Chapter 1 – Entering the Book

Z City.

The blazing sun burned like fire, and the stifling heat in the air made it hard for anyone to breathe.

On the third floor of a villa, a young girl lay on the bed. Her jet-black hair spilled across the pillow like ink, her brows and eyes were exquisitely delicate, her skin fairer than snow, and her beauty was breathtaking. Beneath her pink pajamas, her figure was graceful and well-proportioned.

“Mm…”

The girl on the bed slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze was as clear as a pool of spring water, shimmering with brilliance, as if countless stars were embedded within them.

Where is this?

Lin Luo looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. The spacious bedroom was decorated in European style, with a luxurious crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Outside the window, the garden bloomed with all kinds of flowers. One glance was enough to tell that this was the home of a wealthy family. But wasn’t she just sleeping in her university dormitory? How had she woken up in such a strange place?

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her temples, and a surge of memories that did not belong to her poured into her mind.

By the time she reacted, Lin Luo realized that she had actually transmigrated into a book—and not just any book, but into a post-apocalyptic novel she had read some time ago.

Transmigrating was one thing. Not being the female lead was tolerable. But of all the roles she could have taken, she had ended up as a vicious supporting character.

The villainess in the book shared her exact name—Lin Luo. Nineteen years old, a sophomore at Z City University, publicly acknowledged as the campus beauty. Two years ago, her parents had died in an accident, leaving behind an enormous inheritance—enough money to last for three lifetimes.

She had attended the same university as the female lead. After the apocalypse descended, the female lead awakened an ice-type ability and successfully unlocked her portable space. Within that space was a spiritual spring capable of sustaining farming and livestock raising.

The female lead had originally been quite ordinary in appearance, but with the help of the spiritual spring, she transformed into an elegant, gentle beauty of exceptional charm.

No doubt about it—she was the author’s precious darling, granted a golden cheat so overpowered it was almost ridiculous. In contrast, the original Lin Luo had been nothing more than a powerless ordinary human. Because of her striking beauty, she had almost been assaulted during the early chaos of the apocalypse, but the female lead had saved her.

From then on, she had followed the female lead, journeying all the way toward the Southern Base. Along the way, they encountered hordes of zombies. While the female lead and her companions fought desperately, the powerless Lin Luo had nearly had her throat torn open by a zombie. At the critical moment, the male lead appeared, rescuing both Lin Luo and the female lead’s group.

The moment Lin Luo laid eyes on the man before her—handsome, extraordinary, and radiating an air of natural authority—she fell for him. From then on, she clung to the male lead with shameless persistence, to the point of driving him to the edge of exasperation.

Compared to her, the female lead was resilient, beautiful, kind, and generous. She naturally won people’s affection. After going through crisis after crisis together, the male and female leads developed mutual admiration and eventually became a couple.

When the original Lin Luo found out, she did everything she could to sow discord and set traps. Yet not only did she fail to break them apart, she only made their bond even stronger.

In the end, consumed by jealousy, she lost all reason. During an expedition outside, she tried to kill the female lead. But the male lead discovered her scheme and directly threw her into a horde of zombies, where she was torn apart alive.

Thinking of the original Lin Luo’s fate, the current Lin Luo wanted nothing more than to die on the spot. She even wondered if killing herself might send her back.

She jumped out of bed, went down to the kitchen on the first floor, and found a fruit knife. Holding it against her wrist, she measured how she could cut in a way that would hurt the least. She stared at the blade for a long time but could not bring herself to do it. She was too afraid of the pain.

What if she died but didn’t go back? Wouldn’t that be an even greater loss? The thought drove her to the brink of madness. The apocalypse… monsters that ate people everywhere… how was she supposed to survive in such a world?

In her dazed state, Lin Luo’s hand slipped, and the fruit knife accidentally cut her finger.

“Hiss…” It hurt so much. Lin Luo had always had delicate skin since childhood—just a small wound could ache for half a day. She hadn’t expected the original owner’s skin to be even more tender than hers, with the pain intensified even further.

Thinking about how the original owner had been bitten to death by zombies, Lin Luo’s whole body trembled. That kind of pain must have been unbearable. She whimpered in her heart—why did she, a law-abiding good citizen, have to suffer such torment?

Heartbroken, Lin Luo squatted on the floor and hugged herself, not noticing that the blood dripping down her finger had soaked into the intricately patterned ancient ring on her ring finger. The blood was completely absorbed.

The scene shifted, and suddenly Lin Luo appeared in the main hall of a wooden house filled with an antique atmosphere. The hall contained a sofa and coffee table, with a kitchen to the right. Inside were a bedroom and a bathroom, along with a spiral staircase leading to the basement and the second floor. There were no windows, and it looked like a sealed space.

Where was this now? She couldn’t have transmigrated again, could she? Lin Luo checked herself—she was still wearing the same pink pajamas, and the cut on her finger was still there.

“Eh…” The ring had disappeared. In its place, a mark shaped like an iris flower appeared on her finger, looking as if it had been tattooed. Curious, Lin Luo rubbed it hard, but the mark did not fade. Having read plenty of novels like this before, she guessed in her heart—could this be the legendary space ring?

To test it, Lin Luo silently thought about going out, and instantly she was back in the villa’s kitchen. Then she thought about going back in, and she reappeared inside the space.

“Ahhh…” Lin Luo jumped around excitedly inside the wooden house. With this space, she could stockpile supplies, giving herself a better chance of surviving the apocalypse.

But how long until the apocalypse actually arrived? She needed to prepare in advance. After exiting the space, Lin Luo rushed to the bedroom. At the bedside, she found the original owner’s phone and unlocked it with facial recognition. She checked the date.

Year 2XXX, July 15th. It was summer break. According to the novel, the apocalypse would break out around September, just before school started again. At that time, most students would have already returned to campus, and the university would turn into a living hell overnight.

Luckily, there was still time. There was a little over a month left before the end came. She needed to hurry—buy supplies, train her body, and, ideally, learn some blade skills. There was so much to do.

Would the space preserve food? The thought made Lin Luo quickly pour a glass of hot water. After noting the time, she slipped into the space, circled the first floor of the wooden house, then headed toward the basement. She wasn’t sure what the nature of this wooden house was, but it provided its own light, needing no lamps, and she could control the brightness with her mind. It was incredibly convenient.

When she arrived at the basement, she found that the space was vast, stretching so far she couldn’t see the end. It was completely empty. Lin Luo placed the cup of hot water on the ground, turned back upstairs, and tested the kitchen faucet. Clear water flowed continuously, though she had no idea where it came from.

She tested the gas too. Good—there was fire. That meant she could hide in the space and cook delicious food in the future. The thought alone filled her with excitement.

After exploring the kitchen, she ran upstairs to the second floor. There she found an enormous bedroom, fully furnished. The bathroom even had a massive double massage bathtub. She tested the water and found it had hot water too. What kind of divine residence was this? It looked antique on the outside, yet inside it was filled with modern facilities.

Checking the time, she realized half an hour had passed. Lin Luo ran down to the basement and picked up the water glass. To her delight, the temperature of the hot water had not changed at all. That meant time in the basement was frozen.

Lin Luo was very satisfied. Although this space was not as heaven-defying as the female lead’s, she was already more than content.