The instant the sharp claws brushed across her throat, the last thing Yun Ting saw was her companion’s blood-stained smile.
They stood back-to-back on top of the ruins.
The smell of gasoline mixed with rotting flesh, exploding in the air around them.
A wave of sadness surged through her heart. As the horde of zombies lunged forward, she tightened her grip on the lighter in her hand.
“This life… was worth it.”
Flames surged toward her like a tidal wave, and Yun Ting lost consciousness.
When the smell of disinfectant mixed with the smoky scent of a coal stove rushed into her nose, Yun Ting suddenly opened her eyes.
The cement ceiling above her was damp and mottled.
She looked around. Beside her was a simple little bed—this wasn’t the leaking air-raid shelter from the apocalypse, but a cramped room furnished with basic wooden furniture.
“Where am I?”
On a chipped brown five-drawer cabinet sat an enamel alarm clock ticking steadily, its hands pointing to 7:10.
She stared blankly at the faded red string on her wrist. A small bead was tied to it—the one the orphanage director had pressed into her hand before she died. It should have snapped during the zombie outbreak, yet now it was neatly wrapped around her pale wrist, the knot still fresh and frayed.
Just as she was lost in thought, the door opened and a voice called out:
“Tingting, are you awake?”
She turned toward the doorway. A woman wearing a blue work uniform walked in, carrying the aroma of freshly steamed buns.
The red paint reading “Serve the People” on her aluminum lunchbox had not yet worn away.
“Why are you staring blankly? Feeling better? Don’t tell me the fever made you stupid?” The woman placed a rough hand on her forehead.
“I… I’m fine,” Yun Ting said hoarsely.
“Here, your favorite steamed buns. Your big brother brought them back for you before going to work this morning. Eat up. If they’re too dry, drink some porridge. Mom has to go to work now. Stay home and rest, don’t run around. I’ll come back at noon to cook.”
“Okay…”
She didn’t know what else to say. Her mind was still foggy, and she couldn’t figure out what was going on.
The woman in the blue work uniform hurried out to work, not noticing anything strange about her daughter.
Grrr…
Her stomach growled.
Yun Ting decided not to think too much for now. Filling her stomach came first.
She took a bite of the soft, fluffy white steamed bun.
“So fragrant…”
She quickly devoured it bite after bite. How long had it been since she’d eaten food like this in the apocalypse? As she ate, her eyes reddened.
In that world, even moldy compressed biscuits were precious. Ice formed from collected rainwater counted as the best “vegetables.”
After finishing the bun, she picked up another enamel mug filled with millet porridge and slurped it down.
“It feels so good to be full…”
After eating her fill, it was time to figure out the situation.
It was obvious—she had joined the ranks of transmigrators.
Judging from the enamel mug labeled “Serve the People,” this was the 1970s.
Looking around, she spotted a calendar hanging on the wall.
May 23, 1973.
Since she was here, what about the original owner of this body?
A wave of guilt suddenly rose in her heart. Considering her situation in the apocalypse, it was impossible that they had switched places. Most likely… the original owner was already gone.
This wasn’t something she had chosen. All she could do now was live well in her place and take care of her parents.
Thinking that way, she suddenly felt lighter, as if a lingering attachment from the original owner had finally faded away.
Her fingers brushed against something hard in her pocket. When she pulled it out, it turned out to be a piece of fruit candy.
The wrapper had faded peony patterns on it, and in red pen someone had written: “For Second Sister.” It must have been given by the original owner’s younger brother.
In the apocalypse, sweetness like this was more precious than bullets. Now it lay warm in her palm, as if carrying someone’s body heat.
Outside the window came the ringing of bicycle bells, mixed with the melody of a broadcast song: “We Workers Have Strength.”
Leaning on the chipped window frame, Yun Ting looked out.
Girls in blue work shirts were pushing their sturdy bicycles toward the factory area. The aluminum lunchboxes in their baskets clinked brightly.
In the distance, chimneys puffed out white smoke. Blue work uniforms swayed on the clotheslines in the wind.
What hung there was exactly the peaceful morning light she had longed for in her dreams.
She noticed a small mirror on the desk.
Curious about the appearance of this body, she picked it up and looked.
“Oh?”
It looked 80% like her, but the complexion was far better than when she had struggled through the apocalypse.
Both had oval faces, bright watery eyes, a small beauty mark at the corner of the eye, and dimples at the corners of their mouths. The original owner’s skin was even fairer than hers.
She examined herself from every angle.
Yes—pretty.
The kind of delicate beauty that made people feel protective.
She was quite satisfied.
Perhaps because she had just recovered from a fever, she soon felt tired and weak. Not long after lying back on the bed, she fell asleep again.
In her dream, an elderly man with an immortal-like aura appeared.
He told her that she was originally Yun Ting of this world.
When she was young, part of her soul had been lost, and that fragment had accidentally drifted to the modern world where she grew up in an orphanage.
This time, she had simply returned to her original body.
The old man also said that after surviving this great disaster, she would have a fate of great wealth and honor, and reminded her to keep her original heart and remain kind.
“Grandpa,” Yun Ting asked, “then do I have any golden finger (special cheat ability)?”
The old man only smiled silently before turning around and disappearing.
When Yun Ting woke from the dream, scenes of this body’s original memories appeared in her mind.
Was she really the original Yun Ting?
From those memories, she learned about her family.
She had a father and mother, two older brothers, one older sister, and a younger brother. She ranked fourth among the siblings.
Her father, Yun Wenming, was a workshop director at a steel factory.
Her mother, Tao Chunjv, was a worker at a textile factory.
Her eldest brother, Yun Zhao, was 23 and also worked at the steel factory. He was already engaged to a woman named Liang Dan, a clerk at the textile factory.
Her second brother, Yun Huai, was 21 and serving in the army, still unmarried.
Her elder sister, Yun Shu, was 20 and worked at the supply and marketing cooperative. She was already married; her brother-in-law Jiang Dong was a purchasing agent there.
Her younger brother, Yun Xu, was 14 and in middle school.
The family was very harmonious. Her brothers and sister treated her very well, and her little brother was especially attached to her.
Because of government policy, every household had to send one child to the countryside.
Aside from Yun Ting and her younger brother, everyone else already had jobs. The original Yun Ting had volunteered to go to the countryside.
Her mother wanted to transfer her own job to her instead, but the original Yun Ting refused. Although she had decided to go, hearing about the miserable experiences of others who had gone to the countryside frightened her so much that she developed a fever.
And then—after the Yun Ting from the apocalypse died together with the zombie horde—she returned directly to this body.
Although she was technically the original Yun Ting, her personality was still somewhat different now. To avoid making her family suspicious, it was better to go to the countryside.
If her personality changed there, it wouldn’t seem strange.
Besides, she was the most suitable person to go.
Her eldest brother was already engaged and would soon get married—how could she take his job?
Her younger brother was still too young, so it was even more impossible for him to go.
Their whole family were factory workers—many people were already jealous. She had to go to the countryside to avoid being reported and causing trouble for the family.
In any case, she wasn’t afraid.
She had survived the apocalypse, crawling through life in such a harsh environment. Compared to that, what was there to fear here?
Wasn’t it better than hiding from zombies every day?
“Ah… it’s just that everyone who transmigrates has a golden finger.”
“So where’s mine?”