Chapter 2

Chapter 2

With a goal in mind, Tang Qiu began to act methodically.

She spent an entire night meticulously searching through the original body's home, which helped her fully understand the original body's personality. She needed to successfully play this role to survive in this world.

With a preliminary understanding, Tang Qiu went out.

Instead of sleeping after staying up all night, she went to a nearby convenience store and hardware store to buy food and a whetstone.

Her smartphone had facial recognition, so even without knowing the original body's payment password, Tang Qiu managed to buy what she wanted.

She didn't waste time on the road either. She controlled her instinct to avoid cameras, subtly observing every intersection, every gap in walls that could serve as footholds for a quick escape in a crisis. She also observed every neighbor she passed in the community, assessing their combat effectiveness and the threat they posed to her.

Back home, Tang Qiu quickly ate something, then gathered all the kitchen knives, sharpened each blade one by one, and hid them in various places around the house.

In the shoe cabinet at the entrance, under the sofa in the living room, in the crevices of the bedroom bed, behind the dining chairs—even the kitchen, bathroom, and balcony—Tang Qiu hid weapons everywhere. This would allow her to have the means for a counterattack the moment she encountered an attack.

After hiding weapons within easy reach, Tang Qiu finally felt a sense of security. She then moved on to the second step: fully understanding the original body's physical condition.

After a short sleep, Tang Qiu spent an afternoon reaching a conclusion:

Weak, too weak. If she encountered her counterpart from the apocalypse world, she would be killed without any resistance in just one encounter. This was unacceptable to Tang Qiu.

So she spent a few more hours creating a training plan tailored to the original body's condition, gradually progressing. It was impossible to improve to Tang Qiu's original physical level in a short time, but as long as she had basic fitness, combined with Tang Qiu's skills, she could still achieve a high success rate in killing her enemy—whether she found him first or he came for her.

Tang Qiu prepared for the possibility that the enemy might discover she was still alive and come to kill her again. Of course, in her plan, it was better to find the enemy first. After all, this world wasn't the apocalypse; it would be difficult for her to avoid so many cameras when disposing of a body. If possible, she wanted to remain a law-abiding citizen.

After making the training plan, Tang Qiu started implementing it that very evening.

She changed into loose sportswear, left all electronic devices like her phone and smartwatch at home, then securely strapped a previously prepared portable dagger to her lower back. She put on a jacket and repeatedly checked in the mirror to ensure it wouldn't be easily exposed even with vigorous movement. Then she put on her shoes, opened the door, and went downstairs, merging into the night.

Tang Qiu was very accustomed to moving in the night, because daytime was the enemy's domain. Modern electronic technology would make her completely exposed during the day; if she was spotted even once, enemies would swarm in. If she couldn't escape in time, she would face a fate worse than death. So unless necessary, Tang Qiu usually hid during the day and acted at night.

Two days of daytime observation had given Tang Qiu a rough understanding of the terrain around her residential community. Plus, carrying weapons, she wasn't afraid of any surprises.

After confirming the presence of her weapon once more, Tang Qiu stretched her body and began a slow night run around the community.

As a top student, the original body's physical condition was typical of suboptimal health—thin, weak arms and legs, with no signs of prior exercise. Tang Qiu felt from top to bottom: no muscle, only fat.

To build muscle with this physique required equipment, but Tang Qiu didn't find any in the original body's home. However, she had already placed orders on shopping platforms, and in just three days, she would be able to set up a simple but effective workout area in that home.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and everything was going according to Tang Qiu's plan.

Her physical fitness hadn't improved significantly, but her understanding of the community's residents had advanced greatly.

Through visual observation, gossip among retired community members, and chat logs in the owners' group, Tang Qiu learned that the community had about 6,000 residents, and her building had 141 people.

She lived on the 6th floor with three neighbors. Directly across the hallway at the end was a family of four: a couple married for two years with a newborn daughter. The husband's parents were divorced and remarried, so no one could or was willing to help with childcare, so the wife's mother was taking care of the child.

