Promoted to Protagonist: Persecuted by the Meta-Narrative | Chapter 28 | The Sunken Headquarters | Novela.app

They arrived at the Headquarters exactly on schedule. The entrance was hidden at the bottom of a lake, requiring a detour through a specially constructed tunnel that led beneath the water. Supposedly, this site had originally been a large-scale commercial sunken plaza near a residential area. Later, due to earthquakes and torrential rains, a small lake had formed over it. To make full use of the space, the research department had populated the waters with aquatic Variants; Yi Ting mentioned she kept a "fish-bug" in there, though it was a miniature version. The Headquarters lived up to its name; the exterior decor alone was leagues ahead of the branch office. If the design concept of the branch was humanity fleeing underground—like rats scurrying into sewers to survive—then the concept of the Headquarters was humanity carving out a new world beneath the earth, sending hope into a new space and a new future. The silver-white main gates were inlaid with several thin, fluorescent blue tubes. A special energy liquid extracted from Variants flowed slowly through them, providing a continuous power supply for the defense systems. After they disembarked, the vehicle was driven to the parking area by logistics personnel. Yi Ting stepped forward to unlock the verification system using her work ID and the special authorization for this mission. After a facial scan, the group was successfully cleared to enter the Headquarters. "It looks like the teams from the other branches have arrived. There’s a meeting tomorrow," Yi Ting said as she led them to their assigned dormitories and handed out keycards. She glanced through the new messages on her device. "But since only you lot actually went out on a mission, you have rest privileges. Assemble at my office tomorrow at four in the afternoon. I’ll give you a brief debriefing, and then maybe I’ll treat you to dinner?" These words were directed at the five-man team. Fu Shu, seeing that this didn't involve him, prepared to slip away. Then his ear was pinched. "Where do you think you’re going? Come with me," Yi Ting said, grabbing him with one hand while snagging the sleeve of Xing Yue’s arm with the other. "And you, the matter with your ability isn't over yet. Get to the examination room, now." Xin Ye watched the three of them walk away, his wandering thoughts finally beginning to settle. He lightly poked Tang Qiuqiu’s shoulder. "Turn into a cat." The tears threatening to fall from Tang Qiuqiu’s eyes were forced back. He obediently transformed into a cat but didn't dare huddle close to Xin Ye as he used to. Xin Ye didn't pick him up either. Instead, he grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck and carried him into his room. Lian Muyun, left standing there, sensed something was off. Both sides were being hauled away... He suddenly looked at Leng Xianye with suspicion. Uncomfortable under the gaze, Leng Xianye asked irritably, "What are you staring at me fo—" "I didn't make any mistakes on this mission! Don't you dare grab me!" Lian Muyun frantically swiped his card and slammed his door shut to hide in his room. Leng Xianye, framed for a crime he hadn't even considered, stood dazed by the thunderous bang of the door. Leng Xianye: "???" Upon entering his room, Xin Ye saw a desk equipped with shelves and a bookcase at just the right height. He stuffed the Qiuqiu-cat onto a shelf, sat down in the chair, and crossed his arms. "Do you have anything to confess?" In truth, Xun Yin had already proactively explained everything in the car, likely in more detail and with more nuance than Tang Qiuqiu ever could. However, the process of confession and punishment still had to be observed. Xin Ye didn't want to interrogate him point by point; he preferred that Tang Qiuqiu realize the dangers of concealment and speak up of his own accord. And so, starting from his family background to the White Lion’s conspiracy, Tang Qiuqiu began to "meow" everything without reservation. Xin Ye tried to maintain a stern expression, but eventually, he just rubbed his face. He couldn't do it! With his "mushy" personality, he simply didn't have the heart to scold anyone. Xun Yin was quite sympathetic to his struggle: [This is the problem with you motherly-support types. You haven't put a single skill point into 'Criticizing People.' It would be different if Leng Xianye were here; his mere presence would be a punishment for Tang Qiuqiu.] Xin Ye: "That's true..." Xun Yin: [Nothing to be done about it...] Finally, Xin Ye dug out a recording tablet and a stylus, making Tang Qiuqiu shift back into human form to stand beside him and write down everything he had confessed for the record. He asked Tang Qiuqiu, "Can you guarantee that your personal emotions will never interfere with a mission again?" "Never! Definitely never!" Tang Qiuqiu shook his head like a rattle. "Finally, the punishment. I don't ask for much. The wounds on my face were caused by the White Lion, see?" Xin Ye pointed to the scratches on his face, which had only received basic treatment. "The cost of the medicine will be deducted from your mission pay." Tang Qiuqiu was about to nod when Xin Ye added another sentence. "If there is a next time, and the one injured is me, or Leng Xianye, or the others—if we’re maimed, crippled, or to put it bluntly, dead—the cost of the coffins and the funerals will also be deducted from your salary. Understand?" This flatly delivered sentence achieved an effect that Xin Ye’s long-deliberated words hadn't. Tang Qiuqiu burst into tears and ran out of the room, not even leaving the stylus behind. Xin Ye: "My pen..." Xun Yin was dumbfounded: [I thought you said you couldn't criticize people! What was that performance just now!] The reason for the criticism wasn't exactly a happy one, so Xin Ye ignored Xun Yin. He asked his Mirror to go out and fetch his luggage while he went to wash up and re-bandage his wounds. His long-awaited new uniform was sitting in the wardrobe. This time, Xun Yin had added an extra star to the brooch design; he wondered how Xin Ye would react when he saw it. Having finished his word count for the day, Xun Yin waited until he heard Xin Ye say he was going to bed before closing the document. * When Xun Yin received a call from his editor, he thought she finally had some free time and