The stench of perfume was the first thing Lin Yi noticed. Not the subtle, expensive kind she preferred, but a cloyingly sweet, cheap floral scent that made her stomach churn. Her eyes snapped open. The last thing she remembered was the cold, sterile hum of her server room in Shenzhen, the glow of countless data screens reflecting in her glasses as she finalized a multi-billion dollar trade. Then, a sharp, blinding white light.
Now, she was in a bed. A ridiculously soft, overly ornate bed, draped with pink and white silks. The room itself was a nightmare of rococo excesses: gilded mirrors, velvet upholstery, cherubs painted on the ceiling. It looked like a dollhouse exploded, then tried to put itself back together with too much lace.
Lin Yi, the unparalleled financial genius, the woman who could predict market crashes before economists even dreamed of them, whose personal algorithms could outmaneuver any central bank, was trapped.
She tried to sit up, but her limbs felt sluggish, weak. A dull ache throbbed behind her eyes. Her slender, muscular frame, honed by years of disciplined living and high-stakes stress, felt... different. Softer. Smaller. She looked down at her hands. They were pale, delicate, with long, uncalloused fingers adorned with absurdly large, sparkling rings. Not her hands. Not Lin Yi's hands.
A sudden, sharp memory flashed in her mind – a scene from a brightly colored, overly dramatic Korean otome novel. A girl, sobbing hysterically, throwing a teacup, screaming about a forbidden love. Her name was Madea Volkov. The villainess. The spoiled, whiny, utterly useless antagonist who made terrible decisions and ultimately faced a miserable end.
"No," Lin Yi whispered, her voice surprisingly high-pitched, childish. It wasn't her voice either. A cold dread seeped into her. This wasn't a dream. This was transmigration. And not just any transmigration, but into the body of the Madea Volkov, the character she'd skimmed through a few months ago during a rare break from her global financial analyses. The story had been so illogical, so nonsensical in its economic portrayal, it had almost offended her.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her feet, dainty and clad in silk slippers, touched a plush, absurdly thick rug. She walked to the full-length mirror, her movements clumsy in this unfamiliar body.
The reflection staring back was indeed Madea. Fluffy blonde hair, styled in elaborate curls, wide, tear-filled blue eyes (when had she cried?), and a small, pouty mouth. She looked… fragile. And deeply, deeply irritating. Lin Yi, who dressed in crisp, minimalist power suits and kept her jet-black hair pulled back in a severe bun, felt a wave of disgust. This body was everything she wasn't. Weak. Ornamental. A liability.
"This is unacceptable," she muttered, her new voice surprisingly firm. "Completely, utterly unacceptable."
The first order of business: information. Her brain, normally a hyper-efficient supercomputer, immediately began categorizing and analyzing the influx of fragmented memories from Madea.
The Volkov family. One of the oldest and most prominent Duke families in the Imperium Aeterna, a powerful European-style empire. They had vast landholdings, influence in the Imperial Court, and significant investments in traditional industries: agriculture, textiles, a few established trade routes. But everything about their wealth felt… archaic. Inefficient. They operated on principles Lin Yi had discarded in her mind centuries ago, back when humanity was still figuring out the concept of a national bank, let alone digital currency.
They owned a respectable amount of gold, held in vaults. They exchanged silver coins for goods. They believed land was the ultimate asset. Lin Yi scoffed. Land was illiquid. Gold was volatile. Coins were a relic of a bygone era. The mere thought made her want to re-educate the entire empire.
Then came the otome novel plot. Madea, the spoiled villainess, was engaged to Prince Kaelen, the charming but naive Crown Prince. Madea was obsessed with Kaelen, but he, of course, would eventually fall for Lady Elara Roseline, the true heroine. Madea would then make a series of increasingly desperate and stupid moves, leading to her public downfall, her family's ruin, and likely her exile or worse.
"Hah," Lin Yi snorted. "A puppet show." She wasn't about to be anyone's puppet, especially not one condemned to failure by a poorly written plot.
But there was another memory, a strange one. A fleeting image of numbers, words, flashing before Madea's eyes whenever she performed a task, no matter how small. Like a game interface. "System," Lin Yi thought, her eyes narrowing. She tried to recall it more clearly.
