The Cannon Fodder Ex-Wife Changes to Take the Black Moonlight Script - Chapter 1

When Shang Shiqian woke up, the sky was ablaze with stars, the brilliant Milky Way stretching across the night. A shooting star streaked past, leaving a silvery trail of light in her vision.

This starry sky felt too real to be a projection.

The next second, Shang Shiqian realized she was in the wilderness.

But… hadn’t she died?

Had her body been dumped in the wild?

Shang Shiqian abruptly sat up, the sudden movement causing her sacrum to let out a sharp crack as if dislocated. The pain was so intense it stole her breath, twisting her face in agony. It took her a long moment to recover.

Rubbing her lower back, she surveyed her surroundings.

Everything was pitch black, save for a faint glow from the night sky.

And it was precisely because of that dim light that she suddenly caught sight of a chilling, eerie portrait.

“Ghost!”

A scream tore from her throat, echoing through the silent, desolate wilderness, making the already cold and eerie environment feel even more lifeless.

Soon, Shang Shiqian recognized the face in the portrait, and her heart, which had been racing at two hundred beats per minute, gradually calmed down.

Oh, it was just her. She’d thought it was a ghost!

A moment later, Shang Shiqian took in the stone slab bearing the portrait and the words engraved on it: “Huh? Wait, this is… my tombstone?!”

As if a switch had been flipped, her mind suddenly cleared, and her night vision seemed to sharpen. Slowly, she began to make out her surroundings.

This was a cemetery, with over a dozen grand tombstones of varying sizes standing around her.

Shang Shiqian was familiar with this place, it was the Shang family’s ancestral burial ground, where generations of her ancestors rested.

In just a few seconds, she pieced together the situation:

She had died and been buried in the family cemetery, but somehow, she had suddenly “come back to life.”

Had she not died after all?

But the pain in her sacroiliac joint couldn’t have been an illusion, could it?

Then, a teasing voice suddenly echoed in her mind:

[You’re already dead.]

Shang Shiqian: “…”

[Huh? Aren’t you scared? Scream like you did earlier!]

There was a hint of mischief in the voice.

Shang Shiqian deadpanned, “You said I’m already dead, so that makes me a ghost. Why would a ghost be afraid of another ghost?”

[…]

Shang Shiqian leaned on her tombstone and stood up, asking with interest, “So, what kind of ghost are you?”

[Hmph! I’m not a ghost! I’m the noble, ruthless, and venomous Black Moonlight System!]

“Oh, a system ghost!”

The system bristled:

[I’m not a ghost! I’m the Black Moonlight System, and you’re my chosen host. We’re already bound together.]

Like spilling beans, the system explained its origins, purpose, and Shang Shiqian’s current situation.

Turns out, Shang Shiqian really had died eight years ago, in fact. All that remained of her was a pile of bone fragments.

But after binding with the system, it had used its own energy to extract DNA from her ashes, reconstructing her former body and memories to recreate a physical form for her.

Shang Shiqian interrupted urgently, “Hold on. My biology grades weren’t great, but even I know you can’t extract DNA from ashes.”

[This system possesses immense power there’s nothing I can’t do! Even if you were reduced to ashes, or even if you were nothing but a dying brainwave, what mortals call a ‘soul’, I could still capture and bind you, granting you a new life.]

Shang Shiqian: …

I feel like you’re trying to scam a ghost.

But resurrection from death couldn’t be explained by current science.

Moreover, the system had mentioned while dumping information earlier that it came from a higher plane of existence, while her world was merely a low-level minor world derived from a novel.

From a technological standpoint, the system’s dimensional plane could indeed completely surpass her minor world, making her resurrection not entirely impossible.

“A novel-derived world…” Shang Shiqian pondered for a moment before asking, “You spoke too quickly earlier, what novel is this world derived from?”

[“Chasing Love Into the Crematorium” genre. The female lead is Wei Yixian, CEO of Wei Corporation. The second female lead is her first love and eternal white moonlight in her heart. They were high school classmates and lovers, but when they turned twenty, the white moonlight’s family planned to emigrate abroad. She wanted Wei Yixian to study overseas with her, but the Wei family patriarch was critically ill at the time, and an inheritance battle was raging within the family. To gain support, Wei Yixian obeyed her father’s demand to give up going abroad and married into the wealthy Shang family instead.]

[Nine years later, Wei Yixian emerged victorious among her siblings to become the Wei family heir and CEO of Wei Corporation. But she had another hidden identity, the Black Knight of Wall Street! Meanwhile, the white moonlight had become Melbourne’s most famous White Knight. Invited back to China to save companies being attacked and devoured by Wei Corporation, the two female leads had their first confrontation, marking the beginning of the novel’s main story!]

