Li Shuying stared at the porcelain bowl for a long moment, her thoughts in disarray. She did not understand what was happening to her.
Then, like a flash of lightning splitting the night, a memory surfaced.
The novel she had once read.
Her fingers tightened unconsciously. Slowly, she lowered her lashes and formed a single thought in her mind—Enter.
In the next instant, a strange sensation of weightlessness enveloped her. When she opened her eyes again, the familiar mud-brick walls of her room had vanished.
She was no longer seated on her kang bed.
Instead, she stood in an entirely different world.
The sky above her was illuminated like a morning sky, pale and luminous, yet there was no sun to be seen—only an endless expanse of gentle radiance. The light was soft and even, neither warm nor cold, bathing the land in an ethereal glow.
Before her stretched a vast farmland, boundless and silent. The soil appeared rich and dark, carrying the faint scent of earth after rain. However, among the countless plots, only two were ready for harvest. The rest shimmered faintly, each overlaid with a small glowing lock symbol floating in midair.
Li Shuying did not panic.
On the contrary, an inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up within her. From the very moment she arrived, she understood this place as clearly as one knows the lines on one's own palm.
This was the farm simulation game she had once played on her mobile phone.
In her previous life, just before the flowerpot had fallen at her, she had been playing this very game. She remembered clearly—she had already reached Level 60. More than a hundred plots had been unlocked. The ranch thrived with livestock, and even the aquaculture farm had long been in operation.
Yet now—
She stood before only two lonely plots.
Level zero.
After a moment, she lifted her gaze toward a structure in the distance—the control center. It stood slightly apart from the farmland, modest yet dignified. Though it was some distance away, she could see its outline clearly against the luminous sky.
Composing herself, Li Shuying began walking toward it, her steps steady, her eyes quietly observing everything around her.
The space was divided into three distinct areas: the farmland before her, a ranch area further beyond, and the control center that served as the core of operations.
The control center comprised several sections—a warehouse for storage, a processing workshop equipped with machinery, a beehive area, a fully furnished kitchen, a supermarket that had yet to open, and a small wooden hut standing quietly at one side.
Once inside the control center, Li Shuying slowed her steps and carefully surveyed the surroundings. Since this was no longer a mere game on a glowing screen but a physical space, she wondered whether any changes might happen.
However, everything remained exactly as she remembered.
After examining the control room, she proceeded to the processing workshop. The space was vast, lined with neatly arranged machines—grinders, dryers, oil presses, packaging units—each one sophisticated and complete. Yet all of them were shrouded in a dull gray hue, inaccessible.
Without lingering further, she returned to the control panel and opened the store interface. As expected, only three crops were available: pasture (hay), carrots, and white radishes.
So this truly was the beginning.
Li Shuying exhaled softly. "One step at a time," she murmured. In this life, she had already learned that impatience leads only to ruin. Merely possessing this space was a blessing granted by Heaven; she dared not ask for more.
She cleared one of the two available plots and planted hay. The system indicated it would mature in eight hours. Hay was fundamental—the most basic feed for livestock. In her previous life, she had always reserved a fixed plot solely for growing pasture, ensuring that her ranch never ran short of fodder.
On the remaining plot, she planted white radishes, which required thirteen hours to ripen. As for carrots, she chose to leave them aside for now.
Once the radish seeds were sown, she noticed a faint outline beside the farmland—a designated pond area. It was currently grayed out, marked with a small lock icon. Aquaculture would only become available upon reaching Level Five.
Her gaze shifted toward the ranch.
As expected, it too was at Level Zero.
The ranch was divided into multiple sheds arranged in neat rows. At this stage, she could raise only two animals within a single shed. The remaining sheds were sealed, waiting to be unlocked after Level Two.
Without hesitation, she purchased two chicks and placed them into the available coop.
According to the system's instructions, these two chicks would produce four eggs every twelve hours. After twelve harvest cycles, one mature hen would be obtained. Once there were four hens, they would produce eight eggs every twelve hours.
She calculated swiftly in her mind.
Within thirty-six hours, she would obtain twenty-four eggs and one chicken.
And this was merely the beginning.
In an era when even a single egg was a rare delicacy and meat was a luxury seen only during festivals, such a ranch was nothing short of a treasure vault. If managed properly, it could sustain an entire household—and perhaps more.
