The Counterattack Plan of A Villain With Ten Thousand Fans - Chapter 213

Chapter 213

"Who is it?" 098 was a bit excited.

"It's me," Ling Chunann said, "I'm definitely 100% confident in my own appeal, so as long as I ascend to the throne, I've completed the mission."

"…Host, please stop joking around." 098 was displeased.

Ling Chunann shrugged. "Okay, fine. It's actually Xiao Hongjing."

098: "…" Disbelieving. Not to mention Xiao Hongjing barely appeared in the story, his initial state in this world was enough for 098 to rule out the possibility of Xiao Hongjing being the main character.

098 racked its brain but couldn't come up with an answer. How did Ling Chunann figure out who the male lead was? The original text never made it clear, did it?

Ling Chunann had no intention of rescuing the system that had hit a dead end. He turned over, planning to go back to sleep, but evidently, someone wanted to prevent him from sleeping. Soon after, someone else barged in.

The intruder was immediately spotted by the shadow guards responsible for protecting Ling Chunann. Although the intruder's martial arts were superior to that of the shadow guards, outnumbered, he was forced to leave. However, before leaving, he gave Ling Chunann a long, complex look.

"Stop chasing him," Ling Chunann said.

The shadow guards halted, and Shadow Six saluted, "It's my fault for not protecting the young master well, causing him to be alarmed."

Ling Chunann glanced at Shadow Six, "It's okay, you can all withdraw."

As Ling Chunann was observing Shadow Six, 098 was also observing him and noticed that this Shadow Six was somewhat different from the one before. However, what concerned it more was that the black-clothed person looked familiar. After running through the possible male leads of this world, 098 had an epiphany, "Host, the assassin just now was…Lu Zhiqin."

But why would it be him? This person was particularly fond of the host, and his martial arts had also improved a lot.

Ling Chunann smiled, "I know."

"Aren't you surprised?" Ling Chunann and Lu Zhiqin were quite close before, almost friends. Now that Lu Zhiqin had come to assassinate him, Ling Chunann showed no surprise, which was very strange, "Could he be the male lead?" Thinking this, 098 turned and began frantically flipping through the plot.

"No need to look," Ling Chunann said, "It's not him."

Although Lu Zhiqin wasn't killed by the shadow guards, he was seriously injured. If Ling Chunann hadn't told them to stop chasing, he definitely wouldn't have escaped today.

After adjusting his turbulent qi, Lu Zhiqin quietly sneaked into a courtyard a few streets away and slipped in through the door.

"Host, I haven't found any recent updates about Lu Zhiqin," 098 reported.

"Never mind him," Ling Chunann said, "What about the female lead?"

Seeing that Ling Chunann had no intention of wasting time on who the male lead was, 098 gave up, "Host, the female lead and An Chengxuan have already sneaked into the palace with their troops, and, the emperor's army has started to fight."

Wait, how could it suddenly see Xiao Hongjing's actions? 098 couldn't believe it. Could he really be the male lead?

Ling Chunann got dressed and went out, "Let's find him."

At this moment, the old residence was a battlefield, but it seemed as though both parties had agreed to make no sound beyond the clashing of weapons, like a silent play, with only the smell of blood in the air proving the brutality of the fight.

Seeing Ling Chunann approaching, the palace guards turned their spears towards him but were blocked by the shadow guards. Seeing they couldn't break through and having lost many of their own, they dared not target Ling Chunann anymore.

Ling Chunann nodded at a few shadow guards, then walked past the corpses on the ground towards the front courtyard.

The emperor's elite soldiers clearly couldn't match Xiao Hongjing's shadow guard brigade. By now, the fight was almost over, with Xiao Hongjing and the current emperor facing each other.

The emperor, who was about the same age as Prince An Jing, now looked much older. He glanced at the sword in Xiao Hongjing's hand, "Uncle Nine, must we come to this?"

A trace of mockery crossed Xiao Hongjing's eyes, "Did His Majesty bring so many elite soldiers to my house today just to say this?"

"I…sigh." The emperor sighed, his eyes complex, "Sorry, it's my… I was too narrow-minded, perhaps being in this position for too long. I used to think I wouldn't change, but seeing Uncle Nine recover and thinking about the past… I became afraid."

Xiao Hongjing's grip on his sword loosened slightly.

"Uncle Nine, I truly admire you." The emperor seemed to fall into reminiscence, his gaze growing distant as he continued, "I always thought you were the smartest person in this world…"

"You only made one mistake," Xiao Hongjing interrupted the emperor.

Before the emperor could utter another word, his eyes widened, his mouth opened but no sound came out, and then he collapsed to the ground.

When Ling Chunann arrived at the front courtyard, what he saw was the emperor lying on the ground, and the coldness in Xiao Hongjing's eyes was chilling.

But that was only for a moment. Upon seeing Ling Chunann, Xiao Hongjing's face immediately brightened with a smile, and he walked over briskly, "Darling, why are you here? Did we wake you?"

"No." Ling Chunann, accustomed to the man's ability to change faces so quickly, glanced again at the emperor's body, "What did you say he did wrong?"

"Nothing." Xiao Hongjing smiled, "Are you still sleepy, darling? I'll take you to bed."

