Two hours into the torrential rain, C City’s drainage system completely collapsed. What had been calf-deep streams swelled into an ocean in the blink of an eye, a brown torrent swallowing the streets.
Some people clung to utility poles in a desperate struggle, their faces etched with terror. Others fled toward higher ground, splashing through deepening puddles, scrambling upward.
But many others couldn’t find cover in time. The powerful flood swept them away, drowning their screams before they could even call for help.
One tragedy after another unfolded. C City, once a place of warmth and safety, had been transformed into a living hell.
Cries for help echoed from below. Lin Xiaojuan couldn’t bear to listen and fled to the kitchen. Song Tianyuan shook his head repeatedly, sighing at the cruelty of this new world.
To shield her parents from the chaos outside, Song Yue drew the curtains and turned on the television, the volume masking the noise from the street.
But the distraction didn’t soothe them. Even with a lighthearted comedy playing on the screen, the lines of worry remained etched on their faces.
Song Yue understood. Anyone would need time to process the end of the world.
Fortunately, Song Tianyuan and Lin Xiaojuan were remarkably adaptable. They had already accepted the fact that their daughter had been reborn with a magical cheat ability. After all, what else was there left to not understand?
In the days that followed, Song Yue noticed her parents, Song Tianyuan and Lin Xiaojuan, trying to keep their interactions with her light and casual. Though their efforts seemed strained, they managed. Each day, they ate the delicacies she retrieved from her space, then settled into their routines—some watching television, others sleeping.
Their small home became a sanctuary of quiet warmth, a stark contrast to the chaos outside.
Two days later, in the early hours of the morning, Song Yue waited until she was certain her parents were fast asleep. She returned to her room, locked the door, and officially entered the Instance.
[Task-taker, please accept identity information…]
[Loading identity information…]
[Identity information loaded successfully.]
Song Yue opened her eyes to a shockingly pale face thrust close to hers.
Startled, her pupils constricted as she focused on the woman staring at her: Zheng Yuexi, the original owner’s best friend in this Instance.
Zheng Yuexi was dressed with meticulous care. She wore colored contacts, earrings, a necklace, a tight camisole, a bodycon lotus-leaf skirt, and strappy stilettos—all items she’d been too shy to wear at the Academy of Fine Arts. Now, taking advantage of the faculty-organized outing, she had put them all on.
Zheng Yuexi was quite pretty. Though she was half a head shorter than the original owner and had a slightly darker complexion, her meticulous styling today held its own. Standing beside the Academy of Fine Arts’ renowned beauty, she didn’t look out of place at all.
Under normal circumstances, Song Yue wouldn’t have said a word about her outfit. But she knew the disaster that was about to strike. Zheng Yuexi’s choice of clothing would soon become a liability.
Out of concern for her friend, Song Yue tried to warn her.
But just as she was about to speak, the system’s voice echoed in her mind: [Host, meta-gaming is forbidden within the Instance. First offense: Warning. Second offense: Deduction of Lifespan Points.]
Meta-gaming meant using knowledge or perspectives that the current character shouldn’t possess.
For example, if Song Yue mentioned the flood, she would be violating her role. The original owner had no such foresight. Speaking of it would be considered meta-gaming.
Song Yue bit her tongue.
If I can’t say it directly, can I at least hint at it? she wondered.
“Yuexi,” she said, changing her approach. “I’m not feeling well. I can’t go to Qianhe Island. Will you stay here with me?”
Zheng Yuexi let out a soft “Ah,” her brow furrowing despite her best efforts to maintain composure.
“Xiao Yue, why are you getting sick now of all times?” Zheng Yuexi bit her lip, her voice tinged with annoyance. “You know how important today is for me…”
Important for Zheng Yuexi?
Song Yue froze for a moment, then belatedly recalled a detail from her character’s background: Today was the day Zheng Yuexi planned to confess her feelings to Jing Xiao, a third-year student at the Academy of Fine Arts.
Jing Xiao was the ideal package—handsome, wealthy, and immensely talented in his field. He had always been a popular figure at the Academy, and Zheng Yuexi had been pining for him for ages. She’d finally seized this sketching trip as her chance. Song Yue knew her plea would fall on deaf ears.
Just as she expected, Zheng Yuexi continued, “Xiao Yue, I’m sorry, but I can’t stay on shore for you. I have to go to Qianhe Island.”
Song Yue didn’t push further. She was merely a temporary guest in this Instance, her knowledge derived entirely from the system. She felt no real attachment to Zheng Yuexi.
Song Yue offered a faint smile. “It’s fine. I’ll just head back to the hotel and rest.”
As she turned to leave, a voice called out from beside her. “Song Yue? What a coincidence to run into you here.”
Before Song Yue could even look, she noticed Zheng Yuexi’s expression shift.
Great. She seems to know something.
“Senior Brother Jing,” Song Yue replied, her voice flat and devoid of emotion.
Not to be outdone, Zheng Yuexi chimed in, “Hello, Senior Brother Jing!”
But he merely glanced at her with indifference before his gaze settled back on Song Yue.
Behind them, fellow students from their academy passed by, their voices deliberately loud as they gossiped without restraint.
“Her again? Does this little heartbreaker ever stop? She’s already strung along so many suckers, and now she’s trying to reel in Senior Brother Jing.”
“She’s just relying on her family’s money, tsk tsk.”
“Rich people are something else. Double eyelid surgery, a nose job, even a hairline transplant… I bet there’s not a single real part of her left. Heh heh heh.”
