Born a Villain, Reborn as a Beacon of Righteousness

“Did the title trick you into clicking? Haha! Did you really think... I'd become the light of righteousness?” The figure, whose gender was hard to make out, raised a hand and touched the words “born to be,” then rubbed them out with a firm stroke.

“Maybe... this would be a more fitting way to describe me...” She lightly wrote a single character where she stood, then hung the title back up and admired it for a moment.

The Genius Villain Reforged into the Light of Righteousness

That's right, genius is her defining label. As for villain? She doesn't care, just as she doesn't care about the accusations from the darkness after joining the Special Affairs Bureau. They call her “the Bureau's lapdog” and “an arrogant, naive traitor.”

What a joke. They don't really think she joined the Special Affairs Bureau because she'd been “reformed,” do they?

Ye is a madwoman forever lost in her own world. She raises both hands, trying to show everyone the magnificent vista she sees, but all they can see is her madness and indifference.

“I chose to stay here not because I agree with your justice, am grateful for your kindness, or am captivated by your warmth, but because I love the steadfastness with which you struggle toward an ideal you can never reach.” This is her declaration. This is her aesthetic.

While all living beings compete to be the losers amid the smoke of war,

she sits atop a tower,

turns the world to permanent hell difficulty,

and presses [Start Game] for herself.

Ye Yiyi likes to look down on the land from a great height, so Lin Qiang easily spots her when he looks up from beneath Heragu's tower. He climbs the steps. The young woman, dressed in a fine formal suit, sits on the railing. The wind howls atop the tower, and her slender body seems ready to topple over, but Lin Qiang knows just how powerful she is. He walks to the railing without looking at the young powerhouse, keeping his eyes on her masterpiece instead.

The whole city is shrouded in smoke. The war she started... No, it is more like a celebration, one that sweeps up every person in the city. Everyone is doing exactly as she wishes, competing to be the loser in this celebration. No one here can win, because...

The house always wins. Lin Qiang looks down at the city, thinking of what he saw on the journey he took alongside her when he left his family all those years ago, and of what she said to him back then: “The house always wins, Mr. Undercover. When you realize you're not the house in this game, don't think about turning the tables. Just survive first.”

Back then, the child who had already become heir to the family was still young, her features tender. Yet she spoke of the law of the jungle with that same innocent face. And now, with that same youthful face, she has done something utterly insane.

Lin Qiang says, “The Glanmer family has fallen. You know better than I do who's next. But the people of Heragu won't thank you, and neither will Heragu's mayor. Where will you go next?” Just as it was when she was in the family, once she conquers the highest achievement in this game arena, this hunting ground, she loses interest. Every challenge here tastes like sawdust to her.

The young woman, who hadn't yet named herself Ye Yiyi, glances at Lin Qiang. She recognizes the undercover agent she casually pulled out of the family back then, but that isn't important. At this moment, she's thinking about something. On a small scale, it could affect the direction of her life. On a larger one, perhaps even the course of the world.

After all, her strength lies in both intellect and physical power.

She thinks as the celebration draws to a close. She thinks about dancing with her family and what will become of those mad fools whose steps are all over the place, and what kind of ending she herself wants.

And what kind of ending could possibly befit the downfall of families that have controlled the entire country for nearly a century?

She watches the police, dispatched by a chaotic force, flounder in confusion. She watches the incompetent mayor fail to seize such a golden opportunity, doing nothing but making way for the family, accepting his fate, and helping them along. She looks at a city that will never change.

Suddenly, she says, “I haven't received the reward I deserve.”

She turns to Lin Qiang. “I'm not satisfied with the people dancing with me. I want a better stage. Do you have one?”

Lin Qiang asks cautiously, “Even if it means increasing the difficulty by imposing restrictions on yourself?”

The young woman jumps down from the railing onto the tower platform and stretches. “Of course. I love tower climbers, roguelikes, and welcome-home games. Getting tilted is an excitement threshold too, isn't it?”

That's how she chose the Special Affairs Bureau and joined the righteous side.

A unique aesthetic, an unmistakable arrogance, and pure stats. Her intelligence and combat power alike are enough to break a game's balance. Yet, for the sake of her own aesthetic, she ties her hands behind her back. Though she clearly struggles to empathize, she can experience a stirring beauty in the construction of order. She loves Sisyphus pushing a boulder up a mountain, rigid movements and meaningless processes, unreachable shores and perfect circles that exist only in theory. She loves everything just beyond reach. She loves futility. This is her aesthetic.

So she is invincible.

As usual, no romance. The column is called “The Other Shore of Dreams,” meaning I'll become so immersed in my art through the works in this column that I'll forget the world around me.

The female lead named herself Ye Yiyi. Originally, she was called Ye. Yes, you read that right, it was a dash. I rejected it, then, with a headache, settled on Ye Yiyi. This protagonist has a lot, a lot of personality...

Theme: “Here lies a patient who was never born, the self-crowned mad sovereign sailing forever.”