Madea Volkov (Level 1)
Mana: 5/5
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 2
Intelligence: 4
And then, a bizarre, almost imperceptible line of text that had been ignored by the original Madea, likely dismissed as a glitch or hallucination:
EXP Transfer Protocol: Active (90% to Host)
Lin Yi's financial mind, trained to spot the smallest anomalies, the most obscure market inefficiencies, seized on this. "EXP Transfer Protocol? To Host?" She tried to push a bit of mana, a strange internal warmth, to her fingers, just like Madea had once tried in a fleeting memory. A small, faint spark appeared at her fingertip, then vanished.
"Interesting." This wasn't just a fantasy world; it was a world with a system. And if there was a system, there were rules. And if there were rules, they could be exploited. Just like financial markets.
Her analytical engine whirred to life. "90% to Host." That meant if anyone working for her, or anyone she even ordered to do something, gained experience, a staggering 90% of it would be rerouted to her. This wasn't just passive income; this was passive power. No tedious monster grinding, no endless quests. Just strategic delegation.
This was her golden ticket. Her path to immortality, eternal youth, and ultimate power. Wealth would merely be the fuel to acquire the resources and people needed to maximize this system.
A soft knock at the door. "Lady Madea? Are you awake? Your morning tea is ready." It was Maeve, Madea's personal maid. A loyal, simple girl, according to Madea's memories.
Lin Yi straightened her posture, a shadow of her former self's regal bearing already appearing. "Enter," she commanded, her new voice still a little high, but now firm, almost cold.
Maeve entered, eyes downcast, carrying a silver tray with a delicate teacup. She paused, sensing a subtle shift in her mistress. "Good morning, Lady Madea. Is... is everything alright?"
"Everything is precisely as it should be," Lin Yi replied, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on her lips. It was a smile that promised ambition, not affection. "Maeve, I require you to fetch my family's financial ledgers from the study. All of them. And bring me any reports on our investments in the mana crystal mines, particularly the one in the Whispering Peaks region. Also, gather information on the most active knight orders and adventurer guilds in the capital. Their recent quest activities, their success rates, their financial backing. Everything."
Maeve blinked. Her mistress usually asked for silk samples or gossip, not financial ledgers. "My Lady? The ledgers? They are... quite dull, and Master Volkov usually handles those."
"Dullness is a luxury I no longer afford," Lin Yi stated, her voice hardening. "Bring them. And the information on the knights and guilds. Immediately. This is a matter of paramount importance for the future of the Volkov household." Her tone left no room for argument.
Maeve, bewildered but accustomed to Madea's sudden whims (though usually superficial ones), curtseyed quickly. "Yes, My Lady. Right away."
As Maeve bustled out, Lin Yi walked to the window. The vast estate stretched out before her, manicured gardens, distant stable, and beyond that, the sprawling capital city of Veridia. It was a city built on old money, old power, old traditions. A city ripe for change. A city ripe for her.
She had arrived in a golden cage, yes. But a cage could be broken. Or, more precisely, transformed into a fortress.
Days blurred into a single, intense session of data absorption. Lin Yi, occupying Madea's body, devoured the Volkov family ledgers. They were a mess of archaic accounting, bloated expenses, and missed opportunities. The patriarch, Duke Volkov, was a traditionalist, obsessed with land and inherited prestige, blind to the true nature of wealth.
"Gold is merely a symbol of trust, a temporary store of value," Lin Yi muttered, flipping through a ledger detailing massive gold reserves. "It's not power. Power is liquidity. Power is control over the flow. The flow of goods, the flow of mana, the flow of information."
She began to identify the key players in the empire's economy: the Imperial Bank, managed by the stoic House Laurent. The Guild of Merchants, a powerful consortium. The various Duke families, each with their own monopolies. And most importantly, the emerging mana crystal industry and the adventurer guilds. These were the wild cards, the nascent markets, the fertile ground for exploitation.
Her mind, sharpened by years in Shenzhen's hyper-competitive financial landscape, saw the cracks. The inefficiency of the Imperial Bank's loan system. The stagnant trade routes. The untapped potential of mana-infused technologies. The absurdly high casualty rates and low efficiency of adventurer guilds.
"They're leaving so much EXP on the table," Lin Yi thought, a predatory glint in her eyes. "So much raw potential. They're like children playing with gold bars, not realizing they could be smelting them into liquid assets."