was calling to reply to his previous invitation for dinner. As it turned out, she was calling to discuss new licensing rights. "It's the foreign film and television rights for your 'Apocalypse Leveling Game.' The offer is quite high; I suggest you sell," the woman said, the sound of constant typing in the background suggesting she was working overtime again. "I really don't get it. This genre is so CGI-heavy, isn't it? It’ll be a nightmare to film... Anyway, as long as you make money, it's fine. But they have one condition." This wasn't Xun Yin’s first time selling rights, so he didn't have much of a reaction. He curled up in his beanbag chair, eating crackers. "What condition? Minor plot changes are fine, as long as they aren't too ridiculous." "They aren't deleting plot, uh... well, they are, but mainly they want to delete a character." Xun Yin’s chewing stopped. An ominous premonition rose in his heart. "...Who do they want to delete?" "Xin Ye. That little 'vase' in your protagonist's party. They said he isn't an important character for driving the plot anyway... Hello? Are you okay? Why are you coughing all of a sudden?" Xun Yin had choked violently. He scrambled to grab a glass of water from the table, but that only made the coughing worse. Once he finally caught his breath, he confirmed the name with the editor one more time. Then, he answered decisively, "No. I'm not selling the rights. I won't delete him." The editor was baffled by his reaction. "Deleting a supporting character is perfectly normal. If the price wasn't so good, would I have come to you personally? You aren't allowed to just reject this outright. I’ll give you three days. Think it over clearly." Xun Yin didn't really want to talk about it anymore. He pestered his editor again about when they could go out for dinner; she brushed him off with a few vague words and hung up. After the call ended, Xun Yin stared at the contact name "Yi Ting" on his phone screen, his smile slowly fading. He really wondered when his theories would finally be proven. Unsettled by the news from the call, he tossed and turned with his cracker tin for a long while before finally opening his computer to check the comments on his "What-If" side stories. The latest chapter had just reached Xin Ye’s birthday. Most comments discussed how much Xin Ye had changed or wished him a happy birthday. However, a small number of comments had been appearing consistently since the previous few chapters. [Lian Muyun’s ability is being hard-countered in this new map of the side story. Such a strong ability, what a waste.] [I feel like the other four teammates have become such background tools. Our Little Leng is supposed to be the protagonist, right? He’s written like an idiot in the side story.] [This move... this move is just swapping the status of Xin Ye and his four teammates, turning the protagonist into the 'vase.'] [The person above is right. Upvoted.] There was always advice to look at data and comments less during serialization, but Xun Yin still couldn't help himself. He felt that many times, the readers' criticisms were valid. It would be better if they scolded him even harder—maybe they could scold him into clarity. But the current intensity only seemed enough to make him realize where the problems were. As for reaching "clarity," that still seemed a bit difficult. * When Xin Ye woke up, ready to wash up, change, and write the mission report for the shelter, Lian Muyun knocked on the door. "Come in." Before bed the previous night, Xin Ye had a sudden whim and, for once, acted like a captain, telling Lian Muyun to submit a personal history statement. Lian Muyun was a talker, and the length of his statement was staggering. He had stuffed a lot of trivial nonsense into his life story—like how he used to steal Leng Xianye’s popsicles after school in elementary—but overall, his life had been fairly smooth, perfectly fitting the criteria for a successful second male lead. Xin Ye read through it, his gaze only pausing briefly at the stage after his ability awakened. Other than that, there wasn't much worth scrutinizing. As the male and female leads, Leng Xianye and Xing Yue’s families and character flaws had been thoroughly exposed as conflict points in the previous timeline. The other three supporting characters had remained much more hidden. It was precisely because they didn't fully understand each other that they had ended up sabotaging one another during the shelter mission. Tang Qiuqiu’s issues were resolved, and Xin Ye understood his own situation and felt confident in controlling it. The last uncertain factor was Lian Muyun. Lian Muyun’s past was also closely linked to Leng Xianye and Xing Yue. Now was the perfect time to get the facts straight. Xin Ye pointed the end of his pen at the section he was interested in. Lian Muyun understood his meaning immediately. "I knew you were going to ask about this. This is exclusive info; even Leng Xianye doesn't know." He sat on the edge of Xin Ye’s bed. "Actually, if I expand on this point, the story isn't about me anymore. It’s about Xing Yue... It involves some issues regarding the training of ability users in the early days of awakening. You sure you want to hear it?" "I do," Xin Ye said, setting Lian Muyun’s statement aside and starting to write his own mission report. "I want to ensure your physical and mental health—at least to the point where you won't cause problems during a mission. We’ve done one preliminary and half an S-rank mission, and we lost someone both times. First Xing Yue, then Tang Qiuqiu. Isn't that ridiculous?" Lian Muyun laughed outright. "It is. But it’s a bit of a dark joke, considering we could have died." Xin Ye shrugged. "Laugh all you want. Just make sure nothing goes wrong during the Headquarters competition in a few days." Mentioning the period when his ability first awakened, Lian Muyun seemed to recall some unpleasant memories. "Xing Yue was among the very, very first batch of ability users to awaken. After Leng Xianye and I heard the news of her awakening, we never saw her again. That is, until I awakened as a 'Gunsmith' a month later and was sent by my parents to a research institute disguised as an information technology company." "That place was the predecessor to all the early training academies for ability users. It was the very first talent cultivation base for the Investigation Department." ***