Carrie:
[Merit System, hello. Why am I here? And… can I go back?]
System:
[Host, you were killed by your enemies during the apocalypse. Returning is impossible.]
[You can only find a way to survive in this world.]
[At present, you exist inside the setting of a novel. You have transmigrated into a cannon-fodder female supporting character destined to die early in the story.]
[If you wish to change your fate and live, you must accumulate sufficient Fortune Points.]
Carrie:
[And how exactly do I accumulate Fortune Points?]
System:
[Warning. Warning. Energy levels insufficient. Entering sleep mode.]
[Host, take care of yourself. When the time is right… I will awaken again…]
"System? System?"
Silence.
Carrie stared blankly ahead.
What kind of useless system is this?
It appeared, dropped a few cryptic lines, and then immediately shut down.
Fortune Points?
Not even a hint about how to earn them.
She let out a quiet sigh—then suddenly remembered something.
Right.
She still had the pearl pendant space.
With a silent thought, her consciousness shifted.
In the next instant, she appeared inside the pendant's dimension.
An endless expanse stretched before her—vast and silent, like a frozen world.
Time here stood perfectly still.
The supplies she had painstakingly gathered during the apocalypse were still piled neatly where she had left them.
But the most important thing lay further ahead.
The spiritual spring.
Back in the apocalypse, it was this very spring water that had awakened her abilities.
Carrie crouched by the crystal-clear pool. Using the cup she had left behind long ago, she scooped up several mouthfuls and drank.
The water was cool and faintly sweet.
The moment it slid down her throat, a wave of warmth spread through her body.
All the lingering fatigue vanished instantly.
Energy surged through her veins.
Her body began to heat rapidly—so hot it felt as if she might explode from the inside.
Carrie's eyes sharpened.
She knew this sensation.
Ability awakening.
The awakening process required twelve hours.
But inside the pendant space, time was completely still.
When the process finished, Carrie slowly opened her eyes.
She tested the energy flowing through her body.
Psychic ability.
Wood ability.
Both had awakened successfully.
However... They were only at the beginner level.
Carrie wasn't surprised.
If she wanted to regain the terrifying strength she once possessed in the apocalypse, she would have to level them up step by step again.
That was something that could only be achieved over time.
For now, survival came first.
She still didn't know who would eventually rip out her heart in the novel's storyline.
But one thing was certain.
If she wanted to live, she had to leave the Norton family immediately.
In the interstellar era, where fresh food was scarce and strength ruled above all, the weak had no place to survive.
After leaving, she would find a way to grow stronger and raise her abilities.
Only strength could secure her future.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The pounding on the door came again.
Carrie stepped out of the pendant space, swung her legs off the bed, and walked to the door.
She opened it slightly and said coldly,
"Wait."
Then her gaze sharpened.
"Knock again, and I might just break the claws you're using."
The butler froze.
Something about the "useless young lady" today felt… different.
There was an invisible pressure in her voice that made him instinctively obey.
Carrie shut the door again without another glance.
She dressed as quickly as possible, tidied herself, and glanced around the bedroom.
Jewelry.
Designer clothes.
Luxury handbags.
Anything remotely valuable.
With a casual wave of her hand, everything vanished into the pendant space.
Old habits from the apocalypse died hard. When scavenging supplies, she had always followed one rule: Leave nothing behind.
When she finally looked around and saw the room stripped bare, the corner of her lips lifted slightly in satisfaction.
Only then did she leave.
The first-floor living room was bright and elegant.
Mrs. Norton sat on the sofa.
Beside her, Emily clung affectionately to her arm, leaning against her shoulder as they chatted intimately.
On Emily's other side sat Jeremy Milton, Carrie's former fiancé.
His gaze rested gently on Emily, full of warmth.
It was a picture of perfect harmony.
Until Carrie walked in.
Mrs. Norton's smile instantly vanished the moment she saw her.
Her expression turned icy.
"Carrie." She placed a card on the table. "There are fifty thousand star credits on this card. From today onward, Emily is my biological daughter. As for you, you have no further connection to the Norton family."
"Which means the Norton family no longer has any obligation to support you."
Carrie stood three meters away from them, calm and unmoved. Her gaze dropped briefly to the card. Then she looked back at Mrs. Norton.
"Fifty thousand?" Her voice was flat. "Are you dismissing a beggar or something? That barely buys five bottles of mid-grade nutrient solution. I called you 'Mother' for twenty years, and this is how you send me away?"
It seemed the Norton family had long wanted to throw away the original Carrie—the useless daughter with E-rank mental power.
They had simply been waiting for a perfect excuse.
Now they had one.
Jeremy stood and picked up the card, pressing it into her hand.
"Carrie, don't be ungrateful. The Norton family raised you for twenty years. They didn't even ask you to repay the cost of raising you. You should be thanking them. Now that you're not their daughter, you have no right to stay here."
He frowned slightly. "Take the card and leave. Don't make this uglier than it needs to be."
Carrie didn't respond.
Jeremy's expression hardened. "What, are you still dreaming of marrying into the family?"
His voice grew colder. "Even if you promised to marry only me, I still wouldn't take you. A woman with zero fertility value and E-rank mental power—how could you possibly be worthy of me?"
"Now that you're no longer the Norton family's daughter, our engagement is naturally void."
He turned toward Emily, his tone softening immediately.
"Only someone like Emily—with S-rank mental power, a fertility value of sixty, and already a fourth-tier power master—is my perfect match."
Then he looked back at Carrie with naked disdain.
"You're just a useless waste. If you have any sense at all, you'll take the card and leave."