1973, Late Autumn.
A small border town in northern China. A vast reed marsh.
A hand emerged from the icy river. With a loud splash, a woman drenched from head to toe pushed aside the reeds and struggled to crawl onto the riverbank.
Her entire body was soaked, and her wet hair clung to her face. Her fingers dug into the muddy bank, black sludge filling the spaces between them.
Beneath the pale moonlight, she knelt on the shore and coughed violently, spitting out a large mouthful of foul-tasting water.
Her throat burned fiercely, and the desperate struggle to reach the bank had drained what little strength she had left.
She rolled onto her back and lay helplessly among the damp reeds, staring at the brilliant white moon in the sky. Gradually, her eyes widened.
“What is this…?”
She slowly raised her hand.
Moonlight fell across her palm. It was fair, slender, and well-defined, without the calluses left behind by years of holding a surgical scalpel.
This wasn’t her hand!
Jiang Huaiyue was horrified.
Nearly drowning the moment she’d opened her eyes was already beyond anything she could comprehend. Now, what was she supposed to make of this entirely unfamiliar world?
She warily surveyed her surroundings. Moonlight shimmered across the rippling water, while the reed plumes swayed like snowflakes in the marsh.
The wind rustled through the reeds beneath the brilliant moon, and unfamiliar memories came flooding into her mind like a rising tide.
She had died.
And now, she was alive again.
Her name was Jiang Huaiyue, a highly skilled military doctor serving with the special forces. During a special mission, she had been struck by a stray bullet and lost her life.
Now, she had taken over the body of another woman who shared her exact name: Jiang Huaiyue.
The original owner was twenty years old. Her parents had died in an accident while on a mission ten years ago. Taking advantage of her young age, her uncle and aunt had not only stolen the compensation money the organization had given her but had also seized the house her parents had built.
And because they were her only surviving elders, her uncle and aunt had treated her like a servant, ordering her around at every turn. Now, they had even set their sights on the childhood betrothal her parents had arranged for her!
The original Jiang Huaiyue had always believed that Lu Mingyuan could rescue her from this living hell. Although she knew what her uncle and aunt had in mind, Lu Mingyuan had never explicitly rejected her, so she had kept her suspicions to herself.
She had never expected to catch Lu Mingyuan secretly meeting with Jiang Huaixue.
The original owner had gotten into a fierce argument with Lu Mingyuan. Not only had he refused to comfort her, but he had even accused her of being petty.
Upset, she had gone for a walk by the water. Jiang Huaixue followed her there, mocking her and making sarcastic remarks. An argument was inevitable.
Jiang Huaixue had come prepared. Taking advantage of the original owner’s moment of inattention, she knocked her unconscious and threw her into the river.
And just like that, the original Jiang Huaiyue had died in the water without even understanding what had happened.
At that very moment, the twenty-first-century military medical expert had transmigrated into her body.
Jiang Huaiyue raised a hand and rubbed her temples.
What on earth was all this nonsense?!
She had barely finished complaining to herself when a muffled gunshot suddenly rang out nearby!
The sound wasn’t particularly loud, but it reached her ears with unmistakable clarity.
She didn’t dare make a move. Instead, she lay motionless among the reeds, holding her breath and doing everything she could to minimize her presence.
Whoever was out there, they certainly weren’t up to anything good at this hour.
Having only just arrived in this unfamiliar era, Jiang Huaiyue had no desire to get involved in anyone else’s trouble.
However, the moment that thought crossed her mind, a man suddenly pushed through the reeds and collapsed heavily on top of her.
Jiang Huaiyue, who had only just come back to life, felt as though her entire body was about to be crushed. In her dazed state, she almost thought she could see her great-grandmother waiting for her in the afterlife.
She was about to push the man away when he moved faster. He clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Don’t move,” he whispered.
His voice was low, husky, and magnetic. For some reason, Jiang Huaiyue really didn’t dare move.
Footsteps approached from a distance, each step seeming to land directly on her pounding heart.
