Chapter 3: Binding Mission

Jiang Pan Yu pretended to ponder deeply: “I dare not even dream of the five insurances and one fund or retirement benefits. At least give me something like a Personal Space!

If it can grow melons, vegetables, raise cows and sheep, I wouldn’t mind at all, size doesn’t matter.

Look at my body, it’s severely malnourished. I need to eat and drink well to work hard for you, right!”

The Melon System was speechless for a while before responding: “Host, you’re really not shy, asking for a Personal Space that can grow vegetables and raise sheep and cows. Do you think such life-based spaces are as common as cabbages on the roadside?

Alright, I’ll start a beginner’s lucky draw for you. Whatever you get is up to your luck, but I must warn you, these rewards are quite good, but some come with bound missions. Are you sure you want to draw?”

Jiang Pan Yu couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow: “Your lucky draw comes with bound missions? Wow, that’s some unfair terms!”

The Melon System quickly shook its head: “It’s not like that at all. Isn’t this what you asked for? To get employee benefits, you need to accept the missions, only then can you be considered our employee and receive the benefits.

If you don’t accept the missions, you’re not an employee, and naturally, you can’t have the benefits!”

After saying this, the Melon System threw out a big lucky draw wheel. Jiang Pan Yu looked at it and saw things like Cultivation Manuals, Personal Spaces, Philosopher’s Stone, Superpowers, and more.

Jiang Pan Yu was almost drooling. In her excitement, she pressed the draw button. When she came to her senses, she regretted it immensely. She should have washed her hands before drawing.

Her luck was average, and if she drew the lowest prize, wouldn’t that be a huge loss?

The draw wheel slowly turned, and after a while, it dinged and stopped, the pointer landing on one of the slots: a Personal Space.

Jiang Pan Yu felt a little disappointed. Compared to the other rewards, the Personal Space seemed a bit ordinary. However, having a Personal Space was still good.

Little did she know, many heroines in period novels only had one space and managed to get rich.

Jiang Pan Yu’s wish was very simple: to use this golden finger to lie flat and get rich.

Thinking this, Jiang Pan Yu felt quite pleased. Whether she could complete the missions or do them well didn’t matter anymore.

With the golden finger of a Personal Space, she already had eighteen ways to get rich in her mind. As for the other benefits, they would just have to come as they may!

After receiving the benefit, Jiang Pan Yu clicked on the mission bound to the Personal Space. Suddenly, her vision went dark, and her consciousness entered a vast, ethereal space.

Jiang Pan Yu looked around, and in the void, a figure suddenly appeared. This figure had long red hair, fair skin, and stunning beauty. The lower half of her body wasn’t human legs but a beautiful, dazzling red fish tail.

A… mermaid?

Jiang Pan Yu was stunned. The mermaid reached out and touched Jiang Pan Yu’s forehead, and scenes began to unfold before her eyes.

Once upon a time, there was a carefree little Koi Spirit in the Yellow River. One day, she suddenly gained intelligence and became a spirit.

Thus, the little Koi Spirit began to wholeheartedly cultivate in the Yellow River, embarking on a long and endless path.

However, one day, her monotonous cultivation life was interrupted by a fragrant aroma. Following the scent, the little Koi Spirit swam up from the riverbed.

She tasted the first sweet and fragrant bait in her life, and as she was enjoying it, she was caught in a fishing net.

It turned out that the bait had been laid by a young fisherman to attract fish from the river and catch them for money. The little Koi Spirit thought she was doomed, but the fisherman, seeing how beautiful and spirited she was, softened his heart and released her.

Grateful for the fisherman’s mercy, the little Koi Spirit circled his boat, blessing him with peace and prosperity in the unique way of the Koi Spirit clan.

From then on, the fisherman would always bring some bait to scatter in the part of the river where the little Koi Spirit resided. The little Koi Spirit, enjoying the delicious bait, believed the fisherman to be a good person.

Although the little Koi Spirit had become a spirit, her carefree life in the river kept her heart pure and simple. She thought that by leaving the bait, the fisherman was giving her something good to eat, and so she wanted to repay him.

Every time she ate happily, she would circle the fisherman’s boat, and her blessings always accompanied him, bringing him good luck.

The fisherman continued to scatter bait for decades, but as he grew old, he eventually stopped coming.

The little Koi Spirit no longer craved that bite of bait. She swam back to the riverbed and began to cultivate in earnest once more. Many years later, she finally transformed into a human.

Just as the little Koi Spirit had taken human form, someone approached her—a weasel spirit who had also transformed into a human.

The weasel spirit told the little Koi Spirit that she owed the fisherman a debt of gratitude. If the fisherman had not been merciful that day, she would never have had the chance to transform into a human; she would have died long ago.

Thus, the little Koi Spirit had to repay this kindness. Only by settling this karmic debt would her future cultivation be free from obstacles.

The little Koi Spirit, naive and confused, was swayed by the weasel spirit’s words and foolishly agreed.

However, the fisherman had already passed away. But humans, after all, can be reincarnated. So, the little Koi Spirit was persuaded by the weasel spirit to be reincarnated as a human, vowing to repay the fisherman’s kindness.

The weasel spirit told the little Koi Spirit that because of the bond between her and the fisherman, the reincarnated fisherman would have a fish scale pattern on his neck.

Thus, the little Koi Spirit wouldn’t have to worry about recognizing her savior. She would feel a spiritual connection upon meeting the reincarnated fisherman, all of which the weasel spirit had arranged for her.

The weasel spirit wanted a scale from the little Koi Spirit, as Koi Spirits are known for their good fortune. He hoped to use her luck to advance his own cultivation.

The inexperienced little Koi Spirit, moved by all the weasel spirit had done for her, readily gave him one of her scales.

Then, the little Koi Spirit was reincarnated, becoming a girl born into a working-class family in the 1960s in Hongcheng, China, named Tan Yanlu.

Tan Yanlu was reincarnated as a human, and from a young age, she never cried. This was because her tears were no ordinary tears—they were formed from the fortune of the Koi Spirit.

A single tear from Tan Yanlu, when diluted in water, would transform it into a Spirit Spring. If left undiluted, it became Spirit Dew, which had the miraculous effect of cleansing and refining the body. When used in medicine, it could neutralize toxins, enhance efficacy, and even accelerate the growth of medicinal herbs. In short, its effects were extraordinary, which is why Tan Yanlu never cried.

Tan Yanlu didn’t know why she possessed such precious tears, but she understood that this treasure must never be revealed to outsiders, not even to her own family.

Her tears were not an infinite resource. Using them sparingly every now and then caused no harm, but excessive use would damage her body.

Though Tan Yanlu had no memory of her past life as a Koi Spirit, an inner intuition warned her not to squander her tears recklessly. Thus, she always used this “golden finger” with great caution.

In this life, Tan Yanlu’s grandfather and father were chefs at a state-owned restaurant. Growing up in such an environment, she developed a natural talent for cooking.

Her grandmother and mother were both teachers, ensuring that Tan Yanlu received a solid education. Her family was considered one of the best in the area, and compared to her peers, Tan Yanlu could be regarded as a young lady of considerable wealth.