Chapter 1: The Immortal Gamble: Chopping Towards Survival

The weather in May was just right.

The evening sunlight wasn’t too hot or too cold, casting a soft and cozy glow over the old and decaying residential area.

The buildings in Heqing Community were crowded together, with narrow gaps between them.

Illegally built structures made the already cramped space even tighter, turning balconies into window-to-window setups.

Even the main road wasn’t very spacious, and right now, one of its forks was completely blocked.

It wasn’t blocked by people but by a giant four-leaf clover.

Normally, four-leaf clovers were only the size of a thumbnail, but the one in front of them was a towering two meters tall.

Its massive four leaves spread out like a parasol, covering the entire area.

Its thin and long stem was as tough as iron even an axe barely left a scratch.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A thin teenage girl was swinging an axe, chopping at the giant clover over and over.

She looked about seventeen or eighteen, her body frail from years of malnutrition.

Her messy black hair covered most of her face, making her features hard to see.

Sweat dripped down her cheeks, soaking her collar as she kept hacking away.

A passerby commented,

“She’s still at it?

How long has she been chopping?”

“At least two hours, I think.”

“This four-leaf clover is completely unscathed!”

“Well, it’s a mutant plant.

It’s not aggressive, but ordinary people can’t chop it down.”

This massive clover had appeared a month ago.

At first, the residents panicked, fearing it might be dangerous.

But when the authorities sent inspectors to examine it with various instruments, they issued a safety rating of: Extremely High.

An “Extremely High” rating meant it was completely harmless not only did it not attack people, but even if attacked itself, it wouldn’t retaliate.

In this era, mutant organisms were commonplace.

As long as they weren’t dangerous, the authorities had no time to remove them too many other threats needed their attention.

So, a whole month passed, and the clover remained.

The residents found it annoying.

The main road was already narrow, and now they had to go around it every day.

But as annoying as it was, no one wanted to deal with it.

Everyone assumed,
“With so many people in the neighborhood, someone will eventually get fed up and do something.”

And so, the days dragged on.

Until today.

Someone finally stepped up to cut it down.

A frail, skinny girl.

She had been hacking away for two hours.

But despite her efforts, the giant clover remained unscathed.

Some people tried to persuade her.

“Stop wasting your strength!

This is a mutant plant you can’t cut it down!”

The girl remained silent.

Another person muttered,

“Let her keep chopping.

If she actually manages to cut it down, we won’t have to walk around it anymore.”

“As if she could cut it down!”

“Why do you care?

It’s not like you’re the one chopping.”

“I just don’t like seeing people being stupid!”

The girl hacking away at the clover was named Li Yang.

Was she stupid?

Looking at her past life, definitely not.

After her parents died in an accident, Li Yang survived on scholarships, got into a top university, and landed a high-paying job at a major company.

Her starting salary had already reached seven figures.

But then

While working endlessly on a project, she suddenly woke up…

As a poor girl who had just died from illness.

The original host of this body had the same name as her: Li Yang.

She was also an orphan, but at least she had a grandmother who had supported her through school.

Unfortunately, six months ago, her grandmother passed away.

Without anyone to support her, the original Li Yang had to drop out of school and work odd jobs to survive.

But her body was too weak.

A high fever had taken her life.

When Li Yang transmigrated, she was still burning up, feeling dizzy and weak.

She didn’t understand

How did she suddenly end up here?

Did she… die from overworking?

But she hadn’t even felt tired!

Suddenly

Ding!

A translucent screen appeared before her.

[Life Force: Strong… Willpower: Steady… Conditions Met…]

[Analyzing Data…]

[Loading Immortality System…]

When the loading bar filled up, the screen turned a faint green, displaying a new message:

[Immortality System Activated.]

Another flash of light, and several lines of text appeared:

Name: Li Yang

Lifespan: 1 (day)

Physical Strength: 30

Mental Strength: 30

Note: Remaining lifespan: 1 day.

Harvest plants immediately to extend lifespan.

The final line of text was written in bright red, making her heart pound in fear.

She only had one day left?!

Sitting up in bed, Li Yang felt surprisingly better.

She touched her forehead—her fever was gone.

The dizziness vanished, and her body felt strong again.

Was it because of the system?

Immortality?

The word stabbed straight into her heart.

Who wouldn’t want to live forever?

But… where had this system come from?

Would there be risks?

Well, she had already transmigrated, and this world was filled with mutant creatures.

So in comparison, a system that granted immortality wasn’t too shocking.

Her biggest concern was the red warning.

She focused on the panel, and it appeared again.

Her “lifespan” had changed from 1 (day) to 24 (hours).

She could feel it her life was ticking away.

Her voice was hoarse as she murmured,

“When that number hits zero… I die?”

“To gain more time, I have to harvest plants?”

That part was easy to understand.

But it was so easy, it actually felt suspicious.

What kind of plants did she need to harvest?

Did it have to be specific types?

At first, Li Yang didn’t go for the giant clover.

Instead, she tried pulling out roadside weeds.

Those counted as plants, right?

Not wasting any time, she rushed outside and started yanking weeds.

One, two, three, four…

She pulled out a whole handful before the panel finally changed.

A small notification popped up:

[Lifespan +1 second.]

Li Yang: “……”

Good news: Pulling out weeds worked.

Bad news: It only gave her one second per weed.

At this rate, she would die pulling grass.

The community had plenty of weeds, but in two minutes, she had only gained 1 second.

Not sustainable.

She searched her memories there were farms outside the city, but going out there was dangerous.