“How can a plastic-surgery reject like her even stand next to Senior Brother Jing? It’s disgusting.”
***
The insults drifted toward the three of them. Zheng Yuexi blinked, then said in a comforting tone, “Xiao Yue, they’re just being rude, talking about you right in front of you. Don’t let it get to you.”
Song Yue shot her a meaningful look and smiled. “Of course I don’t mind. I have plenty of money, after all. If there’s anything else I’m unhappy with, I’ll just go back to the plastic surgeon and get it fixed.”
She spoke with such confidence—a clear “I’m rich, and you can only watch me do whatever I want”—that Zheng Yuexi was left speechless.
As the sky over Qianhe Island darkened, Song Yue decided she’d wasted enough time on these people. Without another word, she turned and walked straight toward the hotel.
On the way back, Song Yue pieced everything together.
The “best friend” status the Instance had granted her was a lie. The original owner of this body had only ever had one procedure—a minor hairline adjustment, a whim born of having too much money and nothing to spend it on.
She had told only Zheng Yuexi. Yet somehow, every girl in the academy knew about it, along with fabricated stories about double-eyelid surgery and a nose job.
It was obvious who had spread the rumors.
Unfortunately, the original owner of this body had been too straightforward and naive, easily mistaking the scheming Zheng Yuexi for a best friend. Only now, with Song Yue’s arrival, had the facade finally cracked.
But that didn’t matter anymore. Her priority now was to raid a supermarket and find a way out of the Qianhe Lake District to higher, safer ground. Only then could she survive the month in the Instance.
Fortunately, the district was a popular tourist spot with no shortage of supermarkets. Song Yue rushed to the nearest one and immediately began her shopping spree.
She started with ten cases of 5L bottled water, each containing four bottles. An average person consumes between 1 and 1.3 liters of water per day. Ten cases—forty bottles—totaled 200 liters, enough to sustain one person for between 153 and 200 days. It was more than enough for the Instance.
And when the Instance finally ended, she could even bring the leftovers back to the real world.
The thought of her parents filled Song Yue with renewed determination.
With the help of a supermarket employee, she hauled the ten cases of water to the parking lot behind the store. Using an SUV as cover, she swiftly transferred the water into her space.
To save space, she stacked the ten cases next to two barrels of diesel. The fresh food and takeout she’d bought in the real world were already neatly organized by category on the nearby shelves.
The space had come with these shelves—a unit one meter wide, three meters long, and five meters high, with five levels. Only the top shelf and a few other spots remained empty.
What a waste to leave them empty, Song Yue thought. After exiting the space, she dove back into the supermarket for another shopping spree.
She was beyond thrilled to discover that the original owner of this body wasn’t short on cash. When she’d swiped her card earlier, she’d noticed the balance: over a million yuan!
How much stuff can I buy with that? It would be a crime not to spend it!
Since she’d already stocked up on some grains, oil, and flour in the real world, she only bought a little more of each—about twenty percent extra. She devoted most of her energy to women’s supplies and clothing.
She’d barely bought any underwear before due to limited funds, so this time she grabbed fifty bras, a hundred packs of panties, and a hundred packs of socks. She also picked up ten sets of pajamas for each season, ten sets of thermal underwear, and five pairs each of flip-flops and slippers.
Finally, she added ten cases of day and night sanitary pads and pantyliners to her cart.
In addition to the undergarments, she stocked up on replacement clothing: thirty each of camisoles, short-sleeved T-shirts, and long-sleeved T-shirts; twenty hoodies, twenty crew-neck sweatshirts; ten jackets, ten sweaters, and ten cotton-padded coats; five wool coats, ten beanies, and ten pairs of hiking boots. She also added twenty pairs of loose casual pants in both light and fleece-lined versions.
The system-provided shelves were clearly insufficient for such a haul. Song Yue began stacking her latest acquisitions on the floor, maximizing vertical space and minimizing the footprint.
Even with her careful organization, the 125-cubic-meter space was nearly full. Song Yue decided to make one last stop at the nearby hardware store for a few tools before calling it a day.
To save time, she simply asked the owner for their most comprehensive tool kit. It came with everything: reinforced rope, a tape measure, wrenches, screwdrivers, nails, pliers, a shovel, and an electric saw.
When Song Yue finally emerged from the store, the weather had turned violent.
Torrential rain lashed the concrete and the lake, and fierce winds tore through the area, overturning small stalls along the shore.
Screams echoed from the nearby lake—tourists on sightseeing boats were calling for help. Even with a dozen passengers on board, the boats were no match for the churning waves below.
The first boat capsized in an instant, its passengers thrown into the churning water with terrified screams.
Nearby vessels tossed out lifebuoys, but the intensifying rain and violent waves made them nearly impossible to reach. Song Yue watched as someone struggling in the water slipped beneath the surface, never to reappear.
On the shore, lifeguards rushed to launch their rescue boats. But as soon as they hit the water, a massive wave slammed into them, capsizing the entire fleet.
“My god, the rescue boats are flipping over! This is insane!” Tourists huddled inside the shops, their faces pale with horror.
“Isn’t Thousand Crane Lake an inland lake? How could it have waves like this?”
“Look at this storm! The wind is so strong it could flip a puddle! Just find cover—we’ll leave once the rain stops.”
The tourists prayed for the weather to break, unaware that Song Yue knew the truth: this rain was never going to stop.
Suddenly, a scream erupted from inside the shop.
“Look! Thousand Crane Lake is overflowing!”
“Flood! It’s a flood! Run, everyone, run!”