I Marked the Villain After Transmigrating into a Scumbag A - Chapter 4

Sitting in a chair at the police station, Gu Zhijing’s mind was a chaotic buzz after she’d turned herself in. She couldn’t hear anything the police were saying. She just frowned and repeated one sentence: “I’m guilty. Please lock me up.”

Ten minutes passed like this.

The noise in her ears finally started to fade. A sudden, sharp pain shot through her head, as if something was being crammed inside, squeezing her organs and threatening to explode her if she didn’t listen.

Gu Zhijing clenched her fingers, but still said, “I’m guilty.”

Finally, the oppressive force in her mind eased. It slowly coalesced into a solid electronic voice.

【Host, please return to the hospital and complete the ‘First Step of Darkening’ plot!】

Gu Zhijing looked at the angry-faced policeman opposite her. He was clearly annoyed. Who turns themselves in and just repeats the same line like a broken record? Given her reputation, he figured she was just playing games.

He tapped a pen on the table. “Answer me properly.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you clearly,” Gu Zhijing apologized. “Could you please repeat that?”

The System repeated: 

【Host, please return to the hospital and complete the ‘First Step of Darkening’ plot!】

The officer sat at his computer, typing. “Our colleagues are already at the hospital to question Ye Chimu. You’d better not be filing a false report, or… trying some new trick to bully an Omega.”

“I’m not. She has evidence.” Gu Zhijing said seriously.

“Evidence?” The policeman immediately called his colleagues at the hospital.

The System in her head screamed again, intentionally raising the volume and adding static. But after twenty more minutes, Gu Zhijing remained completely calm.

The System’s electronic voice returned, this time not repeating itself, but speaking in a cold tone:

【Host, you had better follow the plot, or I will erase you and make you wish you were dead.】

Gu Zhijing simply curled her lip into a smile.

When no response came, the System broke the silence. 

【Gu Zhijing, you’ve read enough novels to know what I’m for.】

In any negotiation, the first person to speak loses a bit of power. Gu Zhijing was in no hurry—she could endure this. The System, on the other hand, had a breaking point.

Gu Zhijing politely asked it a question: 

【Are you a man or a woman? Should I address you as ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’?】

The System glitched for a few seconds. 

【Is that necessary?】

Gu Zhijing: 

【So, you’re genderless then?】

If the System had a physical body, it would have exploded with rage. Gu Zhijing’s tone was completely unruffled. Even after being tortured by it for so long, she remained calm, betraying no change in her demeanor.

She spoke to it with her mind. “If you could kill me, or if my death could solve this problem, you wouldn’t just be torturing me physically. The first time I defied you, you would have killed me outright.”

In business, if you can bankrupt a competitor, you don’t let them survive. She was valuable to the System.

The System paused, stunned by her analysis. 

【I can bring the original host back out, and then you will die.】

Gu Zhijing laughed softly. “So you’re saying the original host has a bug and can’t come out right now? I can use this body however I want, is that it?”

“Gu Zhijing, what are you laughing about? Be serious!” The policeman rapped his pen on the table.

“My apologies,” Gu Zhijing straightened up. “I got distracted.” Talking with the System wasn’t a skill she was used to, and she kept accidentally speaking out loud. She decided to ignore it for now unless absolutely necessary.

System: 【?】

The System was furious. Gu Zhijing was clearly trying to test its limits.

It gritted out: 【Don’t you want to go back?】

Gu Zhijing didn’t answer.

System: 【I can send you back, as long as you cooperate.】

Gu Zhijing smiled. “You haven’t given me any tangible benefits or shown me any way you can send me back. I never believe in verbal promises.”

A wave of static exploded in her head. The System was going crazy. It had never encountered a host who was so strategic yet so stubborn.

The System sensed the shift in her mood: 

【What exactly do you want?】

Gu Zhijing evaded the question. “That’s not information you’re allowed to have yet.”

System: 【?】

Fine. She had completely turned the tables on it!

System: 【Don’t you want to know why you ended up in this world?】

“Because of my obsession with Ye Chimu.”

The System was astonished and confused about how she knew. Gu Zhijing slowly finished her sentence: “… That’s what they always say in novels.”

【…】

The System couldn’t read her at all. It said coldly, 

【Then I guess you’ll be spending the rest of your life in jail. Ye Chimu isn’t a good person. You’ve handed her an opportunity, and she’s going to make the most of it. If you don’t act first, she will finish you.】

“That’s fine by me.” Her tone was light and airy. Gu Zhijing felt like it didn’t matter whether she stayed or not.

If it sent her back now, she’d just contact the author and offer 100 million to change the story. If the author refused, she’d offer 200 million. If even that didn’t work, she’d offer 300 or 400 million to write a separate sequel for Ye Chimu’s rebirth. That would change Ye Chimu’s ending.

It was more plausible to her that she had been pulled into this world for trying to change Ye Chimu’s ending, rather than just from a simple obsession. Of course, she wouldn’t tell the System any of this.

Gu Zhijing just slowly asked the System, “We’ve talked about me. Now let’s talk about your problem. What’s your mission? What are the conditions for you to clear the game?”

“I’ll take a guess. It’s probably a series of small missions, like getting Ye Chimu trending on social media and judged by netizens, to successfully enter the ‘Second Step of Darkening’ plot. Is that right, System?”

******

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Qin Guanghui was in a panic. Why had his CEO gone and turned herself in? He burst into the room, interrupting the conversation inside.

