Chapter 1: Prologue

“Mom, are you okay?! Mom!”

“Mom! Mom! Hurry up and wake up! Mom!”

…

At some point, Dan Jingqiu was surrounded by constant crying noises. She felt so dizzy that she wanted to stuff her ears with a pillow.

Confused, her brain suddenly did a record scratch. Hold up, What’s going on? Where is that crying coming from?

As a woman living in the modern era, Dan Jingqiu enjoyed a long life of singlehood. Her suite was located on the 23rd floor and it came with first-rate soundproofing. So what was up with these mysterious crying noises she’s hearing?

As she peeled open her heavy eyelids to take a look at her surroundings, a piercing light assaulted her, adding a frown into her squinted face. A few blinks later, she was finally able to take in her surroundings ——

Despite looking at a familiar white ceiling, the simple energy-saving lights were not part of her aesthetic. With a sweeping glance, she could gauge the size of the room, and with a slight tilt, she saw three sobbing girls by her side. They looked young, but she had never seen them all her life, so the entire scenario was starting to point towards some pretty scary answers. Not to mention, the sensations she’s getting from the stiff mattress she’s lying on! Who uses mahjong pads these days?!

As a person addicted to novels and TV drama series’, the truth was as clear as day.

If this were not a dream, this meant that she had transmigrated, as described in those very novels!

Unprepared to respond to the situation, she took the opportunity to shut her eyes and feigned sleep while the other people were too busy wailing to notice.

Despite racking her brains, Dan Jingqiu could not figure out what crime she had committed to be dragged here. The sensations under her body and the obvious pain on the back of her head reminded her that this was not a dream.

Then again, reading novels as a young girl did give her about 1001 of those Mary-Sue like dreams.

HOWEVER! That was all in the past. The current Dan Jingqiu is a 32-year-old woman with a house, car, and personal savings. She was perfectly happy living out her spinster life, so why did she have to be kidnapped and transmigrate into different worlds?!

Thinking back on some of the novels she had read, female leads who transmigrated from a concussion would need to hit their heads again in order to return. Now that’s a solution.

Perhaps…

“That idea in your brain is unlikely to succeed.” Out of nowhere, a voice appeared in her head. Suddenly, the crying sounds beside her ears gradually faded away, replaced by a cold and mechanical sound that was inexplicably clear.

“You can call me ‘Jinjiang System 008’.”

Jinjiang System? What is that? There’s even the number 008? Why eight?? Why not 007?! She internally complained.

The more she panicked, the more she overthinks, and now her mind is filled with irrelevant thoughts.

“Excellent. Your mental endurance currently meets all of our requirements.” 008 is a beginner system that originated from 3000 worlds. Though being designated with the number 008 made it sound like an older model, in reality, it was still undergoing its early trial period. No matter how veteran it may sound, it could not hide the fact that it was still a novice.

The irrational worldviews and extreme encounters within online stories have brought those same worlds to the verge of collapse. Characters living in these stories have generated their own independent souls by merely going on with their day-to-day lives. At this point, the systems would randomly select slightly compulsive and strong-willed hosts to enter story worlds in order to help fulfill the wishes of dissipating souls, and thus, absorb their attachments to their previous lives, which would result in the stabilization of their collapsing worlds.

As for System 008, it had another name…

“Host, you may also call me the ‘Good Mother System’.”

The moment it introduced such an unreliable name, Dan Jingqiu’s jaw almost dropped to the ground. For 32 years of her life, she had never been a mother, nor was she brought up by a loving mother of her own. Forget being a ‘good mother,’ simply being a mother herself was bizarre.

Not to mention, her ‘forever 18’ mentality outright rejects the idea that she was suddenly promoted to a mother-like figure.

While still dwelling in her unorganized thoughts, the cold and mechanical voice continued its annoying chatter.

“Host, please note that every time you travel to a different space, upon finishing your corresponding missions, you may choose to either leave the current world or remain in that world until the end. Once you obtain a sufficient amount of points, you may leave the system world, and return to your place of origin…”

“And if I refuse?”

“You will be erased from existence.”

There was no hesitation in those cruel words. It almost made her burst a vein. While this was reasonable for a fictional novel setting, it was particularly infuriating that SHE was the one who had to be under someone else’s control. Who cares if there were thousands of cheats? It would never compare to her simple life. Who would be ridiculous enough to agree being dragged into this strange world tour?

