The dusk spread like a gray net, quietly cast down, blanketing the entire land. The deep night, like boundless thick ink, was heavily smeared across the horizon, with no trace of starlight.
Jiang Nuan walked under this night sky, having just finished her day's work.
From birth, she had never known her parents, but she had never expected to. She had lived at the orphanage until she was eighteen, only wanting to work hard to make her own life better.
Love, every girl had once fantasized about it, but when her fantasies were repeatedly shattered, she no longer wanted to try. She now had only one wish: to never have such a difficult life in her next reincarnation, she wanted to experience the life of a parasite.
Suddenly, a bright light flashed before her eyes and rushed towards her at high speed. Jiang Nuan instinctively dodged to the side, her last thought before losing consciousness was: Damn it, it wasn't aimed at me!
"Jiang Nuan." Jiang Nuan opened her eyes, covering her forehead, and followed the sound. Before her was a middle-aged man with a simple and honest face, wearing an apologetic smile.
"Sir, thank you for saving me. I'll give you the medical fees." As she spoke, she reached for her bag, only to suddenly realize she wasn't in a hospital. It was dark all around, the only thing beneath her was a bed, and the entire space, people, and objects seemed to be floating in mid-air.
"Is... is this a movie shoot?" Jiang Nuan felt her head buzzing.
"Heh heh, Jiang Nuan, welcome to the World Administration Bureau." The middle-aged man spread his hands to showcase the place to Jiang Nuan.
"..."
"Ahem, it's like this, I am the head of the World Administration Bureau, my name is Zhong Yi."
"Wait, my head hurts a bit. How come I don't understand a word you're saying?"
"Have you possibly heard of the Three Thousand Great Worlds and Three Thousand Small Worlds?"
"Isn't that something made up in novels?"
"Our existence is quite similar to that saying. The world you live in is the real world, also known as the Great World, while those worlds derived from literary works are Small Worlds. Our existence is to manage the Small Worlds independently of the Great World."
"Even if what you're saying is true, what does it have to do with me?" Jiang Nuan was completely bewildered. This place was too bizarre, and what he was saying was even more absurd.
"It's like this, the soul I intended to capture today wasn't you, but you bumped into it." Zhong Yi said with helplessness.
"Was that the ball of light? I ran into it myself?" Jiang Nuan's heart was filled with complex emotions. "Then, since you caught the wrong person, please send me back!"
"Uh, actually, we've already selected quite a few people, but they all failed in the end." Zhong Yi's face was etched with distress. "You are our last chance. If we fail again, we'll have to abandon that world. And my boss will have to sacrifice himself."
"What mission?"
"It's like this, the World Administration Bureau has always had an archenemy who calls himself the Main God. He has been constantly vying with us for world management rights. Not long ago, my boss went to a Small World to perform repairs. That Small World is on the verge of evolving into a Great World, the only world to complete its evolution in a millennium."
"Hold on, hold on, the more you talk, the more confused I get. Can you simplify it?" Jiang Nuan's head was pounding.
"In essence, my boss cannot have emotional entanglements with people in that Small World. When the Main God learned of this, he merged several Small Worlds and linked their male and female protagonists' plotlines to my boss. This means that in one novel world, there appeared multiple female protagonists, but only one male protagonist. My boss's current situation in the Small World is special; he has no memory or abilities, so he will be easily influenced by the plotlines. We cannot interfere with the development of a Small World ourselves, so we can only send people who do not belong to the Small World to disrupt the plotlines."
"And what will happen if he develops emotional entanglements in the Small World? Does emotional entanglement refer to romantic love?"
"Yes, if that happens, he will be trapped there forever and cannot return. This is also the Main God's scheme, the best way for him to deal with my boss."
"But even if the Main God succeeds, it won't affect me, right? It's just a change of power, like a new ruler."
"Indeed, it won't affect you. I can only promise you that regardless of success or failure, I will use my last bit of power to send you to any world you desire, with any identity you wish. You wanted to be a parasite, didn't you? Then I can give you an identity where you won't have to worry about food or clothing. If you succeed, you can also choose to become one of us, independent of any world, and even travel to other worlds at any time." Zhong Yi looked at Jiang Nuan sincerely.
"What you're saying is very tempting." Jiang Nuan was quite moved.
"But you've failed several times, and he still can't come back?"
"We have the authority to restart worlds, but for a world on the verge of evolution, restarting too many times will cause it to collapse. So this is the last time. Several task-takers have already achieved half of the mission. However, firstly, the plotlines have too much influence, and secondly, the identity my boss entered had a very charming appeal, causing those task-takers to fall in love first and only focus on vying for his attention, resorting to insidious tactics."
"So your solution is to find someone to win him over, and prevent him from falling in love with the people from the Small World?" Jiang Nuan finally understood.
"Yes, as long as he falls in love with any woman, the other plotlines will be severed. Originally, I intended to capture a female player who was very close to you. I investigated her, and she's very skilled with men and never gets emotionally involved, making her very suitable." Zhong Yi looked embarrassed as he mentioned this.
"You're finding a playgirl for your boss to date, aren't you afraid he'll beat you to death when he returns?" Jiang Nuan felt a bit sympathetic for the boss.
"This is unavoidable. What you need to do is enter the Small World, make him fall in love with you, and ensure he lives a natural lifespan. Moreover, the Main God has already started sending in strategists. He used some means to link those strategists to that world. Once he falls in love with a strategist, he won't be able to return either."
"Then why did he go to that Small World?"
"My boss entered to help the Small World evolve, and only he can do it."
"So that world is a massive love triangle, with not only many original female protagonists but also potential strategists?" Jiang Nuan organized her thoughts.
"Yes, with the Main God's intervention, the plotlines change with each restart. We don't know who the original female protagonists are. So, you'll have to observe on your own then."
"..."
"You can choose any identity to enter. Most of the previous task-takers chose the childhood sweetheart identity; the ones who achieved half success were all of this type."
"Any identity is fine?" Jiang Nuan had an idea.
"Yes."
"I choose to become his daughter, a bit younger, say, three years old." Jiang Nuan said after some thought.