Chapter 1 : Displaying Value
Chapter 1: Displaying Value
Excruciating pain.
The excruciating pain of a high-speed truck crashing head-on into him, of bones shattering inch by inch, then being forcibly pieced back together.
Lin Feng’s consciousness was dragged out of the bottomless darkness by that agony. He sucked in a sharp breath, but every breath carried a tearing pain.
He struggled to open his eyes.
What entered his sight was not the stark white ceiling of a hospital, but a black dome so towering that its top could not be seen. Complex and bizarre dark red patterns were engraved across it, like dried bloodstains, emitting an ominous glow.
A strange smell permeated the air.
Cold, damp.
The stone slab beneath him was freezing to the bone. The chill pierced through the thin fabric of his clothes and burrowed madly into his body.
Where was this…?
His final memory was of being sent flying by an out-of-control truck after he had rushed forward to save a little girl running across the street.
Could this be hell?
He struggled to sit up, only to discover that his body was so weak it was absurd. A strange sense of powerlessness came from every limb and bone.
He subconsciously lowered his head, and his gaze froze instantly.
A cascade of silver long hair slipped down with his movement, draping over his chest, its sheen flowing like moonlight pouring down.
That was not his hair.
His gaze continued downward and landed on his chest.
There… two full, soft curves rose there, stretching the worn cloth on his body taut.
Lin Feng’s mind crashed.
He stiffly raised a hand. It was slender and fair, even the nails faintly tinged pink, completely lacking the thick calluses left by his years of sanda training.
With this utterly unfamiliar hand, trembling, carrying the grim resolve of someone heading to an execution ground, he reached toward his chest.
A soft yet springy sensation came from his fingertips.
Boom——
It was as if a heavenly thunderbolt had exploded inside his mind. Lin Feng turned to stone on the spot.
He suddenly reached downward.
Flat.
Empty.
The brother who had accompanied him for twenty years was gone.
“What the fuck?!”
A shrill cry with a trace of softness blurted out. That sweet female voice made his own skin break out in goosebumps.
This unfamiliar body, this unfamiliar voice, were both declaring to him a terrifying fact he could not accept.
He, Lin Feng, a 1.85-meter-tall, sunny macho man who had graduated from a sports academy, had not only transmigrated, but had fucking turned into a woman!
A segment of unfamiliar memory fragments surged into his mind. The memories told him that she was now called Lilia.
“So noisy.”
A cold voice devoid of any emotion came from above, like the winter wind of the harshest frost, instantly suppressing every sound in the hall.
Lin Feng’s whole body stiffened as he abruptly looked up.
At the end of his vision was a massive throne carved from some kind of black crystal.
Upon the throne sat a woman.
She wore an elaborate and luxurious black dress, its skirt spread out like the night itself. A head of jet-black long hair fell casually behind her shoulders, setting off her snow-white skin.
The woman’s features were so exquisite they seemed beyond mortal, yet they also carried a divine majesty and indifference.
Especially those golden eyes. They held not a trace of warmth as they looked down upon him from above, her gaze indifferent, as though she were looking at an ant that had wandered into the hall by accident.
A horrifying pressure crashed over him, making it almost impossible for Lin Feng to breathe.
Only then did he notice that around the throne stood rows of hulking monster guards wielding giant axes. The violent aura radiating from them made even the air in the great hall turn viscous.
This was not hell.
This place… was even more terrifying than hell.
The Demon Queen Hera looked at the trembling silver-haired female on the ground, and a nearly imperceptible hint of annoyance flickered through her golden pupils.
She had severe mysophobia, and this human looked wretched and filthy.
“Drag her away and dispose of her.”
She calmly gave the order to the guards, as if she were speaking of some trivial matter like throwing out trash.
Dispose of her?
No, wait! Didn’t she just swear once?! How was that noisy?!
The shadow of death instantly descended.
Two minotaur guards approached her with heavy footsteps and deep, muffled breaths, their enormous shadows completely swallowing her.
No!
She could not die!
She had finally gotten a second chance at life. Even if she had become a woman, she still had to survive!
Her intense desire to live crushed the shock brought by the gender confusion. Lin… no, now she should be Lilia. Summoning all the strength in her body, she forced a hoarse shout from her throat:
“Wait! I… I’m still useful!”
The heavy footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
Hera, upon the throne, paused slightly, as though this was the first time she had truly looked at this tiny human.
Her body slowly leaned forward, one hand propping up her chin. At last, a faint trace of interest appeared in those golden eyes.
“Oh?”
She drew out the syllable, her voice carrying a hint of amusement.
“A weak human female. What use do you have?”
What use?
Lilia’s mind raced.
This body of hers was too weak to even truss a chicken. The sanda and combat skills she used to know were utterly useless here.
Laundry and cooking? How would a straight sports academy guy like her know any of that?
Singing and dancing? Even more impossible.
Cold sweat seeped from the corner of her smooth forehead. Hera’s gaze felt almost tangible, pressing down on her so hard she could barely breathe.
She could feel the other party’s patience slowly wearing away.
Just as despair was about to swallow Lilia whole, an emotionless mechanical voice suddenly rang out in her mind.
【Ding——】
【The Supreme God-Tier Battle Maid Training System has detected a suitable host. Activating…】
【Binding successful!】
【Host: Lilia】
Lilia suddenly froze.
A System?
A cheat from web novels?
【Newbie Mission Issuance: Humble Survival】
【Mission Objective: Prove your “value” before the Demon Queen Hera and obtain permission to live.】
【Mission Hint: For a proud master, absolute obedience is the highest virtue. Please crawl forward and kiss the tip of Demon Queen Hera’s boot, displaying your most humble posture.】
【Mission Reward: Unlock Talent 【Absolute Senses】.】
【Mission Failure: Immediate Erasure.】
Looking at the mission panel that appeared in her mind, Lilia’s expression instantly became incredibly colorful.
Kiss… the tip of a boot?
They wanted a proud, upright man like her to kiss a woman’s foot?
What kind of international joke was this!
A man could be killed, but not humiliated!
Yet when her gaze met Hera’s pair of icy golden eyes, and the giant axes gleaming coldly in the hands of the nearby minotaur guards, that tiny shred of male dignity was instantly crushed to pieces by the instinct to survive.
“For the reward… to stay alive…”
Lilia cried out in grief and indignation in her heart.
“It’s not shameful!”