Chapter 431 - 430: Extra 26: The Original Shi Lan 1

Chapter 431: Chapter 430: Extra 26: The Original Shi Lan 1

Shi Lan never thought her dream could come true.

In a library, she had once stumbled upon a book. It claimed that every world has many gods who bless all living things, hidden from sight.

However, she lived in a world of rapid technological advancement.

In her world, revering science was the guiding principle.

Shi Lan didn’t believe in gods, either. ’If gods existed, why would my parents have abandoned me? My life was already bitter enough, so why did the heavens have to make me an F-level waste female? My Fertility Value is even zero...’

As a female—and a waste female at that—she knew better than anyone that she must have been abandoned. There was no other explanation.

In truth, her refusal of Uncle Gao and Aunt Gao’s offer to raise her stemmed from her own insecurity about being a waste female; she was afraid of being abandoned again.

She hadn’t come to the Capital Star because she’d heard her parents were there. After all, having grown up on the poor, underdeveloped planet of Yaoxing and been abandoned for so many years, how could she possibly have the resources or connections to track them down?

She simply thought, ’The Capital Star is so vast, and its libraries hold countless books. Might there be a chance for a waste female to be cured?’

In the end, she found nothing.

When Shi Lan came across the book about gods again, she expressionlessly returned it to its shelf.

She turned to go to another shelf, but the book fell out again, landing right on her foot.

Shi Lan lowered her gaze to the book, her expression unreadable. Whatever she was thinking, she ended up reading the entire book again in the library that day.

The book said that the stronger a person’s faith, the greater their chance of summoning a god.

"Hah. Easy for them to say."

At the time, Shi Lan had scoffed, ultimately paying it no mind as she put the book back in its place once more.

This time, the book didn’t fall.

Shi Lan had first encountered the book during her second year at the Imperial Capital University.

In the two years that followed, nothing in her life changed. She was mocked for being a waste female, ignored by the Second Prince, and lived a quiet, gloomy existence in her own little corner, enviously watching the life of her friend, Jiang Yan.

’Jiang Yan was a good person, but she shouldn’t be with someone like me, who has no future.’

Shi Lan always tried to drive her away with harsh words. On the few occasions she saw Jiang Yan’s heartbroken expression, her heart would ache, but she still felt she was doing the right thing.

Life was always harder for waste females in this world. She had endured so much ridicule and didn’t want Jiang Yan, who had such a bright future, to be tainted by a blemish like her.

Shi Lan knew this was all her life would amount to. Females who remained waste females after reaching adulthood had no chance of changing their fate. Even finding a job would be difficult. She would probably have to return to Yaoxing in shame and face the disappointed looks of Uncle Gao and Aunt Gao.

On the eve of graduation, as she was preparing to use the last of her money to buy a ticket back to Yaoxing, she saw the Monarch’s announcement about a lottery to select a wife for the Second Prince.

Shi Lan’s eyes lit up. It was as if a guiding light had appeared in her dim, hopeless life. She knew this was her best chance, as an ordinary waste female, to change her destiny. She didn’t want to live a life of mediocrity forever.

’It couldn’t hurt to try.’

Shi Lan never expected that this time, the heavens would favor her. She had actually won.

But that very night, she had a terrible dream. In it, death awaited her, over and over again.

Shi Lan had nightmares for several days straight, leaving her shaken and disoriented.

For some reason, she had a premonition that she was really going to die.

Her life had already been so hard. Just when she had prepared herself to accept her fate as an ordinary waste female, death was waiting for her right around the corner.

’I don’t want to die!’

Shi Lan suddenly recalled the contents of that book from the library. For several days, she shut herself in her room, her mind consumed with pleas for the gods to protect her. If possible, she just wanted to live peacefully as an ordinary person.

She never expected that one day, a white-haired Immortal with a kind, benevolent face would actually appear in her dreams and tell her, "Little maiden, I understand. You do not wish to die."

"The death fated for you in this world is inescapable. However, in another world, there is a person on the same wavelength as you who is also calling to me. It is a world that does not require spiritual power. I am giving you a chance to change your destiny. Are you willing to swap places?"

Shi Lan didn’t know if it was real, but her mind was so full of the nightmares of her death that she agreed without hesitation.

Besides, as a waste female, she had often thought about how wonderful it would be if no one had spiritual power. That way, there would be no Levels, and she wouldn’t be mocked all the time.

When she next awoke from her sleep, Shi Lan rubbed her head and couldn’t help but laugh at herself. ’I must have really been brainwashed by that book to dream of an Immortal manifesting, let alone a soul swap.’

But when she took a good look at her surroundings, she pinched her cheek in disbelief. "Is this real?"

She felt the blankets on the bed, then eagerly scrambled out to examine the person in the mirror. She tapped at the empty spot on her wrist where her chip should have been. Only after a long moment did she confirm it: she had really swapped souls with someone else—a girl who looked a lot like her.

The girl had tan skin, but her features were delicate. Her eyes seemed to hold a natural, bright smile—unlike her old self, who always kept her gaze downcast.

But with the soul changed, the eyes in the mirror lacked some of their original liveliness, replaced by a new spirit that Shi Lan herself had never possessed before.

——

Shi Lan had come from a high-tech world. In contrast, this world’s technological development was slow; it hadn’t even reached the era of widespread artificial intelligence.

But she was from Yaoxing, a very poor planet, and had always had to rely on herself. Because of this, she adapted quickly to the pace of this new world.

She discovered that this world indeed didn’t require spiritual power, that many people were friendly to her, and that the original owner of this body, unlike her, was very wealthy.

Looking at the substantial balance in the bank account, Shi Lan always felt a pang of guilt toward the body’s original owner. After all, she had left her almost no money in return. She had been too poor; the few Star Coins she’d saved up had all come from the female subsidy.

She also worried about the other person, who had inherited her waste female’s body and its inability to use spiritual power.

Thus, Shi Lan was often plagued by guilt. Then one day, she dreamed of the Immortal again.

He told her, "Spiritual power is tied to the soul. Perhaps the one who swapped with you is better suited for that world."

Only then did Shi Lan’s heart slowly find peace.

Shi Lan was socially awkward and not much of a talker. Jiang Yan had been her only friend, and for the most part, Jiang Yan did the talking while Shi Lan acted as the silent, taciturn listener.

So, she quit her job. Feeling too awkward to keep spending the original owner’s money, she started looking for work she could do from home.

By chance, she discovered comics. She spent several months systematically studying the art form, reviving a childhood hobby.

Shi Lan had always thought she was no good at anything, but now she was discovering she had a real talent for drawing. Furthermore, the memories of the world she came from were still vivid in her mind. Perhaps as a way to hold on to a piece of her past, and to foster more gratitude for her present, she began to record them and post them online.