Plot Twists Short Stories & Independence System Novels

I transmigrated into a dating-sim otome game where I was supposed to romance a soft, fragile male lead. I had finally pushed him onto the bed and was just about to make my move when the long-missing system finally popped back online. [Host, I sent you to the wrong game. This is a horror game.] [The man you’re bullying right now is the horror game final boss.] I lifted my head and met a pair of blood-red eyes staring straight at me. My smile froze. “Um… you look a little tired. Maybe we should… continue this another day?” He smiled back, calm and terrifying. “I’m not tired. Go on.”

When the nurse pulled the IV needle out of the back of my hand, her gaze was filled with pity. “Mr. Young, the heart meant for your transplant was transferred at the last minute. It was sent to the VIP ward on the seventh floor. It’s a shame, but all your pre-operation prep has gone to waste.” Marcus Stewart was warded on the seventh floor. He was the frail young man my sister brought home. Ten minutes ago, Marcus suddenly had terrible chest pain. My usually strong mother burst into tears. My stoic father slammed the table in front of every expert in the hospital, then decided to give Marcus the heart I had been waiting three years for. It was supposed to save my life. I hurried to the end of the corridor, but the green operating light had already come on. Clutching the twisting pain in my chest, I leaned against the ice-cold wall and slid to the floor. There was no need to wait anymore. My heart failure was terminal. The doctor said I would not last the next few days. The mechanical voice sounded in my head. [Master, your vital signs are rapidly deteriorating. If you terminate this body and leave this world now, you still have a chance at a new life. Would you like to proceed?] I looked at the faint grey hue of death tinging my fingertips. “...Yes.”

I am the only princess of Hawkridge. The moment the Skyveil opened, every ruler in the known world started looking at me strangely. "Mara, come back to Frostmoor with me." King Ronan Blackwood stood with a cold blade in hand, his eyes rimmed red. "You swindled three shiploads of gold out of me. How exactly do you plan to repay it?" King Sebastian Redfield advanced on me, working the counters on his counting board. "You even lied about dying..." Crown Prince Adrian Locke coughed blood as he clamped a hand around my wrist. My skin crawled. I tightened my grip on the treasury sigil I'd just lifted out of a hidden drawer and got ready to run. Then the door closed with maddening calm. Regent Elias Crowell blocked me inside his study, his expression cool and his gaze sharp as a knife. "Your Highness." "Your romantic debts out there are nearly settled. Now let's settle the account for what you stole from me."

Nathan Carter was famous in high society for being completely devoted to his wife. All because I had an almost obsessive need to control him. Not only did he have to video call me every five minutes to check in, but every morning when I woke up, I expected a five-thousand-word love letter waiting for me. The first time he was a minute late checking in, my paranoia spiraled out of control, and I bombarded him with ninety-nine voice messages, threatening to kill myself. He transferred me one million dollars, dropped to his knees, and swore it would never happen again before I reluctantly forgave him. His voice softened as he leaned closer, trying to kiss me. Suddenly, a flood of comments exploded across my vision. [Exactly! Once Quinn catches HIV, he should dump her. A villainess like her deserves to get sick, lose the baby, and die a miserable death!] [Who could put up with a crazy woman like her? If she hadn't pushed the male lead so hard, he never would've slept around and contracted HIV!] [When is the female lead finally going to show up? I can't wait for her and the male lead to heal each other and get their happily ever after!] I looked at Nathan, who had already taken off his shirt, his breathing heavy. I hurriedly grabbed a towel from the side and wrapped it around myself. "Honey, I'm suddenly not feeling very well. Don't you have a meeting to get to? You should go. I don't want to keep you from work."

After Edwin’s first love arrived, I left his home without telling anyone. The first week after I left, he didn't care at all. He spent the week doting on her first love, taking her to social gatherings, making people gossip about me being left. The second week after I left, his friends began placing bets on whether I would come back crawling or scheme against Rose and cry for attention. Edwin heard them making jokes about me, and he actually laughed, keeping Rose on his lap. The third week after I left, he tracked me down and barged into my door. “Stop all this drama, Victoria.” He spat, “Rose’s heart is delicate. Your heart is the right match for her. Donate your heart to her, and I’ll marry you.” But what he expected from me, a long confrontation or an ocean of tears, he didn't get at all. “Okay,” I replied, my voice as calm as the ocean. “When is the surgery’s date?” Edwin froze at his place. What he didn't know was that I was not the Victoria he remembered. I had been transported into his world after an accident, and only by fulfilling his hundred wishes could I finally return to my own. And, this was his hundredth wish!

