“Ugh…” Why does my head hurt so much?
Lu Yao slowly opened her eyes, but she couldn’t see anything. Hadn’t she been carrying out a mission when an enemy spy stabbed her in the back, killing her on the spot?
Could she be in hell now?
Otherwise, why was it so dark?
Yet something felt off. Waves of sharp, unmistakable pain kept crashing over her.
Her brows knitted tightly in agony when suddenly a flood of memories surged into her mind.
What? I’ve transmigrated? Of all the ridiculous things, this had to happen to me?
Before Lu Yao could process the reality of her transmigration, she sensed more than a dozen presences slowly closing in around her.
In her previous life, Lu Yao had been a military doctor attached to a field operations unit. Half the year she was out on missions; the other half she spent conducting research in the laboratory.
Because of that, she had developed an acute awareness of danger in the wilderness.
Almost instinctively, she sprang up into a kneeling position.
Using the faint traces of light around her, she finally made out her surroundings. She was in the middle of a dense forest.
Years of vigilance made her even more cautious now. A strange world and an unfamiliar environment—every one of them was a challenge.
Out of habit, Lu Yao reached for her ankle. In her previous life, they wore military boots, and a dagger was always concealed along the side of the boot.
So she subconsciously went for her dagger.
Only to touch a smooth, bare ankle.
That was when it truly hit her—she had really transmigrated.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
The approaching presences were drawing nearer. Pairs of green-glowing eyes shone through the pitch-black night like rows of eerie little lanterns.
Damn it, Lu Yao cursed inwardly.
Why is my luck this bad? Other people transmigrate into noble young ladies who live in luxury. I transmigrate straight into a wolf pack?
She cried out in her heart:
Heavens, could you at least be reasonable? I made enormous contributions to my country in my previous life. Is this really how you’re treating me?
Perhaps her grievance was too sincere.
Or perhaps even Heaven was afraid of being cursed.
Because at that very moment, the laboratory from her previous life suddenly appeared in her mind.
Lu Yao thought she was hallucinating.
The wolves were getting closer and closer, already regarding her as tonight’s meal. Drool dripped from their jaws onto the ground.
Without thinking, Lu Yao focused on a surgical scalpel inside the laboratory and reached for it mentally.
To her astonishment, the scalpel instantly appeared in her hand.
It seemed she could manipulate the contents of the space through thought alone.
There was no time to study it further.
A wolf had already lunged at her.
Quickly adapting to the darkness, Lu Yao rolled beneath the wolf’s belly, narrowly brushing past it. At the same time, she slashed upward with the scalpel, carving a long wound across its abdomen.
The wolf was immediately disemboweled.
Its entrails spilled onto the ground. Its hind legs twitched weakly a few times before it let out a final howl and died.
Seeing their companion fall before accomplishing anything, the rest of the wolves changed tactics.
Two wolves attacked from Lu Yao’s left at a forty-five-degree angle.
Three more waited behind her, ready to strike.
Another four spread out in front of her and to both sides, cutting off every possible escape route.
Holding the scalpel, Lu Yao’s gaze turned icy. A cold smile curled at her lips.
You little mutts think you can take my life?
Today I’ll show you the deadly scalpel of Wild Lily from the field forces!
Instead of retreating, Lu Yao did the unexpected.
She twisted her waist almost one hundred and eighty degrees.
Keeping her body low to the ground, she hurled the scalpel behind her. It spun through the air and flew toward the three wolves at her back.
The wolves were stunned.
They had assumed she was targeting the wolf in front of her.
None expected her to attack the wolves behind her instead.
Momentarily caught off guard, the entire pack charged at once.
The scalpel struck the front legs of two wolves, cutting deep enough to expose bone.
The injured wolves immediately collapsed to the ground, losing all combat capability.
Taking advantage of her success, Lu Yao rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding the attack from three wolves on her left.
But the maneuver brought her directly in front of two wolves on her right.
Swiftly, she produced another scalpel.
To her surprise, it was identical to the first one.
Apparently, the space could automatically replenish its contents.
She had no time to celebrate.
Facing the charging wolves, she drove the scalpel straight into one wolf’s skull while simultaneously kicking the other wolf away.
In an instant, one wolf was severely wounded and another sent flying.
But a wolf from behind had already reached her.
A sharp pain shot through her calf.
Looking down, she saw that a wolf had sunk its teeth into her leg.
Her face instantly turned as cold as an icy abyss.
Pivoting on her other foot, she spun and kicked the wolf away.
At the same time, her scalpel flashed through the air and struck yet another wolf.
Only three wolves remained.
Lu Yao gave them no chance to recover and charged forward.
The scalpel rose and fell.
The battle was over in moments.
She finished off the wounded wolves one by one, making sure they were completely dead before finally putting away the scalpel.
Only then did the pounding headache return in full force.
She touched her head and felt something sticky.
Bringing her hand to her nose, she smelled blood.
At last, Lu Yao had time to sort through the memories in her mind.
The original owner of this body was also named Lu Yao.
Since childhood, she had traveled from town to town with her father, earning a living through street performances.
Their income was barely enough to survive.
Half a year ago, her father became gravely ill.
They spent every coin they had trying to save him, but in the end they couldn’t keep him alive.
Penniless and unable to afford a burial, the original Lu Yao had prepared to sell herself to bury her father.
That was when Song Hongyi happened to pass by while returning home from military service.
Song Hongyi was raising three children and desperately needed someone to care for them.
He bought Lu Yao’s contract and even paid for her father’s funeral.
Afterward, he took Lu Yao and the three children back to Songyang Village.
Song Hongyi had never married.
When he suddenly returned to the village with a wife and children, his parents were both shocked and delighted.
Only after questioning him carefully did Song Granny learn that none of the children were his, and that the wife had been purchased.
Her attitude changed instantly.
One moment she was calling the children her precious grandchildren; the next, she was calling them burdens and trying to drive them away.
Only after Song Hongyi handed her fifty taels of silver did she agree to let the three children stay.
The wedding itself was simple.
After completing the marriage ceremony with the original Lu Yao, Song Hongyi left for the military camp that very night.
Before leaving, he secretly gave her ten taels of silver and asked her to take good care of the children.
The original Lu Yao readily agreed.
Unexpectedly, less than a month after he returned to the army, tragic news arrived.
Song Hongyi died in battle against the northern barbarians.
The government sent ten taels of compensation money.
The silver never reached Lu Yao.
Song Granny pocketed every coin.
From then on, the original Lu Yao began mistreating the three children and frequently quarreling with Song Granny.
Eventually, Song Granny threw both Lu Yao and the children out of the house.
They found shelter in a dilapidated shack that leaked from every side.
The previous night, seeing the shack on the verge of collapse, three hungry children who needed feeding, and a cruel, unreasonable mother-in-law, the original Lu Yao had decided to run away.
She secretly packed her belongings and fled.
Unfortunately, someone had been watching her.
As she passed through this forest, she was attacked and robbed of everything she owned.
After that came Lu Yao’s arrival in this body.
With a helpless smile, Lu Yao sighed.
What kind of mess is this?
Searching through the original owner’s memories about the children, she discovered that all three were adorable little ones.
She couldn’t help wondering how they were doing now.
Songyang Village was located on the frontier.
Years of famine, frequent harassment by northern tribes, and occasional bandit raids had made life extraordinarily difficult for the villagers.
The hardship they endured was almost unimaginable.
Looking at the dozen or so wolves she had killed, Lu Yao focused her thoughts.
In an instant, she stored all of the wolf carcasses inside her spatial dimension.