In old-school tragic romances, there is a certain kind of character: selfish and greedy, cold and cruel, vile and unscrupulous, ruthless in their methods. They drive the protagonists toward their tragic fates and serve as stepping stones on their journeys to becoming stronger.
They are collectively known as scumbag NPCs.
The System gathered a host of dead souls under its command and assigned each of them a scumbag script. It promised them a chance to be reborn as long as they performed their basic roles and helped the protagonists achieve great success in life.
The dead souls weighed the scripts in their hands. “Sounds easy enough.”
The System nodded in satisfaction, raised its clapperboard, and waved them into position.
-
The System: “You are a notorious playboy in the capital's elite circles. You coerce the protagonist into becoming your plaything by threatening to destroy his acting career, then torment and humiliate him at every turn. The protagonist secretly builds up his connections and resources, then uses your rival's power to destroy the capital you depend on. In the end, you lose the will to live, die in a drunk-driving crash, and the protagonist establishes himself in both business and entertainment, reaching the pinnacle of his life.”
The playboy looked at the pale-faced, handsome third-tier actor by the bed. “Got it.”
He yanked the man onto the bed and threw himself into the role.
As it happened, he got a little too carried away. Before long, he was providing the protagonist with connections and resources, generously paving his way to success.
The System: “?”
The playboy: “Establishing himself in business and entertainment is the big achievement, right? Just tell me, did he get it or not?”
The System: “…”
The System raged in frustration, then silently added a suffering-score requirement.
The System: “You are a hypocritical immortal lord who envies the talents of others. To drag your extraordinarily gifted junior fellow disciple into the mire, you secretly plant a demon seed inside him and plot to make him lose control of his demonic nature in public. As a result, he is cast out of the immortal sect and forced to wander the demon realm. In the end, the protagonist awakens his talent, cultivates both immortal and demonic arts, becomes the Supreme Ruler, and unites the Three Realms, while you are hacked to pieces and left to rot in the wilderness.”
The immortal lord glanced at the sweet-faced junior fellow disciple who always called him “Senior Brother.” “Understood.”
He diligently followed the script. Just as the protagonist was ascending to the throne of the Supreme Ruler, he made his preparations to die. But in the blink of an eye, he was captured and imprisoned on a bed in the Wuji Hall.
His junior fellow disciple gripped the iron chains around his wrists, smiling with a deranged, mournful intensity. “Senior Brother, don't run away from me.”
The System stared in disbelief. “What did you do to him?!”
The immortal lord looked innocent. “No idea.”
The System was defeated.
-
As the dead souls acted out their parts, the System was horrified to discover that the scumbag NPCs who were supposed to exit the story right on schedule had all latched onto the protagonists' good fortune. The plot had turned into a runaway horse, growing more bizarre by the minute.
They had achieved the major goals.
The suffering scores had met the requirements.
But every final rating was a desperate scrape past the passing mark.
The System collapsed with a slap, spitting up three mouthfuls of blood!
[Standalone stories. The order in the blurb may not match the order of the stories in the novel.]
Theme: Be a good person
