The white of the Main God Plaza was a color that could pierce the soul.
It had no warmth, no shadows, like the ever-burning operating light in an operating room, illuminating every detail of the fear, greed, and sin in the hearts of every reincarnator.
When Shen Qingqiu and Seventeen's figures re-condensed in a pillar of light, the stench of decay and blood from the biohazardous dead city was instantly sucked away by the air purification system.
"This is... the Main God Space?"
Shen Qingqiu squinted, adjusting to the excessively glaring light.
Beneath her feet was a plaza of smooth, jade-like white marble, and above her floated a massive, sun-like sphere of light (the Main God). Scattered around were dozens of people of various appearances; some were wiping bloodstained knives, some were shouting at the sphere of light, and others were huddled in corners, trembling.
"Air humidity 0%, oxygen content 21%." Seventeen stood beside her, her broken, gray mechanical arm hanging limply at her side, emitting a soft clicking sound.
His purple eyes coldly swept across the entire area. Though his body was battered and bruised, he resembled a wounded lone wolf, instinctively shielding Shen Qingqiu behind him.
"Don't be nervous, Seventeen." Shen Qingqiu gently patted his hand. Her red dress, though tattered, couldn't conceal the chilling aura she carried from the interstellar battlefield.
"This is a safe zone. At least… on the surface."
...However, safe zones are never truly safe.
Especially for "newcomers."
"Oh, so there are actually survivors among this year's newcomers?" A flippant voice rang out.
Three muscular men in black, tight-fitting combat suits approached. The leader, bald, wore a necklace made of finger bones from some unknown creature.
He was the captain of the "Blood Wolf Team," a veteran of five terrifying battles, specializing in extorting newcomers.
The bald man's gaze lingered greedily on Shen Qingqiu's stunning face, then swept over Seventeen's clearly damaged mechanical arm.
"Beautiful lady, not bad luck. But this pretty boy seems to be crippled?"
"According to the rules, a newcomer's first mission's profits must be handed over half as 'protection money.' Understand?" The surrounding reincarnators watched this scene indifferently.
This was the unspoken rule of the Main God Space: the survival of the fittest.
Shen Qingqiu didn't even bother to lift her eyelids.
She was checking her reincarnation wristband, taking stock of the spoils she had just "purchased" from the Red Queen.
"Did you hear me? Are you deaf?" The bald man, enraged at being ignored, reached out to grab Shen Qingqiu's shoulder.
Whoosh— A gust of wind.
A wind carrying the smell of rust and machine oil.
The bald man's hand froze in mid-air before it even touched Shen Qingqiu's clothes.
A cold, half-severed mechanical finger hovered less than a millimeter in front of his eyeball.
Seventeen stood there.
He didn't even look up, merely turning slightly to the side.
Those once purple electronic eyes were now a deathly crimson.
No killing intent.
Because killing intent is directed at the living.
Seventeen looked at him as if he were looking at a lifeless corpse.
[Threat Assessment: Low-level carbon-based life form.]
[Cleanup Plan: Crush throat bones, time 0.3 seconds.] Cold sweat instantly broke out on the bald man's back.
As a veteran, he had an instinctive intuition for danger. He could sense that this seemingly crippled man harbored a beast capable of tearing him apart instantly.
That oppressive feeling was even more terrifying than the Alien Queen he had encountered in the previous battle.
"Get lost." Seventeen's lips moved slightly, uttering a single word.
The voice wasn't loud, but it struck the bald man's heart like a hammer blow.
The bald man swallowed hard, his hand trembling as he withdrew and slunk back into the crowd.
The onlookers, who had initially watched the spectacle, instantly changed their expressions.
This was called—a show of force.
…Having shooed away the flies, Shen Qingqiu finally focused her attention on the enormous sphere of light.
"God, settle the score."
She murmured in her mind.
Buzz— A grand voice, audible only to her, exploded in her mind.
[Reincarnation Team: Shen Qingqiu, Seventeen (Summoned Creature).]
[Instance: Biohazard Dead City.]
[Mission Completion: S+ (Perfect).]
[Special Contributions: Stealing the Red Queen's Core, Tampering with the T-Virus Logic, Cleaning Up Veteran Pests.]
[Reward Points: 12,000 points.]
[Side Quests: One A-rank side quest, two B-rank side quests.]
Twelve thousand points!
If anyone around could see this number, they would probably be insanely jealous.
An average newbie might be lucky to get a thousand points in a match.
But Shen Qingqiu wasn't satisfied.
She wasn't there to play; she was there to "stock up."
"Open the exchange list." A vast holographic menu popped up in front of Shen Qingqiu.
Bloodlines, cultivation techniques, weapons, items… everything was available.
Most reincarnators, upon receiving points, would immediately try to strengthen themselves: buy a vampire bloodline, or exchange for a Gatling gun with unlimited ammo.
But Shen Qingqiu didn't even glance at those.
She directly clicked on the **[Rare Materials]** section.
"Seventeen, come here." Shen Qingqiu took Seventeen's hand and stood under the sphere of light.
She looked at his battered mechanical arm, a shattered glory that had protected her.
"I told you, I'd give you the best exterior."
"Today, we'll have a… cybernetic makeover." Her fingers flew across the exchange list, her movements as extravagant as if she were shopping in her own backyard supermarket.
[Stardust Gold (S-grade material): Hardness comparable to a neutron star, with self-repairing capabilities. Exchange price: 3000 points.]
—"Buy." Shen Qingqiu didn't even blink.
[Abyss Soul Crystal (A-grade material): Can nourish mechanical souls and enhance AI computing power. Exchange price: 2000 points.]
—"Buy. Two, please."
[Liquid Mithril (B-grade material): The best energy conductor. Exchange price: 1500 points.]
