Help! I'm the Plot Device: Just Here to Save the Heroes

When the World Glitched

Yichen's Chamber

Jerry sat stiff in his room, fingers drumming against his knees.
“System,” he whispered, “what really happened that night? Why did Zhao Yuanzhou annihilate the Shadow Clan?”

The system’s voice was unusually quiet.
Host… are you aborting your plan to die?

“For now,” Jerry muttered. “Everything’s suspicious. Prince Yichen died falling off the roof, and now someone’s trying to kill me which is him—framing it on the Shadow Clan. Doesn’t that mean Yichen’s death wasn’t an accident either?”

If you put it that way… your doubts make sense.

Jerry exhaled sharply. “Of course, if there wasn’t a secret, you’d already have full access to the plot.”

Do you wish to know what happened that night?

“Yes, ofcourse.”

The world around Jerry flickered. His chamber dissolved into darkness until he stood in an empty, white-walled room. A screen shimmered into being before him. On it, a memory played.

🧶

The scene opened on a misty mountain forest.
A much younger Zhao Yuanzhou walked beneath the moonlight, his robes dark, his steps deliberate. He stopped before a massive stone gate, carved with shifting runes.

From his sleeve, he drew out a token etched with a black sun. Raising it high, he called:
“I am Zhao Yuanzhou, Crown Prince of the Empire. I come as a friend of Prince Li Jie.”

Silence weighed heavy—until a familiar voice answered from within.

“Zhao Yuanzhou?”

Through the mist stepped Li Jie, his face bright with a boyish smile. Without hesitation, he closed the distance and clasped Yuanzhou’s arm warmly.
“You—what are you doing here at this hour?” He glanced around nervously. “Didn’t you say you were leaving for Linghua Imperial Academy?”

Yuanzhou’s lips curved faintly. “Can’t I come to see my friend at night? Or does the Shadow Clan forbid me from entering after dusk?”

Li Jie’s smile widened, shaking his head. “No, no… I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I just missed you,” Yuanzhou said, lowering his voice. “So I sneaked out.”

Li Jie chuckled softly. “Really? Then of course, come in.”

The gates rumbled open. Inside stretched the hidden Shadow Clan village—lantern-lit streets, busy merchants, guards patrolling rooftops. Yuanzhou walked at Li Jie’s side, the two stopping to buy candied fruits from a vendor. To anyone watching, they were no different from childhood friends sharing a late stroll.

Eventually, they reached the clan’s inner palace. Li Jie ushered Yuanzhou into his chamber. Servants brought dishes—warm stew, roasted duck, bowls of rice. The two sat together, eating casually.

“My father is with the elders in council,” Li Jie explained, sipping tea. “Mother is with him. They’ll return later.”

Yuanzhou nodded, eyes lowered. His chopsticks moved steadily.

Time slipped by—until the sudden crash of metal echoed outside. Shouts rose. A guard burst into the chamber, face pale.

“Your Highness! We are under attack—the imperial army—”

An arrow whistled through the open window. It pierced the guard’s throat mid-sentence. He collapsed instantly, blood spilling across the polished floor.