"...And she's just going to... Look like that? Can't you fix it?"

Li Mei stared at the ceiling of a hospital room, her vision blurred and unfocused. She heard her mother's tearful and pitiful voice in the hall, whispering in hushed tones to the doctor in charge of her care.

Fake.

So fake.

Everything she'd been through, everything she did to survive and escape that filthy bastard...

Her pale lips twisted into a mockery of a smile as she raised one trembling hand to touch the bandages on her face.

Pain.

But she was used to pain by now, wasn't she? She registered its existence and moved on with her thoughts, not even bothering to make a noise.

Her mother entered the room.

A beautiful woman, with a flawless face as though it were sculpted from porcelain by the world's finest artisan. Such a woman stared with disdain at the teenager on the hospital bed, plump pink lips barely curled into a faint sneer. Disgust flashed in her dark phoenix eyes.

They stared at each other in silence. Li Mei's eyes remained disinterested and calm, showing no sign of the pain tormenting her slender body. She knew better than to expect anything from her mother. Any warmth or kindness.

Indeed, when the woman's plump lips shifted from a sneer to a smile, Li Mei already knew what was coming.

Chang Yezi already told her. As disgusting and twisted as that man was, he'd never lie to her.

Not Li Mei, his precious treasure. His protege. Xiao Hua he called her, Little Blossom.

No. Chang Yezi wouldn't lie to her. And he had the evidence to back up his claims, anyway.

"You survived," Liu Biyu said softly, approaching the bed. Li Mei kept the emergency alert button in the palm of her hand, ready to call for a nurse just in case. "What a pity... It would have been easier for you otherwise."

"I see we're dropping pretense?" Li Mei scoffed, her words slurred by the pain medication pumping in her veins. "Mother dearest."

Once upon a time, she believed her mother loved her. Once upon a time, Liu Biyu was a kind and doting mother who spoiled her adorable daughter.

Until her daughter got older. And prettier. Until her daughter became everyone's favorite, even receiving the unnatural attention and love of her own father. He refused Liu Biyu's many attempts to marry off their daughter, insisting on keeping her in their home. Taking her with him on business trips while his wife stayed behind to manage the household.

Liu Biyu kept up her act of a doting mother, but her intent changed: drag the daughter down with poisoned honey words, sweet to the ear but laden with hidden danger.

Too bad Li Mei was clever and picked up on hostility right away. She noticed her mother's shift in attitude, her father's strange and often uncomfortable favoritism. But Li Mei played oblivious, went along with their act for as long as she continued to reap benefits from her status while keeping herself relatively safe. Avoiding her father's advances and her mother's plots, dancing around situations with all the grace and elegance of a professional ballet diva.

For over a year she planned her escape with meticulous care, wary of her father's growing impatience and boldness, but too bad Liu Biyu made her move first.

Sharp light flashed across Liu Biyu's eyes, and she leaned forward to grip her daughter's arm. "Wretched, ungrateful bitch!" She hissed, spitting words like venom from the fangs of a snake, only to calm herself when she saw the mocking smile on her daughter's bandaged face. Liu Biyu composed herself, removing a handkerchief from her purse and placing it on the seat of a chair before sitting down. As though afraid the hospital would infect her. "You will be removed from the family registry in six months, once the news has died down and legal affairs are concluded. A generous lump sum far greater than you deserve will be deposited in your account as long as you behave yourself until then, your hospital fees will be paid in full, and then you'll be on your own. You will have nothing to do with the Li family ever again."

"Oh?" Li Mei raised her eyebrows, ignoring the sharp pain it caused. "Couldn't talk him out of the money, I see. Your charm really isn't anything special."

Anger churned in Liu Biyu's belly, but she stamped it down. She already won and this was the last time she'd ever have to see the wretched child again, there was no point getting angry at the thrashing of a dying beast. Instead, she wore an expression of triumph and tilted up her chin. "You've become a household name, aren't you proud? The entire country knows your name. Everyone knows what a revolting disgrace you are!

"The money will run out soon enough. Then you'll live in the squalid gutters where ungrateful filth like you belongs. And you don't have your looks to fall back on anymore! But don't worry, I hear poor men aren't picky. Many of them would be quite excited to taste used and broken goods like you."

