Chapter 01: I’ve opened a slot~ Come play, come on, come on!~

Dusk deepened, twilight streaming through the huge floor-to-ceiling window. In the shifting light and shadow, the place felt all the lonelier and more hollow.

Intern salesman Liu Xiaodai lay sprawled over the desk, listlessly fiddling with a glass marble, tossing it up and catching it, timing the seconds until the end of the workday.

Suddenly a gust of wind rose; the promotional flyers were lifted high and rustled loudly, fluttering through the air like a swarm of butterflies.

Liu Xiaodai widened his eyes, sprang up in a panic, nearly tipping his swivel chair.

A dazzling light burst forth from the shadows at the end of the corridor.

Like a pebble cast into a still lake, the space rippled and curved faintly. Within the clear light, a human silhouette began to emerge indistinctly. As the outline grew sharper, the glow dimmed.

Only then did Liu Xiaodai see clearly. It was the figure of an adult man, tall and upright, slightly lean.

From the edge of the light and shadow he stepped forward, each stride seeming to match some strange rhythm, the spacing between his steps precise to the smallest measure.

At last the man stood close before him.

A handsome face, expression indifferent.

Liu Xiaodai considered himself to have seen many remarkable people. In this company there were the stately and dignified, the suave and elegant, the unruly and proud; the aloof celestial and the decadent temptress — every imaginable extreme of clarity and allure, light and darkness, all were present.

Yet there was no one like him.

His looks were not at their peak, but his eyes were as vast as abyssal seas, and an innate aura of detachment shrouded him, making him seem to exist in a world of his own.

So close it seemed within reach, yet as if standing on a cloud.

If veteran poser-busters like Cheng Xiaobai were here, he’d definitely give him a slap and say,

“Wake up, Dummy—this is just someone putting on airs. Didn’t you see the hidden, snarky comment stream inside his head?!”

It was as if that slap had come—the daze lasted only a moment before Liu Xiaodai snapped back to his senses.

This could be the first deal of his professional career!!!

Liu Xiaodai hastily reached out his hand,

“Hello, hello!”

He only then remembered that the other party couldn’t touch the living, which was really rude, so he quickly withdrew his hand and pushed a swivel chair over,

“Please sit, let me introduce myself first. My name is Liu Xiaodai, I’m a salesperson in the Villain Department of Rebirth Company… no, I should have introduced the company first. Sir, those who come are destined guests. Our company’s motto is ‘Thirty years dedicated to rebirth, there’s always one that fits you!’ Please take a look…”

Liu Xiaodai pulled a color brochure from the desk, blew the dust off it, and then handed it over with both hands.

The person before him sat down slowly, his gaze calm.

“Sir, what’s your name?”

The man’s voice was unexpectedly gentle.

“I am a villain.”

Liu Xiaodai was taken aback.

“I was asking… your name?”

A faint look of melancholy appeared on the man’s face,

“From the moment I have memories, I’ve been drifting through different scripts. Campus dramas, wealthy family power struggles, business wars, wuxia, entertainment circles—I’ve changed names and identities many times. The lines are largely the same, the screen time never more than a bit part, and after I die I get to see the script, then I realize that’s what being an ‘extra’ is… In short, I’m a villain.”

He sat upright, speaking in a measured, unhurried tone, clearly very well-bred.

Liu Xiaodai was a bit stunned; during her internship she’d always followed seniors to take orders, but she’d never encountered anything like this.

The company’s BOSS, Bi Muning, had left “doors” across thousands upon thousands of planes; by chance, some souls passed through, came to the company, surrendered part of their spirits, and exchanged them for what they desired.

The seals on the “doors” automatically blocked certain souls—those whose power was too great, whose malice was too heavy, or whose resentment ran too deep. In the BOSS’s words—making big money is fine, but you still need a life to enjoy it.

Liu Xiaodai had originally assumed this person was some great figure, blessed by fortune, which explained such a refined, almost tangible spirit. Now it seemed instead that, for unknown reasons, repeated crossings and relentless trials had shaped it this way.

Seeing him stunned, the man couldn’t help but ask,

“If I put it like this, do you understand?”

Got it! How could I not understand!

Isn’t it just “Villain X strikes with a palm, and instantly disciples of the X sect lie dead all over”? Just one of the people among that “all over the ground”!

That doesn’t matter; as long as there’s profit. Liu Xiaodai quickly readjusted into the practiced sales smile he’d rehearsed ten thousand times,

“…Mr. Villain, what service do you need?”

The man lowered his eyes, his bony, well-defined fingers pointing at the flyer,

“Everything on this list, all of it?”

Liu Xiaodai felt like he’d been injected with adrenaline! There’s a chance!

“Of course! Rebirth at 20% off, comeback at 10% off, rebirth plus comeback at 11% off! Add three more points! We also offer a tailor-made ‘Villain Comeback Package’, now bundled with the rebirth company’s deluxe traffic pack!!”

