In comparison, the original protagonist was even more miserable than herself.

At the age of fourteen, she awakened her earth spiritual power and became the main attacker in her team. At fifteen, she awakened her wood spiritual power, which she used to heal and save people in addition to her combat duties. Twelve years passed in a flash, spent fighting zombies and rescuing teammates in an apocalyptic world overrun by the undead and zombie beasts. Then, during a massive zombie beast onslaught, Meng Yun was swallowed by a zombie beast while saving her comrades.

As for the original host, her mother died when she was three, and her father remarried. From then on, she lived a life of misery and hardship. At first, her stepmother abused her in secret, making her do the dirtiest and most exhausting chores, allowing her only one meal a day. When her biological father discovered this once, he did nothing, and from then on, her stepmother no longer bothered to hide her abuse.

Besides her stepmother, her grandmother was equally malicious, constantly hurling filthy insults at her. The stepmother’s daughter, Jiang Yuqing, who was the same age as the original host, mocked and ordered her about like a servant.

Like her late mother, the original host was beautiful. Many young men in Meng Family Village fancied her, including Meng Haoxuan, the only scholar the village had produced in the past forty or fifty years. He was twenty-one, and every time he saw her, he would stop and gaze at her for a long time, giving rise to much gossip.

Jiang Yuqing had admired Meng Haoxuan for a long time and was jealous of the rumors about him and the original host. She turned to her mother for a solution, so her stepmother, Feng Cailian, devised a cruel plot. She accepted five taels of silver from the neighboring village’s butcher, Leng, and arranged for him to ambush the girl in the back hills, planning to make her his by force and then marry her off as his second wife.

Yes, a second wife. Leng the butcher was over thirty, grossly overweight, ugly, and lame. He had already lost three wives—some said he beat them to death in drunken rages; others whispered of dark, sadistic tendencies. Regardless, all three women died at his hands. His eldest children were already married, yet Feng Cailian was willing to sell Meng Yun for a mere five taels of silver.

That morning, Feng Cailian sent the original host to chop wood in the hills after drugging her porridge. When the drug took effect, Leng the butcher appeared. The girl fled desperately, tumbling into a small ravine and narrowly escaping him. Thus, Meng Yun came into this world.

Ah, what a wretched fate! Compared to her own past life, this original host had suffered even more.

Unconsciously, Meng Yun fell asleep against a large stone.

While Meng Yun slept soundly, chaos erupted at the Meng household. After chasing her for a while, Leng the butcher, delayed by his aching leg and heavy body, quickly realized he couldn’t catch the nimble, mountain-hardened girl. Panting and exhausted, he trudged down the mountain straight to Meng Yougen’s home.

With a loud crash, he kicked open the Meng family’s main gate.

The entire family—Grandma, Grandpa, the first, second, and third sons’ households, the unmarried Meng Zhu, and several children—came running out.

The two sisters-in-law from the first and second branches exchanged knowing glances, watching the third daughter-in-law, Feng Cailian, with barely hidden amusement.

The Meng family was a large clan. The patriarch, Meng Laogan, was over fifty, and his wife, Madam Bao, ruled the household. They had three sons and a daughter; aside from the unmarried Meng Zhu, the entire extended family—sons, daughters-in-law, and nine grandchildren—lived together, a true ancestral household.

It was said that as long as the elders were alive, families should not separate. Large, united households were admired, seen as harmonious and prosperous. In fact, Meng Laogan’s family was run by Madam Bao, who, after decades as a daughter-in-law, now relished her authority and had no intention of dividing the family. She expected her daughters-in-law and granddaughters to serve her, and aside from lacking lavish feasts, she lived little differently from a town official’s wife.

“Leng the butcher, what are you doing? You’ve broken our gate—you’ll have to pay for that,” declared Meng Youfu, the eldest son, stepping forward.

“What am I doing? Go ask your mother, or that wife of Yougen’s.” A chicken wandered near Leng the butcher’s feet; with one swift kick, he sent it flying into a stone wall, splattering blood up the stones. The hen fell to the ground, twitched, and lay still.

Several of the girls shrank back, trembling in fear.

The commotion drew villagers to watch the spectacle. Almost everyone knew Leng the butcher from the neighboring village—he sold pork in town, and many had bought meat from him.

“What’s Leng the butcher doing at Meng Youfu’s house?”

“Yeah, doesn’t he usually stay in town selling meat?”

“Looks like a fight’s about to break out!”

The villagers began to gossip.

“Leng the butcher, if you have something to say, say it. The chicken didn’t do anything to you,” Madam Bao said, uneasy at the growing crowd.

“Enough nonsense. Hand over ten taels of silver, plus two for my lost wages and two more for my aching leg. Fourteen taels, all told.” Leng the butcher dragged a stool over with his good leg and sat down heavily.

“My goodness, fourteen taels? For what?”

“Sounds like the Meng family took his money but didn’t deliver.”

The crowd was abuzz.

Madam Bao cursed Leng the butcher for his incompetence—unable to handle even a frail girl—and inwardly cursed Meng Yun for ruining her plans.

“This was all agreed upon in advance; we won’t go back on our word. Don’t worry—no matter what happens, this deal will go through.” Madam Bao forced a smile, her wrinkled face repulsive.

Clearly, she had no intention of returning the money and even promised to make sure the arrangement succeeded.

“Fine, then bring her out. I’ll take her away myself,” demanded Leng the butcher.

Madam Bao turned to Feng Cailian.

“That wretched girl hasn’t come back yet.”

That one sentence revealed everything. Among the villagers, several sharp minds instantly pieced together a tale of forced prostitution and a daughter sold for profit.

Ten taels! Good heavens, a bride price was normally two or three taels; five at most for a wealthy family. Ten taels was an astronomical sum.

By the riverside, Meng Yun still slept soundly. Fortunately, it was July and the sun was warm; otherwise, she would have caught a chill.

“Host, the Universal Space System is now ready for binding. Please accept the binding within thirty seconds, or forfeit this opportunity. Countdown begins: thirty, twenty-nine…”

Meng Yun was sleeping deeply when a mechanical voice echoed in her mind. Exhausted, she wanted to keep sleeping, but suddenly remembered something. She sat up just as the countdown reached three and pressed the acceptance key.

“Congratulations, Host! You are now the 250th host of the Universal Space System. I am your space sprite, Little Rascal. Nice to meet you!”

Meng Yun couldn’t help but laugh. A space sprite called Little Rascal? And her host number was 250—could it get any more awkward?