Li Mei narrowed her eyes. Used goods? Taking her physical condition into account she could understand the 'broken' part, but 'used'...

Ah.

She was held captive by that psychopath for so long, of course everyone would assume...

Li Mei sighed, then curled her lips into a gentle smile. How funny. She was more in danger - in that regard at least - from her own blood-related father than she was from a psychopathic serial killer. "Are you done gloating? Your voice is giving me a headache."

Liu Biyu snorted and stood, brushing invisible dust off her skirt. Her beautiful face had a calm, benign expression as she glanced at the child on the hospital bed without any warmth in her eyes. "I'll be living happily and comfortably in the Li family estate. I will give your father a son soon and my position will be secured. You'll be forgotten."

"So will you, once your supposed son takes your place as his favorite," Li Mei laughed. "Just like I did!"

PA!

Liu Biyu slapped the injured girl with as much force as she could muster. Li Mei hit the emergency button, ears ringing as blood dripped down her neck from the gouges Liu Biyu's nail carved in her cheek. She licked her lips, still smiling at the enraged beauty trembling with unrestrained fury at her bedside.

"You are nothing!" Liu Biyu hissed through her teeth.

"Still better than you," Li Mei whispered.

Before Liu Biyu could respond, several nurses rushed in to check the patient's condition. Liu Biyu left the room without another word before she could be questioned about the fresh marks on Li Mei's cheeks.

Li Mei sighed, staring into empty space as she sat in her mountaintop garden. The research facility looked so much like a hospital that old ugly memories rose to the surface in response once she was somewhere safe again. She managed not to suffer flashbacks while her life was in danger, but once it was quiet again...

How long had it been since she remembered what happened with such detail? Or even acknowledged what things were like back then?

She struggled so hard to break free from her family in every way. Moving to a different country, living in a small town, getting a plain and boring job and just living a casual life. No longer forced to be a wealthy little socialite debutante, hiding pain and secrets behind a fake smile.

Li Mei forced herself to move on. She didn't dwell on what she lost, and only looked forward to the life she wanted. Simple, comfortable, filled with luxury she earned with her own two hands.

And if she had nightmares or awoke in tears, she'd scrub in the shower until her skin was red and comfort herself with junk food until morning, when warm morning sunlight chased away the shame that bubbled to the surface during the darkest parts of the night.

During the day, it was so easy to pretend it never happened. And eventually the nightmares stopped. Memories faded. She didn't forget, she could never forget.

But she could heal. She could be strong. Had to be strong. Because there was no one to help her if she crumbled to pieces.

Li Mei refused to give them the satisfaction.

And with everything that happened since taking over 44's body, she really didn't see a need to delve into the past and bring up things that would never matter again.

Yet, the research facility... And those medical tools, like the ones Chang Yezi used... Hana's body, so battered and broken with those big eyes full of despair and resignation.

Li Mei shuddered.

Too much. Too familiar.

That empty blank stare...

Bao laid his head on her lap, watching her with concerned eyes. Her condition was so strange ever since she returned, and he was worried.

"Hey Bao, can you keep another secret?" Li Mei asked, tousling the fur between his short stubby antlers. When the Fera snorted his assent, she smiled and leaned close to his big bat-like ears. "I have memories of another life."

Bao's eyes opened wide, sparkling with curiosity.

"Really! A whole life. Some of them are pretty bad memories. Not all of them, but... Enough to still make me sad even now. And I... I don't really know what to do when I'm sad like this. It just hurts." Li Mei clenched her hand into a fist and pressed it to her heart. "I'm used to physical pain, but this kind of pain... It's really the worst, isn't it?"

Bao snorted again. He closed his four eyes and sat up, leaning against Li Mei and resting his head on her shoulder. He pretended not to notice when droplets of water fell on his body, warm and bitter tears from the shaking girl trying so hard not to let them fall.

For the first time in his life, the young Fera really wished he could speak.

Just as she claimed, Hana's wings were healed in just a few days. Thanks to regular nutritious meals provided by Otto, the girl was looking much healthier and happier.

"What do you both want to do in the future?" Li Mei asked after breakfast, tapping her spoon against the bowl.

Hana answered without hesitating: "To stay with you."

