The Villainess Returns with a System - Chapter 74: The Hit List (1)

Richard Santamo, a Jobless, idling bystander, stumbles upon a mysterious blue panel that grants him access to advanced technology and skills beyond human comprehension. With the power to shape his destiny, he must navigate his newfound abilities while balancing everyday life, friendships, and his mother’s expectations. As he sets his sights on business, innovation, and self-improvement, Richard quickly realizes that knowledge and power come at a cost. Will he rise above his humble beginnings, or will the weight of his ambitions pull him under?-----------[ DISCLAIMER ] -----------Please note that the entirety of this book is a work of fiction. All characters, names, businesses, locations, and events depicted within these pages are products of the author's imagination or have been used in a purely fictitious manner. Any perceived resemblance to actual persons, living or deceased, or to real-world companies, organizations, or institutions, is entirely unintentional and purely coincidental. The portrayal of any names, character traits, positions, or corporate entities in this narrative is fundamentally fictional and is not intended to represent, comment upon, or interact with their real-life counterparts in any way. Our aim is to provide an immersive story, completely detached from reality.Furthermore, neither the author nor the publisher intends to defame, discredit, or infringe upon the rights or reputation of any individual, company, or entity that may, by sheer happenstance, share a name or a superficial characteristic with an element found in this book. This creation is offered solely for entertainment purposes and should not, under any circumstances, be interpreted as factual documentation or a representation of real-life events, actual people, or existing circumstances. Its sole purpose is to invite you into a world crafted from imagination, with no ties to the factual world.

Xu Shulou dreams she’s a character in a bizarre storybook.The male lead is Long Aotian, a man with a “Dragon Overlord” script: treasures fall into his lap, beauties vie for his heart.The first heroine is his delicate junior apprentice sister. The second, the Demon Sect’s saintess. The third… the fourth…Where does Xu Shulou rank? She flips through the plot and realizes—despite being Long Aotian’s official fiancée, she’s nothing but a disposable pawn.In the story, her sect elders dote on her fragile junior sister.“Shulou, yield this treasure to your sister. She’s weaker and needs it more.”“Shulou, don’t be unreasonable. Your gentle sister deserves care.”Even Long Aotian prefers the junior sister. He’s a flirtatious mess, forcing Xu Shulou to compete with other women, her jealousy twisting her into a villain. Meanwhile, the junior sister blossoms into a pristine lotus.But Xu Shulou refuses to play along.When the script demands she and her junior sister be kidnapped, Long Aotian saves the “weaker” girl, saying, “Shulou, you’re stronger—you’ll understand.”In reality? Long Ao Tian arrives just in time to see Xu Shulou slaughter the villains, scoop her sister into her arms, and vanish into the sky—without sparing him a glance.When demons attack, the story expects Long Aotian to leave his fiancée and lovers in the sect’s care. The elders protect only the junior sister, letting Xu Shulou be humiliated.In reality? The elders sneer: “Our senior sister dominates the cultivation world. Why would we need you to worry about her?”When the story’s Long Aotian coaxes the Demon Saintess into betraying her clan for him…In reality, the Saintess timidly asks Xu Shulou: “You’re a righteous heroine. I’m a hunted demon. Why would you want to befriend me?”In the script, Xu Shulou claws at other women in jealous rage.In reality, she’d rather live in peace—until Long Aotian pushes too far. Then she draws her sword.In the story, Long Aotian reigns supreme, surrounded by beauties.In reality, Xu Shulou steals his allies, hoards his treasures, and occasionally beats him up—while he sulks.“My sword saves the world and shields the innocent. It’s not for fighting over men.”“See? Dreams lie. I’m the one holding the Dragon Overlord script.”

There exists eight hardships of human life- living, aging, being sick, dying, resenting, parting with loved ones, being unable to let go, and being unable obtain something.

In each life, each person will experience their own hardship. Once they obtain happiness, they are furthermore unable to let go. Whether it would be heartfelt love or resenting someone down to the bone, would it matter? As long as that person’s bone has my name, it would be good.

- Description from Novelupdates

I was forced to live in captivity for the rest of my life because I happened to be aware of the fact that I was a saint. I was truly a ‘real’ saint, but that didn’t matter, because there was already a designated saint in the temple.

When I died from all the abuse I endured, I was sent back to a time before all those previous events in my life had happened. After 15 regressions, I was exhausted. I prayed, “I don’t want anything to do with this, so please just let me die,”

And at that moment when I could finally be able to die, someone said, “How about being my daughter?”

…. That monstrous duke had adopted me.