Every Day the Villain Continues to Fail
[Quick Transmigration]
o0o
Ruan Yao woke up to the sound of continuous, stifled sobbing.
The air was damp and oppressive, filled with floating dust that stung his nose. Struggling to open his heavy eyelids, he tasted the dry, choking rust of iron in his throat.
He forced himself to sit up, weakly leaning against the wall as he took in his surroundings.
The drug that man had given him was incredibly potent. Even though he was now conscious, his head was still spinning in waves of dizziness.
He was locked inside a dark, filthy, abandoned warehouse. Besides him, there were three other frail and slender girls, curled up in a corner, shivering and crying.
Gasping for breath, Ruan Yao thought to himself that he had probably fallen into the hands of the infamous kidnapping and extortion ring.
The warehouse’s iron door was suddenly pushed open, and a tall, thin man wearing a baseball cap stepped inside.
He held a phone in his hand, frowning as he glanced at the kidnapped hostages huddled in the corner.
Ruan Yao recognized him—he was a crew member from the film set.
He looked completely different from the shy, bashful young man Ruan Yao had seen before. His delicate features, which could be considered refined, now appeared cold and sinister in the dim light.
"One by one, call your families. Remember, if anyone dares to mention calling the police, they’ll be the first to die. Understood?" He waved the phone slightly, his tone carrying an indifferent mockery toward the lives before him.
The thick layer of dust on the floor scattered as his leather boots stepped forward.
Under the brim of his cap, his dark and brooding gaze lingered on Ruan Yao’s face for a moment before he turned toward the three girls.
"You, come here."
With rough, forceful movements, he grabbed one of the girls and yanked her off the ground.
She was already so terrified that she was barely conscious. Her swollen, tear-streaked eyes pleaded with the kidnapper, "Please, don’t kill me. Don’t kill me."
The kidnapper let out an impatient sneer and shoved the phone into her trembling hands. "Hurry up and make the call. Cry louder."
From his pocket, he pulled out a black metallic object and playfully tapped it against the girl’s soft cheek.
With the faint light seeping through the skylight, cold sweat trickled down Ruan Yao’s back. That was a gun, one of remarkably fine craftsmanship.
One by one, the three girls finished their calls to their families before being taken to another room. Ruan Yao watched, eyes wide open, as the man, exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression, strode toward him.
The drug’s effects had yet to wear off, he could not even stand.
"Yao Yao…"
Even with dirt smeared across his face, the boy’s exquisite features were stunningly beautiful. The man, as if under a spell, reached out, wanting to touch his face.
" ! "
Ruan Yao’s sharp teeth sank deep into the man’s rough skin, almost drawing blood. His strength was pitifully weak. Even biting down, his trembling made it seem less like an attack and more like an act of desperate defiance.
The kidnapper merely chuckled, ruffling Ruan Yao’s messy hair. "Your turn, Yao Yao."
Ruan Yao’s eyelashes quivered as he released his bite. His voice was colder and firmer than ever before:
"My parents are dead. I have no one. Kidnapping me is useless—I don’t even have anyone I can call for ransom."
The man’s smirk carried a dangerous ambiguity. "Don’t underestimate yourself. There are men out there willing to risk their lives for you."
Ruan Yao’s hands were tied behind his back with coarse rope, struggling until several red marks appeared.
His breathing was shallow, and even though it was merely the sound of exhaustion, it still sent a wave of heat against the man’s cold earlobe.
"Fine, if you don't want to fight, then we won’t."
The man seemed to have a bizarre, pathological obsession with Ruan Yao, indulging his hostage’s temper and actually letting him off just like that.
Ruan Yao, however, suddenly remembered that Pei Xinan’s concert was about to start around this time. He wondered whether Pei Xinan would still remember their promise.
Either way, it seemed like he was about to break it.
"Wait a moment, give me my phone." Ruan Yao suddenly changed his mind, speaking to the kidnapper with an unmistakable tone of arrogance.
Yet the kidnapper was completely taken with his attitude, handing over a phone that turned out to be Ruan Yao’s own.
"I won’t say anything I shouldn’t. Get out for now."
The kidnapper shrugged, his gaze lingering ambiguously on Ruan Yao’s pale, delicate face and the flush of his lips before he finally untied his hands and stepped away.
However, he did not let Ruan Yao completely out of his sight.
Ruan Yao pulled up Pei Xinan’s number but had no intention of telling him about the kidnapping.
"Yao Yao…"
Today marked the first stop of Pei Xinan’s world tour. Since early morning, the streets of the city had been flooded with support banners and decorations, pushing the festive atmosphere to its peak. Yet, at this crucial moment, the main act himself seemed completely out of sorts, unable to pull himself together.
