"The surgery was successful."
Annie removed her mask and said wearily to Lu Qianqian.
"The shrapnel... it's all been removed."
"It didn't damage any vital organs."
"She is very lucky."
"And also... incredibly tough."
"Her physical constitution is the best I've ever seen."
Hearing Annie's words, Lu Qianqian's tense body gradually relaxed.
She nearly collapsed to the floor.
"Can I... go see her now?" she asked.
"Of course," Annie nodded.
"But she's still under anesthesia and needs quiet."
Ji Wushuang was transferred to a private room.
Lu Qianqian walked into the ward.
She looked at Ji Wushuang lying on the bed, her face as pale as paper.
Her tears could no longer be held back and streamed down.
But this time, she made no sound.
She simply sat quietly by the bedside.
Then, she began to study frantically.
She found the hospital nurses, asking for instruction on various first aid knowledge.
From how to bandage a wound, to how to measure vital signs.
She found a thick copy of The Field Survival Manual and began studying it earnestly.
She vowed never to let what happened today repeat itself.
Never to let herself become a burden to anyone again.
Ji Wushuang woke up on the third day.
Ji Wushuang, true to her name meaning "Peerless."
Lucky and tough.
When she opened her eyes, she didn't see the white ceiling.
Instead, she saw a face etched with exhaustion and worry, yet utterly focused.
Lu Qianqian was holding a medical notebook she had procured from somewhere.
Reading it while softly murmuring something.
"...Shock index equals heart rate divided by systolic pressure. Normal value is 0.5; greater than 1 indicates shock..."
Her voice was very soft, still carrying a hint of hoarseness.
Yet, this voice felt like a warm current flowing into Ji Wushuang's heart.
"Water..."
Ji Wushuang uttered a faint syllable.
Lu Qianqian's head snapped up, seeing Ji Wushuang's open eyes.
Her eyes instantly reddened.
But she didn't cry.
She just quickly pressed the call button.
Then, picked up a cotton swab, dipped it in water.
And carefully moistened Ji Wushuang's parched lips.
Her movements were clumsy, but very gentle, very soft.
Ji Wushuang looked at her, at this girl who seemed reborn in just a few days.
Her eyes no longer held the spoiled willfulness from their first meeting.
Nor the fear she had faced danger with.
All that remained was a settled resilience and sense of responsibility.
Ji Wushuang wanted to say "thank you" to her.
But in the end, only two words came out.
"Not bad."
Lu Qianqian was taken aback for a moment, then, she smiled.
...
Time passed, several more months.
The gunfire and explosions of Country K seemed like a distant memory.
This was Country T.
A country whose name was hard to find even on a map.
Red earth and a scorching sun seemed to be the eternal themes here.
At a dusty temporary medical camp.
Several large white tents stood lonely on the barren plain.
This was another aid station for "Doctors Without Borders."
Lu Qianqian was crouched in the shade of a tent.
She wore a volunteer T-shirt.
She was changing the dressing on a little girl's arm wound.
Her movements were no longer as clumsy as before.
They were skilled and gentle.
Sweat dampened the hair on her forehead, sticking to her cheeks.
Her skin was tanned a healthy honey color.
A few smudges of dust still clung to her face.
Those eyes that once only showed willfulness and confusion now held only focus and calm.
She was a completely different person from the exquisitely doll-like young lady of a few months prior.
The little girl was very well-behaved, not crying or fussing.
Just staring at her with big, clear black-and-white eyes, full of curiosity.
"All done."
Lu Qianqian tied the final knot.
She looked up and gave the little girl a gentle smile.
She took a piece of candy from her pocket.
And handed it over.
The little girl happily accepted it.
In the local dialect, she whispered, "Thank you."
Lu Qianqian smiled and patted her head.
After completing the research in Country K, her and Ji Wushuang's footsteps began appearing all over the world.
From war-torn borders to plague-ridden villages.
From drought-cracked deserts to flood-swept river valleys.
She had seen too much death.
And also too many resilient lives struggling to survive amidst hardship.
She was no longer afraid, nor confused.
She had found something more important than the identity of "the Lu family heiress."
Just then.
Ji Wushuang walked quickly to her side.
She handed over a satellite phone.
On the screen was a piece of news from back home.
"Qianqian, take a look at this."
Lu Qianqian, somewhat puzzled, took the phone.
When her eyes fell upon the headline, bolded and enlarged in bright red font.
She felt as if struck by lightning.
[Shocking Secret! The Inside Story of the Eighteen-Year True and False Heiress Saga in the Top-Tier Lu Family, A Meticulously Orchestrated Life Swap!]
Buzz—!
Lu Qianqian's mind went completely blank.
She felt the whole world spinning.
She couldn't make out the dense text in the report.
But those few key phrases were exceptionally glaring.
"Cuckoo occupying the magpie's nest."
"Liu Mei's daughter."
"Deceived for eighteen years."
Her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
She wasn't the Lu family's daughter?
She was the daughter of that woman—Liu Mei—who had destroyed her family?
So, everything she had possessed for the past eighteen years.
Her father's affection, her mother's doting, her brothers' indulgence...
All of it was a lie?
A life she had stolen from someone else?
A massive wave of humiliation and absurdity threatened to drown her.
She instinctively wanted to scream.
To burst into loud sobs.
To immediately return to Jingzhou and confront everyone!
But when her gaze swept around.
Seeing those children still striving to live on this barren land.
Seeing those international doctors still standing firm at their posts under harsh conditions.
Seeing the steadfast Ji Wushuang beside her, always protecting her...
A completely different emotion slowly overwhelmed the shame and panic about to erupt.
She remembered many things.
Remembered her eldest brother's almost cold attitude towards her over the past six months or so.
Remembered the "Young Leaders Independence Plan" her eldest brother had forced her to join.
Remembered the words her eldest brother had said to her when seeing her off at the airport.
"Qianqian, the value of a life never depends on where you stand, but on where you look."
"I hope you can find the sky that truly belongs to you."
At the time, she hadn't fully understood her brother's deeper meaning.
Only at this moment did she awaken as if from a dream.
Instantly, she understood all of her eldest brother's struggles!
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
