Chapter 1

The weather in May was just perfect. The evening sunlight, neither too cold nor too warm, gently bathed the old, dilapidated neighborhood, casting a soft, comfortable glow over it. The buildings in Heqing Complex stood very close to one another; with numerous unauthorized constructions, the balconies faced each other directly.

The only main road was narrow, and at a fork, something had taken over—not residents, but a gigantic four-leaf clover, sprawling and shading the area like a massive umbrella.

Four-leaf clovers were common enough, typically only thumb-sized. Yet this one towered two meters tall, its enormous four leaves spread wide, dominating the entire space. Its slender stem was as tough as iron—one swing of an axe could only produce a hollow sound.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A skinny young woman was swinging an axe repeatedly at the colossal clover.

She looked about seventeen or eighteen, her body lean and frail from years of malnutrition, her face obscured by tangled black hair. Sweat dripped down her cheeks, trickled along her neck, and soaked the collar of her clothes.

Passersby murmured, "She’s still chopping? How long has she been at it?"

"At least two hours, I’d say."

"That clover hasn’t even a scratch!"

"Well, it’s a mutated plant. Though it’s not aggressive, it’s not something an ordinary person can chop through."

This giant four-leaf clover had appeared just a month ago.

At first, residents were anxious, fearing it might be hostile. Officials came with instruments to inspect it extensively and assigned it a safety rating: extremely high.

"Extremely high" meant that it wouldn’t attack people proactively and wouldn’t retaliate if attacked.

In these days, mutations were common. As long as the safety rating was high, officials rarely bothered to clear them out due to manpower shortages.

A month had passed, and the four-leaf clover remained, as still as a statue.

The residents found it troublesome—the narrow main road had to be detoured around it. Yet despite the annoyance, no one was willing to take on the task of cutting down this giant.

Everyone thought, "What’s the rush? With so many people here, someone will lose patience eventually," and so the problem dragged on for a month.

Until today, when someone finally came to clear the huge four-leaf clover—and it was a gaunt young girl.

She wielded an axe, chopping diligently for two hours.

But after two hours, the clover remained unyielding. Some advised her, "Don’t waste your effort; this is a mutated plant. Ordinary people can’t handle it!"

She said nothing.

Another said, "Let her chop. If she manages to cut it down, we won’t have to detour every day."

"Yeah, if she could, that’d be a miracle!"

"Mind your own business. No one asked you to chop."

"I just don’t want to see her act foolishly!"

The girl chopping the four-leaf clover was named Li Yang.

Was she foolish?

From what her past life revealed, absolutely not.

After her parents died unexpectedly, Li Yang supported herself on scholarships, earned admission to a top university, and after graduating, landed a prestigious job with a seven-figure starting salary.

No one expected that while she was buried in work, she would suddenly wake up as a pitiful girl who had just died of illness.

The original Li Yang shared her name and surname, was also orphaned, but had a grandmother supporting her education. Sadly, half a year ago, the grandmother passed away. The original Li Yang had to drop out and survive on odd jobs. Unfortunately, her frail health gave way to a high fever that claimed her life.

When Li Yang arrived in this body, she was still burning with fever, dizzy and weak.

She didn’t understand how she had transmigrated.

Had she died too? Overworked to death?

She didn’t feel tired at all!

With a crisp ding, a translucent panel appeared before her eyes:

[Strong vitality... Firm will... Eligibility confirmed...]

[Detecting information...]

[Loading Immortality System...]

When the progress bar filled, the panel turned a pale green with a line of text:

[Immortality System activated.]

The panel flickered again, revealing several lines of data:

Name: Li Yang
Lifespan: 1 (day)
Physique: 30
Spirit: 30

Note: Lifespan remaining only 1 day. Please harvest plants promptly to extend lifespan.

The last line, written in blood-red letters, was especially jarring. Li Yang’s heart pounded wildly—did she really only have one day left?

She sat up in bed, surprised to find her body much better. Touching her forehead, her fever had subsided, the dizzy exhaustion vanished, and strength returned.

Was it the activation of this Immortality System?

Immortality?

The word struck her deeply. Who wouldn’t want to live forever? Yet she wondered how the system had come about and whether it carried risks.

Since she had transmigrated, and the original’s memories spoke of mutated creatures in this world, the Immortality System wasn’t entirely unbelievable.

Her greatest concern now was the note on the panel.

Thinking quickly, she summoned the panel again.

The "Lifespan" field changed from 1 (day) to 24 (hours).

Li Yang keenly felt the passage of time—the fleeting nature of life.

Whispering, she said, “When this number hits zero, I die? To gain life points, I have to harvest plants?” It made sense, but because it was so straightforward, it left her uncertain.

What kind of plants must she harvest? Did it have to be specific types? At this moment, Li Yang hadn’t dared challenge the huge four-leaf clover yet. Instead, she opted for the weeds growing by the roadside.

Those counted as plants, didn’t they?

Not wanting to waste time, she pushed open the door and went downstairs. Within a few steps outside, she rolled up her sleeves and began pulling out roadside weeds.

One, two, three, four... soon she had a small handful.

Only then did the panel update, popping up a small line of text:

[Lifespan +1 (second).]

Li Yang: “..........”

The good news was that harvesting weeds could extend life.

The bad news was that it was by mere seconds—she would be working until death.

