Chapter 1: Sold Off Upon Rebirth?

“We’ve brought the girl. Where’s the money?”

“We have to check the goods first, see if you’re trying to trick us.”

“Nonsense! She’s my only niece, do you think I’d lie to you?”

“Who knows! No money unless we check!”

The argument, volleying back and forth, roused Hua Ning from her muddled stupor on the ground.

Fighting back the pain that racked her body, she forced her eyes open. In the dim gloom, three men and a woman stood before her, caught in a silent standoff, their opinions clearly divided.

Just as Hua Ning tried to recall how she had ended up here, a sudden stab of pain pierced her mind, and a flood of memories that didn’t belong to her surged forth.

So, she hadn’t died after all?

She had crossed over into the 1970s, into the body of a pitiful girl who shared her name—Hua Ning.

And in this very predicament...

If she’d arrived any later, this poor girl might really have been sold off by her “kind” second uncle and aunt!

Clenching her jaw, Hua Ning endured the burning hunger gnawing at her stomach and closed her eyes, considering how to deal with the present situation.

If she continued to play dead, it was inevitable she’d be taken away by those two brothers.

But to resist? In her current state, even standing was a struggle.

If only she could have brought the “Falling Blossoms, Plucking Leaves” weapon from her game account!

That weapon, a set of Tang Sect hidden weapons, could paralyze and knock people unconscious.

Regret washed over Hua Ning—then suddenly, a familiar, foreign sensation prickled in her palm, and she snapped her eyes open in surprise.

Before she could investigate, the argument around her seemed to fall silent.

Then came hurried footsteps approaching.

The only woman spoke up again. “Let’s be clear—you two can have a look. As long as she’s the right person, you pay up!”

“Of course,” the older brother replied with a sly grin.

Hua Ning squeezed her eyes shut once more, gauging their distance.

Sensing someone reaching for her, she silently intoned, “Falling Blossoms, Plucking Leaves—go!”

A quartet of faint, piercing sounds followed—the needles sinking into flesh. Hua Ning’s heart eased a little.

Then, four heavy thuds as bodies hit the ground.

She waited a few more minutes, eyes closed, making sure all four were truly unconscious before opening her eyes and letting out a long breath.

Raising her right hand, she peered at the object in her palm by the faint moonlight.

It was indeed her in-game weapon: Falling Blossoms, Plucking Leaves.

Her eyes gleamed with sudden hope.

But just as quickly, she frowned.

How had her in-game weapon appeared here?

Could it be a perk of transmigration?

Before she could ponder further, the familiar GM notification chime from her game echoed in her mind.

[Ding—BUG system activating!]

[Zzzap... Detected host’s body is too weak. Forced binding in progress... Binding complete!]

[Host: Hua Ning]

[Age: 15]

[Stamina: 1]

[Mental Strength: 5]

[Agility: -10]

[Bug Repairs: 0]

[Current game account level: 0]

[Bug 1: Please raise your stamina to 50 to level up your game account by five levels and unlock storage items up to level five.]

After a long moment, Hua Ning finally came to.

So, not only had she survived a car accident in her previous life and crossed into the 1970s, she’d even brought her maxed-out game account with her?

“Ha... cough, cough, cough!”

She’d wanted to laugh, but her parched throat reduced her to a fit of coughing.

Propping herself up, she looked again at the light screen before her.

What sort of bug mission was this—to restore her stamina, but if she didn’t eat, how was she supposed to recover?

Panting weakly, she squinted at her game account—and suddenly remembered something.

With a trembling hand, she tapped at the screen.

It really worked!

She forced herself to stay conscious, flipping through the inventory, page after page, until she reached the tenth.

Inside, only a single icon glowed, and she nearly wept with relief.

She reached out, trying to grab it from the air, but her hand passed right through the screen; the item remained unmoved in her inventory.

“What’s going on?” she muttered, frowning, and tried again.

“Come out!”

“Here!”

“Out!”

Again and again, frustration mounting, she nearly gave up.

But remembering how hard-won this second chance at life was, Hua Ning gritted her teeth and persisted.

“Steamed Bun, come here!”

A flash of white light, and the icon in her inventory flickered.

Then, suddenly, a golden, fragrant, warm steamed bun materialized in her hand.

Maybe it was all the hours spent in VR games, but the sight didn’t faze her much.

Yet as she gazed at the bun, hunger twisting her insides, she couldn’t help but swallow, mouth watering.

Back in the modern world, she’d been a top-tier gamer—beautiful, wealthy, and unrivaled in skill. Now, in the 1970s, she was drooling over the kind of starter food even newbies despised.

If her fans ever heard about this, she’d never live it down!

Her stomach rumbled loudly, snapping her from her thoughts.

She wasted no time, stuffing the fist-sized bun into her mouth.

Delicious!

Wolfing it down, she still wanted more.

Remembering how this humble steamed bun from her game inventory had saved her life, her eyes stung with grateful tears for her past, “greedy” self.

If she’d thrown out all those low-level items after leveling up, she’d probably have starved to death right after being reborn!

After downing three buns, her stomach finally felt a little better.

Strength returning, Hua Ning got up from the ground, went to the four unconscious people, and kicked each of them in turn.

Then she crouched down and began to search their pockets.

With the original owner’s memories, she recognized the man and woman as the girl’s second uncle and aunt.

They had brought her here, to the ruined house of an old hunter behind the brigade, in the middle of the night, planning to sell her to the two brothers—currently unconscious—as a shared wife.

Those two weren’t from Xin’an Brigade; they were from Shikang Brigade over the mountain.

The second aunt had heard from her sister-in-law back home that these brothers were willing to pay two hundred yuan in bride price for a wife.

After hearing this, the second aunt ran back and quietly egged on the old woman Hua, saying that since the girl’s father was gone and only her sickly mother remained, this was the perfect chance to marry her off and get two hundred yuan!

With the bride price plus the three hundred yuan compensation from the state for her father’s sacrifice, they might even be able to buy a job for the second son in the city.

Then, the second son would become an urban worker, and the old lady could boast about it to everyone.

The old lady was instantly tempted by her daughter-in-law’s words.

That was why, when Hua Ning transmigrated, the original girl had starved to death.

Afraid she’d run away if she found out she was being sold, they’d tied her up and starved her for two days.

Thinking of all this, Hua Ning ground her teeth in fury.

How could family be so utterly heartless!

A new story begins—let’s set forth into this era!