Chapter 1: A poor day
Another day of failing to find a boxed meal.
The barren land kicked up fine dust in the wind, mixed with the sour stench of rotting garbage, burrowing into Mi Li’s cracked nostrils.
She crouched beside a battered metal barrel, her frail body curled into a ball, like an abandoned small animal, rummaging through scraps in a relatively clean corner.
The emptiness in her stomach burned like a fierce fire, making her dizzy and lightheaded from time to time.
‘It’s happening again. I’m really going to become a starved ghost…’ Mi Li lamented in her heart.
It had been over ten days since she transmigrated to this desolate, godforsaken wasteland world.
This place had nothing but gray fog, mutated rats, and endless hunger and chaos.
At first, she had at least been under Lin Lan’s protection.
—Lin Lan had found her in a pile of ruins.
She gave the nearly starved Mi Li plenty of clean water and food, and even brought her to a settlement called [Oasis].
It was a rare fertile river valley on this continent.
The wasteland’s exiles had even built a sizable small city there, and Mi Li, being cute and pitiful, was well taken care of by the neighbors.
But good times didn’t last.
Just a few days after Lin Lan settled her in, the settlement was hit by a fierce bombardment from an unknown force.
Firelight painted the sky red, and the sound of explosions was deafening.
Though the residents of [Oasis] fought back desperately, they were quickly overwhelmed by the enemy’s large-scale, premeditated siege, suffering heavy casualties…
The river valley turned into a sea of flames in an instant.
In the chaos, Lin Lan pushed her onto an off-road vehicle, her face streaked with tears and soot, choking out that she’d handle things and come for her as fast as she could.
After that, Mi Li was sent to this unfamiliar place far from the settlement…
It wasn’t far from a large shelter called [Eisenberg].
Mi Li didn’t dare wander too far, afraid Lin Lan wouldn’t find her when she returned.
So, she lingered in the slums outside Eisenberg, scavenging for anything edible in corners even the vagrants despised, waiting painfully.
‘Lin Lan… when will you come…’ she murmured softly, her eyes growing warm.
Speaking of which, Mi Li seemed to have a strange kind of luck.
She could always find a scrap or two of food in picked-over garbage heaps, collapsed building corners, or even the remains of mutated creatures.
Though it felt like gambling with her life each time, with a bit of that addictive thrill of drawing a rare card…
At least…
She survived.
Not exactly thriving, still going hungry three meals out of two days.
But surviving, in a world where even living was a luxury, was already enough to draw attention.
Especially in the slums outside Eisenberg.
Here, hunger was the norm, and death was a neighbor.
Every day, someone collapsed from starvation or despair.
Over time, rumors about her began to spread…
“That new girl is weird… always finding something to eat. It’s been days, and she hasn’t starved…”
“She said she’s waiting for someone, right? It’s been so long, they’re probably not coming…”
“She’s still alive? Talk about luck.”
“Could she be blessed by some wasteland evil god? Digging up tubers from the sand?”
Mi Li overheard these whispers, tinged with all sorts of emotions.
She just wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
Socially anxious as she was, she only wanted to quietly survive, not be seen as some freak.
That was too conspicuous.
And too dangerous.
Just as she cautiously reached deeper into the metal barrel, touching a shriveled but intact bag of chips, a sudden, uniform sound of footsteps echoed from the alley’s entrance.
The steps were heavy and forceful, like war drums, each one pounding on the hearts of the vagrants.
Wherever the group went, the air seemed to freeze, and all whispers stopped abruptly.
A powerful, chilling pressure, paired with the sound of thick boots on the ground, quickly enveloped every corner of the slum.
Mi Li’s hand trembled, and the chip bag slipped back to the bottom of the barrel.
She lifted her small face in panic, turning her head.
A group of guards in charcoal-black combat uniforms, like a phantom legion emerging from the shadows, blocked the alley’s entrance in the blink of an eye…
The guards moved with efficiency and coordination, their eyes cold, gripping weapons that gleamed with metallic sheen.
Standard-issue firearms…
A costly firepower setup in the wasteland…
Eisenberg’s military?