The school secretly introduces a new "bonus score for couples" rule for the SAT, but my boyfriend, who's the top student in our grade, and I overhear it. When I hear that couples can each get 100 bonus points, I joke, "Why don't we sign up and give it a shot?" However, he immediately refuses, all serious and righteous. "No, that wouldn't be fair to everyone else." After saying that, he hurries off without looking back. Feeling ashamed, I decide to apologize to him another day. But the next morning, he publicly announces our breakup in front of the entire class. Then he proudly declares that he is now dating my best friend, the girl at the bottom of the class. He says, "You're always second in the grade. You can get into a top university without even trying. But without those bonus points, she won't even qualify for a community college!" My best friend nestles into his arms. "I'm sorry. I know I stole your boyfriend, but I really need those extra points." I nod in approval and even lead the class in a round of applause, wishing them happiness together. Since my boyfriend left in such a hurry yesterday, he didn't hear the principal's next words. The new rule isn't about giving couples free bonus points. Their scores will be added together and then split equally between the two of them. I can't wait to see if that arrogant top student boyfriend of mine will still be laughing when he realizes his SAT score has to be split with my best friend, who can only manage a score of 400.

It has been three years since I traveled back in time, but today, I stumbled upon a helicopter hidden right inside the manor’s yard. Looking down at my crippled leg, my husband, Ethan Miller, decided to finally drop the act. “Three years ago, you couldn’t accept the fact that I was marrying Vanessa and that you were just the mistress,” he said. “So, we had no choice but to trick you into believing you had traveled back in time, just to keep you locked up here. After serving as a maidservant and an unofficial mistress here for three years, I’d say you’ve finally learned your lesson.” I stared at him in disbelief. Suddenly, the steward standing beside him ripped off a mask, revealing himself to be my brother, Logan York. “Eva, now that Vanessa has safely given birth to her baby, you can finally go back,” Logan said carelessly. Then, he turned to someone else and added, “Hudson, your plan was absolutely flawless!” I slowly turned my head to look. The manor’s resident physician was standing there, smiling right at me. “You didn’t mistake my identity back then. I am your childhood friend, Hudson Jones,” he admitted. “We only set up this entire illusion because we were afraid you would hurt Vanessa.” For three long years, I believed I had traveled back in time. During this time, I was beaten, sold off, violated by countless strangers, and eventually bought by Ethan to be kept as a broken slave and mistress. By now, I had lost the use of my legs and was completely blind in one eye. I went from crying day and night, begging to go home, to living a numb, submissive existence. However, as it turned out, I had never traveled through time at all. The reality of it all made me break down. Just as I was about to end my life, an eerie line of text suddenly appeared before my eyes. [Congratulations to the tragic AI female protagonist for awakening. Countdown to reincarnating as a real human: Two days.] [Countdown: 48 hours.] [Countdown: 47 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds.]

Five years into my quest to conquer the male lead, Patrick Suede forgot my birthday once again. Instead, the villainess texted me, “So what if it’s your birthday? He came crawling to me at the snap of my fingers. For once, I didn’t take the System’s suggestion to break down. I replied, “Thank you. You’re the only one who remembered my birthday today.” The response back was a big question mark. My phone kept going off with notifications. “Seriously. Were you meant to send that to someone else? “Are you for real? That’s kind of sad. “What do you want for your birthday? “Forget it. I’m coming over. Since you can’t eat mangoes, I’ll get you a strawberry cake. “Honestly, you’re a handful.” … When my doorbell rang, I grinned at the System. “The mission is to romance the main character of this world. You never said it had to be a guy.”

