A Novelist’s Guide for Side Characters to Survive

Chapter 11: “Is this why I’m suddenly a father?”

In a high-tech world with a complex social structure, blood ties offered many exploitable points.

For Chu Zu, the most useful were identity verification and security systems.

The Upper District’s long-standing identity verification system relied on family gene banks.

The system was designed from the start to anticipate internal family struggles.

To prevent any one person from monopolizing family power, as long as DNA identification and biometric matching passed algorithmic verification, access would be granted, even for those not in the gene bank.

This was why Luciano Esposito had to eliminate all blood relatives except himself—he wanted to be the sole key to the fortune.

The reason for not wanting heirs was simpler: the family business and assets were locked by genetics, manageable and operable only by blood-related heirs, preventing outsiders from usurping control.

Having no children was a safeguard for Luciano Esposito’s life.

Now, that safeguard is gone.

Chu Zu thought coldly.

But Dai Xi’an’s “gift” brought new problems.

“By normal logic, if I have Sidney, why wait for Tang Qi to take down Luciano Esposito?”

Chu Zu habitually shared his thoughts with the system.

“Originally, ‘Chu Zu’ had no authority, only able to rally allies with talk of revenge. Add Tang Qi’s push to ‘make the Lower District great again,’ and I could smoothly take over Luciano Esposito’s forces.”

“But now I’m pretty popular. If Luciano Esposito had an accident, I would parade his biological son around, and the Esposito Family, inside and out, would be mine, right?”

He said, “And I wouldn’t act? That’s not fitting, is it?”

The system quickly warned: “Absolutely not!”

“There’s no Sidney in the original Neon Crow. He can’t appear in the main plot. We’re Marginal Character Correction Specialists—we can’t alter the main storyline!”

“I know.” Chu Zu felt a headache. “I’m urgently thinking of what to patch this with to make it reasonable.”

“Actually… if you move slowly…” the system hesitated, mumbling, “there’s a high chance he’ll vanish in some accident, and Dai Xi’an won’t mention the kid again.”

Chu Zu seemed not to hear, fully focused on how to patch this job.

The kid in front of him had already delivered a huge surprise.

Chu Zu’s face topped the Lower District’s blacklist, his exploits widely known, if not infamous.

Normally, Lower District folks either bolted or pretended not to know him, like in District 8.

But Sidney, sizing up his short arms and legs and judging he couldn’t escape, gritted his teeth, combined both options, and added his own genius twist.

The kid stumbled forward, clung to Chu Zu’s leg, and blurted out, “Daddy—!”

Chu Zu: “…”

The system: “…”

Chu Zu lifted the kid, staring at him like a corpse.

Sidney froze, biting his lip, silent for a long moment.

Seeing Chu Zu didn’t intend to execute him on the spot, he hesitated, bit his lip again, eyes teary, and ventured, “Auntie said you’d come for me eventually. Are you here to take me?”

“…”

Despite the absurdity, Chu Zu felt some relief.

Good thing the kid didn’t say Dai Xi’an’s name outright, or Jeeves would’ve caught it, and they’d be done for.

But Dai Xi’an would never tell Sidney something like “Your dad will come for you.”

More like, “Your dad will kill you eventually.”

“Smart kid,” the system said.

“He knew you were after him, no one’s around, and he can’t run, so he went on the offensive, trying to win your sympathy.”

Chu Zu: “Is that his excuse for making it awkward?”

The system: “…”

Chu Zu: “Is this why I’m suddenly a father?”

The system: “…”

The system struggled to respond, turning its attention to Sidney.

He was practically carved from the same mold as Luciano Esposito—same radiant blond hair, clear blue eyes, surprisingly well-groomed.

The differences were stark.

Living in the Lower District, Sidney wasn’t as sturdy as Luciano had been as a kid.

Lifted up, he looked frail, like a wind chime made of bones, swaying in the air.

And Luciano never showed weakness in his eyes.

At twelve, Luciano was in his reckless phase, kicking even stray dogs on the street.

Huh, on second thought, maybe not so similar.

As the system was about to ask Chu Zu’s plans, it heard him say to Sidney, “Yeah, I’m here for you.”