Otto glanced at Li Mei and looked at the ground, a pink tint on his fair face. He finally figured out Li Mei was a girl, and hadn't been able to look her in the eye ever since. "I'm your employee, so... I go where you go."

Li Mei glanced at Bao, who rolled three of his four eyes. "You'll have to be strong enough to stand on your own, you know? You have to be able to protect yourselves. If you wanna stay with me, you'll have to survive my training."

Hana and Otto both nodded, wearing determined expressions. "Yes!"

Li Mei sighed, but she was actually a little happy deep in her heart. But just in case they changed their mind later, or couldn't handle her level of training, she didn't allow herself to feel too pleased. "I won't make you do anything I can't do or haven't done before. I'll be training right alongside you. But even so it'll be difficult. You may even prefer to die! Are you really sure?"

Hana retained the same determined expression, while a flash of reluctance flickered across Otto's eyes. In the end, both of them nodded again.

Li Mei already had an established schedule for herself. Wake up, circulate mana, Training Room for an hour, eat, spar with Bao as a warm-up, descend into forest until evening, return home to eat and bathe, circulate mana again, study the Archives for awhile and go to sleep. She slept soundly for eight hours a night, considered quite short by Elysian standards since their days were 30 hours, but any longer than that and she'd start to feel sluggish and get headaches.

Otto and Hana weren't ready to explore the forest, so she broke her schedule to train them first. For an entire month, Li Mei and Bao only left the mountain peak to retrieve food from the forest. Otherwise, every waking moment was spent helping the other two get stronger.

They didn't have an Interface or Quests to grant stat points. They could only rely on Li Mei's foundational training, most of which involved merciless sparring or harsh exercise until everyone collapsed.

Hana preferred hellish training to being a science experiment, and could feel her strength growing exponentially with each match. No matter how exhausted she was at the end of the day, Hana always woke up ready to go the next morning.

Otto, on the other hand, was far more reluctant. He didn't like fighting or training, but the mission with his teammates opened his eyes to the world's reality.

If he were stronger, could he have stopped them from killing civilians?

If he were stronger, could he have saved everyone from becoming soldiers in the first place by breaking free of Oriole's manipulative clutches?

If he were stronger...

Otto really didn't want to be stronger! He just wanted to live peacefully in a nice quiet home, perhaps take up gardening or tea brewing. But in such a dangerous world, where even a mission to a forest threatened his life, he had to be stronger to protect his future quiet life.

So even if he was reluctant, he still endured Li Mei's training. For the sake of his garden!

A month passed in a blur of repetitive exhaustion.

Li Mei finally deemed them ready to venture into the forest. Her old schedule was adapted to include magic sparring practice with Hana, and marksman training with Otto before they all descended as a group into the forest.

Hana was agile and dexterous, adept at manipulating mana into powerful fire spells to hit enemies from surprising angles. She learned by observing Li Mei, picking up the older girl's penchant for stealth, ambush tactics, and traps to handle most opponents.

She memorized everything Li Mei taught her like a dry sponge absorbing water. Medicinal herbs and poisons were of particular interest to her, and Hana started spending her free time in the evenings brewing concoctions with plants and materials they foraged during the day.

Otto was skilled at using the guns they looted from his erstwhile companions, and also displayed surprising capability in crafting. Originally Li Mei handed off monster materials just to see what they'd do with them, but after Otto's weapons turned out even sturdier than the ones she made herself, Li Mei shoved all responsibility for crafting to Otto's plate.

He was delighted by the task. It didn't matter if he wasn't as strong as the two younger girls, both of whom held a surprising amount of bloodthirst in their tiny bodies. As long as he could defend himself and avoid injury in combat, he was happy. Being able to support them with suitable weapons, tools, or even meals during rest periods, was much more satisfying to his heart than increasing his own ability to fight.

Bao, meanwhile, determined he didn't like seeing his new friends get hurt. Of their little group, the Fera was physically the strongest and most capable even if he couldn't learn weapon techniques like Li Mei or use flashy magic like Hana.

Fera knew instinctively what they had to eat to develop their bodies in certain directions. Bao hunted tough enemies on his own, with thick hides and muscles like steel, devouring them endlessly to increase his strength.

