Li Xiuxiu’s suppressed sobs and Liu Congming’s unconscious whimpers pierced Liu Xiaoman’s eardrums like two fine needles.
She struggled to open her eyes again. This time, the darkness and blur before her faded, replaced by an unprecedented clarity.
Her gaze did not fall on her crying family beside her, but locked tightly on the semi-transparent virtual panel in her mind.
Her body still felt like a pile of scattered firewood, each breath dragging a burning pain through her lungs; the dizziness from the high fever had not subsided.
Yet driven by an intense will to survive, her brain was operating at an unprecedented speed.
With her mind, she greedily scanned the few lines of the beginner’s guide on the system interface—【Scan】 to identify the value of all things, 【Recycle】 to exchange for points, 【Exchange】 to obtain what is needed.
Simple, brutal, effective!
Her mind quickly tapped the gray 【Exchange】 button.
A simple merchandise list popped up, showing only a few items, each seemingly a life-saving elixir.
Liu Xiaoman’s eyes immediately fixed on the top two options: 【Potent Antibiotics (Capsule) 1 Point】, 【White Rice Porridge (Insulated) 0.2 Points】. The goal was instantly clear: she had to get 1.2 points in the shortest time possible!
She turned her stiff neck toward Liu Congming, who was standing by the hay pile, absentmindedly biting his nails.
His big eyes were hollow, only reflecting the instinctual reaction to hunger.
Liu Xiaoman strained all her strength, squeezing out a few words from her parched throat, her voice hoarse like sandpaper rubbing: “Congming… go, pull the grass at the door… bring it to sister.”
She cast her gaze outside the hole in the hut.
In the night wind, a few inconspicuous clumps of weeds swayed stubbornly.
She silently commanded 【Scan】.
Wherever her mind reached, a line of small text appeared above a broad-leafed weed lying close to the ground: 【Plantain, Poaceae family, the whole plant can be used medicinally, contains weak bio-energy. Recyclable, value 0.02 points per plant】. Beside it, a plant with small yellow flowers was also marked: 【Dandelion, Asteraceae family, contains weak bio-energy. Recyclable, value 0.01 points per plant】.
“Where there’s life, there’s hope!” Liu Xiaoman’s heart exploded with joy.
These weeds, common and even troublesome in modern times, actually had value in this system!
This was a golden key custom-made for her, an agricultural scientist!
She forced down the excitement threatening to burst from her chest and rapidly calculated: one plantain 0.02, one dandelion 0.01— to reach 1.2 points, she needed roughly sixty to seventy weeds.
Hope for survival was right before her eyes!
She emphasized her command, directing her brother more clearly: “Yes, just those, the ones with broad leaves… and that one with small yellow flowers, pull them all! Quick!”
Though slow to react, Liu Congming had an instinctive obedience to his sister.
He hesitated for a moment, then obediently got up and started toward the door.
But a thin, withered hand suddenly grabbed him.
Li Xiuxiu crawled over on her knees, tears streaming, looking at Liu Xiaoman with a voice full of pleading and despair: “Xiaoman, are you delirious from the fever? Why pull those weeds… just lie down, mother… I’ll beg grandmother…”
“Beg her?” Liu Xiaoman’s eyes shot with unprecedented sharpness.
Her gaze was so firm, so cold, it hardly resembled that of a fifteen-year-old dying girl; it was more like a lone wolf protecting her cubs.
She stared at her mother, speaking deliberately, word by word: “Mother, begging grandmother will only make us die faster! Trust me this once—just this once—and we can survive!”
This sudden surge of intense aura immediately intimidated the usually weak and crying Li Xiuxiu.
She instinctively let go of Liu Congming’s hand.
Freed, Liu Congming immediately ran outside like a little worker, clumsily pulling the weeds with his weak little hands, bringing them back to pile beside Liu Xiaoman.
The weeds were still wet with dew and soil, giving off a fresh earthy scent.
Suppressing a heart-wrenching cough, Liu Xiaoman stretched out her emaciated hand and tremblingly touched the pile of weeds. In her mind she shouted: “Recycle!”
The next moment, a miraculous scene unfolded. The dirt-covered weeds vanished from her hand.
At the same time, the points in the lower right corner of her mental panel jumped from “0” to “0.3”. Li Xiuxiu stood frozen, covering her mouth in horror, even forgetting to cry, afraid to make a sound.
Liu Congming just stared blankly and then ran out to bring back another pile.
One pile after another disappeared from Liu Xiaoman’s hands, the points slowly but steadily climbing: 0.3, 0.5, 0.8… Each refresh of the number felt like an injection of vitality, life pulsing anew.
Li Xiuxiu’s body shook like a leaf in the wind, her eyes moving from shock, to confusion, and finally to deep fear.
“That’s enough!” When the points reached “1.25”, Liu Xiaoman immediately shouted in her mind.
Without hesitation, she frantically clicked the 【Exchange】 list in her mind—【Potent Antibiotics】, 【White Rice Porridge】, exchange!
Meanwhile, in the upper room of the Liu family’s old house, Wang Jinhua was cracking sunflower seeds while gossiping to Old Madam Tian, who was resting on the kang:
“Mother, I think the second branch of that cursed family will be blown to death by tonight’s wind. Especially that Liu Xiaoman—she was half-dead this afternoon, probably completely cold by now. Just as well, saves our grain.”
Old Madam Tian didn’t even lift her eyelids, just hummed through her nose, a satisfied smirk at the corner of her mouth.
Little did they know, the person they were sure would die was now fighting for survival in a way they couldn’t understand.
The moment Liu Xiaoman confirmed the exchange, the hut underwent a sudden change.
A red-and-white capsule wrapped in transparent plastic and a steaming bowl of white rice porridge in a thick porcelain bowl appeared on the grass beside her.
The aroma of the porridge was rich and overpowering, instantly filling the broken hut. The sweet, glutinous scent was something Li Xiuxiu and Liu Congming had never smelled before.
This supernatural scene became the last straw for Li Xiuxiu’s nerves.
Her eyes shifted from shock to boundless fear.
A dying daughter could make grass vanish and conjure medicine and unheard-of fragrant porridge… what sort of sorcery was this?
Liu Xiaoman, however, had no time to react to her mother.
Her eyes locked on the life-saving antibiotic and the life-sustaining porridge, one thought in her mind: survive! But immediately, an even more urgent problem presented itself.
She had to come up with a reasonable explanation, or before she died of illness, she might first be scared to death by her weak mother—or worse… be reported and executed.
Li Xiuxiu finally found her voice from the extreme shock.
Pointing at the steaming porridge and strange pill, she backed away, her voice trembling uncontrollably with heavy sobs: “Xiaoman… Xiaoman! What… what kind of sorcery is this? Are you… possessed by something unclean?”