Saving The White Moonlight's Substitute (2)

The person Ephraim had chosen was a newcomer to the mission execution department, just like himself. Before falling into misfortune in his second mission world, Jiang Yichen had been an ordinary employee from the 'Protagonist Persona Department'.

Those from that department were unlike any others. Their task was to embody the protagonists of each story world—characters whose very existence seemed to bend the flow of fate around them. Much like how there were people in life who carried the illusion that the world revolved around them, the members of the 'Protagonist Persona Department' lived out that truth as their reality. Whether they stood at the centre of fortune or tragedy, the world would always turn with them at its heart.

Unfortunately, Jiang Yichen's mission assignment had placed him at the very centre of misfortune.

The body he had taken over was a young man named Xun Jinyao.

Xun Jinyao... just hearing the name alone could make someone's heart feel heavy.

If there were rankings for the most pitiful protagonists in the mission system's archives, Xun Jinyao would be a consistent top-three contender—if not the outright champion.

Born into poverty, orphaned at a young age, with no family to rely on—he was a music conservatory student who harboured the simplest yet most unreachable dream: to stand on the nation's grandest stage and sing the songs he wrote with his own hands. But the heavens were cruel, and dreams required a price.

The towering tuition fees of his prestigious school drained what little savings he had. To survive, Xun Jinyao had to patch together his life with endless part-time jobs—working himself to exhaustion until his limbs trembled and his eyelids grew heavy. The few hours of sleep he snatched between shifts were more like shallow naps than rest.

A tragic protagonist through and through.

Ephraim had skimmed through Jiang Yichen's data file once before. The moment he saw the name Xun Jinyao, his first thought had been: Damn, they really didn't give this guy a single way out, huh?

With that kind of setting, anyone would want to fight fate and rewrite their own story.

However, there was only so much hard work could achieve in a world built for the rich and fortunate.

Hence, Xun Jinyao had lost hope along the way. When things seemed their bleakest and he stood on the verge of dropping out of school, fate intervened. He met Wang Jianyuan while working as a waiter at one of the grand events for the rich and powerful.

Wang Jianyuan was the young head of the Wang family—a powerful family that led a series of businesses, especially in the entertainment sector. At that time, Xun Jinyao had been cleaning one of the tables in the corner, unknowingly humming to himself, when Wang Jianyuan approached him.

From that point on, Xun Jinyao's life took a turn for the better. Wang Jianyuan helped him pay for his school fees and introduced him to insiders in the entertainment business. Slowly but surely, Xun Jinyao began to land good gigs and embark on a steady rise to stardom.

Xun Jinyao was immensely grateful, constantly insisting on repaying Wang Jianyuan—both the money he had spent and the kindness he had shown. Along the way, Xun Jinyao fell deeply in love with the powerful man.

However, by the time they entered into a relationship, life once again began to skew off course.

Wang Jianyuan, possessive and controlling, gradually had Xun Jinyao withdraw from the very path he had set him on. He hated the idea of others ogling Xun Jinyao. Instead of nurturing his career, he spent more time claiming Xun Jinyao as his own. He moved him into his house, dictated what he wore, what he ate—every aspect of his life fell under Wang Jianyuan's command.

Yet, hopelessly in love, Xun Jinyao went along with it. Even when Wang Jianyuan's friends mocked him and his family despised him, Xun Jinyao remained content simply to stay by the man's side.

Until one day, a figure from Wang Jianyuan's past returned to the country.

His name was Ling Xiaoyu — a beloved singer whose popularity had never waned. With delicate features and a voice that could tug at the heartstrings of millions, he was the white moonlight that Wang Jianyuan could never attain.

And then, as if dictated by fate, the story followed the most cliché trajectory.

It turned out that the reason Wang Jianyuan had sought out Xun Jinyao in the first place was because of the uncanny resemblance he bore to Ling Xiaoyu. From the very start, Xun Jinyao had merely been a substitute—a pale imitation of a love that had long since slipped through Wang Jianyuan's fingers. The possessiveness, the control, even the way Wang Jianyuan chose Xun Jinyao's clothes—everything had been an attempt to mould him into the shadow of another.

When the truth finally came to light, it was as if the thin veneer of warmth that Xun Jinyao had clung to all along had been cruelly stripped away.

Rage simmered beneath the surface—both in Xun Jinyao, who realized he had never truly been loved, and in Ling Xiaoyu, who couldn't bear to see the obedient lapdog he had once scorned becoming something more than a pitiful admirer of someone else.

Schemes unfolded, some orchestrated by Ling Xiaoyu's deft hands, some by others. Rumours spread. Opportunities vanished. Xun Jinyao found himself gradually isolated—his once steady rise to stardom crumbling beneath his feet.

Day by day, his world narrowed. His songs—once full of light—turned mournful. His eyes dimmed. Depression wrapped around him like a thick shroud, suffocating every last shred of hope. It was not just his dreams that had been taken from him, but his very sense of self.