Aside from the dense shaggy fur on his body, his limbs began growing thick scales instead of fur, his awkward lean frame filling out into something sturdy and intimidating. Bone-like spurs grew on his elbows and down the length of his newly scaled tail, while his antlers changed and lengthened into crystalline horns.

Of course, Li Mei didn't forget to increase her own ability while coordinating with her allies. She didn't know when Faust would return, so she treated every day like it was the last opportunity she had to hunt in the forest.

Just like that, the little group of four settled into a comfortable team dynamic. Learning together, fighting together, growing together. A comfortable routine, rarely broken except when someone - usually Otto - was foolish enough to get hurt.

Another month passed.

Then another.

And before any of them had realized, more than year had already flown by.

Li Mei sat in her mountaintop garden one evening and stared with a dazed grin at the many Interface windows floating in her field of vision, mauve eyes sparkling. Finally! After so long, finally it happened!

She maxed out the last of her base stats by completing a Quest regarding the Training Room, thereby completing the Skillset Quest, and officially broke free of the constraints of negative EXP!

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[Skillset]

★★★★★

- Raise all base stats to 10

- Learn Throw Lv.1

- Raise Sense to Lv.4

- Defeat 10 enemies with traps

- Defeat 10 enemies through ambush

Completed!

Reward: 2500000 EXP, Storage Lv.2 Upgrade, Acrobat Trait

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[Storage Lv.2]

Active effect. Allows storing of items in an extradimensional space. Items stored exist in stasis, allowing the preservation of perishables. Multiple items placed in storage will not interact or mix with each other.

Opening the Storage window and intentionally focusing on an object within arm's reach will store it if there's enough space to do so. Likewise, focusing on an item displayed in the Storage window will queue it for removal. You will have to designate an appropriate area, also within arm's reach, for the item's removal.

At Lv.2, the space available for storage is 5 cubic meters.

Can be easily accessed via the bag icon under the minimap.

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[Acrobat]

Agile and flexible, your body is like that of a feline - or a monkey. You never lose your balance without outside interference, and walking on a thin wire is as easy for you as traversing a paved road.

Gain Skill [Parkour].

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[Parkour Lv.1]

Parkour allows you to get from one point to another in a complex environment, without equipment and in the fastest and most efficient way possible. Parkour includes running, freerunning, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, plyometrics, rolling, crawling and other movements as deemed most suitable for the situation.

Parkour involves seeing one's environment in a new way, and imagining the potential for navigating it by movement around, across, through, over and under its features.

At Lv.1, directing mana to your eyes highlights available surfaces you can reach with a cyan glow. Surfaces shown are only ones you can reach with your current physical ability. Detection range limited to within 10 meters of your position.

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NAME: Li Mei

RANK: 0 (100%)

HEALTH: 100%

AGE: 14

SPECIES: Human (? ? ?)

JOB: Disciple

CORE: 100%

C.GRADE: A+

C. QUALITY: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

MANA: 1000/1000

M. QUALITY: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

EXP: 2091

STR: 10

CON: 10

DEX: 10

INT: 10

WIS: 10

GIFT: [Barrier Lv.3]

TITLES: [Disciple] [Experiment 44] [Illegitimate Child] [Sky Serpent Apprentice]

TECHNIQUES: [Celestial Crane of the Northern Winds (Apprentice)] [Hecatoncheires (Apprentice)]

TRAITS: [Acrobat] [Enslavement Bind] [Poison Resistance]

SKILLS: [Archive] [Concealment] [Fera Riding (Natural) Lv.5] [Parkour Lv.1] [Scan Lv.5] [Sense Lv.5] [Storage Lv.2] [Throw Lv.5] [Traps Lv.3]

SPELLS: [Barrier (Basic) Lv.5]

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EXP Store Unlocked!

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Skill Merging Unlocked!

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[Rank Up]

★★★★★

You have the foundation, and the time has come to put it to use. Your body is stronger than you know, you haven't fully grasped the limits of your own capability or understood what those wonderfully terrifying base stats really mean.

Face your shadow clone in a 1v1 arena to find out just how powerful you truly are.

Reward: Rank Increase, Unlock Lottery

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As soon as Li Mei accepted the quest, her body was surrounded by a sphere of cyan blue light before she disappeared without a trace.