After the Villain Awakens, Their Natural Enemies Dote on Them for Their Misunderstanding Score

[A friendly heads-up: This is a self-indulgent filler story, and the pacing may be a little rushed. Read at your own risk.] Liu Ming is a minor villain in a post-apocalyptic, no-romance, shonen adventure series. He just doesn’t know it. As the heir to the Liu family, administrators of District One, Liu Ming spends every day picking fights with the protagonist team while completely out of his mind. He embarrasses himself and gets hurt without a care... Liu Ming: Wait, something’s not right. The protagonist team being strong is good for the Tower, isn’t it? As the Liu family heir, why does he keep picking fights with those people, who are both powerful and hiding dangerous secrets? Is it because he’s jealous of them? He’s a Guide, and he’s jealous of a bunch of Sentinels? What’s wrong with him? Liu Ming can’t figure it out, but then floating comments suddenly appear before his eyes, revealing the truth. He spends the whole night studying the plot through the comments and reaches a conclusion: he really is sick. His illness is called Plot. All his abnormal actions are nothing but “plot” arranged by the strings of the story. Before the plot strings can force him, a minor villain, to commit an unforgivable deed and then die as countless anomalies devour him, Liu Ming decides he needs to do something about his future. He looks at the possible paths to survival mentioned in the comments: 1: Redeem himself, join the protagonist team, and become a complete clown. The proud young master Liu shakes his head. Pass! 2: Keep being evil until the protagonist team beats him into the sky along with the final boss. Young Master Liu: I still want to live long enough to inherit the family fortune. Can’t you give me a chance? Fortunately, not long after the comments appear, Grandpa hands him an anomaly calling itself the Misunderstanding Points System. [Congratulations, Host! You are now bound to the T231 Misunderstanding Points System! Once you earn misunderstanding points, you can break free of the plot strings attached to you and change your tragic destined ending! Misunderstanding points can take many forms. Feel free to explore!] Liu Ming raises an eyebrow. “Misunderstanding points...?” And so... The cannon-fodder villain comes up with a bold idea. As a proper member of the Liu family, an investor in profit and value, he’ll turn all those fools favored by fate into his sharpest blades. He won’t just join the protagonist team. He’ll also become a morally gray character, neither wholly good nor evil, and collect misunderstanding points from both sides! After all... his own plot isn’t the only one he wants to change. Bonus Scene As the anomalies grow more severe, the Tower decides to assemble a team of saviors, as foretold, to face the apocalypse and prevent the prophesied ending. To gain misunderstanding points, Liu Ming holds his nose and takes the job. “They’re just a bunch of reckless idiots with no brains. And they’re all my natural enemies. I have to take sedatives just to be near them! What a pain!” Then... the young nobleman, rescued from a horde of anomalies by people who risked everything to save him, thinks: They’re actually pretty great! At first, the other members of the protagonist team think: Let’s get rid of that stuck-up young master from the Liu family. He’s not even human. Then... the Sentinels, exhausted to the point of splitting headaches, finally get a Guide to save them and think: He’s actually pretty great! There’s just one problem. Could their all-purpose support and strategist, Young Master Liu, stop secretly hatching plans behind their backs out of reflex? He could just tell them, so why does he always go through all these complicated detours? Liu Ming: Sorry about that. Profit comes first. I can only trust myself. I know better, but I won’t change~ Protagonist team: ...One day, we’ll force you to change. Why won’t you trust us? Some people are happy just because you exist. As usual, this is a sickly, beautiful, tragic, powerful protagonist, with a group-loving, friendship-focused ensemble. The protagonist will be doted on by the team, and there will be plenty of battle injuries. The story is about the bonds between the boys and how they gradually overcome their prejudices and learn to accept one another. The male lead is bullied by the group on the surface but is actually cherished by them. His personality is difficult to describe, but if I had to compare him to something, he’s a masochistic young master with a sensitive sense of pain. To write a story about a strategist little snake who’s adored by his natural enemies and knows how to handle them, I’m tentatively setting the world in a half-retro street-sports style with strong visual design, similar to Zenless Zone Zero. The characters’ designs draw on real-world animals and Norse mythology. It’s an unconventional Sentinel-and-Guide setting with supernatural ability sequences, natural disasters, and plenty of original worldbuilding. It probably won’t be very long, since this is purely an impulsive indulgence. [For completed stories with similar themes, check out my collection: Exam-Crazy Character Survives in a Manga Through Tragic Beauty and Strength, The Charismatic Hated General Tries to Become a Popular Game Character, A Background Character in a New Series Dies Over and Over to Save Others, and After Binding to a Choice Simulator, I’m Forced to Become a Phantom Thief. There are male- and female-led stories in all kinds of settings and genres. If you’re interested, please add one to your favorites, xoxo!] Theme: Profit isn’t a cure-all, but love and friendship can work miracles!