What does a tragic fool look like?
She looks like this.
Zhu Yu stared blankly, mechanically scrolling through the trending topics on her phone.
#Yuan Boshi wins Best Actor#
#Yuan Boshi and Jiang Xue officially announce their relationship#
#Yuan Boshi says he has no regrets about the eight years he spent at Xingmang Entertainment, hoping to part ways amicably.#
Yuan Boshi, the boyfriend Zhu Yu had been dating for five years, had finally won the title of Best Actor, taking his career to a new level. After thanking the company for its years of companionship and dedication, he subtly hinted at wanting to terminate his contract.
Moreover, on the very day he won Best Actor, the girlfriend he went public with wasn't her, but rather Jiang Xue, the daughter of the head of their rival company, Weicai Entertainment!
Zhu Yu's heart had been cheated on, and her career had been stabbed in the back.
She stared at the big red exclamation mark on her WeChat screen. The last message was sent by Yuan Boshi: [Xiao Yu, I'm sorry, let's break up.]
After that, she was blocked.
Before Zhu Yu even had time to grieve over this, the next blow followed closely behind.
On WeChat, the app icon flashed wildly—it was a message from Assistant Fang: "President Zhu, all the investors of 'First Emperor of Qin' have withdrawn their funds."
"President Zhu, we've poured our entire net worth into this drama! If this project really falls through, our company won't survive even if we go bankrupt!"
Zhu Yu, who had been feeling somewhat depressed, saw these messages and her mind went completely blank. She no longer had the capacity to care about being betrayed in her relationship.
The company—was the company about to go under?!
Xingmang was founded by Zhu Yu's father single-handedly. After he passed away in a car accident three years ago, the company was handed over to Zhu Yu.
Unfortunately, ever since it came into her hands, the company's overall prospects had been going downhill.
Now, this drama, into which she had poured almost her entire net worth, was Zhu Yu's last straw. Furthermore, the original leading man, Yuan Boshi, after officially announcing his true girlfriend, implied that he had been sexually harassed by his boss and chose to walk out on the production.
Sure enough, when she refreshed the page, the trending topics had completely changed.
#Breaking! Yuan Boshi claims he suffered sexual harassment from Jiang Xue, the boss's daughter, at Xingmang!#
#Yuan Boshi claims he was sexually harassed by Zhu Yu, with photos as proof. How morals have degenerated!#
#Yuan Boshi says the reason he later renewed his contract with Xingmang was because the boss's daughter forced him to, threatening him with a direct blacklisting if he refused!#
Netizens exploded with discussion: [Who is Zhu Yu?]
[How dare she sexually harass our big brother, go die, scum!]
[The girl in the photo is quite pretty, never thought she'd be such scum.]
……
A string of trending topics was all about this matter. After searching for a long time, Zhu Yu finally found the original video, watching herself in the video answering reporters' questions back and forth, which practically sealed her guilt of sexual harassment.
After her phone calls to him went unanswered as well……
Zhu Yu could no longer hold it in. Clearly, it was Yuan Boshi who had confessed his feelings to her first. Her father had said he thought very highly of this young man, believing his character was good and that he could take care of the rest of her life, which was why she had agreed.
Yet this man was actually black and white!
The video released by Yuan Boshi showed her taking the initiative to kiss him; due to the angle, perhaps, his expression revealed a sense of impatience and compromise, making her look like a female hooligan.
Sure enough, the comments below were all cursing her. There was all manner of abuse and vulgar language; some people even tracked down her private account, instantly flooding it with unmentionable filth.
By now, the sky outside had grown dark.
The video was blurry, but anyone who knew her could tell it was her.
Ring, ring—the phone rang. It was an unknown number.
The call connected, and before Zhu Yu could speak, a triumphant burst of laughter came from the other end: "Is this Zhu Yu? Hello, my name is Jiang Xue. I suppose you know who I am, right?"
Zhu Yu bit down hard on her lower lip: "What do you want?"
Was this woman here to watch her make a fool of herself?
"I saw that your company's situation doesn't look too good lately. Although you were so infatuated with Boshi and did so many wrong things, after all, this is still the first company Boshi ever worked for. I'm kind-hearted and value sentiment, you see, so I'm here to help your company through this difficult time."