To stop my boyfriend from marrying me, his mother hired a group of thugs to kidnap me. They dragged me into the woods and tortured me for an entire day and night, leaving barely a patch of uninjured skin on my body. Eden York lost his mind after finding me. He went after every single person involved and ruined them without hesitation, even personally sending his own mother to prison. He never once cared about what had happened to me. If anything, he became even more determined to marry me, willing to turn his back on his entire family to make it happen. But the moment I woke up in the hospital again, a cold mechanical voice suddenly echoed in my head. [Host, your target’s affection level has reached 100%. Final marriage mission unlocked.] [Complete the mission to receive a sixty-million-dollar reward. You may also choose whether to leave this world.] [Warning: If the mission fails, you will be permanently erased from this world.] I was still trying to process the words when Eden’s voice suddenly rang out in my mind. [Perfect. After everything I did with my mother to set this up, I finally maxed out her affection points.] [Once the final mission is complete, I’ll dump her immediately and be with Tiffany instead.] Beside me, Eden instantly noticed how pale I had gone and reached out to touch my face. “Summer, what’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?” I slowly shook my head. “No. I’m just really looking forward to the wedding in seven days.”

My parents were set up in Harbor City. They not only lost their entire fortune but were also left with a mountain of debt. They changed out of their usual polished shirts and dresses, their faces filled with worry. "Millie, which one of us do you want to stay with while we pay off our debts?" In my first life, I felt sorry for my father because he had trouble walking, so I accompanied him to work at a construction site. However, when a steel beam came crashing down, he shoved me away and shielded my adopted sister beneath him. The beam crushed my skull, and I died on the spot. In my second life, I chose my frail mother. I worked five jobs a day to care for her and desperately earn money to repay our debts. However, my mother gave every cent I earned to my adopted sister and sent her on a trip around the world. I was in the final stage of leukemia and could not afford my medication. In the end, I died in agony inside a basement rental apartment. This time, I hesitated as I faced my parents’ expectant gazes. I had just stepped out of the room when I heard the disappointment in my father’s voice. "Millie has really been spoiled rotten. We only tested her on a whim, yet we immediately exposed her true nature." My adopted sister, Lily Brooks, had just been accepted into a psychology program. She sighed. "Psychology says that only children who grow up pampered tend to become cold and self-centered. They have to experience some hardship before they can learn their lesson." My mother showered her with praise. "Lily, your idea of pretending to be bankrupt was brilliant. We can’t tell Millie the truth until we completely cure her spoiled, vain habits and turn her into the person we want her to be." My entire body trembled violently. The suffering I had endured in two lifetimes had only been a lesson meant to teach me obedience. Just as my heart sank into despair, the system I had not heard from in so long came back online. [The host’s emotional distress has reached a critical level. Would you like to prepare to leave this world?]

My husband, worried I might be lonely, gifted me a little female cat. I turned around and found 50 feral toms to breed her with, making her birth litter after litter until she was utterly spent. It was all because I had been reborn. In my past life, I adored this little cat so much I could hardly put her down. I wanted to eat and sleep right beside her. In just one short month, I aged rapidly into an 80-year-old woman, and the child in my womb withered and died along with me. No medicine could save me, and I simply died of old age. After death, my soul lingered. I saw that the sickly, frail mistress in our household had somehow become radiant and glowing, and pregnant on top of it all. I overheard her chatting in bed with my husband. "Thank goodness I bound myself to the Life-Drain System. I separated my soul, possessed the little cat, and sucked away Leah's life force. That's the only reason I survived." "She should count it as a blessing that you could drain her at all. It's better that she's dead. This way, the position of first wife is yours." I was reborn into a new life, and I smiled. Selling off a mistress would get me accused of treating human life carelessly. But she was merely a cat now, and surely it was perfectly reasonable to breed her for eight or ten litters and produce a hundred-some kittens.

My father, Cameron Howard, and I are transported to an ancient world together. The system tells us that if we can each win over a target, we'll be able to return home. My mission is to win the heart of a ruthless princess, and Dad's mission is to conquer a hot-tempered queen. The princess breaks two of my ribs and ties me behind a horse that drags me for miles. The queen decides Dad isn't kneeling straight enough. So, she crushes his knees with iron tongs and forces burning charcoal into his mouth until he loses his voice. For three years, we live miserably. Just as the system announces "Mission failed", the princess standing before me suddenly smiles. She tears off the mask covering her face. The person underneath the mask is my wife, Abigail Finch. She walks over to the throne and pats the fierce queen on the shoulder. "Mom, haven't you had enough? Cameron and Oscar are almost dead from everything you've put them through." The queen removes her disguise and looks up. It's my mother, Elisha Sweeney. She claps her hands toward the officials filling the throne room. "Alright, everyone. You can get up now. That's a wrap." Dad and I exchange stunned looks. Mom gently squeezes my crippled hand and sighs. "Does it hurt, Oscar? You and your dad made Kenneth Ingram's life miserable every day. You even drove his son, Joel Ingram, into bankruptcy. You've suffered enough now. Consider the score settled." The officials throughout the court remove their wigs, revealing walkie-talkies and sweat-soaked T-shirts beneath their costumes. But none of them know that the transmigration is fake, but the system is real. In the final moments of our lives, Dad and I make a pact with the system. We offer up both of our souls as the sacrifice in exchange for a lifetime of wealth, peace, and happiness for them.

