The Fierce Princess of the Apocalypse

On January 13th, 20XX, meteorites rained down from the sky, triggering a global deadly plague. Over sixty percent of the world’s population got infected and collapsed one after another, leaving hospitals utterly overwhelmed. Power and water supplies failed completely in an instant, throwing humanity into widespread panic. Government authorities struggled to maintain order and organize rescue efforts. Everyone stayed confined indoors, and rumors of the impending apocalypse spread like wildfire. The month-long lockdown drove countless people to commit suicide by jumping off buildings amid severe food shortages. Meanwhile, some humans awakened supernatural abilities and dared to step outside. Those gifted with powers were dubbed the Chosen Ones. One month later, on February 13th, all those who had fallen rose from the dead one by one. Earthquakes, tsunamis, severe droughts, blizzards and countless other natural disasters broke out on a massive scale, marking the arrival of a worldwide catastrophe. Electricity, internet, running water, gas and food were all cut off. Governments could no longer keep society stable, and social order crumbled entirely. The true doomsday had finally descended. March 13th. Inside a luxurious villa, a group of survivors held a discussion in the living room. A young man with dyed blond hair slammed his fist down and pointed furiously toward a closed bedroom door. "That useless little princess deserves to be thrown out to the zombies! Who even cares about her?!" "Calm down, Li Li. After all, she’s Baolin’s stepsister," Shao Chenyan said in a calm tone. Li Li scowled in displeasure. "I’m not wrong! She’s good for nothing with no supernatural powers at all. Who does she think she is? No one will spoil her childish tantrums in the end times!" Shao Chenyan, the team leader, frowned deeply. Ye Baolin stood up and let out a soft sigh. "I’ll go check on her. She just lost both her parents, she won’t survive alone out there. We can take her to the nearest survivor base." A delicate-looking girl named Zhang Siqin spoke up disapprovingly. "She’s just your stepsister by your father’s second marriage. Why bother with her?" "I still share blood ties with her," Ye Baolin replied helplessly. With that, she walked toward the tightly shut bedroom door. Zhang Siqin curled her lips and muttered silently that Ye Baolin was nothing but hypocritical and overly soft-hearted. The rest of the team also looked displeased, yet they held their tongues out of respect for Ye Baolin, staring coldly at the closed door. Li Li even secretly planned to teach Ye Hanshuang a harsh lesson once she came out. As civilization collapsed across the globe, countless survivor bases of varying sizes were established. By sheer coincidence, all of them had been staying in Sichuan Province when the apocalypse broke out. Among numerous local safe zones, the largest official stronghold was known as the Sichuan Provincial Base. This team was formed by scattered survivors. Faced with endless dangers in the ruined world, supernatural ability users and ordinary civilians banded together, heading for the major base to reunite with their families or seek shelter. Two days prior, they had accompanied Ye Baolin to rescue her father, only to find him and her stepmother already dead. Only her stepsister Ye Hanshuang had survived. The others had wanted to abandon the girl, but Ye Baolin insisted on bringing her along. Ye Baolin was a precious space-type ability user. Though her storage space was limited and time flowed normally inside it, coupled with her ambiguous relationship with Shao Chenyan, a powerful wind-type ability wielder, she held great sway within the team, leaving everyone unable to refuse her request. Yet Ye Hanshuang was nothing but trouble. The eighteen-year-old girl had been a spoiled princess long before the end times, and her arrogant princess syndrome made her even more unbearable in this cruel new world. When the group settled down in this villa yesterday, Ye Hanshuang was arranged to sleep in the hall for lacking powers. She threw a huge fit and demanded a private bedroom, which Ye Baolin reluctantly gave up for her. She had locked herself in the room again after being scolded by Li Li and the others that morning. The team was ready to set off, but the troublesome girl still refused to show up. No one was willing to tolerate her spoiled behavior any longer. *Knock knock.* Ye Baolin knocked on the door, yet received no response. "Ye Hanshuang?" she called out. Still silence. A frown creased her forehead. None of them knew that the soul inside this body had already been replaced. Inside the room, Ye Hanshuang, the first SSS-class host of the Supporting Female Character System in the quick-transmigration realm, spoke calmly. "System, what is my mission in this world?" A cold mechanical voice echoed in her mind immediately. *Ding! Supporting Female Character System 888 at your service.