Shang Shiqian: “…”

All that buildup was just the prologue?

Shang Shiqian waved her hand dismissively. “Never mind, I’m not interested in how the female lead chases love or ends up in emotional cremation. No need to tell me.”

No matter how much “crematorium” drama this novel had, could it compare to her literally being in a crematorium?

It was probably just another romance disguised as corporate warfare.

[We agree on that point!] The system sounded quite cynical. [This system hates white moonlights most of all! Any story involving white moonlights must be destroyed by the system! Black moonlight is the only truth in this world!]

Shang Shiqian responded half-heartedly.

Truly worthy of being called “black moonlight”, dark enough, with hatred that emerged utterly inexplicably.

“Then why go through all the trouble to resurrect and bind me?”

[To uphold the black moonlight system’s philosophy, of course, to break up the female leads, make them suffer physically and emotionally. Whether their love chase ends in metaphorical or literal cremation doesn’t matter. Ideally, we’d achieve a tragic ‘eternal separation’ bad ending.]

The corner of Shang Shiqian’s mouth twitched. This was a society governed by law. Sending people to actual crematoriums? Did she look like someone who found her resurrected life too peaceful and comfortable?

“I don’t think I can do that. If they’re destined lovers, no matter what I do or what misunderstandings I create, they’ll ultimately reconcile. After all, this novel was meant to torment them before making them realize love’s preciousness, making them cherish each other even more… right?”

[You’re different, you’re the black moonlight this system carefully selected! You’re Wei Yixian’s wife. Though just a minor character, you have the natural position to break them up. If you can win over Wei Yixian, then the white moonlight becomes the other woman…]

“Wait what?!” Shang Shiqian exclaimed. “You said I’m who?”

“Wei Yixian’s wife.”

Shang Shiqian fell silent.

And in that silence, she exploded.

“Damn it!”

Memories flooded in like a tidal wave, and Shang Shiqian finally realized what was wrong, she had almost forgotten that Wei Yixian was her wife!

When she was twenty, her mother suddenly told her, “The Wei family wants to arrange a marriage with our family. The only unmarried ones left are you and your fifth sister. Your fifth sister is too young and too spoiled, she’d probably throw a tantrum and run away. As for you… you’re the one I worry about the most, so I’ve decided you’ll marry Wei Yixian.”

At the time, Shang Shiqian’s mind and eyes were solely focused on the Go board. She barely registered her mother’s words and nodded absentmindedly, “Just arrange it however you see fit.”

And just like that, she ended up marrying Wei Yixian in a daze.

Afterward, she threw herself entirely into Go, while Wei Yixian was also busy. They barely saw each other throughout the year.

On their first wedding anniversary, she was in a hurry to return home to prepare for a Go tournament the next day when she was kidnapped and brutally murdered by a deranged fan of Wei Yixian.

Shang Shiqian covered her face, wanting to curse, even a veteran gold miner digging for twenty years couldn’t unearth something as absurd as this.

“I died so unjustly, and now you want me to win her over? Have some humanity!”

[Why should this system be human? If this system is going to be anything, it’ll be the most dazzling system in the Bureau!]

Shang Shiqian: “…”

The system added: [Precisely because your death was unjust, you have the greatest advantage in winning over Wei Yixian. In this world, only you can rival the white moonlight!]

Shang Shiqian: “Forget it. Just send me back where I came from. I’m not cut out for this kind of petty jealousy and hair-pulling drama.”

[Don’t you have any unfulfilled wishes? That can’t be right. I’ve analyzed your brainwaves you do have regrets, and they’re so strong that even after all these years, they haven’t faded. That’s how this system detected you.]

Shang Shiqian choked. She had to admit, the system had her cornered.

She did have regrets, but she couldn’t let the system know, lest it use them against her.

[Sigh. Although this system revived you using energy, our reserves are limited. Without new energy input, in a month, you’ll really be sent back where you came from.]

Shang Shiqian asked, “Energy?”

[Yes. This system’s purpose is to break up the female leads, making them suffer physically and emotionally. So as long as you make them suffer, this system gains energy, and you get to live longer!]

To give Shang Shiqian a clearer picture, the system displayed the energy in the form of “Heartbreak Points” and “Affection Points.”

[Once Heartbreak Points reach 100%, or Wei Yixian’s Affection Points for you hit 100%, and it’s confirmed the female leads can’t achieve a happy ending, the mission will be complete. After completion, you’ll receive rewards whether it’s lifespan or something else, it’ll all be within your grasp.]

Shang Shiqian wasn’t swayed by the system’s words. In her heart, she was calculating how much time she’d need to fulfill the wish she had failed to achieve before.

Shang Shiqian: You’re just chasing love into a crematorium, but I literally ended up in one.

Wei Yixian: “…”

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