There were plenty of weeds in Heqing Complex, but after two minutes of pulling, her lifespan increased by only one second—an utterly unprofitable exchange.

She continued searching the original’s memories... There were farmland outskirts the city, but this world was dangerous. Leaving the city was risky—encountering aggressive mutated creatures could mean death.

Most plants in Heqing Complex were probably no better than weeds... except for that massive four-leaf clover.

Li Yang looked up at that giant, umbrella-like clover.

In the original’s memories, it had a very high safety rating. But as someone from the 21st century, she simply couldn’t fathom such an enormous four-leaf clover.

No matter how high the safety rating, it looked unsafe. Yet she had no other choice.

The clover’s leaves spread wide, but its stem wasn’t too thick. If she could chop through the stem, she might be able to "harvest" it.

Back home, Li Yang rummaged through the wardrobe and found an axe.

It belonged to the original’s grandmother. The elderly woman and the girl lived alone; naturally, there was a weapon for self-defense, in case of intruders.

And so, the scene was set: Li Yang chopping for two hours straight.

Bang, bang, bang—the clover’s stem bore only a few shallow axe marks.

Li Yang’s arms ached and throbbed; she was exhausted and gasping for breath. The one advantage was the Immortality System: no matter how much she exerted herself, she wouldn’t collapse from fatigue as long as time remained.

Bang, bang, bang!

Another two hours passed.

Onlookers in the neighborhood were stunned:

"She’s still chopping!"

"Though she looks fragile, she’s surprisingly strong!"

"Too bad she’s a bit dim, haha."

As dusk fell, more people gathered. They chatted and joked but no one dared to help. Why bother? She was clearly being foolish; no one wanted to be the second fool.

When He Song arrived at Heqing Complex, he saw this girl akin to the fabled “Foolish Old Man Moving Mountains.”

Just having returned from the “Star Realm,” he noticed the mutated plant in the complex and intended to clear it on the way. The past two years saw the Star Radiance spreading fiercely, causing frequent mutations even in such sparse areas.

He Song immediately spotted the girl wielding an axe, chopping with all her might.

A crowd had gathered, and he quickly learned the story.

She had been at it for four or five hours! Her stamina and endurance were impressive.

He Song glanced at the frail girl. She wore a long-sleeved sweatshirt and loose pants, her figure slender as a bamboo pole. Her thin wrists were barely thicker than the axe handle, but her expression was calm and resolute—completely at odds with her fragile appearance.

One shouldn’t judge by appearances.

The “Star Holders” were not lacking in warriors who looked delicate but could uproot willows.

The crowd gradually dispersed—mostly there for amusement, but bored after watching so long. Everyone went home to eat, bathe, and sleep.

He Song watched with interest.

The four-leaf clover had no offensive capability but extremely high defense—its overall rating might be second-grade. Even he would need two strikes to clear a second-grade mutated plant.

“Need help?” He Song asked with a smile.

Li Yang, focused on chopping, was startled. She turned slightly to see the stranger beside her.

He looked about twenty-four or twenty-five, handsome and tall but slender. His loose white shirt hung off his pale collarbones, adorned with a silver chain.

He was good-looking enough—but please, no interference.

Li Yang quickly replied, “No, thanks!”

He Song clearly hesitated.

She said no more and chopped even faster, her face as steady as a mountain but her heart pounding fiercely.

She had spent four or five hours just to personally harvest this plant. If someone else took it, she would lose her mind.

He Song tried to explain, “If you leave it to me, one strike could—”

“Thank you, but...” Li Yang summoned more strength, chopping with fierce determination and snarling, “I have a deep, bitter grudge against it!”

He Song blinked.

Li Yang could tell the man was no ordinary person. If he took the plant with a single strike, where else could she find mutated plants to extend her life?

And she had no time to waste looking!

She straightened her face and earnestly blurted nonsense:

“It’s growing on my parents’ grave—a grudge of desecration I cannot forgive.”

He Song was taken aback: “Isn’t that the main road of the complex...?”

Li Yang silently apologized to the original occupant’s memory and continued her tale:

“It was my parents’ last wish. Before they died, they were worried about me and wanted to stay close, so I secretly buried them here.”

He Song was speechless.

Li Yang, already exhausted and disheveled, needed no effort to summon tears. Her eyes reddened as she looked at He Song, the picture of misery:

“I must avenge this grudge myself, so please don’t help me, okay?”

He Song was intimidated. “O-okay.”

Li Yang said no more and resumed chopping with all her might.

Why wasn’t he leaving? Surely he wouldn’t intervene covertly?

Pressure only fueled her determination.

After dozens of vigorous swings, a cracking sound finally came.

The iron-hard stem split open.

Fearing any mishaps, Li Yang struck several more blows at once, finally toppling the giant four-leaf clover.

He Song swallowed hard and stammered, “You’ve... avenged... um...”

Li Yang replied gravely, “Yes, I have exacted my vengeance.”

With a ding, the system notified:

[Lifespan +10 (years).]

Li Yang gasped—ten whole years!

She was still catching her breath when the system chimed again:

[Warning: Lifespan has reached the maximum limit.]

Only ten years and already at the limit?

Ignoring onlookers, Li Yang summoned the panel once more to check.

Name: Li Yang
Lifespan: 10 (years)
Physique: 30
Spirit: 30

Note: Lifespan has reached the maximum limit. Please enhance physical strength promptly; otherwise, further lifespan cannot be stored.