Ten years were enough to change the world completely.

  Sylvia Green had originally planned to make enough money in Silverbrook and return home, but things didn’t go as planned. With the special zone opening up, she never got the chance to leave.

  At first, she worked as a bodyguard for the Zhang family, which gave her easy access to the elite circles of the underworld. She met many wealthy people.

  Silverbrook was chaotic, but there was still plenty of money among the rich.

  The luxurious world of the elite was an overwhelming temptation.

  Coming from a rural inland village, even after witnessing the city's prosperity later on, Sylvia Green was still completely captivated by the wealth and opulence.

  In the modern world, she had been just an ordinary person with no chance of stepping into the circles of the rich. To her, they had always been like kings compared to beggars—buying two loaves of bread, eating one, and tossing the other away.

  But after actually experiencing such a life, she realized how shallow her previous thoughts had been.

  She now understood that true elites came from families that had accumulated wealth for centuries. Even with the advantage of foresight, the fortune she had gathered was nothing more than new money.

  Compared to them, she was insignificant.

  If she had never seen it, she could have remained content. But now that she had tasted the high life, she couldn’t bring herself to go back.

  Moreover, someone deliberately approached her with ulterior motives, and she quickly fell into the trap.

  The man who sought her out was the fourth son of the Zhang family, ranked seventh among his siblings. Everyone called him the Seventh Young Master.

  Sylvia Green followed Zhang Lao, who had married over a dozen wives. Only four of them remained in his household, and he had countless children. The Seventh Young Master was not particularly outstanding among them.

  Zhang Lao was over seventy years old but had yet to decide on his heir.

  Every child fought desperately to prove themselves, hoping to be chosen.

  Only one would inherit the family's fortune. The rest would receive a small share and be forced to start anew on their own.

  One would receive a vast inheritance, while the others would have to struggle to build their own empires. It wasn’t hard to guess which path they preferred.

  The competition was fierce. The real contenders for the inheritance had narrowed down to four.

  Seventh Young Master had been born much later than his older siblings, meaning he lacked their social connections and had no real advantage.

  But he was the most favored. The other heirs feared that their father would be influenced by his words, so they remained highly vigilant against Zhang Bojun and blocked all his opportunities.

  Zhang Bojun grew anxious and decided to take a shortcut.

  He approached Sylvia Green, used sweet words to break down her defenses, and eventually convinced her to act against Zhang Lao. He promised that if he inherited the family business, he would marry her, and together, they would control the Zhang empire.

  Sylvia Green was never a schemer. Against someone like Zhang Bojun, she was no match.

  Falling for his words, she agreed.

  As Zhang Lao’s personal bodyguard, she had many chances to get close to him. Using her skills, she struck when he least expected it.

  But before the two of them could enjoy the fruits of their victory, Zhang Bojun’s brothers exposed him, accusing him of patricide and demanding that he be stripped of his inheritance.

  Sylvia Green produced a "will" that named Zhang Bojun as the rightful heir, but no one accepted it.

  Since Zhang Lao had never officially chosen a successor, the most powerful heirs started an all-out war for control. Overnight, the Zhang family fell into chaos.

  Zhang Bojun had Sylvia Green by his side. She had demonstrated terrifying, supernatural abilities, making his brothers hesitate to act against them.

  With her power, the two managed to hold their ground in the inheritance battle.

  The struggle lasted for nearly ten years.

  But even a family as powerful as the Zhangs couldn’t withstand such internal turmoil for so long.

  By the time the dust settled, their former empire had crumbled. Once a prestigious aristocracy, they had now fallen to the level of a mere third-rate business.

  And then, something even more shocking happened.

  Silverbrook was reclaimed.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  The moment the news spread, the entire nation was shaken. But no one was more terrified than Sylvia Green.

  She was no history expert, but she clearly remembered that Silverbrook wasn’t supposed to be reclaimed until 1997. Yet, it had happened a full decade earlier.

  What went wrong? Why had history changed?

  Sylvia Green had no answers, but a deep sense of unease filled her.

  However, she was the only one troubled by this. The people of Silverbrook celebrated with tears of joy. If anything, they wished it had happened even sooner.

  And the person credited for this event?

  Arden Forster.

  She hadn’t done much—just continuously developed advanced weaponry.

  No negotiations. No peaceful treaties.

  Just brute force.

  If they refused to return the territory, then violence would decide everything.

  The weak had no say. No words mattered.

  When faced with overwhelming power, everyone had no choice but to submit.

  Since Arden Forster’s research was classified, no one knew exactly what she was working on. The government kept everything hidden to prevent assassination attempts.

  But even if her work was a secret, her achievements were undeniable.

  Even if Sylvia Green became the wealthiest person in the world, she could never outshine Arden Forster.

  And from the way things looked, Sylvia Green was walking straight into destruction.

  When Sylvia Green suddenly disappeared, Ethan was devastated.

  She had told him she was heading south. He even received letters from her confirming this. But after a while, all communication stopped.

  Worried sick, he repeatedly requested leave from the military and traveled south to search for her—but found nothing.

  He had truly loved her. Losing her felt like losing his entire world.

  His obsession consumed him.

  In the end, he didn’t even care about getting discharged from the military.