She began compiling a secret database in her mind, faster and more accurate than any physical ledger. She cross-referenced Madea's fragmented memories of the otome novel plot with the current economic realities. The novel focused on romance and social drama, but Lin Yi saw the underlying financial structures that enabled everything. Prince Kaelen's family treasury, Duke Alaric's land assets, even Lady Elara's surprisingly good connections – all were just variables in a grand equation.
One afternoon, while scrutinizing a particularly outdated trade report, Madea's memory flashed again: Lady Elara Roseline, now with the subtle overlay of Kang Minji's personality. Lin Yi froze. Minji. The original protagonist's body, but with another transmigrator inside. This complicated things. Immensely.
"So, I'm not the only one," she mused, a slow, calculating smile spreading across her face. "A competitor. Or perhaps… a tool for leverage."
Kang Minji, according to the novel, was kind, resourceful, and had a strong sense of justice. She would try to "fix" the world. Lin Yi knew Minji would likely try to protect the original Madea's victims, try to foster goodwill. That would mean interfering with Lin Yi's plans
"Good," Lin Yi decided. "A challenge. Mediocrity bores me."
She began to study Minji's known actions from the novel more closely, searching for financial patterns, for vulnerabilities she could exploit. Minji's kind nature, her desire to help others – these could be weaknesses. Or they could be strings Lin Yi could pull.
Her first major move, disguised as a philanthropic venture, began. She approached a struggling but promising adventurer guild, The Obsidian Blades. Their leader, a gruff but honorable man named Sir Gareth, was desperate for funding.
"Sir Gareth," Madea purred, her voice now practiced, holding a hint of regal authority mixed with disarming sweetness. She had spent hours in front of the mirror, perfecting the nuances of Madea's mannerisms while injecting her own cold resolve. "I understand your guild faces certain... financial constraints."
Gareth shifted uncomfortably. "Lady Madea. Your family's generous donation last month was appreciated, but..."
"But it was a pittance," Lin Yi cut him off smoothly, her eyes piercing. "A mere formality. I propose something more... substantial. A true partnership." She leaned forward, lowering her voice, making it sound confidential, exclusive. This was a tactic straight out of a CIA persuasion manual – creating an exclusive bond, a sense of shared secret. "I have observed your guild's potential, Sir Gareth. Your raw talent. But you lack efficiency. Resources. A long-term vision."
Gareth bristled slightly. "My Lady, we are honorable warriors, not merchants."
"Precisely," Lin Yi agreed, nodding slowly. "And I am not a warrior. But I understand value. I understand investment. I propose to fully fund The Obsidian Blades. All your equipment, training, supplies. In exchange... I simply ask for a detailed account of your quest activities, your targets, and a small, symbolic share of your findings. For the Volkov family's... 'research' into mana fluctuations."
Gareth's eyes widened. Full funding? No noble had ever offered such a thing without demanding direct control or ridiculous percentages. "Just... accounts? And a symbolic share?"
"Indeed," Lin Yi smiled, a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. It was a deal. And Lin Yi was a master of deals. "Think of it as the Volkov family's contribution to the greater good of the Imperium, enhancing our defensive capabilities through better-equipped adventurers. And for your loyalty, of course, a generous bonus will be allocated."
Gareth hesitated for a moment, then his eyes lit up with renewed hope. This was a lifeline. "Lady Madea... you are truly a benevolent patron! We accept!"
"Excellent," Lin Yi murmured, already planning the next steps. As Gareth bowed and left, excitement thrummed within her.
He wouldn't know that every monster Gareth killed, every quest completed, every bit of EXP he gained, 90% of it would silently, invisibly, flow into Madea Volkov. His sweat, his efforts, his literal life force in this system-driven world, would become her power. It was the ultimate financial exploitation, applied to the very fabric of existence.
She wasn't just acquiring wealth; she was acquiring EXP at an exponential rate, without lifting a finger. Her level, hidden from everyone, would soon skyrocket. The path to ultimate strength, and through it, perhaps true immortality, was now clear.
This was just the beginning. The golden cage of Madea Volkov was about to become the gilded fortress of Lin Yi, the Empress of Fiat. And no one, not even the heroine or the chosen male leads,
would see it coming.