Chapter 2: Forging Strength: The Cost of Longevity

She really hit the limit.

Was it because her body was too weak?

She only had ten years of lifespan?

Li Yang closed the system panel, deciding not to dwell on it for now especially since there was still a stranger nearby.

Following the principle of “acting the part until the end,” Li Yang bowed mournfully toward the fallen four-leaf clover.

He Song, who had been staring at her without blinking, had initially been skeptical, but now he completely believed her.

Her palms and wrists were red and swollen from hours of swinging the axe.

Her arms trembled uncontrollably, and when she bent forward to bow, her black hair covered her face.

But her quivering shoulders were proof enough she was silently crying.

She wasn’t making a sound, probably because she was too stubborn to show weakness.

Losing her parents at such a young age, life must have been incredibly hard.

He Song could relate his parents had also passed away early.

They had both been Astral Guardians, sacrificing their lives in battle within the Astral Realm.

Even though they had left him a large sum of compensation money, that kind of pain and loneliness could never be filled by wealth.

Looking at the girl in front of him, he saw a reflection of his younger self.

Feeling even more sympathetic, he hesitated for a moment before speaking gently.

“I’m He Song, an assistant instructor at Zhongdu Military Academy.

I happened to be passing by and was planning to clear out this mutant plant, but I see you already took care of it.”

Li Yang wiped her face with her sleeve in reality, she was just wiping sweat, but to He Song, it looked like she was wiping away tears.

She spoke softly, “Hello, Teacher He.

My name is Li Yang.”

He Song felt even more sympathy.

He continued, “Actually, the military offers bounty rewards for dealing with mutant creatures.

This four-leaf clover… well, the bounty was 10,000 Hua-Xia credits.”

10,000 credits?!

According to the original host’s memories, a full day of hard labor barely earned her sixty or seventy credits.

A single mutant plant was worth several months’ wages?!

At first, Li Yang was shocked, but she quickly calmed down.

If the bounty was so high, why had no one come to clear it for a whole month?

The residents not touching it made sense they probably didn’t even know about the bounty.

But was this reward system only available to certain people like He Song, who could cut it down in one strike?

Or maybe people like He Song who could take on these bounties simply didn’t care about a mere 10,000 credits?

Rich people.

Li Yang suddenly found herself very interested in this “Zhongdu Military Academy.”

He Song had cash on hand and pulled out two 5,000-credit bills, handing them to her.

But Li Yang didn’t take them.

She deliberately acted confused and hesitant, as if she had just realized something.

“I never heard about any bounty.”

He Song explained, “It wasn’t publicly announced it’s an internal task within the academy.”

Li Yang was already fishing for information, and this made her even more interested.

“There are bounty tasks in the academy?

Only teachers can take them?”

“Students can too.”

Li Yang murmured, “Zhongdu Military Academy sounds amazing…”

He Song could see right through her thoughts.

Zhongdu Military Academy was one of the top institutions in Hua-Xia.

Judging by her age, she was probably a high school senior naturally, she’d be drawn to the idea of joining.

Although getting accepted was difficult and the training was dangerous, the benefits for students were incredible.

He Song had offered her the 10,000 credits partly because he pitied her, but also because the academy really did offer students various bounty missions.

Even lower-level cleanup jobs, like dealing with minor mutant plants, could earn at least 7,000–8,000 credits.

He Song said, “You were able to clear a mutant plant, which means you have decent physical capabilities.

You should check your physique level if it meets the requirements, you could apply to the academy.

Last year, as long as your physical strength was above 80, you could apply for Zhongdu Military Academy.”

Li Yang’s mind started turning.

She remembered the stats from her system panel she didn’t need to check.

Her physical and mental strength were both at 30.

That was way too low.

He Song’s tone became serious.

“But you should know joining the academy means facing real danger.

You won’t just be dealing with harmless plants like this one.

Think carefully before making any impulsive decisions.”

After saying that, he placed the 10,000 credits in her hand.

“It’s getting late.

Go home and get some rest.”

He Song turned to leave, but Li Yang suddenly called out to him.

“Teacher He.”

“Hmm?”

Li Yang took out a 5,000 Hua-Xia credit bill and handed it back to He Song.

She said, “If it weren’t for you, Teacher He, I wouldn’t have even known about the bounty, so…”

He Song felt another pang of sympathy.

As expected, kids from poor families had to grow up too fast.

If this had been any of the troublemakers he trained, they’d probably be complaining that 10,000 credits was too little.

He pushed the money back toward her and said, “Keep it. This is what you earned.

I was just passing by and submitting a mission along the way.

But… if you do get into Zhongdu Military Academy, you can buy me a cup of milk tea as a delivery fee.”

He winked at her, and Li Yang smiled back, sincerely saying, “Thank you.”

