Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

The most awe-inspiring scene in that surreal, intoxicating experience he just had was – “The Duel.” He decided to put all his energy into producing that particular CGI cutscene, but that would leave him with insufficient heart and soul into the rest of the game. He wanted to make it so good that no matter which path a player chose, they would be able to appreciate this iconic scene, which he believed was beyond compare in the entirety of Wuxia history

Of course, those who decide to kill off Jane Doe Su in the hopes of some equipment would never be able to experience this scene.

But how you do you even kill this nameless girl? She was as strong as the “Sword God” Li Xiye. If you directly confronted her, it would be no different from crossing blades with the Sword God himself! She only made an appearance while attempting to save other players, but her chances of getting wounded were actually very slim. After all, it was uncommon for players to fight six or seven undead curs all at once, unless the player was deliberately doing it to trigger her scene, or just plain suicidal.

Regardless, a player would have to be closing in on death. If a fight was too simple, the girl would not appear.

Therefore, the highest possibility of the nameless girl appearing was when players were struggling against a miniboss. Specifically, she would appear when the players are just about to get slaughtered by the miniboss, which would be so embarrassing that they would feel like quitting the game.

Jane Doe Su would appear out of nowhere crashing a boss fight like how Cinderella crashes balls. With her bedazzling swordplay, she would make quick work of the mini boss. Of course, in the process, the nameless girl would be tumbling[1] about adeptly...

One could only blame the game mechanics for making the most graceful of girls rolling about in the dust. How do you even kill a boss in this game, if you can’t even tumble about?

Nobody stands flat-footed before a boss, unless somebody actually trained their bodies rigorously to the point of superhuman durability, which was unheard of. Otherwise, a non-tumbler was as good as a non-living being...

For a peerless master such as Jane Doe Su, a single, small boss was basically a punching bag. Players would be able to observe her movements and learn from how she fought. She would make it seem like a walk in the park or rather take her bitch out for a walk in the park, the bitch being the miniboss.

She would be able to kill the miniboss without a single scratch. In such circumstances, players might not be able to kill their great savior for potentially great rewards even if they wanted to...

Food for thought. When the figures that Zhao Youyue has possessed up until now are manifested in reality, were they just coding, programs, autopilot functions that took over the control of some of her activities?

Who knows. Back to the game. Some smart players might be extremely fascinated —- —- this nameless girl seemed to be an intelligent NPC. Was she actually sentient?

Or, could she be that so-called “anomaly” that appeared in many online game novels and acquired consciousness on her volition?

Of course, Zha Feng would never underestimate skeptical, imaginative players. He has seen some uploaders on Bilibili. Some uploaders were particularly good at playing the game. They could quickly and casually crack the many “conspiracies” and “evil intentions” within his game. He could only comfort himself by saying that these uploaders could only do so because they had sacrificed their time and lives and died countless of times

In fact, he wished to see more players like “Ah Yu,” who crushed the game via bruteforce, after stepping into trap after trap. Her skills were almost a form of art on their own, and that did his game absolute justice!

Other streamers might just discover a bug and exploit it to no end. That exploit might result from something small like a graphical glitch, to a shortcut that led them to a premature completion. They would even propagate these methods to benefit the masses. This displeased Zha Feng, even if such videos increased the sales of his game

Zha Feng was very confident that some godly players would be able to kill the nameless girl. After all, some players have even killed “Sword God” Li Xiye. That had triggered a hidden storyline. It was apparent that Zha Feng was already fully prepared for such a possibility.

This time, he had also made preparations, just in case someone did kill the nameless girl. Firstly, the player would become the arch enemy of the nameless city. At the same time, he would be on the wanted list of the Kingdom of Zhao. He would also get hunted down by the many people who were once saved by the nameless girl. Other than that, if Li Xiye learned of it, he would turn hostile, and might even hunt the player actively

At the same time, should the player do some “hero saves the beauty” side quests in the future, there was a high possibility of being backstabbed by the person he saved. Of course, the person must have thought that the player carried some items of value. Naturally, in such a ruthless world, killing someone for their spoils would be completely justifiable!

Finally, when the player reaches a spot in the game where he or she had been scripted to die, the player would be at the complete mercy of the game. Perhaps, had the nameless girl been alive, the player might be able to scrape through this part, albeit barely. However, now that the player has slain the nameless girl in cold blood, good luck with that.

This would most likely render the entire savefile useless. No matter what, there was no way to get past the scripted death part alone.

In a sense, Zha Feng did not want the players to kill the nameless girl at all, as it was a waste to the outstanding storyline that he had painstakingly prepared for them!

When Zha Feng handed the script to the screenwriting team, they almost became catatonic —- —-

“Boss, this character is a work of God. It might just redefine the game!”

“Boss, I don’t see any possible good endings? Shouldn’t a sweet girl like her at least have a happy ending?”

“On the night of the full moon, the Duel, a sword from the West, “Fairy from Wonderland”! We finally have something good here. This is classic Wuxia!”

“If we’re aiming to portray the stark contrast between Cinderella and the princess in all of its glory, we must find the best artist for the job. I have a bold idea...”

“Bold idea or not, whatever. For such a character, we must, of course, call in Su Li. Her drawing style matches this character, especially when the girl is in her princess form. Oh, and, of course, her finale as well. Hehe.”

“If that’s the case, what do we do with the righteous deity Yan Qingmeng. She was supposed to be the original protagonist. No matter how I look at it, she seems so, bland and pedestrian, compared to this miserable princess character.”

...

When Zha Feng saw the enthusiastic response of the screenwriters, he felt very pleased. When he heard that question about the main female protagonist, he said, “No changes needed! We can keep Yan Qingmeng as the mascot of the DLC. Let players think she’s the heroine. She is righteous, she’s the face of heroism! The nameless girl does not even have a name, what’s the point in advertising her? I would really love to see how players react. The misery they’ve placed themselves in, from the moment they decide to kill her with their own hands hehehe.”

Most of the screenwriters shuddered. Their boss was an evil demon!

But this evil demon was their boss, and his will was their commandment. All they had to do was fill in the details accurately, such as the relationship between the “Sword God” Li Xiye and Jane Doe Su. Why did Li Xiye’s heart flutter as he fought her at the Duel?

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Translation note :

[1] “Tumble” here takes the meaning of a handspring, somersault in the air, or other acrobatic feats.