  Ethan's family was furious. He had thrown away his promising future for a woman. They publicly severed ties with him, calling him a disgrace.

  But in their hearts, they couldn’t truly abandon him.

  Ethan sank into depression, becoming a shadow of his former self.

  Years passed.

  He was no longer the ambitious, charismatic officer he had once been.

  Those who once said that Arden Forster was unworthy of Ethan could only shake their heads.

  Ten years had turned everything upside down.

  The gap between them had become insurmountable.

  Once, people said Arden Forster wasn’t good enough for Ethan.

  Now?

  No one would dare to compare them.

  She was the sun. He was a mere firefly.

  With Silverbrook reclaimed, Sylvia Green convinced Zhang Bojun to move inland.

  She believed that, with her knowledge of the future, she could build an empire of power and wealth.

  Zhang Bojun was captivated by the grand future she painted and agreed.

  But they never anticipated what came next.

  Sylvia Green was banned from entering the mainland.

  Although Silverbrook had been reclaimed, there were still unresolved historical tensions. The government wasn’t allowing just anyone to move freely.

  Especially not someone like Sylvia Green—a known superstitious mystic with dangerous abilities.

  Who knew what kind of chaos she would unleash in the mainland?

  The intelligence network had been watching her closely. Her flashy antics in Silverbrook had made her an easy target.

  When she realized she was trapped, Sylvia Green was furious.

  But there was nothing she could do.

  To make matters worse, her supply of mystical artifacts was running out.

  Without them, she had no way to protect Zhang Bojun or herself.

  Their enemies noticed immediately.

  Seeing their weakness, Zhang Bojun’s rivals staged an "accidental" assassination.

  Zhang Bojun was killed on the spot.

  Sylvia Green, protected by her protagonist's luck, barely survived.

  But everything was gone.

  Enemies hunted her down.

  She couldn’t die, but she couldn’t live either.

  Trapped in a cycle of revenge and escape, she became a fugitive, clinging to a miserable existence.

  She didn’t even have the courage to end it all.

  While Sylvia Green suffered, Arden Forster devoted her entire life to scientific research.

  She never married.

  She dedicated herself to her country.

  And in the end, her contributions changed history.

  Arden returned to the system space. The moment 003 saw her, it nearly jumped up.

  "Oh my god! You broke the protagonist again!?"

  "According to your rules, I didn’t use any cultivator abilities, I didn’t even mess with her. Sylvia Green walked straight into her own downfall. How is that my fault?" Arden raised an eyebrow.

  003 paced back and forth, tugging at its hair in frustration.

  "Alright, alright! Maybe the protagonist in this world was just too weak. I’ll raise the difficulty next time…"

  After muttering to itself for a while, it suddenly looked up.

  "But from now on, you’re not allowed to use skills from your previous world. No medical skills, no weapons, nothing!"

  It thought to itself - if Arden hadn’t used her medical skills to save those twins, her reputation wouldn’t have been restored. If her reputation hadn’t been restored, fewer people would have supported her. If fewer people had supported her, then when she broke off her engagement with Ethan, there wouldn’t have been so many people backing her up. Without that support, Sylvia Green wouldn’t have failed her exams or ended up in Silverbrook. It was all because Arden had used her past-world medical skills!

  Yes! That had to be it!

  Arden didn’t know what 003 was rambling about, but if it said she couldn’t use them, then she wouldn’t.

  "Anything else you want to ban? Just tell me everything at once." She had already figured it out that this system was completely unreliable, making up rules on the spot, testing things as they went along.

  003 felt guilty under her knowing gaze and mumbled, "Let me think… Oh, right! From now on, you’re not allowed to know the storyline in advance! That’s right, no script! You’ll only get the villain’s setup, and you won’t even know who the protagonist is. You’ll have to rely entirely on your own abilities!"

  Arden looked at it, feigning concern. "Are you sure? Absolutely sure? No more changes?"

  Hearing her question, 003 suddenly felt less certain and vaguely replied,

  "Uh… for now, uh... yeah. We’ll see later!"

  Arden chuckled.

  She liked it better this way. More freedom to play.

  The government was authoritarian, suppressing loyal officials, engaging in corruption, and exploiting the common people… This was the villainous role assigned to Arden Forster in this world—a notorious treacherous minister.

  But when she transmigrated, the so-called great villain had yet to rise to power. At this stage, he was just a rookie official, barely starting his career.

  This body was still named Arden Forster, but now, he was a man.

  Before Arden arrived, the system had given her a gender-neutral buff, meaning that while she was still a woman internally, to everyone else, she appeared as a man.

  The original owner of this body came from a humble farming family. His parents had passed away, leaving him with no real support.

  However, he had recently achieved the highest ranking in the imperial examinations and was appointed as a county magistrate.

  At present, this was his very first position before embarking on the path of becoming a grand villain.

  And his golden cheat this time? A system called "Path to Power."

  This was a novel set in the imperial court, where officials climbed the political ladder. Completing tasks earned rewards, and the ultimate goal was to ascend to the rank of a first-class minister.

  The original character always started at the lowest seventh rank official, which was Arden’s current position. From here, he would have to climb step by step, until he reached the very top.