After discovering I was pregnant at the military family hospital, I began hearing the voice of my unborn child. When my brother came to visit, I was just about to share the good news with him when my baby sobbed, stopping me in my tracks. "Don't do it! Aunt May's pregnant too, and Uncle Jerry is worried that you'd stop helping them once I'm born. He'll force you to abort me!" And so, I contacted the security department to stop my brother from entering. The very next day, news came that he had been brutally murdered by his enemies, and that his body had been thrown into the river. That's when I knew that he hadn't come to visit family, he had come seeking refuge after provoking some people he shouldn't have. May, my sister-in-law, was devastated and blamed me for his death. At the lowest point of my life, my husband, Ben, stayed by my side, encouraging me to get my act back together, but the baby in my womb continued speaking: "Dad's kissing Aunt May right now! He's so good to you because he feels guilty for cheating on you!" When I came to my senses, I had already stormed into the military compound to catch them in the act. But inside was an important military strategy meeting, and Ben was both punished and demoted for what I did. Disappointed, he asked me for a divorce, yet the baby laughed and said, "Dad's just playing chicken! I guarantee that if you agree to the divorce, he'll be begging for you to come back to him within three days. He loves you too much to let you go!" I signed the divorce letter and waited for a whole three months, only for him to get married to another woman. I rushed to the wedding in desperation, only to be dragged into an alleyway by drunk thugs. Yet, the entire time, my child was cheering happily! Even until my dying breath, I couldn't understand why my child wanted me to be destroyed! When I opened my eyes again, I returned to the day I found out I was pregnant…

I had regressed ninety-nine times, and it all started because I brought home an injured man. Every time I came back, strange floating comments appeared in front of my eyes. I could also hear my baby brother's thoughts. The moment my brother saw Tristan Price, he screamed and refused to stop crying. "Send that man back! He's going to get our whole family killed!" I reached out hesitatingly toward Tristan, and the chat overlay flickered to life again. [The man lying in your bed is your future husband and the prince regent. He never forgets a kindness. Save him, and he will make you his princess consort. Your entire family will be protected and well provided for.] The first time, I followed my heart and did what the messages told me to do. I saved Tristan, and he used me as a human shield. The assassins hunting him found us, and my entire family was slaughtered. The second time, I listened to my brother instead and sent Tristan back where I found him. His men came to our door anyway, accused me of leaving him to die, and killed everyone. The third time, I found Tristan's closest aide before the assassins arrived and quietly handed Tristan over. Then Tristan went mad without warning and stabbed me himself. When my family tried to avenge me, they were killed too. I tried every approach I could think of to avoid my family's tragic fate, and every single one ended in failure. This time, I chose to wait for death. Then the comments appeared again, and something about them caught my eye.

I was only one final background check away from securing my future. That afternoon, I grabbed my document folder and prepared to drive to my fiancée’s place to pick up a statement that verified our family relationship. Yet the moment my fingertips touched the car keys, several pale-gray lines of text appeared before my eyes. [Do not touch the car. At 7:20 tonight, someone will die on the West Ring Road service lane. The car that hits them will carry your license plate. Three days later, the victim’s daughter will stab you during your background-check interview.] I stood frozen in the entryway, and cold sweat spread across my back. At that moment, my phone rang. My fiancée’s gentle voice came through the receiver. “Reid, just drive over here. There’s a bunch of paperwork, and I can help you look everything over again.”