After He Song left, Li Yang dragged her exhausted body home.

“Zhongdu Military Academy, huh…”

She was really interested.

Not just because of the bounty rewards, but because this assistant instructor seemed like a good person.

If He Song hadn’t mentioned the bounty, no one would have ever told her about it.

But he did essentially giving her 10,000 credits for free.

This money might not mean much to He Song, but to Li Yang, it was a lifesaver.

The original host had barely 1,000 credits to her name.

With 10,000 credits, she could at least afford food for a few months and even return to school to take the college entrance exam.

In her previous life, Li Yang had rewritten her fate through studying.

She planned to do the same thing again but in this world, academics alone wouldn’t be enough.

She also had to train her body.

After taking a quick shower and changing into clean clothes, Li Yang sat at her desk and began studying the “Longevity System.”

So far, she had only looked at the system panel.

She hadn’t actually tried to operate it yet.

Now that it was late at night, she didn’t have to worry about being seen.

She raised her hand and tapped the air, selecting the “Physical Strength” section.

Nothing happened.

“I can only see it, but I can’t interact with it?”

She frowned, thinking to herself, “How do I improve my physical strength?”

The notes were clear if she increased her body’s strength, she could raise her lifespan limit.

But how?

Would she have to run 10 kilometers a day and lift weights?

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, the system panel changed.

A message appeared:

[Do you want to consume ‘lifespan’ to improve physical strength?]

Li Yang understood instantly.

“So that’s how it works!”

Afraid of wasting too much lifespan, she cautiously said,

“Consume 1 day of lifespan to improve physical strength.”

A message popped up:

[You trained for one day, but due to poor talent and insufficient time, there was no significant improvement.]

Li Yang: “…”

So she really had to train, but instead of doing it physically, the system simulated it by consuming lifespan.

One day of training was obviously not enough.

She tried again.

“Consume 10 days.”

[You trained for ten days, but due to poor talent and insufficient time, there was no significant improvement.]

Same result.

Looks like she needed to invest more time.

She tried again.

“One month.”

The same message appeared.

Li Yang didn’t want to waste her precious lifespan, so she incremented the time slowly.

Finally, after consuming a full year, the system message changed.

[You trained for one year, developing a habit of running 10 kilometers every morning.
However, due to poor talent, your physical strength has only increased to 40 points.]

Finally, progress!

Li Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

She was starting to understand how the system worked.

First, she could gain lifespan by harvesting mutant plants.

Second, her lifespan cap was currently stuck at 10 years anything beyond that couldn’t be stored.

Third, she could consume lifespan to improve physical strength, but the smallest unit was 1 year.

Even though she felt reluctant to use up her precious 10 years, she had no choice she had to keep improving.

She needed to reach at least 80 points in physical strength.

If it took 10 points per year, she would need 4 more years.

Clenching her jaw, she made a decision.

“Consume 4 years of lifespan to improve physical strength.”

[In the first year, you started weight training. Physical strength increased to 50 points.]

[In the second year, you focused too much on building muscle mass and made inefficient progress. Physical strength increased to 58 points.]

[In the third year, you pushed yourself too hard with extreme sports. You fell while rock climbing and broke a leg. After recovery, your physical strength dropped to 56 points.]

[In the fourth year, after thorough preparation and specialized training, you successfully completed a free solo rock climb. Physical strength increased to 70 points.]

When she saw the first year’s progress, she felt relieved a stable 10-point increase.

Not bad.

But when she read the second year’s message, she froze.

“Why did I start chasing big muscles?! Stay on track!”

Then, the third-year message appeared.

Her heart dropped.

Not only did she fail to improve, but she lost progress?!

Thankfully, the fourth year made up for it, boosting her by 14 points.

In total, four years of lifespan had only increased her by 30 points far below her expectations.

But at least it was acceptable.

She decided to continue

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit her.

A crushing soreness spread through her entire body.

The feeling was indescribable as if time had been sped up, and years of grueling training had passed in an instant.

Her body had truly gone through every single hardship and struggle that the system had simulated.

Only after enduring unbearable exhaustion did she finally reach 70 points.

When she regained her senses, she was soaked in sweat.

A chill ran down her spine.

She couldn’t rush this.

If she consumed too many years at once, her mind and body might not be able to handle it.

She had just changed clothes, but now they were drenched again.

Sighing, she had no choice but to take another shower.

As warm water poured over her, she felt refreshed and revitalized.

The pain and fatigue from chopping the four-leaf clover had completely disappeared.

Instead, her body felt full of power, as if she had unlimited energy.

She turned to look at herself in the bathroom mirror.

Her reflection had completely transformed.

The once thin and frail body was now lean and athletic.

Her sallow skin had become radiant and healthy.

Even her once soft belly now showed defined abs.

It was a body filled with strength.