In the late autumn of 2024, the ginkgo leaves in Beverly Hills still glimmered with gold, but Nicky stood outside a logistics warehouse at the Port of San Pedro, her fingertips crumpling the edges of a debt settlement notice. The figure — $137,896,831.32, precise down to the cent — pierced her heart like an ice pick.
Just three months ago, she had been the "darling" of the Condé Nast Group, a rising star in Hollywood. She lived in a Beverly Hills mansion with a private theater, drove a custom Maserati, and owned a closet full of haute couture. The original owner of this body had used her family's influence and fame to steal roles and suppress resources of fellow actresses, earning herself the online ridicule of being a "puppet of capital." In the original story, she was nothing more than a tool character designed to highlight the female lead's "rags-to-riches" narrative — destined to fade into obscurity following her family's bankruptcy.
But she wasn't the original owner.
As a seasoned transmigrator who had endured a thousand years of fast-world travel, Nicky had originally planned to just ride out her mission timeline in this world and retire. But right after arriving, she was hit with the collapse of the Condé Nast Group — the original owner's father had fled with the last of the liquid assets, leaving behind a mountain of debt. The bank seized her mansion, her sports cars, and even the jewelry she'd earned from acting. Now, faced with the "cannon fodder" ending right after transmigrating, she was cornered.
"Miss Nicky, under New York state law, as the sole heir, you are jointly liable for this debt. Failure to comply will result in asset freezes or even litigation…" The lawyer's words still echoed in her mind. Nicky kicked a loose pebble on the ground and pulled out an old iPhone from her canvas bag — the only personal item she had left that hadn't been seized, a leftover work phone from a web drama she'd filmed. She opened TikTok, registered a new account without hesitation, and typed a minimalist username: "Nicky_Carry." Her profile picture was a photo from a movie premiere of the original owner, now edited with a black graffiti stripe and a line of white text: "Condé Nast heiress, unloading warehouse shipments today to pay off $137 million debt."
At 2 PM, the cold wind rattled the steel containers in the logistics warehouse. Nicky took the blue work vest from the foreman, ignoring the curious stares from the workers around her — after all, no one had ever seen a celebrity who once shone on red carpets here to unload packages. She tied her long curls into a high ponytail, revealing a thin chain around her neck (the only piece of jewelry that hadn't been taken — a cheap gift from a fan). Propping her phone on a shelf, she aimed the camera at the mountain of packages in front of her and pressed "Go Live."
For the first two minutes, the comments trickled in with the kind of mockery the original "cannon fodder" character deserved:
[Isn't this the Nicky who stole the role from Luna? How did she end up unloading packages?]
[The Condé Nast heiress doing manual labor? Definitely a PR stunt for a new show. Waiting for the crash and burn.]
[Remember when she made her assistant kneel to hand her coffee? And now she's playing the victim? Have some shame.]
Nicky glanced at the comments but didn't react with the same frustration as the original owner. Instead, she bent down and lifted two large boxes marked "20kg." A few low chuckles sounded around her. She took a deep breath, steadied her arms, and carried the boxes securely toward the shelves. The concrete floor was uneven, but her steps didn't falter. She even adjusted the phone angle with one hand, making sure the camera captured both the boxes in her arms and the stacks behind her — a lesson in "camera presence" from her transmigration missions. She wanted the skeptics to see she wasn't faking it.
[Whoa? Those boxes look heavy! How is she carrying them so steadily?]
[Anyone still saying it's a stunt? Who would actually work in a warehouse for clout?]
[I thought she used stunt doubles for action scenes? Since when did she get so strong?]
Nicky placed the boxes on the shelves according to their categories and turned to grab the next set. After two rounds, she leaned against a shelf to catch her breath, her forehead damp with sweat, stray strands of hair sticking to her cheeks. The mocking comments dwindled, replaced by questions about whether she'd really gone bankrupt, along with a few sarcastic remarks from fans of the original story's female lead.
"Don't bother guessing if this is a stunt," Nicky said, grabbing a water bottle and twisting off the cap with her teeth. Her tone carried the clarity of a transmigration veteran. "My bank account has $17.80 in it — less than the change in your pockets. The mansion's gone, the Maserati's gone, and all that's left is $137,896,831.32 in debt. Enough to keep me working till retirement."
"And for those saying I stole resources," she added, raising an eyebrow at a comment from the female lead's fan, "the original owner did, and that's a fact. Now I'm paying off her debts. Got a problem with that? If it's not enough, feel free to spam 'forgiveness' in the chat. For every one you send, I'll read your ID aloud. For every ten, I'll bow to you — that is, if you're brave enough to show your name."
Just then, a system notification — standard for the original plot — chimed in her mind: "Current livestream heat value: 2100. Exchangeable for rewards. Host may choose one."
Without hesitation, Nicky selected the most practical option: "Stamina Boost." A thousand years of transmigration had taught her that survival and earning money came first. Immediately, a warm current flowed through her body, easing the soreness in her arms and amplifying her strength.
She straightened up, chin held high with the same "sharp-tongued, unhinged" energy from the original story. "Break's over, back to work! Today's goal is to clear this shelf. The bigger the tip, the more likely I'll write your ID on a package — let your name travel across America with it. Way more meaningful than trolling me online."
[LMAO she's ruthless! Here's $10 — write my ID!]
[Following now! This debt-paying livestream is more entertaining than the female lead's arc.]
[I used to hate her, but now I'm apologizing! Nicky's way cooler than that fake-pure female lead.]
Nicky didn't dwell on the praising comments. She simply focused on lifting the next box. The warehouse lights were dim, but her shadow stretched long and straight across the floor — she knew this was only the first step in breaking the "cannon fodder script." The $137,896,831.32 debt had to be paid, the female lead's "protagonist aura" had to be challenged, and she was going to use her own two hands to carve out a new, thrilling path in this world.