"Okay."

Inside the brightly lit palace, with the emperor having taken most of the palace guards with him, the female lead and An Chengxuan, having led people in a stealth attack, quickly overcame any resistance. However, they searched the entire palace and couldn't find what they were looking for.

The Imperial Seal is a symbol of the emperor's authority. Though it may seem foolish, the tradition is deeply ingrained; only the person in possession of the Imperial Seal is deemed worthy of being the emperor.

As dawn approached and the Imperial Seal, supposedly kept in the Royal Study, was nowhere to be found, Lan You started to panic, "Where on earth did the emperor hide the Imperial Seal?"

"The morning court session is soon, and His Majesty hasn't returned yet. Something must have happened," An Chengxuan's youthful face was somber, "No matter what, I must obtain the Imperial Seal today."

Lan You glanced at the sky, "Since the Imperial Seal is missing, let's first take control of the ministers. From now on, they'll have to listen to us."

An Chengxuan looked at Lan You in surprise, evidently not expecting such words from her.

But after thinking it over, his great-uncle had always been a ruthless character, yet he never showed any interest in the throne. Otherwise, he could have claimed it years ago. Why wait until now?

Concluding this, An Chengxuan calmed down, "Someone, come dress me!"

The next day, Ling Chunann woke up late in the morning. Seeing him awake, 098 hurriedly reported the latest developments, "Host, the palace is now under the control of the female lead and An Chengxuan, who openly claimed the throne at this morning's court session."

After explaining and thinking Ling Chunann might not have understood, 098 added, "Anyone who objected to him becoming emperor was executed on his orders," and then added, "It was the female lead's idea."

"Okay, I know," Ling Chunann responded.

By now, the old residence had been completely cleaned, the bloodstains on the ground washed away, leaving the air fresh as after rain, with newly planted roses blooming brightly.

Ling Chunann flicked a flower beside the path, causing a few drops of dew to slide off.

"Darling, why are you up so early?" Xiao Hongjing's voice came from behind Ling Chunann, as gentle as ever, "Here, this is for you."

Ling Chunann looked at the small box Xiao Hongjing handed over and took it, "What's this?"

"Open it and see."

Even without looking, Ling Chunann knew what it was. The moment he took the item, 098's system notification came through.

"Counterattack value +45%, current counterattack value is 90%, please continue to strive, host."

Ling Chunann opened the box to find a green imperial seal inside, the very item the female lead and her companion had failed to find in the palace the night before.

Closing the box, Ling Chunann asked, "How did this end up with you?"

"It's always been with me," Xiao Hongjing smiled, "The late emperor entrusted it to me before he passed."

After obtaining the Imperial Seal, Ling Chunann ascended to the throne the next day with the support of Xiao Hongjing, Prince An Jing, and a host of ministers. As for the female lead and An Chengxuan, they had attempted to create chaos and escape as soon as Ling Chunann produced the Imperial Seal. In the end, the female lead managed to escape, while An Chengxuan, in a desperate attempt to kill Ling Chunann, had his arm severed by Xiao Hongjing and was thrown into the heavenly prison.

"Host, the female lead has been captured by the followers of the demon sect," 098 reported. This time, Lan You had recognized Ling Chunann, also known as Xiao Qi from their previous encounter on the road. Unfortunately, it seems the leader of the demon sect had already concluded that Ling Chunann was killed by Lan You, "The leader of the demon sect doesn't yet know you're alive. The female lead didn't get a chance to speak before he threw her back into prison, but this time, he disfigured her." This time, the female lead definitely won't be able to charm anyone into letting her out.

"Hmm," Ling Chunann said, surveying his new room while speaking.

"Host, do you really know who the male lead is?" 098 revisited the question.

"Didn't I tell you before?" Ling Chunann said with a smile, "Have you forgotten again?"

But it didn't believe him. And what about the remaining 10% of the counterattack value?

"Today's counterattack value includes the male lead's favorability. The remaining 10% is the female lead's favorability," Ling Chunann reminded emotionlessly.

"…" It must have spent too much time with the host, completely forgetting about the existence of a female lead in the mission, let alone that there was a task to win her favor. But since the host was so sure, then Xiao Hongjing must be the male lead. 098 convinced itself, realizing that adults could also be male leads!

Feeling 098's thoughts, Ling Chunann couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Hahaha, 098, you're too cute." How could it be so gullible after being a system for so long?

098: "…Huh?" Although it didn't understand what happened, it was sure it was being laughed at.

After laughing for a while, Ling Chunann said, "Haven't you realized? This is a world with only a female lead; there's no male lead. The task prompt was misleading from the start."

"Why could I see the actions of the adult?" 098 didn't want to believe it had been tricked again.

"Because you've grown stronger," Ling Chunann explained, "If you don't believe me, wait until the mission is completed and check the results in the mission space. This world's difficulty is no less than the previous one."

"Alright, okay," 098's voice was barely audible.

"098, check the female lead's favorability," Ling Chunann instructed.

After checking the female lead's favorability, 098 felt a jolt, "Reporting to the host, the female lead's favorability is -20%."

"That low, huh."

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