Damn it!
Who was grabbing her?!
Did they not know she hadn’t slept properly for several days?!
Gu Xiaomai raised her hand, trying to swat away whatever was disturbing her peaceful sleep. But after struggling for a long time, she found she couldn’t lift her arm at all. Instead, whatever was tugging at her only grew stronger.
Gu Xiaomai suddenly woke up.
Opening her eyes, she saw a thin, frail teenage boy squatting beside her. His clothes were patched over patches, and his face was dirty. His hand was shaking her.
Seeing her wake up, the boy grinned, revealing two little tiger teeth.
“You’re awake! Brother Chen said we’re leaving soon. Hurry up and get up!”
After saying that, the boy didn’t wait for her response and walked straight toward another teenager standing not far away.
Gu Xiaomai couldn’t make sense of the situation, nor did she understand what the boy was saying.
She had just pulled several all-nighters, submitted her graduation thesis at the final deadline, and gone home to catch up on sleep.
So why was she lying on the ground now?
And why did her whole body feel weak and cold, her head heavy and dizzy?
There was also a stabbing pain in her chest, though still within tolerable limits.
Gu Xiaomai forced herself to sit up.
Not far ahead stood a group of raggedly dressed people. Each of them tightly held a bag beside them. Their faces showed numbness, fear, anxiety—or even a faint trace of hope.
Looking around, the land was barren and empty. A gust of wind blew across the ground, lifting dust and dry grass into the air, swirling and dancing. Tiny new sprouts that had just broken through the soil trembled in the wind.
Not far behind her stood a wall glowing with golden light.
A—gold wall?!
Gu Xiaomai rubbed her eyes, which felt like they were going blind from the glare, and wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth.
Oh my god! Was this place really this luxurious?!
She even briefly considered the absurd thought of prying it off and taking it away.
But she quickly pulled her thoughts back.
She looked again at the golden wall behind her, then at the ragged people in front of her. The contrast between poverty and luxury was stark and surreal. Where exactly was she?
“Everyone, come collect your nutrient solution quickly. We need to depart early.”
“Two doses per person, for the journey. Keep it safe. If anything goes wrong, we are not responsible!”
“Now! Line up!”
Gu Xiaomai turned toward the voice.
The ragged crowd began lining up. Beside them stood people wearing bright red uniforms, holding guns and maintaining order.
Gu Xiaomai’s pupils contracted sharply. Her heart pounded violently.
Guns?!
Why would these people have guns?!
She swallowed nervously, forcing her dizzy mind to think. Had she been kidnapped in her sleep and sold to Myanmar?
Unable to grasp the situation, her rational mind told her that in a strange environment, it was better to stay quiet and follow the crowd.
After a moment, she forced herself to stand up. Only then did she realize something was wrong.
This was not her original body.
The soft, fair left hand no longer bore the scar left from her father’s strict childhood training. Even her height had shrunk significantly.
A strange environment. A strange body.
A troubling thought rose in her mind—had she… transmigrated after pulling all-nighters?
Then what about her graduation thesis she worked so hard on… was it all wasted?
If she had known she would transmigrate, why had she worked so hard?!
She also thought of her body after death—had anyone collected it? Would her family’s ancestral blade end up in her greedy aunt’s hands?
But thinking about that was pointless now. Could she even go back?
The most important thing was to understand the situation and avoid dying again for unknown reasons.
Because this body looked like it could collapse at any moment.
She recalled what the tiger-toothed boy had said earlier. The original owner of this body was supposed to travel with this group.
Compared to the surrounding thin, dark, ragged people, this body showed no signs of hardship. The clothes were intact, without a single patch, only slightly dusty from lying on the ground.
She looked completely out of place among them.
Gu Xiaomai had no memory of this body. With no clues, she could only sway unsteadily toward the queue.
Fortunately, by the time she arrived, only a thin old man remained in front of her. Otherwise, waiting in line would have been torture for her.
She observed the man distributing the nutrient solutions: dark skin, a vicious scar running from the middle of his forehead down across his entire left face. He wore a bright red uniform that resembled a military uniform from her past life, though its color was unfamiliar. A large blade hung on his back, and his waist bulged—likely a gun. He looked extremely dangerous.
Soon it was her turn.
“Name!”
It was the same voice that had called for them to line up.
Not knowing the original owner’s name, Gu Xiaomai could only gamble.
“Gu… Xiao… Mai,” she said softly.
The man only glanced at her briefly before marking something on the paper.
Gu Xiaomai let out a breath of relief. Fortunately, the original owner shared the same name.
She received the nutrient solution.