“I want to be the ultimate BOSS, the biggest villain possible?”

A big order! Liu Xiaodai was so excited he could hardly speak.

“Yes, of course! We also have the ‘Fierce Demon’ halo! Kill gods who stand in your way, kill Buddhas who stand in your way! Every child under eight will cry with just one look!”

The man frowned slightly, seeming displeased, and mused,

“…Isn’t that like writing ‘I’m the villain’ on your face?”

How could that possibly show the villain’s depth and complexity?! So unprofessional!

Liu Xiaodai hurriedly explained,

“No no no, you still need to make the standard villain expressions, like a ‘cold smile’ or ‘eyes like knives’, and deliver the villain’s signature lines, ‘I was never a good person’ and the like, only then can the halo activate. Um… of course there’s also a certain chance it can activate randomly during normal times…”

With shining eyes he pushed his pitch,

“So, sir, how about it? Want to give it a try?”

The man smiled faintly,

“Give me a dozen!”

“Sir, you have great taste! Our company is running a promotion! We’ll give you a free counterattack package!!”

But the man shook his head,

“No, I don’t want to make a comeback.”

What?!! Liu Xiaodai’s eyes widened!! In this day and age there really are villains who don’t want to make a comeback?

“Sir… this really is being given away for free, we…”

The antagonist interrupted him for the first time,

“I know, thanks for the offer, but I really don’t need it.”

Liu Xiaodai wanted to persuade him a bit more, but suddenly remembered the seniors’ advice about ‘respecting the customer’s needs,’ and could only nod.

“Then sir… do you have any other needs?”

“Can I choose the world?”

“This… this is the Technology Department’s jurisdiction.”

When Liu Xiaodai brought Mr. Villain to the Technology Department, night had already fallen outside the floor-to-ceiling windows and the city lights were coming on.

Intern technician Wang Wei was packing up to leave and was about to shut down the machine when Liu Xiaodai blocked him in a single stride.

“Wait, hero! I’ve got an order!!”

Wang Wei’s eyes immediately lit up as he looked over.

After a long-winded explanation, Wang Wei nodded vigorously,

“When playing the villain, choosing the right protagonist is important! What a coincidence! I was just flipping channels out of boredom and happened to find a good one!”

Saying that, he pulled the two of them in front of the floating screen.

The vast blue sky and endless mountains looked like a piece of translucent jade; in the rosy light hawks cried and cranes called, mist billowing and rolling.

Amidst the varying shades of green, a flash of white clothing was strikingly conspicuous.

The young man walked along the mountain path, the remaining morning dew wetting the hem of his robe. Suddenly a woman in a crimson dress came toward him, eyes lowered and face hurried; she seemed to have accidentally bumped into the young man’s shoulder and stumbled, about to fall. She was steadied by a pair of calm, strong hands.

The young man quickly stepped back to the proper distance, his brows and eyes gentle, a faint smile like warm jade catching the light. It made the woman’s powdered face blossom with spring; bashful and shy, she lifted her skirt and descended the hill, glancing back every few steps.

“Look at that posture, that look, that aura—definitely a protagonist setup, no doubt about it!”

Liu Xiaodai sighed,

“Not even afraid of running into a staged accident—he’d help anything. What a real rich guy!”

Wang Wei nodded in agreement,

“These days, out of ten protagonists eight go dark to avenge someone, one becomes a sickly obsessive who abandons treatment. A straight-up, righteous protagonist is rarer than a three-legged toad!”

Liu Xiaodai nodded subtly. If the villain picked a protagonist like this, even without buying the comeback package, he could topple him in minutes!

The man stared at the screen and unconsciously stepped two paces closer, as if trying to see how this white-clothed youth resembled a toad.

While inwardly scoffing—how trite, this cheesy pick-up line, calling it trite would be flattering to the author—he found himself reaching out toward the screen…

A blinding light suddenly exploded before his eyes!

“Damn! I just connected this thing to the transceiver!”

Wang Wei leapt up and sprinted to shut the machine down.

It was already too late; the man’s figure was rapidly turning translucent.

“Sir, wait! Your halo!!!”

Liu Xiaodai grabbed the gleaming white ring on the table and threw it; the ring shot forward, turning into a streak of light that entered the man’s body.

But in an instant, the light display went dark, the dust settled, and silence fell.

The remaining two looked at each other in bewilderment.

After a moment, Wang Wei murmured,

“Does this mean the deal is done?”

Liu Xiaodai felt a bit guilty.

“I… I suppose so.”

“I never expected the two of us interns would have a day where we do something important!”

Liu Xiaodai suddenly shivered.

“Quick, reconnect to that world and see how it’s doing!”

“Okay, okay… hey, wait! I—I can’t connect… that ‘door’ is closed…”

Author’s note: Bug catching, bug catching~~