“Pay me back!” Xia Zhi stepped forward, directly extending her hand toward the two of them, glaring at them unyieldingly.  

Gu Yunshen also stared at her with hostility. He refused to believe that a grown man like him couldn’t handle her. “Xia Zhi, it’s not like we won’t pay you back.”  

A flicker of disgust flashed in Xia Zhi’s eyes. “Then pay me back right now!”  

Seeing the disdain in her gaze, Gu Yunshen stiffened. Since childhood, this was the first time she had ever looked at him with such an expression.  

“Xia Zhi, how about we give it to you tomorrow?” Zhang Xiao quickly interjected, intending to placate her for now. She planned to discuss the matter properly once her husband returned home in the evening.  

Xia Zhi narrowed her eyes. She knew Zhang Xiao was trying to stall her. Since Zhang Xiao wasn’t the one in charge of the money, pressing her further would be useless.  

“Fine. Tomorrow it is.”  

A glimmer of delight flashed in Zhang Xiao’s eyes. Perfect! Once my husband brings the old lady back, they’ll deal with Xia Zhi properly. Just an orphan girl—let’s see how long her arrogance lasts.

Xia Zhi swept her gaze around before settling on Lu Beiting, who happened to be looking at her at the same time. Meeting her eyes, he showed no sign of discomfort.  

After their brief eye contact, Xia Zhi walked straight up to him. “Battalion Commander Lu, you’re literate, right?”  

Lu Beiting nodded indifferently.  

Upon hearing his confirmation, the girl before him broke into a bright smile.  

“Then I’ll trouble Battalion Commander Lu to act as a witness. If the Gu family doesn’t compensate me for my losses tomorrow, I’d like to ask for your help in drafting something.”  

As for what that “something” was, everyone present understood perfectly.  

With that, she crushed the Gu family’s little scheme.  

Lu Beiting lifted his gaze, his cold eyes studying her. She looked dark-skinned, thin, and pitiful, like an unwanted stray, but the determination in her eyes was impossible to ignore.  

Xia Zhi had only asked on a whim. She couldn’t easily reveal that she was literate—the original host had never even touched a book. If she suddenly knew how to read and write, it would raise suspicions.  

“Fine.”  

Lu Beiting gave a slight nod, then turned to his adjutant, Zhang Yi. “Let’s go.”  

Zhang Yi nodded. As he left, he shot a cold glare toward the Hao family. Did the Haos really think their battalion commander had no one backing him?

The fact that the General had visited last time proved that he already treated Lu Beiting like his own son.  

These people have some nerve. Just wait for the reprimand!

Once Lu Beiting and Zhang Yi left, Hao Dazhuang could no longer hold back. He turned and slapped Hao Liping hard across the face, his fingers trembling with rage as he pointed at her, his voice shaking.  

“You disgrace! Couldn’t you use that pig brain of yours to think before acting? You might have just ruined our family!”  

Offending both the battalion commander and the General—she really outdid herself.  

Hao Liping covered her stinging cheek, tears welling in her eyes. But when she thought of the kind and approachable General, her confidence surged again.  

“Mom, Dad, don’t worry. The General was always so good to me—gentle and reasonable. At most, he’ll just scold me a little.” Hao Liping said with full assurance.  

In her past life, the General had doted on her endlessly, giving her all the best things and even checking in on her regularly.  

“Liping, you can’t say things like that carelessly!” Chen Xiuping quickly pulled her inside. The neighbors in the compound were already staring—such words couldn’t spread.  

Once the door was shut, Chen Xiuping turned to her. “Liping, what do you mean by that? And what you did today—it was really too reckless.”

Hao Liping sat down on the side. “Mom, Dad, you don’t understand—the General was always so kind to me. Sometimes when we met, he’d even ask about how I was doing, and he even sent his guards to deliver things to me. Didn’t you know about that?”  

Chen Xiuping and Hao Dazhuang exchanged glances, recalling that there had indeed been one or two instances like that.  

“So, Mom and Dad, the General is really good to me. Stop worrying for no reason.”  

Hao Liping thought smugly, then remembered how Xia Zhi had earned money by farming in her past life.  

She started by selling vegetables in town, step by step, and after following Gu Yunshen into the city, she even opened a shop in the department store. From there, she gradually built herself up.  

This time, she had already taken Gu Yunshen for herself—now she would also seize the opportunity to make money.  

“Mom, Dad, don’t we have some land? Let’s start farming tomorrow. We can sell vegetables in town and earn a lot of money.”  

Chen Xiuping looked at her in surprise, then happily grabbed her hand. “Ah, my daughter has grown up! It’s wonderful that you’re finally showing some ambition.”  

Chen Xiuping and Hao Dazhuang took turns praising Hao Liping.  

Meanwhile, Xia Zhi surveyed the mess in her room. She lived alone in a cramped space with just a bed and a wardrobe with a broken door.  

Unlike the other families, who had much larger homes, hers was already pitiable—and now, after being trashed by Hao Liping and Gu Yunshen, it was downright unbearable.  

A headache pulsed at her temples. She grabbed a small stool and sat outside the door, basking in the sunlight with a dark expression. The other residents of the compound, seeing her like this, quickly gave her a wide berth.  

Only Zhang Xiao stood by the latticed window, staring at Xia Zhi with resentment.  

At that moment, Xia Zhi was silently communicating with something that had suddenly appeared in her mind.  

[Host, I am a Medical System, complete with an attached Chinese herbal medicine repository and a fully equipped laboratory. I am not a get-rich-quick system…]

Just moments ago, he had finally found his host, only for her to look at him with disdain after hearing his introduction—Why wasn’t he a check-in system, one that doubled her money effortlessly?

[Alright, alright, I get it.]

Xia Zhi glanced around the compound. Right now, her abilities were practically useless. If she were in a town or a village, things would be different—but this was a remote border military base. Most of the people living here had family stationed in the unit.  

The original host’s parents had died in battle.  

Now, she was completely alone, making every step forward a struggle. Without connections, the military hospital wouldn’t take her in, let alone allow her to open a clinic.  

As she brooded, Lu Beiting’s figure flashed through her mind, and an idea suddenly formed.  

Once she settled the matter in her head, she turned and went back inside, calmly picking up a kitchen knife before walking out.  

The neighbors who had been watching from their homes shuddered at the sight of the gleaming blade in her hand. Zhang Xiao even ducked her head back inside and retreated to her bed, where the trembling of her quilt was still visible.  

When Xia Zhi reached the Hao family’s door, she could hear laughter inside. Staring at the tightly shut door, she gathered all her strength—then kicked it open with a resounding BANG!

“Ah—!” The cheerful voices inside instantly cut off as the family flinched at the sudden noise.  

When they turned around, they saw Xia Zhi silhouetted against the light, a knife in her hand and a stormy expression on her face. Her eyes were sharp as blades.  

“Xia Zhi, have you lost your mind?!” Chen Xiuping shrieked, pulling her daughter into a protective embrace.  

Xia Zhi locked eyes with Hao Liping and pointed the knife at her.  

“You have two choices. One—clean up my house. Two—I smash yours to pieces.”