That night, a bright red bridal sedan chair swayed its way toward the villa in the western outskirts.
Bai Zhi sat inside, cold and starving. If her stomach hadn’t been completely empty, she was certain the bumpy ride would have made her vomit already.
Two hours earlier, she had suddenly been transported from a laboratory at the base to this unfamiliar place.
A woman calling herself Aunt Zhao had wept and chattered endlessly in her ear.
From her ramblings, Bai Zhi learned that she was now the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yong’an. She also had an older brother born of the same mother. Their mother had died in childbirth when giving birth to her, and because Aunt Zhao had been close friends with her mother, she had often looked after the siblings.
When Bai Zhi was eight years old, the Marquis of Yong’an had believed the words of a fortune-teller and sent her to a rural estate. She had only been brought back two days ago.
Originally, her eldest sister—the legitimate eldest daughter of the Marquis—was engaged to the Fifth Prince. But the Fifth Prince had angered the Emperor by pleading on behalf of the Crown Prince. As punishment, he had been forced to kneel in the snow for two days and two nights and was now confined to the villa in the western outskirts.
The Marquis believed the Fifth Prince was finished, so he ordered Bai Zhi to marry in place of his legitimate daughter.
“Zh’er… from now on, you’ll have to rely on yourself…”
After stuffing a gold bracelet into Bai Zhi’s hand, Aunt Zhao had watched as she was helped into the bridal sedan chair.
Zh’er?
Why had Aunt Zhao called her Zh’er? Could it be that her new identity was also named Bai Zhi?
Bai Zhi glanced once more at the two green numbers floating inside her bridal veil.
64!
Gathering her strength, she lifted a corner of the veil.
Sure enough, the number appeared again, now hovering over the sedan curtain.
Was this number attached to her?
And what did it mean?
Could it be…
Had she entered some kind of infinite survival game?
Before she could think further, they had arrived at the villa in the western outskirts.
“Please, Bride, step out of the sedan chair.”
A pair of fairly delicate hands helped Bai Zhi down.
Starving and dizzy, she nearly collapsed, but someone on the other side caught her in time.
Supported from both sides, she was escorted into a candlelit room and then heavily deposited onto a bed.
The moment she lost support, she toppled backward.
Her head landed directly on someone’s body, while her waist and back were jabbed painfully by something underneath her.
What followed was the wedding ceremony.
Someone cut a lock of hair from both Bai Zhi and the person lying on the bed. Then came the rustling sounds of ritual preparations.
“…A match made by heaven, a perfect union, everlasting happiness, deep affection…”
One by one, the people in the room withdrew.
Soon, only Bai Zhi and the other person remained.
Finally, they’re gone!
Bai Zhi immediately threw off her bridal veil.
Ignoring everything else, she reached behind her and pulled out whatever had been digging into her back.
As expected—
Red dates.
Peanuts.
And longan fruit.
Her eyes lit up.
Quickly, she stuffed a red date into her mouth.
Sweetness spread through her mouth.
How long had it been?
How long since she’d eaten anything sweet?
Her nose stung slightly.
She shoved two more dates into her mouth.
After the zombie horde breached the base, Bai Zhi had sealed the laboratory shut with her metal manipulation ability.
She had survived on nutrient solution for three months before eventually starving to death in the lab.
And now, after opening her eyes again, she had arrived here.
This body’s original owner had also been imprisoned for refusing the substitute marriage and hadn’t eaten a single proper meal in two days.
Forget sweets.
How long had it been since she’d eaten real food?
Peanut shells and longan peels scattered around her feet.
With food finally in her stomach, Bai Zhi at last regained some strength.
The green number continued floating in the air.
But it had already dropped from 64 to 60.
What exactly did it mean?
A countdown?
Would she return to her original world once it reached zero?
But she didn’t want to go back.
She didn’t want to return to that homeland that had become a wasteland.
Bai Zhi lowered her gaze to the gold bracelet on her wrist.
Its design was simple and ancient, yet solid and heavy.