It wasn’t just the possibility of being discovered that frightened her. Given the man’s current condition, she didn’t dare act recklessly either.
“He’s injured. He couldn’t have gotten far. Search quickly!”
Several people spoke in low voices nearby. Their speech was completely unintelligible to her, but one thing was clear: they weren’t Chinese.
Jiang Huaiyue immediately understood who the enemy was and who wasn’t.
A beam from a flashlight swept over them, passing directly above their heads.
Her heart leaped into her throat. Even with a man pinning her down, she felt as though her heart were about to burst out of her chest.
The man lying on top of her was equally tense, every muscle in his body rigid.
The footsteps drew closer and closer.
Without saying a word, Jiang Huaiyue pointed toward the water beside them.
The only way to evade the search was to hide underwater.
The man’s breathing had grown rapid. The veins stood out on his rugged face, as though he were enduring excruciating pain. Yet his eyes remained startlingly bright.
Their gazes met.
The man slowly nodded.
Moving as quietly as they could, the two slipped into the water.
Fortunately, they were lucky. Just as they entered the river, a flock of waterbirds nearby took fright and soared into the sky, their sudden commotion masking the faint splashes they made.
Five minutes before the searchers reached their hiding place, Jiang Huaiyue and the man had submerged themselves completely.
Jiang Huaiyue had grown up near the water and could hold her breath underwater for a long time. The man, however, seemed unable to swim. Combined with his earlier injuries, his condition was extremely poor.
Seeing that he was about to reach his limit, Jiang Huaiyue acted in desperation. She pressed her lips against his, attempting to give him air.
The instant her lips touched his, the man’s body inexplicably jerked. Then, acting on instinct, he kissed her back.
Jiang Huaiyue panicked. She wanted to push him away but was afraid that any sudden movement would make enough noise for the people on the bank to discover them.
Caught between mortification and the danger surrounding them, she struggled to decide what to do.
Before she could figure it out, the man lost consciousness from lack of oxygen…
Fortunately, the searchers combed the nearby area, found nothing, and eventually left.
As the footsteps gradually faded into the distance, Jiang Huaiyue expended every ounce of her strength to drag the man out of the water.
She patted his face, but he didn’t respond.
Her brows knitted together.
Don’t tell me he’s dead?
Jiang Huaiyue’s heart lurched. Using the moonlight, she examined him carefully and finally noticed that he was wearing a military uniform.
He had suffered a gunshot wound to his lower leg. The flesh was already a bloody mess, but fortunately, the bullet hadn’t damaged the bone.
However, fragments of the bullet remained lodged in the wound. If they weren’t removed and the injury wasn’t treated properly, he might be left permanently disabled in that leg.
Jiang Huaiyue hadn’t wanted to meddle in anyone else’s business. But when she saw the man’s military uniform, her heart softened.
If soldiers didn’t defend their country and protect its people, how could ordinary civilians enjoy peaceful, happy lives?
Now that she had the ability to save this man, how could she possibly stand by and let him die? If she did nothing, the guilt would haunt her for the rest of her life.
But she had no proper medical instruments on hand.
What could she possibly use to save him?
“Strong intent to save a life detected. Military Medical System successfully bound to host!”
“Congratulations, host! You have received the beginner’s gift pack: one ultrasound scan, one physical enhancement injection, and one sterilization and suturing kit.”
A mechanical voice suddenly rang out in her mind, nearly making Jiang Huaiyue think she was dreaming.
Was this the legendary system?
Had all the good deeds she’d accumulated in her previous life finally paid off, earning her a system companion in this one?
Jiang Huaiyue tentatively tried to open the gift pack with her thoughts.
Retrieve sterilization and suturing kit!
In the next instant, a complete sterilization and suturing kit appeared in her hands!
This wasn’t a dream. It was real!
She had actually been bound to a military medical system!
Jiang Huaiyue had no time to waste getting excited. She quickly opened the sterilization and suturing kit and began cleaning the man’s wound…