—"Buy a bucket." The surrounding reincarnators were stunned.
"Is this woman crazy? Instead of exchanging for bloodlines, she spends thousands of points on a bunch of broken stones and scrap iron?"
"Wasteful! She's a complete spendthrift!"
Shen Qingqiu ignored them.
In her eyes, those so-called bloodlines were trash.
These materials were for reshaping her lover's divine bones.
"Confirm exchange?" the cold voice of the main god asked.
"Confirm." With Shen Qingqiu's command.
Several beams of light descended from the sky, and countless top-tier materials, radiating dazzling light, floated around her.
"Not enough." Shen Qingqiu looked at her remaining points.
She needed one more thing. Something that could perfectly fuse these materials, allowing Seventeen's body to break through its limits.
She flipped to **[Special Auxiliary Category]**.
Her gaze locked onto an extremely expensive, yet unpopular, option.
[Divine Refinement (Fragment): From the world of *Under One Ren*. The ultimate method of weapon forging.]
[Exchange Price: One A-level side quest, 5000 points.]] This almost emptied her remaining resources.
But Shen Qingqiu smiled.
She was a talisman cultivator, a hacker, and if she added weapon forging to her...
then she could forge Seventeen into the most perfect **"humanoid magic weapon"** in all the heavens and myriad realms.
"Exchange!"
...
[Private Space · Open] The Main God Space allows each reincarnator to create a private lounge according to their imagination.
Shen Qingqiu didn't choose the luxurious villa, nor the technological fortress.
She closed her eyes; it was the softest corner of her memory.
Whoosh— The space shifted.
The white plaza vanished.
In its place stood a misty, Suzhou-style garden.
Green tiles and white walls, winding corridors.
Water lilies bloomed on a pool of clear water. A light rain pattered on the banana leaves.
This was the place she had fantasized about countless times in the cultivation world, the place she wanted to retire to with that always blood-soaked boy.
"Do you like it?" Shen Qingqiu stood in the waterside pavilion, turning to look at Seventeen.
Seventeen looked at the unfamiliar scenery, a hint of amazement and bewilderment flashing in his purple eyes.
His database only contained battlefields, wastelands, and starry skies.
He had never seen such a quiet, gentle, and poetic world.
"Very…soft." He thought for a long time before using a strange adjective.
Everything here was soft. The water was soft, the wind was soft, even the light was soft.
"This will be home from now on." Shen Qingqiu pulled him into the house.
There was no bed, only a huge couch carved from a single piece of warm jade.
The surrounding area was filled with the top-tier materials they had just exchanged: Star River Gold Sand shimmered, Abyss Soul Crystals glowed faintly, and liquid mithril flowed like mercury.
"Lie down." Shen Qingqiu commanded.
Seventeen obediently lay down on the warm jade couch.
Shen Qingqiu knelt beside him. She took off her tattered red dress and put on a plain white silk undergarment, her long hair casually draped over her shoulders.
At this moment, she was no longer the decisive commander.
But a divine craftsman about to perform a sacred ritual.
"It might hurt a little." Shen Qingqiu picked up the bottle of liquid mithril.
"I'm going to dismantle all the broken parts of your body, piece by piece. Then I'll use these new materials to recast them into your bones." Seventeen looked at her.
In those purple eyes was unwavering trust.
"I'm not afraid of pain."
"I'm only afraid… if I can't fix it, I won't be able to hold you." Shen Qingqiu's heart ached.
She leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead.
"Don't worry."
"My skills are the best."
*Buzz—* Golden light shone from Shen Qingqiu's fingertips.
That was the newly acquired **[Divine Refinement]**, combined with her own **[Universal Interface]**.
She began "refining."
She carefully disassembled the broken mechanical arm.
Every broken wire was reconnected with liquid mithril.
Every shattered bone was infused with stardust gold.
This was more than just repair.
It was a caress.
Her fingers glided across his chest, across his spine, across every inch of his artificial skin.
The touch was warm, delicate, and full of love.
Seventeen's body began to heat up.
A tingling sensation traveled along the pathways throughout his body, causing him to let out a soft groan.
"Qingqiu..."
"Don't move." Shen Qingqiu's voice was slightly hoarse.
She was focused on embedding the two Abyss Soul Crystals into his eyes.
This way, his eyes would be able to see through all illusions, even look directly at ghosts and gods.
Time lost its meaning in this misty, rain-drenched garden.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
When the last piece of Star River Sand was embedded in his right arm.
When that arm once again radiated a light interwoven with dark gold and starlight.
Seventeen sat up.
He moved his shoulders.
Crack— A series of crisp cracking sounds emanated from his bones, like a dragon's roar.
He felt stronger than ever before.
Not just in terms of strength, but also in that…sense of wholeness.
He looked at Shen Qingqiu before him, her face weary yet her eyes brimming with starlight.
He extended his new, work of art-like right hand.
His fingertips gently touched her cheek.
Not cold, but warm as jade.
"Thank you... for shaping my bones." Seventeen's voice was deep, with a newfound magnetism.
Shen Qingqiu collapsed weakly in his arms, exhausted.
"It cost me twelve thousand points..."
She muttered, "If you use this hand to wash the dishes, I'll kill you."
Seventeen smiled.
He picked her up and placed her on the warm jade couch, then lay down beside her, using his priceless arm as a pillow.
"Don't use it to wash the dishes."
"Use it... to draw your eyebrows."
Outside the window, the rain pattered.
Inside, the white jade radiated warmth.
Returning to white jade, spending a fortune.
She traded the city's splendor for his unyielding spirit.
And he, with this divine body, promised her a lifetime of peace.
In this world of terror and death, in a cycle of reincarnation.
They had their first, truly their own... home.