The woman leading them was tall and striking, her silver hair cascading like a moonlight waterfall, almost unreal in its brilliance.
Her eyes were even more peculiar—one a blazing gold like burning fire, the other an icy blue as deep as a frozen lake.
Her heterochromatic gaze was sharper than a falcon’s, as if it could pierce through any demon or ghost.
Just one glance from her sent a heavy chill racing from Mi Li’s spine to the top of her head.
Mi Li didn’t know this woman.
But the overwhelming, commanding aura made it clear in an instant…
This was someone she absolutely couldn’t provoke, someone whose mere glance felt like an offense.
But she had nowhere to run.
This was a dead-end alley!
Mi Li hurriedly ducked her head, squatting by the barrel like a little quail, shrinking her body and silently praying the woman wouldn’t see her…
The woman’s sharp gaze swept over her, landing on the frail girl who looked like she’d collapse in a gust of wind, and the corner of her mouth curved slightly.
It wasn’t a smile, but the thrill of spotting prey.
That look…
It didn’t see Mi Li as human.
More like a rare treasure, intriguing but not quite impressive enough.
The guards, like well-oiled machines, swiftly sealed off the alley, harshly dispersing the vagrants around Mi Li.
The vagrants were angry but didn’t dare speak, keeping their heads low.
Their eyes held fear, pity for Mi Li’s fate, and a faint, hidden glee—
One less person to compete for food meant a slightly better chance for them.
The woman ignored the ant-like vagrants.
She drew the energy pistol from her waist and stepped slowly toward Mi Li.
Her tall figure cast a menacing shadow over Mi Li, trapping her completely within it.
The woman looked down at her, casually toying with the gun.
Her heterochromatic eyes seemed to hold a strange, magical power—one glance was enough to crush any thought of escape.
Mi Li’s stress skyrocketed under the intense pressure.
She wanted to vanish on the spot.
Or maybe just melt into the filthy ground.
“You’re the one—squeezing oil from stones, the [Bountiful Saintess]?” the woman said, her voice proud and cold.
There wasn’t much emotion in her tone, just a hint of amusement and mockery.
“The rumors are… interesting.”
Mi Li’s body trembled uncontrollably, her head shrinking as her voice came out faint as a mosquito’s hum: “I… I’m not some saintess… you’ve got the wrong person…”
No way!
She wailed in her heart.
Who would believe such rumors?!
She was just an ordinary, unlucky scavenger waiting for rescue!
Why were they suddenly singling her out?
The woman ignored Mi Li’s incoherent protests.
She reached out, her cold fingertips lifting Mi Li’s buried face, lightly tilting her sharp, thin chin to force eye contact.
The close contact nearly suffocated Mi Li, the woman’s gaze clearly reflecting her terrified face.
Deep in those eyes was a chilling possessiveness.
Like someone who, upon seeing a toy they liked, had to claim it immediately.
She said in a low voice: “Wrong person? No, no. Your luck is something I’ve never seen.”
“Eisenberg needs your kind of ‘bounty.’”
“From today on… you are mine, Seraphina von Karen’s property.”
The cold barrel of the gun pressed against Mi Li’s cheek, leaving her unable to utter a proper protest, only managing meaningless whimpers.
Her heart turned to ice—she was done for.
Either take a bullet…
Or fall into the hands of this terrifying, seemingly unhinged woman…
Mi Li wanted to run or beg, but the gun barrel tapped her cheek, whether intentionally or not.
Seraphina looked satisfied at Mi Li’s terrified expression.
Then she released her chin and waved a hand sharply: “Take her.”
The guards stepped forward, one on each side, grabbing Mi Li’s arms.
Their grip was strong, painfully pinching her.
“Lucky her, chosen by the queen… no need to worry about survival anymore, huh?”
“Yeah, no more fighting for scraps…”
“Shh. Maybe she’s being taken for… you know, the queen has those tastes…”
Mi Li felt like a prisoner on parade as distant whispers reached her ears.
Huh?!
What tastes?
That’s not right, is it?
Before she could think further, she was hustled onto a vehicle.
The armored war vehicle roared to life, speeding through the slums, heading straight for Eisenberg’s towering fortress walls.