Just as she allowed herself a faint smile, a notification suddenly flashed across the control panel.
The chicks were hungry.
A small hay icon blinked insistently beside the warning.
Her brows furrowed. She had just planted hay—it would not mature for another eight hours. She paused, thinking carefully, then her gaze shifted toward the warehouse icon.
In her previous life, the warehouse had always been stocked to the brim.
She quickly opened it.
Empty.
The vast storage space was barren, devoid of even a single stalk of fodder.
Whether by system reset or because someone looted her farm before her death in privious life, everything she had accumulated over years of play had vanished like smoke.
She raised a hand and lightly smacked her forehead. "Aiyaa… what am I to do now?" she muttered. "If I don't feed them soon, they'll starve."
For a moment, anxiety flickered across her usually composed face.
Then, like a spark in the darkness, a thought emerged.
The hay in her family's backyard.
Before her mother had sold the chicken, a small bundle of hay had been set aside as a fodder. If this space was truly connected to reality…
"Will it accept real fodder?" she whispered.
Without wasting another breath, she exited the space.
Back in her dimly lit room, she rose quietly and slipped into the backyard. The night air carried the faint chill of early autumn. Moving carefully, she gathered the dried hay stacked near the wall and returned to her room.
Re-entering the space, she poured the dried hay before the hungry chicks.
For a tense heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then—
The chicks pecked at it eagerly.
Li Shuying's eyes brightened with relief. It worked.
A long breath escaped her lips. The connection between this mysterious space and the real world was undeniable.
After ensuring the chicks were fed, she withdrew from the space once more and lay back on her bed, staring at the wooden beams of the ceiling.
Now came the true question.
How was she to level up?
In the original game, she would plant crops, raise livestock, store the produce in the warehouse, and fulfill customer orders. The coins earned from those transactions would accumulate, allowing her to gain experience and advance levels.
But those customers had been virtual figures.
Now?
Would she have to sell the produce in the real world to earn experience?
Would real money translate into system currency?
The implications were profound and dangerous.
If others discovered such a secret than wouldn't her entire family be implicated? As the old saying goes, wealth moves the human heart; even closest relatives may draw blades, and her close relatives in the main household were already a blood sucking leeches.
Her fingers curled slightly under the quilt.
This space was both her greatest fortune and her greatest risk.
With these thoughts swirling like drifting clouds, exhaustion gradually overtook her. Her breathing steadied, and Li Shuying slowly fell into a restless sleep.
The next morning, in the main household of the Li family, Zhao Hongmei was restless.
Because she had failed to complete the task assigned by the system the previous day, ten points of her Protagonist Halo had been deducted. The consequences were immediate and cruel. The subtle glow that once seemed to surround her had dimmed; even her complexion and looks appeared duller in the mirror's faint reflection. Worse still, her inexplicable good fortune felt as though it had slipped through her fingers.
Misfortune, it seemed, had begun to circle her like a patient vulture.
What unsettled her most was not merely the loss of points, but the change within the household. That very morning, her grandmother had reverted to her former coldness, treating her no differently from before she possessed the system. The indulgence and favoritism she had enjoyed were gone. Her influence within the family had visibly weakened.
And yet, the system remained silent.
No new mission.
No guidance.
The uncertainty gnawed at her.
Unable to endure the suffocating atmosphere indoors, Zhao Hongmei stepped outside, intending to clear her mind. As she walked toward the courtyard gate, her gaze fell upon two familiar figures in the distance—Li Shuying and Li Jianmin heading toward the village entrance.
But what truly caught her attention was not the siblings.
It was the sack slung over Li Jianmin's shoulder.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Isn't that the grain bag…?" she murmured under her breath.
In an instant, her pupils dilated. A thought—sharp and venomous—took shape.
Without hesitation, she turned and hurried back toward the house. Just then, Li Guofu had finished his breakfast and was stepping out of the main hall, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
The sight of him filled her with instinctive disgust. His sallow, yellowish face, heavy-lidded eyes and fat body gave him the look of a street ruffian who had never known discipline. But in the blink of an eye, she suppressed her revulsion and replaced it with an expression of concern and grievance.
"Uncle Guofu," she called softly.