The elderly woman was retired. The husband worked at a car sales company with an unstable salary—sometimes high, sometimes low, but overall enough to cover living expenses with some leftover. The wife worked as a clerk at an advertising company, had just returned to work, and was currently distressed about being demoted and having her salary cut. She was considering quitting but hesitant. After observation, Tang Qiu concluded: threat level low—even if she harbored ill intentions, Tang Qiu could neutralize her quickly.

The other two neighbors were on Tang Qiu's right. The first was a single woman living alone, with no boyfriend close enough to visit, but she had two female friends. Tang Qiu once encountered the three of them returning home together smelling of hotpot at the building entrance after a night run. Tang Qiu subtly scanned their thin arms and legs and very slender necks, concluding: completely harmless.

The last unit was an elderly couple whose children were both married. Only a domestic worker came in and out to clean and cook, never staying overnight. Tang Qiu glanced once and stopped paying attention—even less threatening than the single woman next door.

Three days also confirmed one thing for Tang Qiu: no one was tailing her.

Maybe it was because too little time had passed since she was discharged from the hospital for the enemy to act, or maybe the police were still investigating the original body's assault case, so the enemy dared not move. Regardless of the reason, Tang Qiu didn't have to worry in the short term about discreetly disposing of a body and becoming an outlaw.

So Tang Qiu turned to another serious task: starting from scratch to investigate the original body's cause of death.

From the messages of concern sent by the original body's unknown friends after Tang Qiu crossed over, as well as police inquiries, Tang Qiu learned that the original body was attacked during a weekend camping trip with acquaintances who weren't very close.

The incident occurred late at night, close to midnight. Everyone was having a great time, gathered around a campfire playing games. The original body wasn't very interested and was just watching, but she was called away by a phone call midway. No one present noticed when she left or how far she had gone. They were just enjoying themselves when they suddenly heard a scream. By the time they rushed over, they saw the original body lying on the ground and a blurry figure fleeing into the woods in the distance.

According to their witness, the figure was clearly male, of indeterminate height but very stout, running fast, looking from afar like a short bear. That's why the several men present didn't dare to chase after him.

Tang Qiu searched for the number that had lured the original body away that night on her phone. It was the client involved in a divorce case handled by her supervising lawyer. Tang Qiu, as a paralegal, would communicate with the client when the supervising lawyer was unavailable.

The client hadn't known the original body for long, but their chat history was extensive, repeatedly recounting the misfortune and pain in her marriage.

On the night of the incident, the two had been on the phone for 19 minutes before being interrupted. Tang Qiu couldn't find a direct link between this client and the attack on the original body for now, but she decided to start with her and gradually radiate outward through all of the original body's social circles to investigate.

Tang Qiu wasn't in a hurry; she had plenty of time. Although she was mostly the prey, sometimes she was also the hunter—a very patient hunter, to avoid startling the prey.

As her physical fitness gradually improved, Tang Qiu's range of activities also expanded. Just half a month after her discharge, her night run distance had increased from circling the community to a 1.5-kilometer straight-line distance from it. Her stamina had progressed from trembling legs and rapid breathing after 200 meters to being able to walk home without resting after the run.

It was late March, and the weather was starting to warm up, but it wasn't hot yet. Especially at night, a jacket was still needed, allowing Tang Qiu to continue carrying weapons.

After her night run, Tang Qiu followed her usual routine of stretching by the community's fitness equipment while subtly observing whether anyone was following her.

The result was the same as always: she was perfectly safe, with no external threats.

But as Tang Qiu finished stretching and was about to head home, something different happened on that same night: she saw a child.

A frail child who could easily die from just a little accident—about three or four years old, completely naked, walking barefoot on the deserted internal road of the community in the darkness.

The moment Tang Qiu saw the child, she stopped, quickly retreated behind a tree for cover, and watched him.

In the apocalypse world, children were protected but also a source of trouble. Their frailty and unpredictability often left protectors tied up in knots, but because they represented the beginning of life—blank slates—they attracted enemies who would swarm to capture and domesticate them, expanding the enemy's ranks.