Qin Shuang was running in circles, so anxious that even blisters had formed on his lips.
Just half an hour before going on stage, Pei Xinan received a phone call. The moment he heard the voice, he almost jumped off the couch, his ashen complexion instantly brightening.
Ruan Yao swallowed and spoke in a hushed voice, "Pei Xinan, I’m sorry, I won’t be able to make it to your concert."
Pei Xinan’s voice seemed to tremble. "That’s okay, Yao Yao. As long as you still love me, I don’t care about anything else."
He paused, and suddenly his voice grew thick with hesitation. "Even if you’re just lying to me… that’s fine too."
Ruan Yao’s grip on the phone tightened until his knuckles turned white.
The system thoughtfully reminded him, "He’s about to go on stage soon."
Ruan Yao forced a casual tone. "Of course I like you. Why would I lie? If I hadn’t drunk so much last night, I’d definitely be there. But I can still watch the livestream from my hotel, you know? Do your best—I’ll be cheering for you from behind the screen."
Pei Xinan hesitated for a moment. "Yao Yao, I was planning to—"
Before he could finish, a coarse, impatient voice came from outside the warehouse, pounding against the rusted metal door. "Damn it, Lao San, what the hell are you doing? Hurry up and bring that celebrity over!"
Ruan Yao flinched at the sudden noise, and the kidnapper called "Lao San" had no choice but to take his phone away.
Ruan Yao quickly said, "I have to go. Good luck!"
Something felt off. Pei Xinan had caught the background noises on Ruan Yao’s end, but he couldn’t quite tell what was happening. Just before stepping onto the stage, he deliberately instructed Qin Shuang to find a way to track the phone’s location.
At this point, Qin Shuang would do anything to keep this little ancestor in the right mindset—even if it meant buying a plane on the spot. Without hesitation, he agreed immediately.
The place where Ruan Yao was taken was a narrow, completely enclosed space with nothing but a single chair and a camera blinking red directly in front of it.
There, he met two more kidnappers.
The moment they laid eyes on Ruan Yao, their gazes lit up with undisguised greed. "Damn, no wonder he's a celebrity. What a sight to behold."
A person maliciously shoved him. “Go in. Cry properly for the audience. Let them see how pathetic the glamorous big star looks now.”
The kidnapper, who had infiltrated the production crew as a stagehand, frowned. “Don’t push him.”
“Damn, feeling sorry for him?” The others cursed, spitting out vulgar jokes.
Ruan Yao staggered slightly. The kidnapper grabbed his wrist, his cold voice carrying a trace of gentleness. “Be careful.”
The camera was aimed directly at Ruan Yao’s pale face, its glare so harsh that he couldn’t even open his eyes. The red light on top of the machine flashed wildly.
“This is a live broadcast” the system swayed slightly, looking worried.
Ruan Yao thought this might be a good opportunity to complete his task.
Despite being the type who would tear up easily when startled, he was unexpectedly calm in such a life-threatening moment.
He took a deep breath, and faint dimples appeared on his snow-white cheeks. “Hello, everyone. I’m Ruan Yao.”
A strange surge of adrenaline spread through his limbs, making him feel as if he were once again standing on a stage bathed in spotlight. He knew this might be his last time appearing in the public eye.
“I... want to confess something.”
These kidnappers were audacious, not only abducting for ransom but also forcing their victims to cry in front of an audience to satisfy their long-forgotten, neglected sense of existence at the margins of society.
Rather than being purely about money, it was more about seeking attention.
“I sincerely apologize for deceiving everyone. The truth is, I approached Pei Xinan with an ulterior motive.” Ruan Yao lowered his gaze, speaking slowly as if narrating a story, revealing every “wrongdoing” he had committed in front of the camera, painting himself as a ruthless person willing to do anything for fame.
“Congratulations, Host, on achieving the ‘Disgraced and Ruined’ achievement.”
Ruan Yao breathed a sigh of relief. Now, only one thing remained—to push Pei Xinan’s pitiful 1% resentment value higher.
Not seeing Ruan Yao break down and beg for mercy frustrated two of the men. Before he could finish his confession, they roughly dragged him away.
“Boss, the police are here!” The lookout outside the warehouse rushed in, flustered.
“Perfect timing.” “Third Brother” let out a cold chuckle.
From another room, a girl’s sharp cries pierced the air.
A bearded man was groping one of the prettier girls, spewing filthy words, making her cries even more desperate.
It seemed they were choosing a hostage to use as leverage against the police.