Li Guofu, interrupted mid-stride, frowned deeply. His eyes swept over her with irritation. "You little tramp," he snarled. "Can't you see I'm going out? Why are you blocking my way?"
Zhao Hongmei had just been about to squeeze out a few tears, but his words caused her expression to stiffen. Fury flared in her chest.
If there was anyone in this world she despised—aside from Li Shuying—it was this so-called step-uncle of hers.
From childhood, Li Guofu had never once given her a kind look. He was crude, ill-tempered, and perpetually loitering with local hooligans. She had never even attempted to get close to him; he was not only unpleasant to look at but rotten to the core.
Yet today, she had no choice.
The only person capable of helping her retrieve the bank passbook was this very hooligan.
Swallowing her anger, she lowered her gaze and spoke in a subdued voice. "Uncle Guofu, I didn't mean to delay you. But… today I truly had no other choice. Grandma has been very upset since yesterday. I'm worried her health might suffer."
As expected, the mention of his mother softened him—at least slightly.
"What happened to Mother?" he demanded, his tone losing some of its sharpness.
It was not that he held deep filial affection for her, but she was, after all, the one who controlled the household money—and the one who funded his indulgences.
Zhao Hongmei squeezed out two tears, allowing them to cling to her lashes before sliding down her cheeks. "Yesterday, you weren't at the communal canteen and came home very late, so you don't know what happened," she said with a tremble in her voice. "Li Shuying caused a huge scene because Grandma tried to discipline her. She than turned things around and, with the support of the brigade leader and the villagers, reclaimed Uncle Li Guoqiang's allowance passbook."
The words had barely settled before Li Guofu's face drained of color.
"What?" he roared. "That passbook was taken back?"
To him, that passbook was his lifeline. Each month, he received five yuan from his mother. For a seventeen-year-old who spent his days idling with other street youths, five yuan was no small amount.
In fact, it was the very reason he held status among his companions. Compared to others who might scrape together a single yuan, he was jokingly called the "rich tycoon" of their little gang.
Now that foundation had crumbled.
Anger surged within him like a raging tide.
"That little slut—how dare she touch my money!" he shouted, his face flushed red.
He had long forgotten that the twenty yuan a month originally belonged to Li Guoqiang's wife and children. To a man like Li Guofu, right and wrong were irrelevant. Only personal gain mattered.
Zhao Hongmei suppressed a cold snort and continued in a trembling voice, "You don't know how she humiliated Grandpa and Grandma in front of the whole village. She didn't even care that they would lose their filial support money. And now the brigade leader has ruled that Aunt Chen Meilan will pay only two yuan a month—nothing more."
"Two yuan?" Li Guofu exploded. "What am I supposed to do with that miserable sum?"
In truth, two yuan was not insignificant in these times. But to someone accustomed to squandering five yuan monthly, it felt like a humiliating reduction.
Zhao Hongmei lowered her eyes, feigning concern. "Uncle Guofu, please don't be angry. I only told you because I worry about Grandma. You should be more considerate now and not ask her for money anymore… after all, the twenty yuan is gone—"
Before she could finish, a sharp slap cracked across her face.
Smack.
The force of it sent her staggering. Zhao Hongmei froze, stunned, her cheek burning fiercely.
Li Guofu ground his teeth. "You little wretch. Who are you to tell me to control my spending? Who do you think you are? Just a useless money-draining girl."
Zhao Hongmei slowly raised her head. Her eyes blazed with fury, but she did not dare reveal the full extent of her hatred. She was at a disadvantage now. Her Protagonist Halo had weakened; she had no backing.
But she swore silently—When my Halo rises again and I gain wealth and power, after Li Shuying, you will be the next to fall.
Unaware of the storm in her heart, Li Guofu spat on the ground. "Where is that little bitch now? I'll get that passbook back myself. That money is mine. No one touches what belongs to me."
Clutching her aching cheek, Zhao Hongmei replied hoarsely, "I just saw Li Shuying and Li Jianmin heading toward the county with grain bags."
Li Guofu's expression darkened. He spat again in anger. "They dare spend my money? Let's see if they can return to the village in one piece."
With that, he strode toward the village entrance, his footsteps heavy and menacing, chasing after the siblings like a wolf scenting prey.
Behind him, Zhao Hongmei stood still in the courtyard, her cheek swollen, her eyes cold as frost.