Zhao Youyue had originally thought it was just a dream. After all, that sort of thing only happened after she fell asleep, drifting into that hazy space between consciousness and void. She had closed her eyes and seen an incredibly mysterious door standing in the darkness. As if struck by sudden inspiration, she had naturally understood everything about it, the knowledge pouring into her mind like a dormant memory waking up.
That door was called the Dimensional Gate. Through its shimmering threshold, she could enter anime, novels, games, and other cultural works. She could play a named female character from those stories, whether a female lead, a supporting character, or even a background female role.
The catch was that if she chose a female lead or a major supporting character, she had to be mentally prepared. Their personalities, abilities, and traits were already fully set; she had to act strictly according to that established characterization. There was basically no room for manipulation. But if she chose a background female character, she could add settings without restraint. Authors clearly wouldn't bother giving a detailed setup to a character who only showed up to play a minor role before vanishing.
If she could make the character she played widely known in the real world, turning her into an unforgettable classic figure, then she would be able to use that character's abilities in reality.
The more attention and popularity the character garnered, the stronger the abilities she inherited would be, and the longer they would last. If the character attracted no attention at all, then she obviously wouldn't be able to use those abilities. It was a trade-off between the freedom of a blank slate and the inherent fame of a lead.
Just the day before, Zhao Youyue had been distressed over having no cheat. Now, she only felt that her future was bright. With a tool like this, how could she possibly remain a background character?
She pushed open the Dimensional Gate and stepped inside, the light from the portal swallowing her whole. Immediately, she understood the basic information of this new world. It was a web novel called Super King of Psychic Powers. It told the story of a loser student who gained superpowers, dominated the city, expanded his harem, entered the hidden world, and fought other espers.
The novel was still ongoing, its popularity neither high nor low. Average subscriptions were under two thousand, probably earning the author five to six thousand a month. It's the definition of mid-tier fluff.
Zhao Youyue had never read this novel. She directly chose a female background character named Zhang Jiajia. This minor character had once been used by the male lead for a face-slapping scene. She was a sales clerk at a high end clothing store who had looked down on the male lead because he seemed like a loser.
Later, after gaining powers, he made a fortune through gambling on jade and slapped her in the face with money. After that small show off arc, Zhang Jiajia basically never appeared again. She was just another prop to boost the lead's ego.
Zhao Youyue didn't hold back at all when setting Zhang Jiajia up. First, intelligence max. Second, perseverance max. Third, photographic memory. There was no helping it. She felt that in the real world, she was mediocre in every aspect. If she could inherit Zhang Jiajia's intelligence, perseverance, and photographic memory, how could she still be a background character?
At the same time, Zhao Youyue also gave Zhang Jiajia the superpower of Misaka Mikoto. She thought that being able to use the Railgun in reality would be insanely cool. Blue electricity crackling at her fingertips was much better than being a simple clerk.
It was worth noting that in Super King of Psychic Powers, the male lead's abilities weren't very strong yet. After all, the story was still in its early to mid stage. He was using his powers to show off in front of ordinary people, slapping rich second generation heirs and officials' kids and the like. He was a big fish in a very small pond.
Zhao Youyue's reckless settings completely shattered the balance of the work. When she saw a man who looked like a street thug harassing a rich young lady driving a sports car, she used the Railgun. A blinding orange beam of light tore through the air, accompanied by the smell of scorched metal and heat. She killed him on the spot. In the world of the novel, she was that decisive and ruthless.
Only later did she realize that the person she had decisively killed was actually the male lead.
This was bad. This was really bad. The clothing store clerk who had once been slapped in the face by the male lead had actually pulled off a reversal and counter kill.
…
The next day, when Zhao Youyue woke up, she immediately took out a coin from her bedside table and tossed it into the air. She shouted, "Railgun!" The coin reached its peak, spun, and then smacked her right on the forehead. Nothing happened. No sparks, no beam, just the dull thud of metal on skin.
At the same time, she realized she still had no photographic memory. The textbooks on her desk still looked like a jumbled mess of incomprehensible symbols.
"So it really was just a ridiculous dream," Zhao Youyue sighed, rubbing her sore forehead. "How could something like a Dimensional Gate even exist."
During morning reading class, the air was filled with the rhythmic drone of students reciting texts. She suddenly heard the student in front of her, Wang Yang, say to his deskmate Jiang Chao, "This is seriously bullshit. There are actually writers this screwed up. They treat readers like monkeys. I even tipped him! If you can't keep writing, at least don't end it this badly."
Wang Yang was a web novel addict. He had loved reading online novels since middle school, and even after entering high school, he kept the habit. Back in the dorm, he would secretly read novels on his phone late into the night.
Jiang Chao preferred online comics. In any case, web novels and comics in China were extremely developed. After all, Japan was effectively an appendage of China, so Japanese manga counted as domestic comics.
"What happened?" Jiang Chao asked, leaning back in his chair.
"The book I'm following is called Super King of Psychic Powers. It isn't very famous, and the author's writing isn't great, though his erotic scenes are decent. I was just at the part where the male lead was teasing a spoiled rich girl. I was even looking forward to how he would pull her into his harem.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, an electric type esper named Zhang Jiajia shows up. Her abilities are completely overpowered. The author even goes out of his way to say she is super strong in every aspect and has photographic memory. Right after that, she fires a Railgun and straight up kills the male lead.
This plot development is just too damn bullshit. Don't you think so? I even thought this powerful esper would end up as part of the male lead's harem!"
After hearing this, Jiang Chao immediately burst out laughing. "Who is this author? That's some real talent. Could it be he is doing badly and decided to take revenge on society?"
"I'm never reading anything written by this trash author again," Wang Yang said, his expression sour. "Who does he think he is? He thinks pulling a garbage ending like this will make readers remember him? Remember this book? People will forget it in a few days."
"These days, web novel writers have all kinds of escape moves," Jiang Chao said with a grin. "Some even drop a meteor and destroy the whole world. A background character counter killing the male lead is nothing special."
Zhao Youyue froze when she accidentally overheard their conversation. A chill ran down her spine. The real culprit behind all of this was actually her.
She had really thought it was just a dream. Just to satisfy herself, she had gone wild and caused trouble without restraint. She never expected she would actually kill the male lead.
===
If you have already read the official translation (Shift! The Side-Character Heroine), whether on Webnovel or elsewhere, or if you have read the raw version, you will probably notice that I already made some changes starting from chapter one, the introductory stage. Instead of a "gender swapped heroine," I rewrote her backstory as a more ordinary transmigration protagonist.
You will notice even more differences in this project compared to my other works. The closest comparison might be Su Min's story. From the start, my intention here is to add more scenes and make broader changes. I may also add more chapters overall. As for the sex scenes, I plan to include more detail, just like when Su Min's and Xie Yingying have sex. And of course, I will not use crude language. I'm honestly too shy for that.
This is not just about adding extra chapters to make the story flow better, or expanding hidden plots and hints the way I did in Su Min's story. I want to go further with this project. I might add more plotlines to make her stronger, or add more girls around her, pulling them into that rabbit hole with her, including more intimate moments together. That kind of thing.
Because of all this, this version of the story will be quite different from both the official translation and the raw version.