Chapter 2

“Chapter 2: S-Class Plot Characters”

Lynn was done with life!

Feeling the cold gun barrel pressed against his forehead, he remained surprisingly calm, even wanting to laugh a bit.

Crossing over to another world should have been a wonderful thing, and having a system just added to the fun.

But when both of these things showed up on Lynn, what should have been a beautiful experience turned into a complete “beautiful demise.”

It had already been half a month since he crossed over to this world.

At this point, he had reason to suspect that this convoluted system had decided from the start that its goal was to “kill the host.”

【Character Name: Carol Boyle】

【Plot Level: C】

【Plot Deviation: 0.00%】

Looking at the lines of text above Carol, who was pretending to cry beside him, Lynn felt a bit helpless.

As expected, this doesn’t meet the requirements either.

While he was thinking, he was ready to close the system.

But just then, a window suddenly popped up in front of him.

【System not activated yet, please complete the prerequisite tasks as soon as possible to unlock all sections.】

【Checking host’s current status.】

【Detected that the host is still in a “negative behavior” state. Warning!!! Warning!!!】

Here we go again, this annoying dad.

Staring at the flurry of pop-up windows that looked like snowflakes and the sharp buzzing echoing deep in his head, Lynn felt numb.

“Just shoot already.”

He spoke once more to the burly man holding the gun.

Not that he truly wanted to die.

It was just that with all this mental pollution, he’d rather restart as soon as possible.

How bizarre.

This system wasn’t like those web novels from his previous life, threatening the host with various punishments to complete tasks.

It didn’t impose punishment, solely offered warnings.

But these warning pop-ups were literally stamped on his retina; even with his eyes closed, he could still see them, a terrifying red everywhere.

As for the sharp buzzing, don’t get him started; it went directly to his consciousness, and covering his ears didn’t help.

As long as the system detected that he hadn’t completed the prerequisite tasks, it would mark it as “negative behavior” and then endlessly torment him for twenty-four hours.

Lynn hadn’t slept much in the past half month.

Right now, his head felt like it was about to split open.

Every time his head touched a pillow, it felt like he committed some heinous crime, with pop-ups and buzzing bombing him back and forth, leaving him no peace.

Only by drinking away his sorrows could he manage to find a little relief.

From his experience so far, Lynn felt that the emotional value provided by the system outweighed its actual functionality.

If you asked what emotional value there was, other than feeling nauseous, there really wasn’t much.

But it definitely outweighed the functionality.

Alright, if it was going to harass him like this, why not just complete the prerequisite task?

At first, Lynn thought this way.

But once he found out what the requirements were, he completely lost it.

The prerequisite task was only a short sentence, seeming very simple.

【Please have any S-Class plot character make contact with the host and increase their plot deviation to 0.01%.】

What plot deviation meant could be set aside for now.

From a literal standpoint, an S-Class plot character should be someone closely related to the main storyline, someone who could even influence the future direction and the outcomes for everyone.

He didn’t need the system to remind him that such characters had to be incredibly rare.

There might only be a few of them in the entire world.

The good news was that this world was from a Western fantasy novel he had read in his past life, and he still remembered the general plot.

The bad news was that he was currently in a border town named Oren, a hundred thousand miles away from the Imperial Capital.

It was obvious; with such extreme rarity, S-Class plot characters would mostly only appear in grand stages like the Imperial Capital.

After all, most plots unfolded there.

Even if they didn’t, they would definitely never show up in Oren, a place that wasn’t even mentioned in the original story.

So the only path ahead was to head to the Imperial Capital.

And getting to the Imperial Capital required considerable money, and given his current dazed state, it would be tough to earn a fortune in a short amount of time. Talk about a death spiral.

While enduring the system’s mental pollution, Lynn let his mind wander.

Meanwhile, the burly guy with the gun felt increasingly scared.

He’d seen plenty of begging for mercy, but someone begging to be shot was a first for him.

“Am, am I really gonna pull the trigger?”

“Come on!”

“Don’t make me do it!!”

“I’m begging you, just shoot already!!!”

“You!!!”

Watching the Black-Haired Youth holding his forehead, with an expression of twisted anticipation mixed with a hint of ferocity, the burly man gulped.

But his finger couldn’t seem to press the trigger on the revolver at all.

Don’t be fooled by how intimidating he looked; he had never even gotten into a fight.

Isn’t it a bizarre twist of fate?

At this moment, while he was being threatened by the gun, the guy with the gun couldn’t muster the guts to actually pull it.

And the atmosphere awkwardly froze.

“Forget it, Warner.” Finally, Carol couldn’t watch this anymore, letting out a helpless sigh. “Put the gun down.”

“O-Okay, sister.”

The burly man even changed how he addressed her, obediently putting the revolver back in his pocket, feeling relieved.

At the same time, he instinctively took a half-step back, wanting to distance himself from this guy.

“You seem to have noticed my intentions long ago? When did you find out?”

Carol crossed her arms, looking at Lynn with an expressionless face.

Today, to catch this big fish, she even resorted to some seductive tactics, yet it all ended up being a wasted effort.

This guy seemed certain that Warner wouldn’t shoot, so he had no worries at all.

With that, the leverage she had for coercion and extortion was gone.

After all, she didn’t dare to let her brother bear a human life on his conscience.

“Right from the start.”

The system’s warning sounds gradually diminished, which eased Lynn’s annoyance a bit; his tense brows finally relaxed.

Hearing that, Carol raised an eyebrow. “I don’t believe you.”

“Really.” Lynn pinched the bridge of his nose. “To me, pretty women are like thorny roses; the closer I get, the more wary I am of getting pricked.”

“Well, you know how to talk.” Hearing Lynn call her a pretty woman, Carol wanted to snort, but couldn’t help but slightly lift the corners of her mouth. “However, I didn’t sense that from you at all.”

“Today, consider it your luck, I’ll let you off this time.”

After saying this, Carol showed no attachment and walked straight out the door.

As she reached halfway, she suddenly stopped.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

“Lynn.”

“Lynn, I hope when we meet again… no, better not meet again!”

Thinking back to those earlier events, Carol’s temper flared once more.

This guy was quite insidious; clearly knowing everything, yet acting all innocent while saying irritating things.

No, you’ll soon be eager to see me again.

Watching the backs of the pair leave, Lynn rolled his eyes.

Then with a flick of his right hand, two items suddenly appeared in his palm.

One was a gun, and the other was a woman’s wallet.

The gun, of course, belonged to his brother Warner, and the wallet was snagged from Carol when she was pushed down.

From the very start, Lynn knew that he, who looked like a noble, would be a target for her.

Too bad for her, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Wasn’t she also a fat sheep in Lynn’s eyes?

After all, making money was a matter of urgency for him right now.

He needed to interact with strangers to see if he could strike it lucky and complete the task while also attempting to save up money for a ticket to the Imperial Capital.

Given the circumstances, the source of money didn’t really matter anymore.