...

She gritted her teeth, her hands trembling again. It was terrifying. The time traveler inside Duanmu Xi was truly terrifying; he killed with practiced ease…

That's terrifying. Even if someone like that completes all the missions and returns to his original world, can he really live a normal life like before?

Hasn't he changed, been transformed into a murderer?

Lu He clearly remembered that the system had told her that there were selection criteria for time travelers. Although she didn't know what those criteria were yet, at least they were all people who had died unexpectedly and whose lives were not meant to end.

If it were her, would she really take someone else's life so easily just because she wanted to live? No, Lu He couldn't do that!

Suddenly, her phone vibrated, pulling Lu He out of her tense state and startling her.

The caller was Duanmu Xi.

She steadied her breathing, gripped her trembling right wrist tightly with her left hand, and answered the phone: "Hello..." She tried to make her voice sound normal.

"Prepare the acquisition contract. Sign it in three days." Duanmu Xi's tone was calm, as if nothing had happened.

“…Okay…” Lu He hesitated, wanting to ask something but not daring to.

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then someone clearly sensed something: "What are you afraid of?" Duanmu Xi's icy voice came through.

“Uh, I…” Lu He panicked.

"Your people should have told you that I killed Acong..." Duanmu Xi said dismissively, as if he had just stepped on an ant.

"Instead of worrying about me killing the male lead, you should think about how you're going to explain things away when Xia Lan wakes up."

Duanmu Xi appealed to his emotions and reason: "I promised you I wouldn't hurt the female lead, but to ensure our mission goes smoothly, I have no choice but to kill the male lead. This is also to make things easier for you. I'm genuinely trying to win you over, Wen Shiyu. No, I don't care who you are, you're a smart person."

“Once we leave this world, we’ll have nothing to do with each other anymore. What do you have to be afraid of?” Duanmu Xi patiently persuaded Lu He.

"Mission accomplished, you'll leave immediately. What can I do to you? You have absolutely nothing to fear from me, do you?"

He was right. Lu He thought about it seriously. As long as they completed this part of the story together, they would each go to a new world. Duanmu Xi had no reason to hurt her.

However, she still had one question: "How did you know where Duanmu Cong was tied up?"

"...It seems you're not familiar with many of the system's functions. You can ask the system directly about anything you want to know. Alright, that's all I have to say. You just need to keep the female lead, Xia Lan, under control, and I won't touch her, as long as it doesn't interfere with my inheritance of the Duanmu Group."

Duanmu Xi hung up the phone immediately after speaking.

Lu He put down her phone and turned to look at Xia Lan. She hadn't come up with a reason yet. Should she just tie her up for three days?

She was startled by the thought as soon as it popped into her head and shook her head vigorously.

Forget it, maybe I should ask the system first.

Lu He mentally called out to the system.

"Excuse me, what other functions do you have that I don't know about?"

System: You do not have enough points yet, so many functions cannot be enabled.

"You mean he knows a lot about my actions because he has points?"

System: Good, the traveler can inquire about the movement trajectory of a specified object by consuming points, however, such inquiries consume quite a few points.

In particular, the score varies depending on the character's weight in the world.

For example, you might get five points as a supporting character, ten points for key events, and double points for characters like Xia Lan and Duanmu Cong.

"It doesn't sound like much," Lu He pondered.

System: A task is scored from 1 to 10 points depending on its difficulty level.

"Oh? I haven't even asked how many points I can get for this mission yet."

System: The difficulty of your mission this time is three stars and five stars respectively, which means you will get 8 points if you complete it.

"It seems like there aren't many left..." Lu He muttered, stroking his chin. Then, a thought struck him: "Are there any other ways to earn points?"

System: Yes, killing a character in the story earns 2 points for cannon fodder, 5 points for a named supporting character, and 10 points for the protagonist.

"What?! You!" Upon hearing this rule, Lu He found it utterly terrifying and absurd: "Are you encouraging murder?"

System: Don't talk nonsense, this is just the game rule.

"A game? Human lives are treated like a game? You said before that these worlds only have different rules, but they are all real, living beings, aren't they?" Lu He expressed his incomprehension.

System: To higher life forms, even if you were life, you would be insignificant.

A higher life form? Lu He immediately became serious. It seemed that this matter could not be explained by a simple metaphysics.

Judging from the system's description, this seems to be a large-scale experiment. Could it be that there are aliens or higher intelligence from another dimension?

The system, of course, read the various thoughts swirling in Lu He's mind: "You'd better stop thinking nonsense. If you can't figure it out, just accumulate 100 points as soon as possible and go back to your own world to live a good life."

Can I go back with just 100 points?

Lu He frowned. Hadn't the time traveler in Duanmu Xi's body already traveled through time many times?

He not only did missions, but it seems he's also killed quite a few people. Logically, he should have been able to go back long ago, so why?

The system still sensed Lu He's mind: Okay, originally I was supposed to explain more rules to you after you finished this world, but since you've encountered other transmigrators by chance, I'll reveal a little bit to you first.

After you complete the missions in the first world and earn points, you will receive a list after your next travel. It contains all the rules for redeeming items with your points. Sorry, that's all I can tell you for now.

Sigh, I get it. It seems I'm still not out of the beginner's village; many menus are still unlocked. Her comprehension is quite strong.

However, she now understood why Duanmu Xi wanted to kill the male lead; it wasn't just to ensure the mission's success, he simply wanted the points...

Ah! Right! There's another very important question: "What happens if a time traveler kills another time traveler?"

System: Nothing happened.

"Huh? Won't I get all of the other person's points or something?" Lu He thought they would make the rules even more cruel, but it seems he was overthinking it.

System: This would disrupt the game and cause points to overflow, which is definitely not acceptable. Our goal is not for everyone to kill each other.

To put it simply, our intention was to create diverse storylines within the world, offering more possibilities, rather than a monotonous and tedious repetition...

"Who exactly are you people...?"

The system fell silent, no longer answering questions, no matter how much Lu He called out to it.

"That's quite cautious," Lu He thought to herself.

As she thought this, her gaze returned to Xia Lan, who was fast asleep beside her. "...10 points..."