“This is all a big misunderstanding, officers!”

Qin Guanghui was sweating profusely. “Police uncles, I mean, police sisters, our CEO just went for a CT scan. How could she turn herself in? It must be a false accusation!”

He noticed a cold, quiet stare from across the room. He followed the gaze and saw Ye Chimu holding a cup of tea, her icy eyes fixed on him.

Qin Guanghui swallowed hard.

“Gu Zhijing reported herself. No one can falsely accuse her of that,” said the taller of the two officers. “Now, please leave. Don’t interfere with our investigation.”

The shorter officer opened the door and ushered him out. “Yeah, maybe your boss had a change of heart and decided to turn herself in for all the evil she’s done. It’s not like she’s crazy and turned herself in for no reason, right?”

Everyone knew what kind of person Gu Zhijing was. This was a rare opportunity to catch her, and letting her go would be a disservice to all Omegas. If she were convicted, she’d be looking at a year or two in prison, at the very least.

After being kicked out, Qin Guanghui got a call from the Gu family. They were yelling at him nonstop. Remembering Gu Zhijing’s hospital visit, he rushed to the neurology department to get the doctor.

The doctor, an old man, slowly walked with the CT scans in his hand. He spoke in a soft voice. “Yes, she has some issues with her brain…”

“Yes, she did come for a brain CT. There’s a shadow in there, and we haven’t been able to figure out what it is yet…”

“You hear that, police sister? Even the doctor says our CEO has a mental illness!” Qin Guanghui immediately pushed open the hospital room door, talking as he went. He stopped short, then looked at the old doctor again. “What? Our CEO has a mental illness?”

The doctor: “You could interpret it that way.”

If Gu Zhijing ended up in jail, the family would not forgive him. He’d lose his job. Qin Guanghui felt like crying. He grabbed the doctor’s hand. “Doctor, please tell the officers exactly what’s wrong with our CEO’s brain.”

The doctor gave a detailed explanation of Gu Zhijing’s brain condition, including the shadow on her nerve center.

The police officer looked at Ye Chimu. “Ms. Ye, what do you think? We can get this on record and charge her with attempted rape. The prosecutor can help you…”

“But if she’s found to have a mental illness, how strong is the case?” Ye Chimu asked.

The taller officer said, “A mental illness is no excuse for raping an Omega.”

Ye Chimu looked at the old doctor. “Can I see the report you’re holding?”

The doctor handed it to her. Ye Chimu carefully studied the scans, asking questions when she didn’t understand something. “Is this an incurable disease?”

“We don’t know yet,” the doctor replied. “She didn’t let us do any further tests.”

“Could it cause a drastic change in her personality?” Ye Chimu continued.

“That… we don’t know either.” The old doctor looked a bit embarrassed. “Mainly because she suddenly ran out of the hospital when I was about to do more tests.”

The CT scan showed that shadows had taken over Gu Zhijing’s neural regions. If this was the reason for her personality change, then her previous actions might be understandable.

But what if this was just a new way for Gu Zhijing to torture her?

The police officer said to her seriously, “If you have evidence, you can give it to us. We’ll bring her to justice. You must not have any illusions about a criminal. You can’t trust anything a person like her says.”

“Did she say I have evidence?” Ye Chimu asked.

“Yes…”

She looked at the officers, and they looked back at her, waiting for an answer.

******

That evening, Gu Zhijing was bailed out by her family. Qin Guanghui was waiting for her outside the police station. Gu Zhijing walked out in her suit, her hair rustling in the night breeze. She was bathed in the moonlight and the wind.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to be transmigrated,” Gu Zhijing said, answering the question from before she was arrested.

System: 【?】

Gu Zhijing said, “Don’t you think it’s romantic to meet a character you admire in another dimension?”

If the System had eyes, they would have been wide with shock.

“Miss!” Qin Guanghui rushed up to her. He was absolutely frantic. Who goes and turns themselves in for fun? “Miss, you’ve gone too far this time. The old man says he’s going to break your legs when you get out!”

“Oh?” Gu Zhijing calculated in her head. “How long do you go to jail for domestic violence?”

Qin Guanghui was shaking like a leaf, close to tears. “Miss, you can play around with going to jail, but we can’t send the old man in there too.”

“Just kidding,” Gu Zhijing said.

“That’s not a joke to be making!” Qin Guanghui said frantically. “Let’s just go home. If you don’t, the old man is going to cut you off…”

Being broke in this world was a real inconvenience.

Gu Zhijing bent down and got into the car, buckling her seatbelt. “How is Ye Chimu?” she asked.

“Miss, let’s worry about ourselves first. And besides, Ye Chimu hasn’t let up yet. I don’t know what’s going on with that woman…” Qin Guanghui said, feeling Gu Zhijing’s cold stare.

“Tell me!”

Gu Zhijing was terrifying when she was angry. Her entire face went cold. And she was an S-level Alpha. Qin Guanghui stood outside the car door, trembling. “Actually… actually, the old man went to see Ms. Ye. He plans to settle it with money. Either she marries you, or she’ll just… disappear from the public eye!”

“Miss, don’t bother with her. As long as she doesn’t give in, things will go badly for her. Her own agent was the one who personally handed her to you. Now she’s trying to extort money from you. She deserves what she gets!”

“Make a U-turn. We’re going to the hospital.” Gu Zhijing gave the command. The car door slammed shut with a bang, and her shadow disappeared inside.