"I heard Xingmang is so broke lately it can't even afford to put food on the table. How about this? I see you're not bad-looking either, and I happen to have a crew missing an actress to play a concubine. Why don't you come and try out?"
Zhu Yu expressionlessly hung up the phone. Within seconds, another unfamiliar call came in.
"You shameless woman, go find a puddle of water and see what you look like. A toad wanting to eat swan meat, you aren't worthy of our—"
It sounded just like one of Yuan Boshi's fans. Zhu Yu hung up the phone.
The next second, yet another unfamiliar call struck.
Hang up one, and another took its place. Within a few minutes, they didn't stop; the phone ringtone was as terrifying as a demon urging for one's life.
Clearly, her phone number had been leaked and doxxed.
Zhu Yu simply turned off her phone. She curled up in a corner and began to sob quietly, an overwhelming sense of helplessness enveloping her.
This was the most important thing her father had handed over to her, his life's blood and sweat! How could he treat her father's kindness in recognizing his talent like this?
What should she do? There wasn't a single person around who could help her. Why was she so useless……
Weeping, Zhu Yu curled herself into a tight ball, when in a daze she heard a strange voice.
[Ding-dong, a suitable host has been matched. The Chosen Laborer Card-Drawing System is in place. Starting binding—]
[3, 2, 1, binding successful!]
[Matching you with a suitable sprite assistant. Ding-dong, your sprite assistant No. 0208 is at your service.]
"System?" Zhu Yu's tear-stained face looked somewhat dazed. Even though she didn't know much about novels, she wasn't completely unfamiliar with the concept. "A laborer…… card-drawing system?"
What use was this?
[This system was developed by a higher civilization to forge the god of laborers.]
[Host, as long as you work, earn money, and level up, you can unlock all kinds of technologies within this system.]
With that, the system proactively slid various technologies from its storage space for Zhu Yu to see: papermaking, printing, iron-smelting, agriculture, gunpowder-making, and so on.
Its tone was proud, but the very next second it suddenly sensed something amiss—its end had just received a signal that the host's will to survive was dropping precipitously.
Sure enough, Zhu Yu said: "Though I don't know why you bound yourself to me, I'm useless, and you're useless to me. You might as well unbind."
[……]
The system quickly scanned Zhu Yu's physical condition, taking three seconds to understand what had happened to the host, and finally realized why her host was in such a depressed posture.
[Host, don't worry. In addition to labor, this system also has a card-drawing function, which allows you to draw characters from the long river of time.]
Zhu Yu's expression remained cold.
[Host, your current problem can be solved by this system!]
Zhu Yu remained cold.
Zhu Yu…… reacted, her expression loosening, her tone carrying a hint of hope. "Really?"
[This system was programmed when it was created; it cannot lie. The host can rest assured.]
Following that, Zhu Yu's computer chimed, and a compressed archive file was sent to her email.
[Host, surely these things can help you turn the tables.]
There was no help for it; this was the system's first mission, and barring special circumstances, the person could not be changed. If the mission was uncompleted, the system would be judged unqualified and destroyed.
0208 knew very well that what it needed to do right at this moment was win the host's trust.
Therefore, the host's current crisis presented a great opportunity.
[Host, and the drama you invested in happens to be a historical drama. The actor problem can also be solved by this system. For your first character card draw, you get an extra opportunity to designate who you want. To play a historical figure—why not have the person himself act in it?]
The implication was that for her first card-drawing chance, she could choose whoever she wanted.
After looking through the compressed file sent by the system, Zhu Yu couldn't help letting out a cold laugh. She wiped the tears from her face, the hatred in her heart running endlessly deep.
The videos and documents inside the compressed file were all real! Xingmang had fallen to this state precisely because someone had deliberately engineered it!
Zhu Yu nodded, her mind calming down: "If everything you said is true, then I hope the character I draw is Ying Zheng, the First Emperor of Qin."
The moment her voice fell, a blue screen popped up before her eyes. A large roulette wheel appeared, densely packed with names all around it. The wheel began to spin rapidly, and then a name slowly emerged upon it……
Meanwhile, in the Qin Dynasty.