The girls were panicked, all in the prime of their youth, yet trapped in such a nightmare. Terror had driven them to the brink of collapse, and their once-delicate faces were visibly withering before their eyes.
Ruan Yao couldn’t stand seeing life wither.
“Instead of picking her, why not take me?” Ruan Yao gathered his courage and negotiated with the kidnappers. “She’s mentally unstable right now. She won’t obey you. It would be easier if I became your hostage.”
He showed them the freshly tightened ropes binding him. He was so beautiful that even in the dim chaos, he remained strikingly vivid.
“I won’t resist, and I won’t say anything I shouldn’t. If you don’t believe me, you can tape my mouth shut.”
Rather than being persuaded by his reasoning, the kidnappers were more likely enchanted by his face. After a brief discussion, they decided to use Ruan Yao as a human shield against a potential police ambush.
What happened next was too chaotic, unfolding in a flash. By the time Ruan Yao came back to his senses, he was lying on the ground, covered in blood.
Oh, now he remembered.
When the kidnappers had been cornered, they had attempted to open fire on the innocent hostages.
Somehow, he had found the strength to break free from his restraints and throw himself in front of the three girls.
Before leaving the world, Ruan Yao had only three final thoughts:
“Why does it feel like I’m seeing Sheng Yirong? I’ve never seen him lose control like that before. Kind of fascinating.”
“The pain-blocking device was worth every penny.”
“People with low IQs shouldn’t try to be kidnappers.”
o0o
Ruan Yao was utterly dumbfounded when he got up from the nutrient pod and saw a large circle of people standing in front of him.
He distinctly remembered that he had lain down at home before.
“My posture when opening my eyes must be wrong. Let’s try again.” He quickly lay back down, then opened his eyes again. Yet the same group of high-ranking officials from the Time-Space Management Bureau, whom he would never even glimpse in eight lifetimes, still stood there.
Ruan Yao: …Shocked.
Why did it feel like he was about to get fired?
“System, am I about to be punished for failing my mission?” Ruan Yao whimpered.
The system patted its host’s small head. “You didn’t fail. In that world, once the news of your death was announced, Pei Xinan’s disgust value maxed out.”
“Then what’s with this group of leaders?” So scary, QAQ.
“Comrade Ruan Yao” the man at the front, who was twice as broad as Ruan Yao and bore a pair of fangs, cradled a stack of documents in his arms and gave Ruan Yao, who had just woken up, a gentle smile.
“It is my honor to inform you that you have successfully recovered two fragments of his spirit in a parallel world. As a reward, we have decided to promote you and increase your salary.”
There was no need to specify who this “he” referred to—everyone already knew.
Ruan Yao, having just gone through a heart-pounding gunfight, had a mind muddled into a chaotic mess and did not register what Fang Brother was saying at all.
To everything he heard, he just nodded blankly and said “Okay”
“Very well, then. That means you agree to travel through various small worlds to recover the spirit fragments? We are delighted to have a brave warrior like you step forward. Truly, you are an outstanding employee of the Cannon Fodder Department.”
Ruan Yao was utterly confused “Huh?”
Fang Brother’s expression was filled with sorrow. “We did consider looking for a more capable candidate. But after extensive evaluation, we discovered that you are the only employee who receives special treatment from the spirit fragments.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a loud “bang” erupted from the mission room of the Long Aotian Protagonist Department next door.
A man, disheveled and covered in dirt, staggered as he pushed open the large doors, locking eyes with the group gathered here in a moment of shared emotion.
Fang Brother maintained his formulaic smile, his gaze tinged with sympathy “If the fragments don’t like you, well… they might, just a little bit, target you”
Ruan Yao recognized the person from the Long Aotian Protagonist Department and happily waved before calling out to that blackened, indistinguishable figure “Taoist Brother!”
The Taoist, who had nearly been blasted into fireworks by an enraged spirit fragment, felt deeply humiliated. Forcing a smile, he let out two awkward laughs “Haha. You guys keep chatting, I’ll be on my way now”
Ruan Yao trembled. “What happened to him?”
Fang Brother’s expression was full of sympathy. “He is the one who does not receive special treatment from the fragments”
o0o
^龙傲天" (Lóng Ào Tiān) is a popular term in Chinese novels and anime that refers to a main character (protagonist) who is extremely powerful, almost invincible.
Author’s Note:
Hahaha, how could anyone think that Little Pei kidnapped him? He’s a law-abiding citizen and the number-one king of online banter.
And a heads-up for the next world—Yao Yao will turn into a Ragdoll cat (I debated for so long between a Cheese Cat and a Ragdoll Cat…)
§ Pet Lover §