At that moment, she felt as if countless eyes were stabbing at her hand.
Her scalp went numb. Without hesitation, she drank both bottles at once. Only then did the hostile gazes disappear.
After she finished, the man stepped back, stood on a raised platform, and shouted:
“ASSEMBLE!”
The people who had just received their nutrient solutions quickly gathered again.
“I am the leader of this mission, Wei Gang. No matter why you are here, from now on you have only one identity—members of the E4 Wilderness Exploration Team. Your only task is to obey orders!”
Wei Gang looked around at everyone.
“Otherwise—if you are injured or die, we are not responsible!”
“You all know how dangerous the wasteland is! If anyone doesn’t fear death and wants to test the strength of the corrupted creatures, go ahead—I won’t stop you. But don’t drag others down with you!”
“This mission is urgent. We must reach the logistics camp of the Eastern Frontier Development Corps E4 base within one and a half days. Now—move out!”
After he finished speaking, people in red uniforms began organizing the group into formation.
Gu Xiaomai looked around and spotted the tiger-toothed boy who had woken her earlier, standing beside another boy.
She stepped slightly aside, not blocking the path, but moving closer to Wei Gang.
Wei Gang noticed her but said nothing. His only requirement was obedience—no trouble—so that he could safely escort this group to the E4 base and complete the mission.
When the tiger-toothed boy and his companion passed by, Gu Xiaomai naturally walked up beside them.
She looked at the tiger-toothed boy and smiled sweetly.
“Thank you for waking me up earlier, little brother. What’s your name?”
The boy grinned. “My name is Yumi. What about you?”
“My name is Gu Xiaomai.”
After speaking, she looked at the boy beside Yumi.
Like Yumi, he was dirty, but his dark phoenix-like eyes held a calmness and determination that didn’t match his age.
“You must be Brother Chen that Yumi mentioned. Thank you for asking him to wake me.”
Jiang Chen’an gave a slight nod.
“Can I travel with you two from now on?” Gu Xiaomai asked cautiously.
In this unfamiliar place, she needed someone to help her understand the situation and adapt quickly.
Jiang Chen’an nodded again.
“Yes.”
Seeing his agreement, Yumi also smiled. “Sure, it’s good to have company. Xiaomai, are you feeling unwell? You look pale and out of breath after just a few steps.”
Gu Xiaomai touched her face. “Yeah, I’m not feeling great.”
“Then you’re in trouble. We have to walk fast for a day and a half, and once we arrive, there won’t be any rest—we’ll start working immediately.”
“What kind of work are we doing?”
“Wilderness exploration, of course. We’re going to open up the wasteland. You didn’t know?”
Gu Xiaomai didn’t know whether to nod or shake her head.
If she said no, it would be strange—everyone else seemed to know.
If she said yes, she might expose herself later.
Fortunately, Yumi didn’t wait for her answer.
Instead, he studied her for a moment and said, “Xiaomai, you’re so young—what did you do to end up here? Why didn’t your family pay points to exempt you from punishment?”
“In the wasteland, you’ll face extreme weather and corrupted creatures. Someone like you probably won’t last a few days…”
His words struck her heart like repeated blows.
Each sentence made her feel worse.
This sounded exactly like a post-apocalyptic wasteland world.
If that was true, she might as well die again.
Maybe if her body back there was still warm, she could return.
What a terrible start.
Headache.
Gu Xiaomai bit her pale lips and said half-truthfully, “I’ve been sick recently, my mind isn’t clear. I don’t remember much… I don’t even know why I was sent here. Do you know how I ended up here?”
Yumi said, “We were waiting inside the base east gate overnight. After the gate opened, we came out. You were sent over by patrol guards after Leader Wei arrived.”
From her situation, Gu Xiaomai guessed the original owner likely committed some kind of offense—but it didn’t quite make sense.
What could a pampered girl possibly have done?
Or perhaps she had been framed.
And she had even been sent here urgently, not even waiting for the next batch of recruits.
Even though the sun was already up and the temperature rising, Gu Xiaomai felt as if a fog was wrapping around her, leaving her cold to the bone.
Her foot slipped—and she fell forward.
Just then, Jiang Chen’an reacted instantly and grabbed her, stopping her from hitting the ground.
Yumi, walking distractedly, was startled. “That scared me!”
He quickly checked her breathing. “Brother Chen, Xiaomai is still alive.”
Both of them sighed in relief.
The people passing by only glanced at them, none of them speaking.
Jiang Chen’an and Yumi pulled Gu Xiaomai out of the marching line.
Jiang Chen’an said, “Go ask the leader what we should do now.”