Chapter Nine: The Female Lead Was Surprisingly There Too

“System.”
Bai Mianmian withdrew her gaze and pressed on.
“Let’s discuss something.”
What did she want?
To save someone.
Saving someone would inevitably trigger emotional ties.
If the system could extend the rollback time, she would have a chance to turn the tide.
“You don’t want to drag this out with me either, right? How about giving me two minutes this time?”
“...Is the host sure she can cancel emotional ties?”
“If not, then you don’t have to stick around; just erase me.”
“The host doesn’t need to trick the system; the system will trust you this once.”
Bai Mianmian was speechless.
This lousy system was oddly good at guarding against her in this regard!
No time to complain, she hurried into the temple, opening the cellar door layer by layer.
As light poured in, the sound of crying echoed from the cellar.
Grabbing an oil lamp from the offering table, she descended the stairs.
“Brother, please, give me a bite to eat, I promise, I’ll do anything!”
“Wuwu, I want to go home, I want to go home!”
“Mother~ Father~ Yu’er is here, right here~”
The crying grew more chaotic with each step she took.
The stench grew thicker.
Illuminated by the oil lamp in her hand were faces full of despair and helplessness.
The surroundings were filthy and chaotic.
“Have we met somewhere before?”
“!!!”
Their eyes met.
Zhang Huilan tilted her head thoughtfully.
Bai Mianmian was at a loss for words and choked back emotion.
Honestly, she never imagined seeing the female lead here.
And the female lead’s current state earned her a wholehearted thumbs-up.
No crying, no fuss.
No fear, no hesitation.
“Met at the intersection before.”
“...Ah!”
“...”
That ‘ah’ was truly awkward.
Glancing at the curious girl watching nearby, Bai Mianmian composed herself.
“I can save you, but it won’t be easy. You’ll have to pay an appropriate price.”
“...As long as you can get me out, whatever you want, I’ll have my grandfather pay.” She was resolute.
Bai Mianmian stared at her for three seconds.
Then smiled slyly, “Thirty taels.”
“Just thirty taels. If one person gives me thirty taels, I can set you all free.”
She averted her gaze and spoke loudly.
This cellar was no small place.

Centered around the entrance, it spanned nearly a hundred square meters.
Against the walls were eight wooden compartments.
Two of them held teenage boys and girls; the rest were children aged four to eight or nine.
The children weren’t separated individually but locked in groups ranging from seven or eight to fourteen or fifteen.
The entire cellar was stuffy and foul.
The children first imprisoned had completely lost their vitality.
“I know most of you can’t come up with this money.
That’s fine—as long as you leave an address, I’ll find you later and collect it slowly.”
Her rescue wasn’t free of charge.
Just give an address, and she’d come knocking.
It was tempting.
“This is a rare chance. If you delay, when those who left return, you won’t even have a chance to escape.”
“My home is in Hexi Village. My grandfather is the village chief, Zhang Fengxian. I’m Zhang Huilan.”
The heroine was indeed the heroine—decisive and brave.
After a grateful glance, she quickly unlocked the doors to release them.
“I... I’m Song Chunying, the second daughter of Song Ning from Qingsong Alley in the western part of town.” A girl standing with Zhang Huilan probed cautiously.
Bai Mianmian waved her out.
Once the two newcomers escaped, the entire cellar stirred restlessly.
“Can... can you return my servitude contract to me?”
The girl who had shouted earlier asked in a trembling voice.
“I don’t have your contracts,” Bai Mianmian ignored this point.
In this world, runaway slaves faced death.
Escaping today only to be beaten to death tomorrow was hardly surprising!
“If you don’t have our contracts, what payment are you talking about?” She grew angry first. “You want to harm us, don’t you know without the contracts, we’re less than beggars by the roadside?”
Bai Mianmian raised an eyebrow.
She didn’t argue.
Her silent figure was lonely yet resolute.
“If you want to escape, give me your names and addresses. If not, I won’t force it.”
Previously, she had planned to lie low, uncover the network behind this, wait for the heroine to lead everyone to escape, then eliminate the entire Black Fang group.
Her time could rewind, repeating over and over until these people were wiped out.
Then she wanted to see if the heroine would get involved after the group was shattered.
Now it seemed the system’s provided script was utterly useless.
And those carefully guarded prisoners were to be killed, not saved.
“Allow me to remind you, it’s almost noon.”
Around noon, the captors would return to eat.
If they wanted to escape, not only did they have to hurry, but they had to be swift.
Unfortunately, her kindness did not bring gratitude.
Instead, it stirred more anger.
“You say you want to save us, but you’re here to test us, aren’t you? Those two were planted by you as well.
I said it—why didn’t they cry or make a fuss when they came in?
Anyone who’s been here over the last month has cried their eyes red.”
“I suspected it just now,” a nearby young man agreed.
Then another girl spoke up.
“The last girl who came in didn’t cry or fuss either.”
“If it weren’t for her, my sixth sister wouldn’t have died!
You go, I won’t believe you.
Just wait, soon someone else will come in.”
Mentioning their family members, the girl grew more agitated.
Recalling those scenes, the pressure in the cellar dropped further.
Silent for five minutes, Bai Mianmian unlocked each door one by one.
Then decisively left.
“Don’t be fooled, we can’t be fooled,” the girl stubbornly called out.
Bai Mianmian smiled.
The pitiable always had some hateful traits!
This one had caused the heroine great suffering in the novel.
“System.
Tell me, would the heroine call for help to save others, or run home crying?”
“Of course, she would call for help.
She is the heroine.
The heroine must be kind and brave.”
“...”
It felt like a jab at herself.
“The host wouldn’t understand.”
The system promptly went silent.
Bai Mianmian nearly fell into despair.
She didn’t even bother asking if emotional ties had arisen.
If they had, they would have appeared already!
Slowly, she raised her hand and rubbed her chest.
Calming herself.
Then she ransacked the place, even the two neighboring yards weren’t spared.
“Is this too much?”
Looking at the less than thirty pounds of rough rice in the cloth bag, the woman could hardly believe it.
She had searched over seventy rooms, but not a single coin!
No money in the homes of dozens of people was one thing.
But those who had succeeded and retired couldn’t even produce half a copper coin!
The bundle of silver she prepared in her hand was laughable!
“You’re not the heroine, so why should Heaven favor you?
Remember, host, you’re the villainess, the malicious supporting female, the contrast to the heroine’s good luck.
People like you should consider it fortunate just to live well.”
The system flickered like a ghost and vanished.
Bai Mianmian was genuinely disheartened this time.
She wanted to curse the system.
She wanted to know who programmed it.
She wanted to ask the heavens—just because she was a villainess, couldn’t she even pick up a little luck?!
This was crushing her motivation to do good.
She seriously suspected the system’s methods.
Wrapping the rough rice in the bundle, she slung it over her shoulder.
Then she decisively left.