In the end, when there was nothing left to lose, Xun Jinyao chose to end it all.

Yet the cruel farce did not end there.

With Xun Jinyao gone, Ling Xiaoyu finally claimed Wang Jianyuan for himself. But life often played the most ironic of tricks—what was once unattainable no longer seemed so precious.

Only in the deafening silence left behind did Wang Jianyuan realize who had truly occupied his heart.

Grief consumed him. The once powerful man descended into madness, blaming Ling Xiaoyu for everything. Wang Jianyuan first orchestrated an accident that resulted in the death of Ling Xiaoyu's only family, and protector, his elder sister. He then tore apart the singer's reputation, dragging him from the height of fame to the depths of ruin. Finally, through a series of machinations, he had Ling Xiaoyu committed to a mental hospital—where the singer who had once commanded the adoration of thousands found himself lost among forgotten souls.

But retribution, it seemed, was not yet finished.

In one of the hospital's chaotic nights—when the patients' restlessness turned the ward into a bedlam—Ling Xiaoyu's life came to an abrupt, tragic end.

And not long after, Wang Jianyuan followed, bidding farewell to the mortal realm with the weight of regret pressing heavily on his soul.

The first half of this sordid tale was gleaned from Jiang Yichen's data, as his mission had ended there.

The second half... Ephraim had seen for himself—etched in the fragmented, lingering memories of Ling Xiaoyu.

[Ephraim: How? He didn't live that life yet—how could he know what would happen to him?]

[Rachel: When the glitch occurred, the timelines of skewered worlds with trapped individuals kept regressing over and over, forcing the story to reset until the plot was set on track. Some people in those worlds—especially mission executioners—possess higher spiritual energy than ordinary people. That residual energy leaves traces on the world itself. Those with tempered consciousness are more prone to retaining fragments of past cycles.]

[Ephraim: Oh... Poor Xiaoyu. He suffered so much. It must be harsh, remembering such a life.]

[Rachel: There's no need to pity him. When Xiaoyu willingly surrendered his body to the system, we transferred him to his new life. I checked the central space's data during the memory extraction process—he's been reborn into a peaceful countryside family with kind middle-aged parents who spoil him rotten. Those who relinquish their bodies no longer wish to linger in this world. In exchange, we boost their karma points and grant them a life befitting their merits. Along with that... we fulfill their final regrets. Xiaoyu's bad karma had already been settled—if anything, he suffered far more than he deserved.]

[Ephraim: Oh... that's nice... Wait. Fulfill their final regrets?]

[Rachel: It's not mandatory. However, fulfilling final regrets earns double the karma points of a regular mission. And did I mention karma points can be exchanged in the central space's digital store? Not just for luxuries, but also for skills.]

[Ephraim: Ooooh. Oh my gosh. So sneaky. The main mission is non-negotiable, but the regret mission is wrapped up so sweetly that no one in their right mind would ever reject it... That's downright villainous!]

[Rachel: Speaking of which, would you like to see your current points? You can access them through your virtual window.]

Ephraim followed Rachel's instruction, summoning the system window by recalling the data loaded into his mind back in the central space. The translucent blue window flickered into view—a small interface the size of a PC window, suspended midair.

At the top was a list of options, arranged from most to least used. The first was 'Stats', followed by 'Inventory', 'Central Space Digital Store', and a long list of other features.

His fingers twitched, itching to explore the store, but Rachel's gentle voice reminded him to check his karma points first—window-shopping with empty pockets would only break his heart.

Reluctantly, he selected 'Stats'. A new window unfolded before him:

[Name: Ephraim Larkspur

ID: 8133105-9349

Grade: D

System Partner: Rachel Butterfield

Allowed Mission Worlds: C, D, E

Karma Points: -20 / 100

Skills:

Stealth: (63/100)

Marksmanship: (89/100)

Knife Skills: (65/100)

Martial Arts: (50/100)

Acting: (70/100)

Cooking: (55/100)

First Aid: (35/100)

Disguising: (65/100)

Sense of Surroundings: (40/100)

Current World Grade: E

Current Mission Target: Jiang Yichen

Current Body: Ling Xiaoyu]

Ephraim's brow slowly lifted, his lips pursing into a soft pout.

[Ephraim: Well... the karma points... it's nothing I didn't expect... But the skill set... that's quite humbling... I thought I was better than that.]

[Rachel: First of all, love, that's an exceptional level for each skill—quite uncommon for new recruits. And secondly, if we were only comparing you to your world, you'd be at the peak. You were amazing back there, babe. But now you're a person of the central space, measured against other mission executioners. In this realm, such disparity is only natural.]

Ephraim's pout deepened, the corners of his lips tugging down in grievance. He had barely begun to stew in self-pity when the sound of approaching footsteps echoed from the corridor.

His heart gave a jolt. Without missing a beat, he threw himself back onto the bed, curling into the sheets. A low, pitiful groan escaped his lips—half convincing, half theatrical—as if he were still in the throes of unbearable pain.