* "Greetings, host Ye Hanshuang. You have successfully completed three hundred worlds and six hundred and eighty-eight missions. To ease your mental fatigue, you have been assigned a vacation world for rest." A faint glint flashed across Ye Hanshuang’s emotionless face, and she raised an eyebrow slightly. "A vacation world?" "Precisely. A vacation world is specially arranged for exhausted veteran mission-takers. We select worlds on the verge of destruction from three thousand minor realms and send you here to relax." "Do not underestimate these doomed worlds. They are perfect paradises for you. You are free to act however you wish, and you will face zero penalties even if you lay waste to this entire world, for it is destined to perish anyway." Ye Hanshuang fell into brief surprise. System 888 continued its explanation. "Moreover, vacation worlds carry a slim chance of triggering system evolution. Throughout system history, only two mission-takers have achieved this upgrade. One evolved from a Cannon Fodder System into a Protagonist System, while the other advanced from a Protagonist System to a Villain System." "This evolution does not necessarily mean being stronger, it merely brings fundamental changes to your bound system." "Evolution?" Ye Hanshuang was truly astonished, having never heard of such a thing after countless missions. "Once a system is bound, evolution can only happen with extremely low odds during vacation periods, unless you repeatedly fail missions to sever the contract." It was clear that the system intended to tell her not to get her hopes up, given how rare such opportunities were. "Host, you are a born natural supporting female character, the top SSS-level host of our system, our greatest pride! It is better for you to avoid evolution. Once your vacation ends, we can continue our supporting female character missions as usual." System 888 had solid reasons for saying so. Ye Hanshuang was born to play supporting roles flawlessly. Across countless worlds, she had acted as humble sidekicks beside leading ladies, foils to highlight female protagonists, vicious second female leads and cold-hearted stepmothers. Low-key, reserved and unnoticeable, she nailed every role perfectly. Countless supporting characters failed their missions simply for stealing the spotlight. In her last mission world, she had spared no effort to push the male and female leads together and fulfill the heroine’s dreams. She did everything in her power to bring them close, yet they did not even send her a wedding invitation on their big day. She was truly utterly invisible. Was there anyone more suited to be a supporting female character than her? Ye Hanshuang paid no heed to the system’s compliment and smiled faintly. "So I have no assigned tasks here, and I can do whatever I want?" "Exactly! There are no rules or restrictions. You may use all the abilities you have acquired from other worlds freely." "I will leave you to rest here and return to fetch you once your vacation concludes." A genuine smile bloomed on Ye Hanshuang’s face, stunning the system momentarily. Yet System 888 thought nothing of it, convinced its most low-key and obedient host would keep a modest profile even here. "Wish you a pleasant vacation. I shall see you in a hundred years." "Farewell." The mechanical voice faded away completely, and all lingering restraints vanished from Ye Hanshuang’s body. System 888 left without the slightest worry that its host would cause trouble. Her leisurely vacation in the doomsday world officially began. She sorted out the original host’s memories. This was a brutal apocalyptic world, and the original timid, spoiled girl would be driven into zombie hordes to die the very next day without her arrival, earning no sympathy from anyone because of her unbearable princess syndrome. For someone who had spent lifetimes hiding her presence and playing invisible side characters, acting out spoiled princess behavior was the complete opposite. Princess syndrome meant being self-centered, craving everyone’s attention, living ostentatiously and standing out prominently. "Princess syndrome..." Ye Hanshuang smiled brightly, finding this new identity extremely interesting. She was thoroughly enjoying it. Outside the door, Ye Baolin grew increasingly impatient after repeated unanswered knocks. Zong Ling, who had kept quiet all this time, shot a gloomy glance at the door. "Leave her alone, let’s go right now." "I totally agree!" Li Li raised his hands in approval. "No one can afford such spoiled behavior in the apocalypse. I bet she won’t survive three days out here!" Ye Baolin looked utterly troubled. Shao Chenyan glanced at her and gave the order. "Li Li, force the door open." Knowing they still had to take the troublesome girl along, Li Li dragged his feet reluctantly. "What if she throws another tantrum?" Zhang Siqin asked worriedly. Spoiled princess behavior was annoying even before the apocalypse, let alone in this desperate era where everyone struggled to survive. Ye Baolin bit her lower lip and made up her mind firmly. "Knock her unconscious and take her to the nearest base. I have done all I can. Even my late father would not blame me for this." Everyone reached an agreement, and Li Li stepped forward to break open the door. But before he could make a move— The bedroom door swung open on its own. A faint refreshing fragrance drifted out, catching everyone off guard. In this resource-scare end times, staying clean was already a luxury, let alone carrying such a pleasant scent. All eyes instantly locked onto the doorway. Ye Hanshuang stood there elegantly, dressed in a delicate nightgown with her long half-wet hair loose over her shoulders, still lingering with the fresh scent of shampoo. She leaned lazily against the doorframe, chin slightly lifted, gazing down at the crowd with indifferent arrogance, as if looking down on all mortal beings. The entire group froze in shock. It was still the same girl, yet her usual annoying arrogance seemed completely different now. Ye Hanshuang had always been beautiful, yet her spoiled temper had dimmed her looks greatly. Now endowed with an extraordinary aura, her ordinary beauty instantly became breathtaking, especially in this bleak doomsday setting. Everyone was utterly captivated, before shock swept over their faces. Zhang Siqin stared wide-eyed in disbelief, blurting out loudly. "Ye Hanshuang! You actually took a bath?! Where on earth did you get so much water?!"