With mutant creatures roaming, one wrong step could mean death.

In the entire Heqing Community, the only unusual plant was…

The massive four-leaf clover.

Li Yang looked up at the giant plant, its leaves sprawling like an umbrella.

There was no other choice.

She needed an axe.

Rummaging through the closet, she found one hidden inside.

This axe was originally bought by the previous owner’s grandmother.

With only a grandmother and granddaughter living together, they needed some form of self-defense just in case someone tried to bully them at home.

And so, this was how the scene in Heqing Community came to be Li Yang chopping away for two hours straight.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

But the four-leaf clover’s stem only had a few shallow axe marks.

Li Yang’s arms were sore and aching, and she was panting heavily.

The only good news was that with the “Immortality System” sustaining her, she wouldn’t collapse from exhaustion as long as time hadn’t run out.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Another two hours passed.

The residents watching were stunned.

“She’s still chopping?!”

“This girl looks so weak, but her strength is unbelievable!”

“Too bad her brain isn’t working, hahahaha.”

As night fell, even more people gathered to watch.

Everyone kept chatting and joking, but no one offered to help.

Why would they?

She was clearly being stupid who would want to be the second idiot?

When He Song arrived at Heqing Community, he was greeted with a sight reminiscent of ‘The Foolish Old Man Who Moved the Mountains’ a young girl chopping endlessly.

He had just returned from the Astral Realm and noticed a mutant plant while passing through.

Since he was already here, he figured he might as well get rid of it.

Over the past two years, the spread of astral energy had been accelerating, and even small, weak areas like this had begun experiencing frequent plant and animal mutations.

His eyes immediately landed on the girl wielding the axe.

With people gathered around, he quickly asked what was going on.

Four to five hours of chopping?

Her stamina and endurance were insane!

He Song studied the thin, frail girl in front of him.

She wore a long-sleeved sweatshirt and loose-fitting pants, her whole body as skinny as a stick.

Her delicate wrists were barely thicker than the axe handle she was gripping.

But despite her fragile appearance, her expression was unexpectedly calm and determined a sharp contrast to her weak-looking body.

Appearances can be deceiving.

After all, the Astral Guardians had plenty of people who looked weak but could rip trees from the ground with bare hands.

As time passed, the crowd lost interest.

At first, it was entertaining, but after watching for too long, it got boring.

One by one, they headed home for dinner, baths, and sleep.

He Song, however, remained intrigued.

This four-leaf clover wasn’t aggressive, but it had high defense.

Judging from its overall rating, it was likely a Grade Two mutant plant.

Even he would need two strikes to take it down.

“Need some help?”

He Song smiled as he spoke.

Li Yang, completely focused on chopping, was startled.

She turned slightly and saw a stranger beside her.

He looked about twenty-four or twenty-five, with a handsome face and tall figure.

Though his build was a bit thin, his loose white shirt draped casually over his frame, revealing a glimpse of his pale collarbone where a silver chain rested.

He looked good.

But

Please mind your own business.

Without hesitation, Li Yang replied quickly,

“No!”

He Song was visibly surprised.

Li Yang didn’t waste words she swung the axe even harder.

On the surface, she looked calm and collected, but inside

She was panicking like crazy!

She had spent four to five hours chopping this thing down herself if someone else stole the final hit, she would lose her mind!

He Song tried again,

“If you leave it to me, I can finish it in one strike “

“Thanks, but “

Li Yang suddenly pushed herself harder, slamming the axe down with loud, forceful chops as she gritted out through clenched teeth,

“I have a blood feud with this thing!”

He Song: “?”

Li Yang could tell this guy wasn’t ordinary.

If he really chopped it down in one hit, where would she find another mutant plant to extend her life?

And she didn’t have time to go looking for another!

So, she kept a straight face and spouted nonsense.

“This thing grew over my parents’ graves.

I will never forgive it!”

He Song frowned.

“This is the main road of the community.”

Li Yang mentally apologized to the original host of this body and kept lying.

“It was my parents’ dying wish.

They were worried about me, so I secretly buried them here.

They wanted to stay with me forever.”

He Song: “………………”

Li Yang was already exhausted and looked completely miserable.

Now, with just a little emotional buildup, she easily made her eyes turn red, looking at He Song with a tragic expression that screamed:

“The more pitiful, the better.”

“This revenge is mine to take please, do not interfere.

Okay?”

He Song was utterly fooled.

“Uh… o-okay…”

Li Yang said nothing more and continued chopping furiously.

Why was this guy still here?

Was he planning to steal the last hit?!

The pressure made her more determined.

Summoning all her strength, she swung with incredible force.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After dozens of powerful strikes, a cracking sound echoed.

The iron-hard stem finally split open.

Afraid of any surprises, Li Yang hacked several more times

And the giant four-leaf clover collapsed completely.

He Song gulped.

“Uh… you’ve… avenged them…?”

For some reason, saying it felt weird.

Li Yang nodded solemnly.

“Yes.

I have avenged them.”

Suddenly, a ding rang in her ears.

[Lifespan +10 (years).]

Li Yang: “!”

Ten years?!

She hadn’t even caught her breath yet when another ding sounded.

[Warning: Lifespan limit reached.]

Wait—only ten years?

Why was there a limit?!

Ignoring He Song’s presence, she quickly summoned the system panel and checked.

Name: Li Yang

Lifespan: 10 (years)

Physical Strength: 30

Mental Strength: 30

Note: Lifespan has reached the limit.

Increase physical strength to store more years.

Li Yang: “…”

So now she had to train her body to live longer?!