Normally, Tang Qiu avoided encountering them, because meeting them meant the harshness of survival would increase exponentially. Yet to ensure the slim hope of humanity's future and to curb the enemy's expansion, an unwritten rule bound every survivor to automatically shelter children they encountered.

Tang Qiu hesitated. In the apocalypse, as the first adult to see the child, she would automatically become his guardian. But now she was in a different world. If she ignored him, surely someone else would take care of him, right?

She watched the child wobble toward the community gate, waiting silently for another adult who could look after him to appear.

It felt like a long wait—ten minutes, maybe fifteen. In that time, even a three- or four-year-old's short legs could cover a fair distance. To avoid losing track of him, Tang Qiu reluctantly followed at a distance.

She initially hoped the security guard at the gate would notice, but maybe he was asleep, because no one came out. The child was about to walk out of the community gate and onto the busy road with traffic.

With a sigh inside, Tang Qiu quickened her pace and caught up with the child.

She didn't pick him up directly—she wasn't used to or fond of such physical contact. Instead, she simply blocked him, stepping in front of him to stop his forward path.

The child was crying and wailing, not looking where he was going, so he didn't notice an adult suddenly appearing in the empty road ahead. He walked forward instinctively and bumped straight into Tang Qiu's leg, then bounced and sat down on the ground.

Feeling the pain, the child cried even louder. Tang Qiu looked down at him, expressionless but with a hint of novelty.

In the last three years of her life before death, Tang Qiu had spent almost all of it alone. The enemies didn't count—they had human shells but had become a different species inside.

She hadn't encountered a real human for three consecutive years, let alone a child. She had lived in silence for so long that she had almost forgotten what such a lively, noisy sound was like.

Tang Qiu looked down at the child, observing his fearful expression, his shrinking body, and his still chubby, pale body despite some dirt. She suddenly felt an impulse to touch him. She remembered that children's body temperatures seemed higher than adults'. Didn't that mean he would be warm?

The tips of Tang Qiu's fingers twitched. She hesitated, then slowly crouched down and gently poked the child's smooth cheek.

The warmth from her fingertips made Tang Qiu's heart skip a beat. Just as she thought, it was very warm.

Just a light touch, the child didn't notice, still sobbing intermittently.

In a completely safe environment, Tang Qiu hesitated, then tentatively poked the child's little belly, which looked soft and inviting as it rose and fell. This time, the child reacted. He looked up at Tang Qiu, startled and confused, clumsily covering his belly with his chubby arms.

Meeting the child's clear and lively eyes, Tang Qiu couldn't look away for a long time. This feeling was so amazing—locking eyes with a real human soul.

Suddenly, Tang Qiu felt a desire to speak, but just as she was about to open her mouth, she heard a hesitant female voice from beside her, "Xiao Chen? Is that Xiao Chen? How are you here? Where's your mom?"

Instinctively, Tang Qiu stood up and stepped back two paces, putting some distance between herself, the child, and the woman beside her. She silently watched as the young woman bent down and picked up the child, then looked at Tang Qiu and asked, "Are you also a resident of Yazhi Neighborhood? I think I've seen you around. You often go for night jogs around here, don't you?"

Tang Qiu habitually scanned the woman's entire body, focusing on places where a weapon could be hidden and her eyes, before nodding slightly and replying, "Yes. Do you know this child? Then I'll leave him with you. Goodbye."

Without giving the young woman a chance to chat further, Tang Qiu turned and walked away. But just two steps later, an interface suddenly appeared in her mind, capturing all her attention.

Fate Intervention System activated successfully.

At 23:39 on March 17th, you rescued Ding Yuchen. Your actions significantly impacted Ding Yuchen's fate. You have gained 1 Basic Attribute Point. You have successfully unlocked the Special Prize Pool.

You drew from the Special Prize Pool and successfully obtained the item (Common): Fate's Prophetic Eye (One-time use).

You laid eyes on Ji Shulan, which triggered the Fate's Prophetic Eye item.

You foresaw Ji Shulan's fate. You foresee her death at 2:18 AM on March 19th.