With a thought, the bracelet flowed like liquid metal, climbing up her arm before tightening around her upper arm.
Her eyes widened.
Her metal-element ability was still here!
Wonderful!
The discovery calmed her considerably.
Only then did she turn her attention to the person lying on the bed.
The man lay perfectly still.
His skin was pale and bloodless.
He had a high nose bridge and sharp brows that slanted elegantly toward his temples.
Though his eyes were closed and his body was frighteningly thin, it was easy to see that he was handsome.
But he lay there so motionless that she couldn’t even hear him breathing.
Could he be dead?
Was someone planning to frame her for murder?
Bai Zhi’s expression hardened.
She reached out to check his breathing.
“What are you doing?! Don’t touch my Imperial Brother!”
The door burst open.
A small figure charged in like a cannonball.
Acting purely on instinct, Bai Zhi kicked out.
The little figure was sent tumbling across the floor.
Staring at her in disbelief, he shouted,
“You dare hit me?!”
Only then did Bai Zhi realize the intruder was merely a boy of about ten years old.
“I’m going to kill you!”
The boy lunged again.
Taking advantage of her longer reach, Bai Zhi grabbed him by the throat.
“L-Let… go…”
The boy was surprisingly strong.
As he struggled, his nails scratched her face.
A cold gleam flashed through Bai Zhi’s eyes.
She tightened her grip.
Unfortunately, this body was too weak.
The boy managed to break free.
The moment he escaped, he charged again.
Bai Zhi’s patience snapped.
Throwing her entire weight forward, she tackled him to the floor.
Then she flipped over and pinned him beneath her, straddling him while clamping both hands around his neck.
The boy couldn’t breathe.
Suddenly—
An alarm sounded in the room.
Bai Zhi looked up.
The green number in the air was plummeting.
30… 25… 20…
What was happening?
15… 10…
Her pupils contracted.
A large red exclamation mark appeared beside the number and began flashing.
At that very moment, something invisible wrapped violently around Bai Zhi’s throat.
“Ugh!”
Forgetting the boy entirely, she clawed desperately at her neck.
But she couldn’t feel anything there.
Nothing at all.
Yet she was being strangled.
“Cough… cough…”
Two bouts of violent coughing echoed through the room.
The boy finally recovered and tried to shove Bai Zhi away.
But she still weighed heavily on top of him.
“What… are you doing?”
Both of them froze.
Then they turned simultaneously toward the bed.
Bai Zhi’s first thought:
What a sickly beauty of a man!
His features were as refined as a painting.
His handsomeness was tinged with a frail, almost ethereal air.
His deep eyes resembled ancient wells—quiet, unfathomable, and profound.
Combined with his bloodless lips…
She couldn’t even find words to describe him.
The boy burst into tears.
“Imperial Brother! You’re finally awake! This bad woman tried to kill me!”
Bai Zhi immediately scrambled off him.
“He started it! He tried to kill me first!”
Seeing the red marks around his younger brother’s neck, Xiao Zelan frowned.
Then his gaze shifted toward the young woman dressed in crimson wedding robes.
His new bride.
She was petite and painfully thin.
The childishness had yet to fade from her face, making her look no older than thirteen or fourteen.
At this moment, she sat on the floor with tears in her eyes—the involuntary tears caused by strangulation.
A bloody scratch marred her chin.
Around her neck was an ugly purple bruise that looked particularly severe.
Xiao Zelan frowned and looked toward Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu was equally bewildered.
When had he ever strangled that woman?
“Imperial Brother, I never touched her neck! She’s framing me!”
He glared viciously at Bai Zhi.
“Bai Zhiluo, you wicked woman! What trick are you playing now?”
Xiao Zelan’s voice turned stern.
“Xiao Yu! Mind your manners.”
Bai Zhiluo?
Xiao Yu?!
Bai Zhi froze.
Weren’t those names from the novel she’d been reading?
Could it be…
Had she transmigrated into a book?!?