Chapter 1

Su Ya opened her eyes and found herself lying deep in the mountains. She looked around and saw dense, lush trees almost completely covering the sky.

Where is this place?

Why is she in the mountains?

Su Ya was an outstanding forensic doctor—not only did she hold a PhD, but her hands-on experience was also extensive.

Not long ago, she had discovered a previously overlooked piece of evidence that led to the conviction of a suspect who would have otherwise been acquitted.

During transport, that criminal faked an escape and took revenge on Su Ya. She was stabbed 38 times and eventually collapsed in a pool of blood.

She didn’t even know whether that escaped convict had been recaptured…

Su Ya slowly sat up and leaned against a nearby large tree. She felt the damp leaves and soil beneath her and noticed a line of ants marching up the tree.

Looks like it’s about to rain.
No matter what, she had to get out of here as soon as possible.

Just as she was about to get up, a sharp pain shot through her head, and a flood of unfamiliar memories surged into her mind.

Lu Xiao? Was that the man she had only met once—on their wedding day—and who had been stationed on border missions ever since?

That strange yet familiar name made Su Ya realize: She had transmigrated into a book.

She had entered the body of the malicious supporting female character with the same name in a military marriage novel set in the 1970s.

The original host harbored resentment toward her husband in the Special Forces because he was never by her side.

That resentment gradually became an obsession, turning her into someone unreasonable and prone to causing trouble.

This time, the original host had come to the border alone to look for her military husband. Unfortunately, she got lost in the mountains and lost all contact with the outside world.

Lu Xiao knew she had come looking for him but couldn’t get in touch. Worried about her safety, he got distracted during a mission.

That moment of distraction led him into an enemy agent’s trap, and he was ultimately captured. During his captivity, Lu Xiao was subjected to brutal torture and eventually died.

Due to this incident, the original host’s identity as a military wife was exposed to enemy agents.

Those cunning enemies took advantage and kidnapped her. Despite her fierce resistance, she couldn’t escape her tragic fate and was killed cruelly.

Luckily, both the malicious supporting character and her military husband were just background figures to highlight the protagonists’ happy lives.

As long as she didn’t “act up,” she could avoid dying a miserable death.

Well then, since I’m here, I might as well make the best of it.

Since heaven had given her a second chance at life, she was determined to live well—using the forensic experience she accumulated in her previous life to shine and rise to the top.

Men? They’re just the icing on the cake—not that important.

Su Ya first checked her physical condition. She felt her ribs, arms, and legs—everything seemed fine. She stood up and stretched. Although her back ached slightly, it felt like just a surface wound.

Relying on her years of police experience, Su Ya quickly found a path downhill.

But before long, she was gasping for breath, and her legs trembled violently. As she silently complained about how useless the original host’s body was, she slipped and fell.

When she tried to push herself up with her arms, she realized even her arms were shaking uncontrollably.

This body is way too weak.

Once she got back to her residence, she would definitely need to come up with an exercise plan to rescue this frail body.

As Su Ya followed a river downstream, she came across a group of people—it looked like a crime scene investigation. The familiar smell of a corpse and the familiar conversation naturally drew her closer.

“Who are you?”

Just as Su Ya approached the body, a man in his 30s stopped her.

Su Ya studied him carefully—buzz cut, square face, and judging by the marks at the corner of his mouth, he looked like he had just vomited.

Before Su Ya could respond, another male voice chimed in:

“You’re… Captain Lu’s wife, right?”

She looked at the man who had just spoken. He was at least in his 40s, kind-faced but with eyes that were deep and unreadable. It was hard to tell what he was thinking.

From his manner, he seemed very familiar with Lu Xiao and had probably met the original host.

“And you are…?”

Gu Changzheng thought to himself—after all, the two of them had only met once. It made sense that Lu Xiao’s young bride didn’t recognize him.

Not everyone had Lu Xiao’s remarkable memory—he never forgot a person or thing he saw even once.

“I’m Gu Changzheng, director of the Nanzhou City Public Security Bureau. I worked on a case with Lu Xiao once. We actually met on your wedding day, though you may not remember—there were probably too many guests for you to keep track.”

Su Ya recalled: Gu Changzheng was indeed the director of the Public Security Bureau in Nanzhou, the biggest city in a certain province of Longguo.

This murder case had occurred because the local forensic skills were lacking, and a senior forensic expert from the provincial capital had been invited for support.

Su Ya looked at the corpse not far away—maybe this was a good opportunity to change jobs.

After all, she had been a forensic doctor in her previous life. The original host’s job as a medical doctor didn’t suit her at all. She was good at examining the dead, not treating the living.

She remembered that in the original novel, during the wait for the senior forensic expert, heavy rain fell on Nanzhou City, flooding the house where the body was first discovered. All the evidence was washed away.

Although the expert eventually arrived and found some key clues during the autopsy, when they followed the leads to the victim’s house, they couldn’t find any useful physical evidence.

As a result, the case became a cold case. Gu Changzheng, having failed to solve this murder, never advanced further in his career as bureau chief.

Su Ya decided to seize this opportunity. Maybe she could use it to get a new job.

In 1976, most jobs were filled by recommendation. As long as she found someone to vouch for her, getting a new job wasn’t hard.

“Now that Director Gu mentions it, I do remember. Didn’t expect to see you here. Is this… a murder case?”

Gu Changzheng realized there was no point hiding the truth since Su Ya had already seen the corpse. Besides, as a military wife, she should understand the importance of confidentiality.

“Yes. Early this morning, someone reported finding a body.

Apparently, they were foraging for herbs and noticed a terrible smell near a ditch. When they went to check, they saw a part of a human body sticking out of a sack.

When we came to investigate, it seemed the body had been dumped for many days.

Our city bureau’s forensic team isn’t equipped for this kind of autopsy, so we contacted a renowned forensic expert from the provincial capital.

But the journey is long—it’ll take at least two days for him to arrive.”

Su Ya noticed that when Gu Changzheng said “city bureau’s forensic team,” he glanced at the man who had stopped her earlier.

That must be Liu Ming, the forensic doctor from the novel—whose competence was inversely proportional to his temper.

Gu Changzheng was about to ask Su Ya to keep quiet about what she’d seen and arrange for someone to take her to a nearby guesthouse, but before he could speak, Su Ya cut in:

“Director Gu, I’m a doctor, and I’m quite familiar with the human body. Why don’t you let me give it a try?”