In 219 BC, Qin Shihuang led his civil and military officials to begin the thousand-li journey to perform the feng sacrifice at Mount Tai.
Who would have thought that a torrential downpour would start halfway? With no other choice, they could only rest temporarily under a large tree.
The grand procession of people rested there in force.
Ying Zheng stood beneath the tree, looking at the heavy rain before him, holding his sword in one hand, his gaze profound. He stood just like that, like an unsheathed blade whose momentum had not diminished.
The sound of rain grew louder and louder in his ears, the wind whistling ominously. No one knew what the majestic emperor was thinking inside.
At the foot of Mount Tai, the Confucian scholars who had been dismissed and banished by Qin Shihuang all wore gloating expressions when they saw this rain.
"Look, Mount Tai feels it has been offended. Look at these thunderclouds; it must be harboring great anger."
"This rain falls well!"
"Since ancient times, the Three Sovereigns, Five Emperors, and other monarchs who went to Mount Tai to perform the feng and shan sacrifices—which of them didn't perform every proper ritual to show respect? But him? This is the gods visiting punishment!"
"Tyrant! This is your retribution!"
……
The voices at the foot of the mountain could not affect Qin Shihuang. He looked at this sudden heavy rain, his pitch-black, profound eyes sending chills through anyone who looked at them.
Fortunately, the rain did not last long.
Qin Shihuang led his many civil and military officials to continue up the mountain.
Afterwards, he erected a stone to praise the virtues of the First Emperor of Qin and make clear his right to receive the feng sacrifice.
Right at that moment, the sky suddenly changed once more. The dark clouds dispersed, bright light poured down from the layers of clouds, and a water mirror appeared out of thin air, accompanied by a deafening roar of thunder.
Everyone who saw this was utterly shocked. Had the gods manifested?!
Ying Zheng was also seeing this phenomenon for the first time; he was slightly startled for a few seconds, and then brilliant ripples flashed within his eyes. Had the gods acknowledged him?
Or could it be…… that the gods were angered?
Thinking of this latter possibility, his thin lips pressed tightly together, his expression somewhat solemn.
The Confucian scholars at the foot of the mountain naturally saw it too, feeling a surge of joy in their hearts. Could it be that Your Majesty's feng sacrifice at Mount Tai had truly angered the gods?
Thinking this, the mocking words on their lips grew even louder.
The water mirror quickly changed. A stream of light was cast out, shooting toward Ying Zheng with a long tail behind it, moving with a speed no one could have anticipated.
All the subjects were terrified and trembling, unable to stop themselves from kneeling down in worship toward the giant screen, their foreheads heavily striking the earth.
The streak of light arrived before Ying Zheng, transforming into a small blue light screen. Several large characters appeared on the screen:
—Ying Zheng, First Emperor of Qin, do you want the elixir of immortality?
Floating below were two buttons, labeled "Do not want" and "Want".
At the same time, these words were also reflected on the giant screen in the sky.
The moment the water mirror first appeared, remnants of the Six States across the Qin territory had let out bursts of wild cheers. As expected, the heavens did not bless the tyrannical Qin; heaven was going to punish them!
Their chance to restore their nations had arrived!
Yet when they saw the words upon it, everyone felt as though their throats had been choked, their faces turning ashen. How could this be? How could they offer the elixir of immortality to that little wretch Ying Zheng?!
Ying Zheng's eyes shone brightly. He had thought it was the gods venting their anger, but instead, immortals had descended with a divine miracle.
Without the slightest hesitation, he clicked the "Want" button.
The very next moment, the entire screen shattered and gathered into a stream of glowing light, drifting into Ying Zheng's body. At that moment, the pitch-black screen in the sky also displayed a few words: Please ready yourself, laborer Ying Zheng. Transmission commencing now.
Laborer?
Before Ying Zheng could ponder this carefully, his vision suddenly went black. When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer at the summit of Mount Tai, but inside a strangely styled room, facing a young woman who was blinking her large, dull eyes and staring straight at him.
The young woman's eye rims were slightly red, as if she had just finished crying heavily.
[Host, the historical figures pulled by our system are all genuinely real, sent over from the long and winding river of history.]