Xiao Wenqiang scanned through it. The first page displayed virtual attributes like Stamina, Luck, Beauty, and Calculation, each point costing 10,000 points.
The second page listed physical weapons such as sabers, spears, swords, halberds, rockets, and cannonballs. Their prices varied, with the cheapest starting at 50,000 points.
The third page featured the soul artifacts that 86365 had previously advanced to her. Their cost increased with their grade. The one she currently possessed was the most basic and cheapest, costing 100,000 points.
Xiao Wenqiang continued flipping pages until the last one, where she found an option: "Redeem Body, Return to Reality." The small print explained that redeeming the body would allow her to leave the system and return to the real world to choose a new life.
The prospect of soul freedom was quite appealing to Xiao Wenqiang, so she carefully examined the points. However, after counting the zeros twice, her mood soured. Good heavens! There were eight zeros!
This meant she needed to earn 100 million points to achieve soul rebirth and freedom. Even if she exceeded the goals of every mission, she could earn at most 30,000 points. Without redeeming any of them, it would take at least 3,334 missions to gain freedom.
"With my current points, I can't afford anything else. I'll just redeem some luck points. Let's use them all up!" Xiao Wenqiang decided after careful consideration.
"Okay, Luck +3, 30,000 points deducted." After completing the redemption, 86365 asked, "Wenqiang, do you need to rest for a while?"
"No, let's head to the next world directly!" Xiao Wenqiang knew it was time to be efficient.
"Alright, the mission continues. A little spoiler for you, there's a small surprise in the next mission!" 86365 said mysteriously.
"What surprise?" This piqued Xiao Wenqiang's curiosity.
"You'll find out when you enter the novel world. I only discovered it when I accepted the mission. Okay, initiating transfer to the next novel world..."
As Xiao Wenqiang's soul entered the body, she instantly opened her eyes. Before she could get a clear look at her surroundings, she heard a series of loud impacts. First, the electric fan above her head began to shake, and then she clearly felt a strong tremor where she was.
"Is it an earthquake?" Xiao Wenqiang quickly sat up and realized she was in what seemed like a dormitory room, on the upper bunk.
As Xiao Wenqiang got out of bed, a woman's voice came from the upper bunk opposite hers, "What's going on?" As she spoke, she also climbed down.
Xiao Wenqiang picked up her phone from the lower bunk, which was charging. It was flooded with push notifications.
#Extraterrestrial meteor shower impacts Blue Moon Star, emitting unknown substances#
#Inhaling meteor gas may cause madness#
#The end is near? Is humanity truly facing extinction!#
#Government and military have intervened, please do not spread panic#
#I saw my father turn into a zombie with my own eyes!!!#
#Multiple internet lines damaged, network outages possible in the coming days#
...
There were no more messages after that. Clicking on these links now consistently showed an error. Seeing that the external impact sounds had stopped and the ground was no longer shaking, Xiao Wenqiang sat on the chair at the lower bunk and began to receive the plot.
This was a post-apocalyptic rebirth novel titled "My Pastoral Life in the Apocalypse." The novel's female protagonist was the other girl in the dorm, named Ye Yao.
The "surprise" that 86365 mentioned was likely the original owner of this supporting character's body. She was a third-year finance major, and her name was the same as Xiao Wenqiang's own.
The planet where everyone lived in the novel was similar to Earth, but it was called "Blue Moon Star." Ye Yao, a third-year student, woke up from her sleep to find that Blue Moon Star had been impacted by countless meteorites. These meteorites, upon falling to Blue Moon Star, emitted some unknown gases.
People and animals who inhaled these gases began to mutate, madly attacking and biting their companions. Humans and animals bitten by these mutated beings also began to mutate within minutes. More and more people turned into mindless zombie monsters that only knew how to attack. Thus, the apocalypse on Blue Moon Star erupted.
In her previous life, Ye Yao, along with the original Xiao Wenqiang, endured hardships in the school dormitory and finally managed to escape. Along the way, they discovered that a gold ring passed down from Xiao Wenqiang's mother contained a large space and spring water.
When Ye Yao and a group of fellow escapees were unfortunately bitten by zombies, it was the original Xiao Wenqiang who used her spiritual spring water to save them.
However, as Ye Yao and Xiao Wenqiang slept close together one night, a greedy man named Wang Hu from the group they had saved, coveting Xiao Wenqiang's spatial ring, attempted to steal it while they were asleep. During the theft, Ye Yao woke up first.
To avoid being discovered, Wang Hu decided to kill both Ye Yao and Xiao Wenqiang and flee with the treasure.
After being killed, Ye Yao woke up again to find that she had been reborn! And she was reborn in the dormitory, with the original Xiao Wenqiang having not yet discovered the ring's power.
Ye Yao felt that Xiao Wenqiang had caused her death in her previous life. If Xiao Wenqiang hadn't revealed she had spatial resources and spiritual spring water, and hadn't saved Wang Hu and the others, Ye Yao wouldn't have died.
Therefore, her greatest hatred was for Wang Hu, who had killed her, but she also resented the original Xiao Wenqiang. She completely forgot that the original Xiao Wenqiang had revealed the existence of the spiritual spring primarily to save her, her good friend and dormmate who had escaped with her.
The reborn Ye Yao saw this as an opportunity from heaven to change her fate. So, she preemptively stole Xiao Wenqiang's spatial ring, dripped blood to recognize it as her own, and then fled on her own.
"You wouldn't have been able to keep this treasure anyway, and it would have led to your death. It's better to let someone capable possess it," Ye Yao found a convenient excuse for her greed and selfishness.
The main plot of the novel later focused on the female protagonist Ye Yao, who, with the spatial ring containing spiritual spring water, fought zombies and gathered followers. She later encountered the male protagonist Liang Yunchong, who awakened his abilities, and with his help, killed Wang Hu, avenging her previous life. They eventually established a safe human base together.
Ye Yao used the spiritual spring water to grow many fruits and vegetables. In the harsh environment of the apocalypse, she initiated a leisurely pastoral life, and their safe base became renowned.
Then, the original Xiao Wenqiang, the cannon fodder, reappeared!