“Uh, pardon me, System 008, but did you get my consent before dragging into this place? And now you’re talking about erasure? Fine then! Obliterate me! I’m done here!”

After bitterly spitting out her last words, Dan Jingqiu refused to spare the damned system another look. As someone who had always preferred positive reinforcements over negatives, this murderous/kidnapping attitude really annoyed her. Though anyone would have a desire to survive, but to be forced into this sort of agreement?

Hur hur.

“Host, the one terminating you would not be us, but…yourself.” Listening to a reply in an empty world sounded very weird. The following words instantly extinguished her previous fury and replaced it with a cold, sinking feeling. “Your original body was born with hereditary heart disease. You died of a cardiac arrest this morning, they failed to revive you.”

Suddenly, an image of herself materialized in front of Dan Jingqiu’s eyes. She was laying in the middle of her large bed, her complexion pallid, her lips a deathly white, and there were no physical signs of breathing.

Though she wanted to convince herself that this might be another ridiculous hoax, her rationality told her that this was all probably real.

Right, she had always suffered from hereditary heart issues; it was the main reason why she decided to remain single.

“After you reject the mission, we will return your soul back to its original body…”

“And since my body is already dead, I only have death to look forward to?”

“Correct.”

“Then, what if I complete the missions, and earn enough points?”

“Then the system will repair your original body, and allow you to return back to a healthy life.”

…

After a long pause, Dan Jingqiu was still unable to think straight, for everything that happened had already far surpassed her imagination.

Analyzing all sorts of scenarios, her mind was trapped in endless darkness. She had thought that she would be at peace with death, in reality, though, when faced with the possibility of final death, her heart was filled with nostalgia towards living.

The thought of not leaving behind a will and leaving without a plan to divide her assets…

The thought of having no closure, and that her corpse would likely rot at home, producing a horrific smell…

The thought of all the incomplete conversations and words she wanted to say to her friends…

Her various regrets came surging out all at once.

As if it could read her mind, System 008 suddenly announced: “When travelling through worlds, you can redeem corresponding skills with the System. Once a skill is purchased and successfully learned, it would never be erased…”

“Of course, technologies existing beyond its times, and abilities that transcend reality would not be part of the redeemable list.”

Temptations of the devil, unknown worlds, infinite challenges, various kinds of abilities, a sudden jump into the start of a game; even if she were to experience all of that, this once flatlined heart would continue beating.

This is the so-called ‘carrot and stick’ motivation technique. First, you cruelly announce that rejection would lead to death in the original world, then, you present a rare cheat as a life benefit.

What else is there to decide?

She pondered for a while before finally agreeing with a simple ‘Okay.’

She still had unfulfilled desires in the real world.

As for this unknown world, Dan Jingqiu is up for the challenge.

Perhaps this was not such a bad choice, after all.

“Entering World One. Host, please observe the following rules and guidelines: 1) Words and deeds must conform to the character’s personality; 2) No maliciously destroying the world; 3) Points will be rewarded according to the level of task completion. Each time you enter a world, 1,000 points will be deducted. Once the points become excessively overdrawn, the task will be terminated early, and the host will return to the original world. Host, please prepare yourself…”

“Initiating… 3… 2… 1…”

“Character memory, loading mission…”

Dan Jingqiu heard everything loud and clear, but before she had the chance to yell at the System for its heinous practice of initial point deduction, she fell into a deep darkness, and was hit by a sudden influx of memories.

All of a sudden, a figure of an unfamiliar curly-haired woman appeared before her eyes. She had a plump body, and looked rather overbearing. As she stood there with her hand on her hip, she cursed: “Where’d this bastard come from!? Like hell you’re getting my daughter!”

Suddenly, that woman cried out again: “Oh lord, who’s the bastard who deceived you…” Her tearful look was terrible.

Finally regaining her senses, Dan Jingqiu watched the brash woman silently.

Did this garbage System just scam her?!

The author has something to say: Settings:

No going OOC (Out of Character) No destroying the world with malicious intent Excessive point overdraft returns you to real world (Obliteration)

World One: Officially loading ‘The profiteering woman who sells her daughters’!