["Ah, that's because when a target's affinity for the Host drops below zero, the Host will be forcibly obliterated by the system."]
["At that point, you can prolong your life through intimacy with the target. As long as the affinity rises above zero, the threat of obliteration will be lifted."]
Jiang Yunnuan: "..."
'Prolonging my life with intimacy?'
'What kind of absurd and outrageous nonsense is this?'
'Insane. This is completely insane. Ever since I died, the entire world has become so topsy-turvy I don't even recognize it anymore!'
["Oh, and the plot summary and missions have been sent to the Host. Please review them yourself."]
As the voice faded, a flood of unfamiliar information appeared in Jiang Yunnuan's mind.
The original owner was also named Jiang Yunnuan, and she was the villainous supporting character, meant to be the heroine's foil.
It was as if her entire existence was dedicated to making the heroine look better by comparison.
The heroine was a peerless beauty; she was hideously ugly.
The heroine was intelligent and kind; she was stupid and cruel.
The heroine possessed immense spiritual power and was a heaven-sent prodigy, renowned far and wide. She, however, had failed to awaken any powers. She was nothing but useless trash, universally detested and utterly infamous.
Due to all these stark comparisons, even though she was Empress Jiang Huan's biological daughter, Jiang Huan only favored her stepdaughter—the heroine. She was disgusted with her own child and had sent her away from the Imperial Palace long ago.
As a result, the original owner's heart grew more twisted and dark. Her hatred for the heroine intensified, sending her down an irreversible path of corruption and perversion.
Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine, as if something full of venomous hatred was staring at her.
Jiang Yunnuan turned stiffly, only to meet a pair of eyes so cold they held not a trace of warmth.
The man had short hair, golden pupils, a pair of golden tiger ears on his head, and a mysterious, commanding beast marking on his forehead.
He had sharp brows, piercing eyes, a high-bridged nose, and deep, well-defined features. His entire face seemed as if chiseled, with flawless proportions that made him look both handsome and noble.
He was lying weakly on the ground, his abdomen stained red with blood. Despite his wretched state, he gave off the tragic and beautiful impression of a mighty hero in distress, his entire being exuding an aura of a sovereign who could command the world and look down upon all creation.
GULP.
Jiang Yunnuan's eyes lit up as she stared at the man, and she could almost hear herself swallowing hard.
'This man is so handsome! He's completely my type.'
'Wait a minute... isn't this that Tiger Clan Beastman whose inner core the original owner ripped out? Jun Yao???'
'He woke up so soon!!!!'
Jiang Yunnuan instantly felt like her world was crashing down.
Jun Yao, like Si Xie, was one of the original owner's contracted Beast Husbands.
The original owner had four such Beast Husbands in total.
Besides the two of them, there was also the Feathered Beastman Fu Yuan and the Snake Beastman Ming Ye.
"Jiang Yunnuan, if I don't die today, I will cut you into a thousand pieces!"
The man's weak voice rang out, thick with hatred. His eyes, fixed on her, were a terrifying, bloodshot crimson, filled with such ferocity and malice that they sent a chill down one's spine.
If looks could kill, Jiang Yunnuan had no doubt that she would have already been sliced to death a million times over.
'I wasn't even the one who did it, but I'm being forced to take all the blame. This is so unfair! So incredibly unfair!'
'But I'm the one in this body now, aren't I?'
Resigned, Jiang Yunnuan tried to comfort herself with that thought. She kicked off her one remaining shoe and walked barefoot to sit down in front of Jun Yao.
"Um, can we talk?"
The man pressed his thin lips together, saying nothing. He stared at her with icy eyes filled with venomous hatred and killing intent.
'Sigh... Every single one of them wants to kill me, and yet I have to try and win them over. This is exhausting. What a bitter fate!!!'
"Before, I wasn't in my right mind. That's why I did all those awful, hateful things. But I've realized my mistakes and I'm determined to turn over a new leaf."
"How about this? I'll return your inner core and I'll make sure you're healed and completely recovered. In exchange, you be the bigger person, forget all our past grievances, and we can live together peacefully from now on, okay?"
Hearing this, a flash of astonishment quickly crossed Jun Yao's icy golden eyes, and his handsome tiger ears twitched.
'This vicious, hateful woman has always been arrogant and domineering. It's the first time she's ever lowered herself like this. But so what? It must be one of her new tricks.'
He quickly returned to his hateful, venomous expression and spoke with sinister brutality.
"If you were in my shoes, would you forget the past and live peacefully with me?"
Jiang Yunnuan: "..."
'Sorry, but no. We couldn't live peacefully at all. I'd just snap their neck and send them to repent on the road to hell.'
'It's over, it's over. Looks like there's no way to fix this relationship.'
She gave an awkward, guilty smile and turned her head to look at the floating orb beside her.
The orb shimmered with a beautiful, flowing light. A faint beast marking, very similar to the one on Jun Yao's forehead, was visible on its surface. This was his inner core.
"System, put the inner core back into Jun Yao's body, and heal him while you're at it."
Jiang Yunnuan communicated with the system using her thoughts.
'No matter what, I have to give him back his inner core first. I'll worry about fixing our relationship later.'
'The original owner was so unbelievably stupid!'
She had so cruelly ripped out Jun Yao's inner core just to curry favor with the heroine's man, all to spite the heroine.
'Ripping out her own Beast Husband's inner core to suck up to the heroine's man, just to piss off the heroine... seriously, what kind of screwed-up logic is that?'
'She really lived up to the "stupid and cruel" label!'
However, before the inner core could be delivered, Si Xie had walked in on her.
Ever since they were forcibly matched with the perverse and twisted original owner, they had become tools for her to vent her anger on. They were wantonly humiliated and tortured day after day, living a life worse than death.
But now, she wouldn't even let them live!
Si Xie was devastated. He believed his own inner core would be next, so, unable to bear it any longer, he finally snapped and decided to kill the original owner, taking her down with him.
'And I'm the scapegoat who entered this body right at that moment. As for the original owner, who knows where she's gone.'
Sigh...
Jiang Yunnuan sighed, feeling a massive headache coming on.
'When Fu Yuan and Ming Ye get back from their mission and find out about this, they're not going to let me off the hook either.'
'This body is useless. I can't use any of my original powers, so I'm definitely not their match. What do I do? What the hell am I supposed to do?'
["Apologies, but the Host has no Points and cannot exchange for a Rejuvenation Pill. Without that pill, forcibly placing the inner core back into the target's body will cause an infection, leading to the inner core's necrosis."]
Jiang Yunnuan: "..."
"It needs an Elixir Pill, too? Can't you just prevent an infection? If you can't even handle a small thing like that, what the hell good are you, you useless system?"