Chapter 1: The Quintessential Wicked Woman

The starry sea burned.

Wreckage of ships and corpses of the insect race littered the void of space.

Within the cabin of the Guardian, a piercing alarm blared, signaling the strain on the ship’s energy reserves.

“Main cannon charging: eighty-two percent…”

“Eighty-three percent!”

“Ninety-one percent!”

The barrel of the Guardian’s main cannon slowly aligned with the core of the insect broodmother’s nest, a living mass that expanded and contracted as if breathing, writhing with tissue.

“Ninety-seven percent…”

At that moment, a small vessel hovered at the very heart of the broodmother’s nest, its outline barely visible.

The display zoomed in, revealing a face of ethereal, pale beauty.

She sat in the cockpit, her complexion ghostly, eyes closed as if unconscious.

The adjutant cried out, “General, it’s the Lady—she’s alive! The insect race spared her. She must be a traitor!”

“Ninety-nine percent…”

Jiang Chen’s gaze was cold and sharp, his lips curling into a frosty smile. “Fire!”

A colossal beam of energy erupted from the barrel.

Pure energy tore through every obstacle, violently and precisely flooding the insect broodmother’s core.

Jiang Chen’s thin lips pressed tightly together as he watched the small vessel, a solitary craft, swallowed instantly by the light, his eyes growing darker.

The next second, the broodmother’s core exploded in a blinding flash; countless cracks webbed across the nest’s surface—an earth-shaking detonation burst forth.

Ships were hurled like leaves in a storm by the shockwave.

No one knew how long had passed, but eventually, harsh sunlight streamed through the shattered portholes.

“…Broodmother confirmed destroyed! Insect fleet coordination lost—they’re in chaos.”

“…Energy repairs underway, wormhole closing…”

“We’ve won! Ten years of battle at last ended—we’ve won completely!”

A few cheers rose, swelling into a tide of jubilation.

The ship’s crew erupted in celebration.

“Hahaha! The General’s prediction was spot-on; the broodmother was here after all—what a brilliant victory!”

“The General sacrificed family for the greater good, ridding us of evil—another great achievement. Xu Rui betrayed humanity, colluded with the insects—she deserved to die without a grave!”

“Xu Rui was vicious, relying on her looks, weaving among men for years. Hit by the energy beam, she died instantly—that’s a mercy for her.”

“She committed countless crimes, harmed so many—if she’d survived, she’d be locked away for life, wasting resources. She died as she should.”

“Haha, let me congratulate the General in advance! If not for that woman, he wouldn’t have been separated from his beloved for ten years. Now he can finally bring his beauty home.”

…

When consciousness returned, Xu Rui felt as if she were soaking in a hot spring.

She could not sense her body; there was no pain, only warmth.

Warmth?

How absurd, she thought—she shouldn’t feel anything. Hit by a laser cannon, she would have been vaporized, not even a strand of hair left.

Though she had died before fulfilling her wish, she had finally eliminated the broodmother. The human world was safe, and she could rest easy.

To lure the broodmother into slumber, turning it into a target for the laser cannon, she had nearly exhausted her mental strength.

Against these insects, the human fleet was nothing but scrap metal.

If not for her, the fleet would have been destroyed long ago.

She had accomplished something great—would the Imperial Star award her a medal?

But what now?

She seemed to be nothing more than a lingering soul, bodiless, without refuge.

As she was lost in thought, a voice echoed in her mind.

[Ding! Host’s villain value meets requirements. Villain Redemption System activated.]

[Collect enough faith points, and you will earn a chance to become the protagonist—species of your choice.]

Xu Rui was intrigued by the “species of your choice” phrase.

Her life had become a hunted villain, despised across the galaxy, all because of her race.

A control panel appeared before her.

[Name: Xu Rui]

[Species: Celestial Spirit]

[Age: 32]

[Faith Points: -10,000 (despised by ten thousand); reach 500,000 to exchange for a protagonist life.]

[All scripts in your world have been delivered. Please review.]

Beside the panel were several scripts.

She tapped to read.

Within the books were all sorts of male and female protagonists.

One abandoned by her sister, rising from obscurity to become a magnate.

Another, sabotaged by his childhood sweetheart, crippled, but ultimately a top mech warrior.

Still another, graduating from a prestigious school, ruined by a woman—his mother driven to suicide, father lost his mind—yet he became the first commander.

The stories felt hauntingly familiar…

She was, in those books, the ultimate villain!

Betraying her brother, framing the childhood friend, seducing the commander’s father, threatening the war god into marriage, destroying merchant ships out of cowardice, causing tens of thousands of deaths…

[Host’s current state detected—two ways to earn faith points.]

[First: begin anew, earning admiration through your own efforts.]

[Second: edit and broadcast memories, gaining the protagonists’ remorse—faith points double.]

Without hesitation, Xu Rui said aloud, “I choose the second!”

Given the chance to start over, she would make the same choice.

After years of condemnation, it was time they learned the truth.

[Host may select the location for memory broadcast.]

Images appeared before her, and she could flip through them at will.

A plaza on a planet, a family conference hall, a luxurious bedroom…

Her gaze froze on an image.

This was the place!

…

Imperial Star.

A vast platform large enough to berth giant warships was now packed with a boiling crowd.

A line of hovercars glided slowly along the rails.

Inside sat the heroes who had endured the ten-year war against the insects.

Merchants, mech warriors, starship commanders, scientists…

As they passed, ribbons and flowers soared overhead, cheers rising in waves.

“Jiang Chen, God of War! Humanity’s guardian! Welcome home, hero!”

“It’s Bo Xingye! Look at his gorgeous armor!”

“The first commander is here too! Oh my god, I’m going to faint!”

The award ceremony unfolded under the eyes of the masses.

The Empire’s leader, an elderly man with white hair but vibrant spirit, personally stepped forward.

His face was radiant with smiles as he shook Jiang Chen’s hand.

“Jiang Chen, my good child, the Empire is proud of you. You’ve saved billions of lives—your deeds will be etched forever in the star monument.”

Jiang Chen pressed a hand to his chest. “I merely fulfilled my duty.”

The leader nodded with a smile, looked around, and asked, “Where is Xu Rui? Did you bring her back?”

At the mention of that woman, Jiang Chen’s eyes flashed with disgust, lips pressed into a hard line.

“She’s dead—died in the insect nest.”

Jiang Chen’s voice, amplified, carried across the entire square.

That clear, slightly joyful tone rang through the plaza.