Help! The Villainess Trapped in the Beast World's Drama!

Chapter 16: Chapter 15: An Unexpected Encounter

The mechanical voice of the system rang in the mind,

[Please do not trust anyone in the shelter. This is the city of exile, where these fugitives will betray you for their own gains. A female with S-level spiritual power will become a juicy target for all forces if she cannot protect herself. The City Lord Shi Lun is up to no good, so he must not learn of your true level.]

Shen Tang reflected that she had indeed been too rash; this was not a place under the protection of the Red Flag, and she must stay vigilant against everyone.

”So you deliberately concealed my spiritual power level?”

[Yes, but the Spirit Identifier was not wrong. You currently do not possess the strength of S-level spiritual power. I can modify the results shown on the Spirit Test Stone but cannot hide the test data. You indeed currently only possess the strength equivalent to C-level spiritual power.]

”Why?” Shen Tang thought of the small sapling in the Spiritual Consciousness Sea and vaguely guessed the answer.

[Your spiritual power suffered abnormal damage, and the system is assisting in restoring the foundation, but growing the Spirit Tree will take a long time; currently, only 1% has been restored.]

”Abnormal damage...” Shen Tang murmured to herself, ”According to you, is my spiritual power not the result of having wandered into a polluted area by accident a year ago?”

System prompt, [Do you remember the main task?]

Shen Tang remained silent. When reading the system’s manual, she had noted that the system-issued main tasks would be updated as the current storyline progresses.

Currently, her main task, apart from increasing the affinity with the male lead, also requires leaving the polluted area and returning to the Empire.

Upon returning to the Empire, she’s bound to encounter the original female lead, which Shen Tang internally rejects.

The memories of the original host only retained those from within the past year. Ever since arriving in the polluted area, previous memories had been shrouded in mist, making them inaccessible to Shen Tang.

”The female lead and the original host have always been at odds; could it be her doing?”

[Yes, and no.]

”Can you stop beating around the bush?”

[You will find the answer you seek upon returning to the Empire.]

”...”

Shen Tang didn’t want to discuss this issue any further; she was more focused on quickly recovering her spiritual power. At least she’d have some power to contend with against the original female lead.

The system hesitated for a moment before responding, [Highly efficient ways to recover spiritual power involve privacy; please explore on your own.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully completing the side task: Helping the male lead Xiao Jin through spiritual frenzy. Reward: Weight Loss Pill ×1. The reward has been automatically issued to the system backpack; please verify it yourself.]

Consuming a Weight Loss Pill causes the body to expel large amounts of oil, so she’d need a bath.

An armored vehicle was equipped with a basic shower, and upon heading there, Shen Tang encountered a fellow female.

”Shen Tang, you’re back! We were thinking of checking up on you.”

”Indeed, seeing you’re alright is such a relief!”

They altered their previous stance, showing extreme warmth and affability towards Shen Tang, with subtle hints of trying to curry favor.

Shen Tang feigned a smile, finding them hypocritical.

These females maintained a friendly facade, fearing she might retaliate after reviving spiritually and seeking to amend previous grievances.

But privately, Shen Tang had often overheard these females denigrating her.

In the distance, Shi Yin approached, eyeing the sycophants pandering to Shen Tang with a rolling eye, internally disdainful, she sneered sarcastically, ”What’s there to be arrogant about with mere garbage C-level spiritual power? You just happened to get lucky this time!”

Shi Yin nearly went insane with jealousy, but only after consulting her father did she learn that Shen Tang’s spiritual power test placed her at C-level, far inferior to herself. It was merely the result of a blind cat catching a dead mouse!

But immediately, Shi Yin grew even more resentful and furious, harboring deeper grievances against Shen Tang.

All because this ugly wretch ruined her plan; otherwise, Xiao Jin would be hers!

”Shi Yin, your words are too harsh. We are supposed to be on the same side. What right do you have to call us trash?” Xiong Rong and others also possessed C-level spiritual power, outstanding among females in the city, admired wherever they went, yet now they had been collectively humiliated by Shi Yin, making their expressions sour.

Shi Yin was indifferent, ”I was referring to someone else as trash. If someone insists on being presumptuous, that’s not my problem.”

”You!”

Hu Hua’s pretty face turned grim, tugging on Xiong Rong’s hand, whispering, ”Don’t bother with her, let’s go.”

They all had to make a living in the shelter and didn’t want to start a conflict with the City Lord’s daughter, but this incident showed them Shi Yin was someone to be avoided, as far away as possible.

Shen Tang had no interest in watching a dog-eat-dog scene, so she headed to the armored vehicle’s shower room and took the Weight Loss Pill.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for losing 41 pounds, charm value +6!]

Upon taking the Weight Loss Pill for the first time, she’d lost 45 pounds; this time, it dropped by 41 pounds. Although the reduction wasn’t as much as before, the visual impact of the body change appeared more pronounced.

The waist had visibly shrunk, with considerable fat still around the belly and thighs, yet nowhere near the exaggerated state to the point of seeming explosive as it did before.

However, rapid weight loss in such a short span left the skin elastic unfit to catch up. When Shen Tang examined herself in the mirror, she noticed her arms and belly skin had visibly loosened; those unsightly stretch marks appeared even more evident.

[The host, following a marked increase in the male lead Shen Li’s affinity, was rewarded with Skin Repair Cream, which works effectively against skin sagging and fading stretch marks and significantly enhances skin elasticity without causing rebound later on.]

Shen Tang recalled this reward; it truly was a lifesaver. ”System, I absolutely adore you!”

[Please do not tease the system AI Assistant.]

Shen Tang happily fetched the Skin Repair Cream from the system backpack and applied it generously on the saggy skin and areas with stretch marks, almost covering her entire body.

The cream’s effectiveness manifested quickly.

A few minutes later, the saggy skin had tightened up again, and the stretch marks faded almost imperceptibly.

[Congratulations to the host, appearance value +5!]

[The host’s personal information has been updated; would you like to check it?]

”Check personal information!” Shen Tang eagerly responded.

[Host: Shen Tang

Age: 19

Appearance: 37 (Average looking)

Skin: Poor

Body: 239 pounds, severely overweight

Skills: Spiritual Power (1%)

Overall charm assessment: Lower Lower Grade

Suggestion: Improve skin condition, enforce weight loss]

Her appearance value had improved from 26 to 37, and the system’s evaluation updated to ”average looking,” finally shedding that derogatory mark.

Skin condition shifted from ”poor” to ”poor,” with a new addition of her exact weight measurement: 239 pounds. Shen Tang’s lips curled slightly; the road to weight loss was long indeed.

A new skill appeared, spiritual power.

Shen Tang was reasonably content with the current situation, yet 239 pounds remained overly cumbersome. She lamented, ”System, could you reward a few more Weight Loss Pills?”

[Please work hard to complete tasks to receive more rewards.]

[Ding! A new side task is now open: Improve relations with 5 male leads to the [Ordinary] stage; task reward: hair growth potion!

Task duration: 30 days, please act quickly, as failing to meet the deadline will result in task failure!]

As the saying goes, hair is a woman’s second face. Shen Tang’s hair was thin, limp, and pitifully sparse, almost revealing her scalp. She had long yearned for a hair growth potion, but hearing this task came with a time constraint made her lips curl; a month?

Xiao Jin would love nothing more than to kill her!

How was she supposed to win him over?!

No matter the difficulty, she’d have to bite the bullet and forge ahead. Shen Tang set into action that very night.

Having tidied up, she stepped out the door, only to run into an unexpected person.