When Shen Zhiyao opened her eyes, she immediately sat upright and scanned the entire room. Aside from a single bed, a table, a chair, and a wardrobe, there was nothing—about the size of the bathroom in her previous world’s house. Shen Zhiyao quickly whispered, “Enter,” and immediately arrived in her space. Seeing Bai Bai and all the stockpiled goods, she let out a long sigh of relief.
“You scared me to death! Suddenly being in an unfamiliar place—even though I was prepared, it’s still terrifying. Thank goodness you’re here!” she said, hugging Bai Bai tightly and pressing her face against him. Bai Bai struggled and nearly toppled over, waving his front paws frantically.
“Quick! Let go! I can’t breathe!”
Shen Zhiyao hurriedly loosened her hold, smiling apologetically. “Sorry! I just got too excited seeing you.”
Bai Bai rolled his eyes. “We’re best friends. Once bonded, we’ll never be apart. Don’t worry. I’m going to give you your task rewards now, and then explain your identity in this era.”
“Yay! What rewards?”
“First, in the past two months, you filled every warehouse and villa, and over 10,000 shipping containers were added to the mountain. The system has a lot of rewards for you, as recognition for your efforts.”
“Tell me, what are they?”
“Reward one: money from this era. Two boxes of Da Tuanjie bills from the novels, plus various notes valid nationwide—you can use them anywhere. Also, twenty stamped letters of introduction, which in this era act like IDs wherever you go. Be careful using them; if it’s inconvenient, you can fill them out yourself.”
“Wow, that’s amazing! System, don’t worry—if there are more tasks, I’ll complete them overachievingly.”
“Don’t get too excited. That’s just the first reward. Reward two: 50% of your combat power. While it doesn’t match the real killers from other parallel worlds, in this era, you can practically walk around unchecked. Even though you stockpiled many firearms, try not to use them. If anyone notices, you’ll be captured and dissected.”
Shen Zhiyao was so excited she couldn’t speak. What kind of divine system was this? No need to grind for upgrades like in the novels—the moment you activate it, everything is given, with additional rewards! Even though she had spent the last two months running across the world, everything she collected was for her own use! She hugged Bai Bai and pressed a kiss to his face. If Bai Bai had a face, it would have been red as a monkey’s bottom by now.
“Ahem! Okay, I know I’m cute—don’t do that,” Bai Bai coughed. “Now, let me tell you about your identity. As I said before, this is a ‘body swap’ scenario—you’re not just a spirit, your whole self has crossed over. The girl who originally held this body drowned when you arrived; her body won’t be found—it sank to the bottom of the river. But don’t worry, her soul has traveled with you, though we don’t know which parallel world she went to. She has the same name as you, Shen Zhiyao, now 19 years old. Her father, Shen Congjun, was a soldier who died when she was 15. Her mother died the same year from illness, and her grandparents and extended family are gone, leaving almost no relatives.”
“Almost?”
“Yes. There is one uncle, Shen Congguo, but he’s a bad person—he only pretends to be good. Three days after her mother’s death, he came to her house, ostensibly to care for her, but actually to seize her mother’s job, the house, and inheritance. You know how jobs worked in this era—they could be quietly sold or transferred. When Shen Congguo arrived, he promised not to marry, supposedly to care for his only niece. Back in the countryside, he had no chance of marrying anyway—lazy, unmotivated, and even widows wouldn’t marry him. But a year later, when Shen Zhiyao was 16, he brought home a woman named Li Guizhi, who had a daughter older than Shen Zhiyao, Niu Xiaohua, both from the countryside. Li Guizhi had been kicked out by her previous man and had nowhere else to go, so she came with Shen Congguo. He claimed it was to care for the girl, but in reality, Li Guizhi wanted the house and job, and Niu Xiaohua was jealous of Shen Zhiyao’s looks. Oh, and the original Shen Zhiyao resembled you before your soul refinement, but not as beautiful as you are now, so don’t worry about revealing yourself.”
Shen Zhiyao nodded. “Did the previous Shen Zhiyao know about them? Why didn’t she drive them away?”
Bai Bai jumped down and lay on a lounge chair in the yard. “She knew a little. That foolish Niu Xiaohua was too obvious, constantly opposing her and trying to steal her money and clothes. She wanted to chase them out, but before she could, that awful Li Guizhi secretly registered her for the ‘Down to the Countryside’ program. Last night, Shen Congguo even wanted to marry her off to some old man who had killed his wife. One wanted to marry her off, the other to send her to the countryside—they argued half the night. In the end, Li Guizhi used her feminine wiles and won. Once the registration was submitted, no one could change it. She was furious and jumped into the river. Even if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have survived long anyway. Li Guizhi also bribed a fellow ‘educated youth’ so that when Shen Zhiyao arrived in the countryside, she’d be trapped there. Li Guizhi wanted her out of the way so she could use the house and job freely. But given Shen Zhiyao’s character, if this had happened, she certainly wouldn’t have lived!”
Shen Zhiyao sat beside Bai Bai. “Heh, since I’m here, I’ll deal with them properly. Not for anything else—just to honor her by using her identity.”
Bai Bai nodded. “Do as you wish. Open your awareness. You’ll meet many people in this life, and I’ll remind you to avoid mistakes.”
“Mm, don’t worry. I was too busy before, trying to stockpile everything. From now on, I’ll spend every day here with you.”
Thinking of her previous life, Shen Zhiyao asked shyly, “Where is Captain Lu? Will I meet him? Don’t misunderstand—I just want to find a chance to repay him.”
Bai Bai rolled his eyes again. “Haha, you can’t hide anything here. You’ll meet him. He’s currently at the location where you’ll be sent in your previous life, catching spies. You’ll meet him when you go down there. He’s not called Captain Lu; his name is Lu Sicheng, 23 years old, a regiment commander in a unit in the capital. But he doesn’t remember you. Take your time repaying him—don’t scare him again.”
Shen Zhiyao poked Bai Bai on the head. “What do you take me for? I’ve never dated, but I was the campus beauty of a dance university in my previous world! Just meeting a man doesn’t mean I’ll pounce!”
“Heh, best remember that,” Bai Bai said.
They exchanged smiles. Bai Bai ran off to organize the supplies, chasing chickens and herding sheep. Shen Zhiyao returned to the villa, grabbed some of the rice, boiled meat, and spicy tofu she had stockpiled, and devoured it. She finished with a can of soda, belched without shame, put the dishes in the dishwasher, and went upstairs to shower and sleep. Two months of nonstop activity, plus jet lag and absorbing all the information from the past few days, had left her exhausted.
After sleeping two days and one night in the space, Shen Zhiyao wasn’t worried at all—the space’s one month equaled just one day outside. After washing and dressing, she picked a white dress from the era-themed wardrobe, paired it with white shoes, and tried braiding her long black hair in a front braid, but it stuck out too much. She decided on a simple low ponytail instead.
Once she was ready, she waved to Bai Bai. “Heh, Yao’s going to start dealing with the trash now!”