After finding out that I'm the illegitimate daughter of the richest man in town, Frank Gibson, I excitedly rush over to meet my biological father. But the moment I arrive at his mansion, I discover that 98 other illegitimate daughters are already lined up to claim him as their father. It turns out Frank's only son has died, and he now needs an heir for his trillion-dollar fortune. So, he gathers all his illegitimate daughters and plans to choose the strongest candidate through a competition. I know I don't stand a chance against the others. Just as I hang my head in disappointment and prepare to leave, a line of text suddenly appears before my eyes. "Don't go, darling! It's your mom. I'm the Queen of Hell, and I know how to help you win the competition. "Remember your arch-nemesis from the orphanage? She's one of Frank's illegitimate daughters too. If you leave, his entire fortune will fall into her hands." I whip around, and sure enough, I see my arch-nemesis, Sophia Carter. The moment I remember how she locked me in the pigsty ten years ago and stole my chance at being adopted, resentment surges through me. Because of her, I've suffered for another ten years. Fine. I'll listen to Mom. I'm staying. That trillion-dollar fortune is going to be mine!

To win Samuel Zane’s heart, I lost everything. My family was ruined, and I was forced onto an operating table so he could take my heart and save his adopted sister, Xenia Zane, whose organs were failing. At the critical moment, William Zane disguised himself as a doctor and rescued me. We left the country and started a new life overseas. I used all my points to change my target from Samuel to William. “Host, I need to remind you that if you fail again after changing your target, you will be reincarnated as an animal and never become human again.” I looked at William as he knelt before me with a ring in his hand. I said firmly, “I do.” But when I gave birth to our daughter, I saw two figures standing outside my hospital room. William handed our daughter to Samuel and said, “Samuel, you’re rushing this. We need to wait until her organs are fully developed before we can take them.” Samuel’s expression remained cold. “Thanks to your plan, we were able to grow a healthy, young heart for Xenia. Don’t worry. We can just use an organ maturation agent.” “But…” “William, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that woman.” “Of course not!” I heard him deny it immediately. “I endured everything for Xenia.” The moment he finished speaking, the system’s robotic voice rang in my mind. “Host, your mission has failed. In one month, you will be reincarnated as an animal.”

My sister-in-law, Alicia, insisted that her son was a chosen fighter, blessed by God and immune to harm. The truth was far darker: every injury meant for him was being transferred onto my daughter. His congenital heart disease disappeared overnight. While most children his age were still carefully protected, he was already taking part in extreme sports and never suffered so much as a scratch. Meanwhile, my once-healthy daughter weakened day by day. She began to suffer unexplained fractures throughout her body. There was not a single place left uninjured. It was impossible not to see the connection. When I voiced my suspicions to my husband, Jeff Charlton, and my mother-in-law, Kelly Freeman, they dismissed me as delusional. They accused me of being jealous that Alicia had given birth to a prodigy, while I had nothing but a "worthless" daughter. Later, Alicia's son completed a trek across the Saharain Desert and became an overnight sensation, a child star adored by millions. At the same time, my daughter suddenly collapsed from heatstroke and died without warning. Alicia went live on her platform, accusing me of making false claims out of envy. Her followers believed every word. They hunted me down and ended my life. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back at the moment Alicia first proclaimed her son a miracle child. This time, I was no longer a powerless mother. As a specialist doctor, I calmly pulled on my gloves. "Alicia," I said with a smile, "Let me examine my nephew and see if he's truly cured."

I opened my eyes to a dark, windowless room. Overhead, a voice crackled from the speakers. “Welcome to The Judgment Room. Each player will state the crime they committed. Do not lie. After all six of you speak, you will vote. The one with the most votes will be eliminated. “The game starts now.” In this deadly game, whose sins weighed the least?

After Julian Hart and I got back together, I was the one who brought up getting engaged. He swore I was the only woman he'd ever love. I smiled and held out my hand, and a chime sounded in my head as the system deposited another $150,000 into my account. From that day on, I became his lowest-maintenance fiancée. I stopped asking why his notes app still had his ex-wife's period tracker. I never called out the hotel receipt from the "business trip" he'd lied about. Not even when Vanessa Lane posted the diamond ring he'd bought her, with the caption "My ex-husband still knows me best." Not even when he went over in the middle of the night to fix her pipes and stayed out until morning, or when he bought two sets of Valentine's gifts. Even when he told me marrying me was his greatest dream, his eyes sliding away as he said it, I could still smile sweetly and play along. "I know. You love me most." It wasn't that I was dying to marry him. It was that the system's rewards had a clear price tag. Every lie he told me put more money in my account. I'm not stupid. If I was going to let him lie to me this long, I might as well get something out of it.