The system: “…?”

Not just the system—Sidney, who’d lunged to call him “Daddy,” was stunned.

Before the kid could react, Chu Zu hoisted him onto his arm.

Sidney, planning a desperate escape, stopped when he saw the bouquet.

The card on the bouquet had writing.

Sidney couldn’t read, but he recognized part of the “pattern”—Dai Xi’an.

He hesitated, cautiously wrapping his arms around Chu Zu’s neck.

The man holding him stiffened, pausing in place.

Sidney’s little heart raced, frantically wondering if he’d done something wrong.

But Chu Zu’s odd reaction lasted only a moment.

He steadied the kid and kept walking.

Dai Xi’an had her reasons for placing Sidney in District 18.

District 18 was Chu Zu’s “hometown,” the only Lower District Tang Qi tried to rally that stayed neutral, even without monitoring stations watching.

Because Chu Zu occasionally stayed in District 18.

In reality, due to Luciano Esposito’s missions, “Chu Zu” played the grim reaper equally in every district, without bias.

But finding a place to rest in other districts was tough.

He couldn’t go straight to a monitoring station—that’d expose Luciano Esposito’s setups.

Resting anywhere else had consequences he’d tasted: assassins from other families came in waves, giving no time to close his eyes.

After quick consideration, Chu Zu chose a familiar spot to settle.

Say what you will, a decade-plus of unchanged turf lets Chu Zu dispatch assassins more efficiently, saving sleep time.

It also created a tacit understanding with District 18’s people—do what you want with the corpses, dismantle or sell them, it’s a dark, perfect setting.

We live our lives, don’t bother each other.

For a time, District 18 thrived on prosthetic and organ trading, showing a hint of prosperity.

It was, in a way, the Upper District feeding the Lower District… sort of.

By the time Luciano Esposito recalled Chu Zu, having dealt with most other families and facing off with Tang Qi, District 18, though no longer earning side money, gained relative stability as a “neutral zone.”

Sidney grew up in this environment.

With Dai Xi’an keeping tabs on Upper District movements, the kid could scavenge corpses, trading prosthetic eyes for resources.

Despite its late number, District 18’s living conditions were leagues better than District 8’s.

On the way to the black market with Sidney, Chu Zu discovered another reason the kid, with Luciano Esposito’s face, thrived.

“Blond hair and blue eyes are some new trends?

Or did my surgery mess up my eyes?”

Chu Zu asked the system, “Why’s everyone—scared thugs, grizzled grannies—rocking this look… District 18’s bold and fashionable?”

The system, puzzled, started digging through background data.

With Chu Zu filling in gaps, the author’s unwritten background details expanded, ballooning the novel’s millions of words several times over.

After searching keywords, the system reached a conclusion.

“You used to work nonstop, burned out with a fever that nearly killed you. You let a blond, blue-eyed assassin slip away, who stabbed you twice before leaving.”

It showed Chu Zu the background story.

“Luciano Esposito asked what happened. You said the blond dazzled you, and you spaced out.”

“…What a disgusting excuse. Why didn’t I just say I was half-dead from fever?”

“Luciano Esposito was emotionally unstable then. That’s when he turned Jeeves into an AI. You didn’t want to be the next AI.”

It wasn’t exactly lying, Chu Zu mused.

Fever-induced delirium or being dazed by Luciano-like features—different causes, same result.

“Luciano Esposito was pretty pleased… Anyway, District 18 initially thought blond hair and blue eyes had a higher survival rate under you. Word spread, and it became a local custom.”

Chu Zu: “…”

Goddamn custom.

At the black market, the usually grim, blond-tough-guy vendors saw Chu Zu, abandoned their shops, left mid-surgery clients, and bolted.

The chaos lasted seconds.

When Chu Zu set Sidney down, the sprawling market was left with only the beeping of stray machines.

If you asked Chu Zu, Tang Qi shouldn’t rush to charge the Upper District.

The Lower District’s disparities were too vast, integration too tough.

District 18’s structure worked fine—everyone lived with drive.

Why not spread that model first?

