Chapter 2: Beginner Gift Pack

The room was quiet.

Too quiet.

Chimi stared at the glowing blue screen floating before her face.

Remaining Life Expectancy: 3 Days

She rubbed her eyes.

The screen stayed.

She pinched her cheek.

"Ow."

The screen stayed.

She looked up at the ceiling.

"Any chance this is a dream?"

The system answered instantly.

Negative.

"What if I go back to sleep?"

Estimated life expectancy after sleeping: Two days and sixteen hours.

"...You're no fun."

I am a system, not a comedian.

Chimi folded her arms.

"I disagree."

"You've already made me laugh twice."

There was a long pause.

Then...

Recording compliment...

...

Thank you.

A smile crept onto her face.

"So you can be polite."

Only to hosts with acceptable personalities.

Pema looked between Chimi and the empty air.

"Big Sister... who are you talking to?"

Chimi nearly jumped.

"Oh! Right."

She had forgotten no one else could hear the system.

She cleared her throat with exaggerated seriousness.

"My stomach."

Pema blinked.

"...Your stomach talks?"

"It complains."

"I suppose that's normal."

Pema nodded as if this explanation made perfect sense.

The system quietly commented.

Intelligence Assessment:

Pema: Innocent.

Chimi bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.

Pema placed the wooden bowl on the table.

"I made porridge."

"It isn't very good..."

"I burned it a little."

Chimi picked up the spoon.

The porridge looked...

Questionable.

It had somehow become both watery and burnt.

She took one bite.

"..."

"..."

"How is it?" Pema asked nervously.

Chimi forced a smile.

"It's..."

She searched desperately for the right word.

"...memorable."

Pema's shoulders drooped.

"I'm sorry."

Chimi reached over and gently ruffled the girl's hair.

"It's food."

"That means it's already wonderful."

Besides...

She had eaten instant noodles for an entire week back on Earth.

Burnt porridge wasn't the worst thing she'd tasted.

The system chimed in.

Hidden Achievement:

Big Sister Energy.

Reward: One Low-Grade Healing Pill.

A small jade bottle appeared on the table with a soft pop.

Pema gasped.

"Big Sister!"

"It... it just appeared!"

Chimi blinked.

"You couldn't have waited until I was alone?"

Dramatic timing increases satisfaction by 34%.

She uncorked the bottle.

A pleasant herbal fragrance filled the room.

Without hesitation, she swallowed the tiny pill.

Warmth spread through her body.

The weakness in her arms faded.

The dizziness disappeared.

Even the bruises left by the previous owner's illness slowly vanished.

Pema's mouth fell open.

"You look..."

"...healthy."

"I feel healthy."

The system displayed another message.

Beginner Gift Pack Available.

"Now we're talking."

She mentally tapped the screen.

Fireworks exploded across the interface.

Congratulations!

You have received:

Beginner Cultivation Manual

Infinite Storage Ring (Locked)

Ten Fortune Points

One Random Skill Draw

"Oh!"

"I like presents."

Most humans do.

"Open everything."

The system hesitated.

Reminder.

Luck is currently...

Terrible.

"...How terrible?"

Imagine finding a fish in a desert.

"...That's impossible."

Exactly.

"Well..."

She rubbed her hands together.

"I've never been lucky anyway."

"Draw."

The wheel spun.

Golden light.

Blue light.

Purple light.

Black light.

Finally...

It stopped.

Congratulations!

Obtained Skill: Perfect Memory.

Chimi blinked.

"That's... actually amazing."

Every book she read.

Every cultivation technique.

Every map.

Every face.

She would never forget them.

The system sounded unusually pleased.

This skill has a compatibility rate below 0.01%.

Host is unexpectedly fortunate.

She grinned.

"So my luck isn't terrible after all."

Correction.

Your destiny is terrible.

Your soul is lucky.

"...That's confusing."

Welcome to cultivation.

Suddenly...

Bang!

The front door flew open.

A fat middle-aged woman stormed inside with two rough-looking servants.

"There she is!"

"I knew that cursed girl wasn't dead yet!"

Pema immediately stepped in front of Chimi.

"Please don't hurt my sister!"

The woman sneered.

"Sister?"

"She's nothing but a useless burden."

She threw a crumpled document onto the floor.

"Pay three years of debt."

"Or I'll sell both of you."

Silence.

Chimi slowly picked up the paper.

The amount written made her eyebrows rise.

The previous owner had never borrowed this money.

The signature had clearly been forged.

She looked up calmly.

"This debt is fake."

The woman laughed.

"So what?"

Chimi smiled.

A small smile.

The kind that usually meant someone was about to regret their choices.

Back on Earth, she'd once negotiated million-dollar contracts.

Compared to those people...

This woman wasn't even an amateur.

She dusted off the paper.

"Tell me."

"Who told you I was easy to bully?"

The room suddenly became very quiet.

Even the system seemed interested.

Side Quest Generated.

Teach the greedy landlady a lesson.

Reward: 100 Fortune Points.

Failure Penalty:

Public humiliation.

Chimi cracked her knuckles.

"Finally."

"A quest I can enjoy."

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