The Child Emperor - Chapter 285: Grain Problems

I died in my world… and woke up in someone else’s story.But not as the hero. Not as the villain. Not even as a side character who mattered. I’m… an NPC—a nobody, a background observer, invisible to everyone.At first, I thought I was powerless. But then I discovered something strange: I could leave notes, whisper hints, move objects… small nudges that subtly changed the story. Every tiny action rippled through the plot, shaping outcomes, saving lives, and altering the fate of heroines, heroes, and even villains.The catch? The story is alive. It resists interference. Push too hard, and accidents happen. Plot twists turn against me. Minor disasters loom. The more I try to influence, the more the story fights back.So I play carefully. I study. I manipulate quietly. I watch the heroines, heroes, and overlooked side characters, weaving invisible threads that guide them. I don’t fight. I don’t cheat. I survive—and maybe, just maybe, I can change the story from the shadows.From an unnoticed NPC to the hidden hand behind the world, I’ll prove that even a nobody can rewrite the story.

[The Absolute Dweller]

Absolute Dweller’s Declaration (Passive) Level 1

No one can invade the dwelling space without the Absolute Dweller’s permission.

Surviving thanks to awakened skills, there was, however, one problem: “Ah, damn.”

[The Absolute Dweller cannot leave the dwelling space.]

That’s right, the inability to step outside the home.

Lin Ye was just a regular college student, or so he claimed while secretly obsessing over his favorite web novel, The Hero Returns. But when the hero died, his allies suffered, and the world burned, Lin Ye lost it. “Why not fix it properly? Why not rewrite the damn ending?”The universe answered... with a truck.Now, Lin Ye wakes up as Damien Voss, a minor villain fated to die before the main story even begins. Worse, he’s just one week old, powerless, and trapped in a world teetering on the edge of apocalypse. Within twenty-five years, demons will devour ninety percent of life, aided by corrupt nobles and blind gods watching from the stars.But Lin Ye didn’t come here to die like some background NPC.Armed with foreknowledge of the original plot, a fledgling OP system powered by Destiny Points, and the bloodline of the Voss family, wielders of the deadly Contract Gem ability, he's ready to flip the script.Whether it means outplaying the second crown prince, defying divine fate, or seizing the throne himself, Lin Ye has one rule!If the gods won’t save this world, then he will become the villain it needs.Unfortunately, destiny has a price. Every point spent alters the timeline and draws the attention of heroes, monsters, and forgotten gods alike.But then again… who says the villain can’t be the main character?

Leo had a problem. Don't be like Leo!It wasn't that he was poor. It wasn't that he was unlucky. It was that he had been cursed, or blessed by the Accidental Tycoon System.The rules were deceptively simple. Any money he lost on an investment would be returned to him, doubled. And any money he gained, aside from system reimbursement couldn't be used by him on himself.His life's new mission was crystal clear. He had to go bankrupt.In a high-tech world of S-Rank Heroes, magic, and newly-contacted alien civilizations, this should have been the easiest thing to achieve in the galaxy. He just had to become the biggest, most spectacular loser the universe had ever seen.So, he tried. Oh, how he tried...He threw billions at publishing a dungeon guide written by a 10-year-old. The maps were in crayon, and it listed the final boss as a Big Grumpy Badger.[Breaking: New S-Rank dungeon called 'The Whispering Labyrinth' appears! All high-tech mapping drones fail. A lost F-Rank porter used the crayon guide... and it's 100% accurate. The final boss is a 50-foot divine badger. The Galactic Union has declared the guide a 'holy text' for exploration!]He bought the galaxy's most useless moon, planning to build a 'Museum of Paint'.[Alert: Ancient magical ley-lines discovered under the moon's surface! It's the only place in the universe that can safely grow the 'Star-Lotus,' the key ingredient for immortality!]To the Intergalactic Hero's Guild, the Magic Academies, and the Alien Federations, Leo was the god of investment whose every move was like 5D chess that ordinary people couldn't understand.Heroes would soar with his sponsorship. Alien emperors offered him their daughters' hands in marriage for a single 'tip'.But Leo just stared at his bank account, which now displayed his wealth that he couldn't use on himself, with tears streaming down his face.“Please,” he cried, “I'm trying to fail! Why won't you just let me be poor?!”