“Find some black hair dye or something, and contact lenses… that’s what they’re called, right? Get two red ones.”

“Are you really raising a son?”

The system started scavenging per its host’s request but couldn’t wrap its head around it.

“There’s no room for Sidney in the main plot. Keeping him risks Luciano Esposito’s attention. He’s definitely watching your every move…”

Chu Zu found half a tube of hair dye, crouched, set the bouquet down, spread the dye in his hands, and held it out to Sidney.

Sidney scrunched his face, about to speak, but Chu Zu covered his mouth.

“The Upper District doesn’t need useless things. That’s the condition for me taking you.”

He said, “Of course, you’ve got no choice. Besides me, no one wants you in this world.”

Sidney’s eyes widened, pupils shaking.

He was good-looking, pulling a pitiful look that’d move anyone—Chu Zu clearly wasn’t one of them.

Realizing the man wasn’t swayed by his acting, Sidney’s expression shifted.

Like a feral cat, he bit hard into Chu Zu’s palm, not letting go even as blood filled his mouth.

Chu Zu just watched him with cold eyes.

Unwilling, Sidney struggled but succumbed to Chu Zu’s icy resolve.

He realized his strength was like an ant shaking a tree.

He tried to play nice again, but Chu Zu’s stare pinned him.

Red-faced, he let go.

“D-Daddy…”

“Hm.”

Sidney obediently took the dye.

Lower District stuff was shoddy.

The dye changed hair color fast but burned skin like acid on contact, leaving red-white welts and faint white vapor.

Sidney glanced at Chu Zu, gritted his teeth, dyed his blond hair black, and shoved grimy red contact lenses into his eyes.

He endured it, not making a sound.

The pretty kid turned ragged.

Even the system felt a pang.

“Sidney doesn’t seem to like having a dad…”

Chu Zu countered, “I don’t have parents either. Is that because I don’t like it?”

The system: “…”

“Because it’s better I don’t.”

Chu Zu used an explanation the system could grasp.

“Luciano Esposito wouldn’t let me have anywhere to go but him. If I did, he’d take care of it. From the author’s perspective, making me an orphan was simpler.”

“When Dai Xi’an wrote his name for me, I had to find him—he’s too useful. I thought long about what role he could play without touching the main plot. He figured it out first, so why not agree?”

The system: “…”

Chu Zu added, “Isn’t Neon Crown that kind of novel? The author only focuses on key characters. I’m a marginal character dragged out when the story was failing. Sidney’s not even that.”

“His existence complicates Luciano Esposito’s arc, so the author abandoned him. Literally, no one wants him in this world.”

Chu Zu grabbed a nearby rag, once used for wiping machine oil, now used to wipe Sidney’s head.

The man’s movements were surprisingly gentle.

“Pulled into the vortex of power, he has no way out. Like you said, he’ll vanish in some accident. The easiest way to stay out of the main plot is to not exist.”

“Only I can help him,” he told the system.

The system recalled Chu Zu’s earlier anomaly in District 18, tied to marginal characters.

Later, the host said he was in a bad mood then.

The host also said the system’s occasional remarks lacked tact.

Finally piecing it together, the system felt deep shame, unable to even defend itself.

Setting the rag down, Sidney looked at his hands, ruined by the corrosive dye, but flashed Chu Zu a fake smile, picking up the bouquet to hold for him.

“Only I can save him.”

Chu Zu stood, taking the kid’s hand.

“Marginal characters have their own way of living. He doesn’t seem to want to die, so let him live for now. Take him back for Dai Xi’an to raise—it’s not much trouble.”

“That's all I can do for him.”

The Lower District had no sunlight.

Dead bugs piled under broken lights.

Closer to the station, the lights grew brighter, casting faint shadows of the big and small figures.

The system was deeply moved the whole way.

After Chu Zu used Luciano Esposito’s authority to bring the kid onto the train, it heard him say.

“Besides, if I don’t handle Sidney, with Dai Xi’an’s skills, she’ll dig up another ‘gift’ for me.”

Chu Zu sighed, “Having a capable ally is its own kind of hassle.”

The system: “…”

Oh!