Chapter 1

“Xiaoxiao, Xiaoxiao, wake up! Wake up! How am I supposed to live if you stay like this?”

Wu Xiaoxiao was in a daze, her consciousness gradually returning… She was still alive?

She clearly remembered using her abilities to form a protective barrier around the base. After that, the Zombie King self-destructed. She should have perished along with it…

There was movement beside her. Someone seemed to be holding her hand, but she didn’t even have the strength to open her eyes. She could only try her best to make out the voices around her.

“Dr. Chen, please save my daughter! I still have money—please think of a way. I can’t live without her!”

The young man addressed as Dr. Chen quickly replied, “Xiaoxiao’s mom, it’s not about money. I really did my best. When we pulled her out of the water, I treated her immediately. She doesn’t have any visible injuries, so she should have woken up by now. If not, maybe we should get a referral letter from the village chief and take her to the county hospital for a check-up.”

Aunt Dong from next door hurriedly said, “Then let’s move quickly. We’ll also need to borrow Second Grandpa’s ox cart. The road is hard to travel at night, and we can’t afford to delay with the child. I’ll go call my husband to help.”

Just as Zhang Fang was about to let go of Wu Xiaoxiao and head to the village chief’s house, she suddenly felt her daughter’s fingers twitch. Looking down, she saw Xiaoxiao’s eyelashes tremble before she slowly opened her eyes.

“Xiaoxiao, you’re awake! You scared me to death!”

Zhang Fang finally breathed a sigh of relief, but instead of calming down, she burst into tears, startling the two other people in the room.

Chen Si quickly stepped forward to check on Wu Xiaoxiao, while Aunt Dong returned and comforted Zhang Fang, “Xiaoxiao’s mom, why are you crying? This is good news—she woke up! Don’t cry, don’t cry. The child just regained consciousness, and your crying will give her a headache.”

Then, Aunt Dong spat angrily, “That youngest one from Old Wu’s family has a bad heart. I heard she was there when Xiaoxiao fell into the water. This whole thing might have something to do with her! Xiaoxiao has been unconscious for so long, and she hasn’t even come by to check on her. She must be feeling guilty!”

After examining Wu Xiaoxiao and finding nothing unusual, Chen Si gently asked, “Do you feel any discomfort?”

Wu Xiaoxiao shook her head. She had just woken up and hadn’t figured out what was happening yet.

Where was she? Wu Xiaoxiao looked around in confusion.

There was no lingering stench of zombies in the air. The house was in poor condition and couldn’t possibly withstand even a minor zombie wave. On top of that, the three people in the room had no protective gear whatsoever…

This house, this setup—it looked nothing like a base.

Wu Xiaoxiao pressed a hand against her rapidly beating heart. Had she returned to the golden era? A time with no zombies, no killing—when everything was thriving?

With a flood of thoughts racing through her mind, Wu Xiaoxiao didn’t have time to respond to the people around her. The others simply assumed she was still in shock from nearly drowning, so they didn’t find it strange.

Aunt Dong, always impatient, spoke up first. “Xiaoxiao’s mom, stay here and look after Xiaoxiao. I’ll go make her a bowl of noodles. She’s been through a shock today. Tonight, you should call back her spirit. She still looks like she hasn’t fully come around yet.”

Seeing Zhang Fang still wiping her tears, she pulled on Zhang Fang’s hand and said, “Stop crying already and focus on taking care of your child. Oh, and about Old Wu’s family—we can’t just let this go. Just because she’s the village chief’s daughter doesn’t mean she can do whatever she wants! We must seek justice for Xiaoxiao. Xiaoxiao, I’ll bring you some noodles later. Just rest for now, alright?”

With that, she rushed off like the wind.

Since Wu Xiaoxiao was already awake, Chen Si didn’t stay any longer. He told Zhang Fang he would return the next day to check on Xiaoxiao and then left.

Once everyone was gone, Zhang Fang finally stepped forward and carefully examined her daughter’s face. “Xiaoxiao, are you really, okay?”

Wu Xiaoxiao’s gaze softened as she responded, “Mom, I’m fine now.”

Taking advantage of the conversation just now, Wu Xiaoxiao had already sorted through the memories of her original body.

The original owner of this body was also named Wu Xiaoxiao. The woman in front of her was her mother. Her father had been a soldier but had sacrificed his life two years ago, leaving behind only her and her mother.

Wu Xiaoxiao was a sensible girl. Despite her young age, she already knew how to help support her family. She was also exceptionally intelligent and had a deep love for learning.

She could have gone to high school, but due to the family’s misfortunes, she was forced to give up her studies. However, even though she couldn’t attend school, she never gave up on learning. Whenever she had free time, she would study on her own.

—-

Today, she had finally managed to borrow a math notebook from a village intellectual. But on her way back, she was spotted by Wu Ningfang, the village chief’s daughter.

And that was when trouble began.

As the village chief’s daughter, Wu Ningfang was always the one being adored and admired. But Wu Xiaoxiao was the one person she could never outshine.

Although no one said it to her face, Wu Ningfang knew that everyone thought Wu Xiaoxiao was prettier, more capable, and more likable than her.

What made it worse was that the intellectual youth Wu Ningfang had a crush on, Gu Zhenghong, treated Wu Xiaoxiao differently from everyone else.

Gu Zhenghong was always cold and indifferent toward Wu Ningfang. Forget borrowing things—he wouldn’t even accept gifts from her.

Seeing Wu Xiaoxiao holding the notebook so preciously in her arms, Wu Ningfang became even more convinced that there was something going on between them.

Acting on impulse, Wu Ningfang snatched the notebook and tried to throw it into the river. Seeing that her precious notebook was about to be destroyed, Wu Xiaoxiao panicked and rushed forward to grab it. But in the struggle, she tripped and fell into the river.