"Eliminate, eliminate."
"Mmm!"
Auntie Zhao closed her eyes and hummed in satisfaction. In the past half month, every time the word "eliminate" appeared in her mind, she would be so ecstatic she felt like singing.
Zhao Jing was originally a thunder ability user struggling in the apocalypse for ten years. Unexpectedly, after self-destructing her abilities and dying with the zombie king, her soul happened on a system. As long as she agreed to bind with the system and fulfill the requester’s wish in the world of The Dream of Red Mansions, the system could help her reincarnate. If she did not complete it, her soul would be erased.
...No matter how you looked at it, she had to deal with this system!
"Madam, Master Huan is back." Lifting the curtain from outside was Auntie Zhao's head maid, Tao Hong.
Zhao Jing opened her eyes and looked at Auntie Zhao's son, Jia Huan, who would be her foster son.
The seven-year-old boy, with rosy lips and white teeth, looked like a handsome little guy no matter how you looked at him. There was none of the sleaziness described in the book, The Dream of Red Mansions.
About The Dream of Red Mansions, one of the four famous classics of later generations, Zhao Jing doesn't have much understanding.
"Madam, I don’t want to copy Buddhist scriptures for the Mistress, look at my hands they are swollen from holding the pen." Jia Huan stepped forward, and as he spoke he began to shed tears.
Zhao Jing picked up her foster son and sat him on her lap, wiping away his tears from his little face. "Don’t worry! Tomorrow, Auntie can make sure you don’t have to copy Buddhist scriptures for the Mistress anymore."
Even though she couldn't fulfill the original host's wish, since she has taken over someone else's body, naturally she has the responsibility to take care of the person's child.
Screw that!
Her moral compass shattered long ago. How was she supposed to have such virtuous thoughts? The only reason she can think of taking care of the original host's son was because who made this a male-dominant ancient era. This ready-made son just came handy so she didn't have to give birth to one.
After having dinner with her foster son, Zhao Jing let the milkmaid take Jia Huan to bed. She then took a bath and prepared for bed.
In ancient times, everything might have been peaceful, but one aspect was not so great - the lack of entertainment. So what else could one do once the day turned into night, besides quickly washing up and getting some sleep?
"Erase, era…se…erase…"
Just as Zhao Jing closed her eyes, the system in her mind started to mess around again, and…
Wait! Something was wrong. Why did she feel like the system was almost out of energy?
The system's method of elimination seemed to destroy her body structure through a certain energy to carry out its punishment. This energy was not much different from the energy core of zombies, perhaps even more pure. Only then, in such a short time, was she able to elevate her abilities from a novice level to level eight.
Making the best of a bad situation, she decided to seize the opportunity. She felt the cognitive system in her brain about to shut down, and natural instincts kicked in: she decided to eliminate it completely.
Zhao Jing could sense where the system was in her mind. She summoned her electric power and aimed it towards that location. What followed was a powerful blast of electric energy.
For a normal person, blasting lightning inside one's own mind was enough to cause death instantly. But Zhao Jing wasn't a regular person, she was an electric-powered being. For her, electricity was more like a nourishment to her body.
"Ding…"
An electric attack went off, and Zhao Jing heard a weak sounding ding in her mind. It signified her success in getting rid of the troublesome system while raising her abilities from level eight to level ten.
Even a starving camel is bigger than a horse, or so they say. She originally thought the system was almost devoid of energy but had not expected that it would still boost her abilities by another two levels.
"Huh! What's this?" Suddenly, Zhao Jing noticed a perfect square space appearing in her mind. The size of the space was no larger than an ancient wooden box used for storing clothes, and inside it were various bottles and jars.
After examining the bottles and jars at random, she quickly figured out what this space was— It was essentially the internal warehouse of the system.
When she had been bound to the system, it had told her that each time she completed a task, it would reward her with items such as beauty pills, detoxifying pills, fertility pills, body strengthening pills, and so on.
Anyway, these were all essentials for palace life conflicts. Given the contents inside the space, they were more than enough for a palace fight; all of them were top-notch.
The translation alternatives could be:
While in ancient times, everything may seem perfect, there was one issue that's always bothered me: the absolute lack of any form of entertainment...
Vs
In the ancient era, life may have its charm, but one aspect wasn't so pleasant - the scarcity of recreational activities...
"Ding…" A weak sound echoed in her mind after an electric attack, indicating that she had successfully eradicated the system in her brain...
Vs
"Ding…" As she sent an electric attack, an feeble sound of confirmation echoed in her mind, a sign that she had successfully eliminated the system...
If Zhao Jing didn't have special abilities, she would undoubtedly be excited about these things. After all, is it not in women's nature to love beauty regardless of circumstances?
Upon achieving level five, a thunder ability user is able to temper their own body, making their skin and physical condition instantly reach a peak state. Moreover, they don't need to fear any virus or poison. This is why being a thunder user is most envious in the post-apocalyptic era because there's needn't worry about being infected by zombie viruses.
So, beautifying pills or detoxification pills are utterly useless to Zhao Jing. Gold would attract her more.
Although gold is the least valuable in the post-apocalyptic world, she is now in ancient times. Once food is no longer a concern, gold naturally becomes important. And in the future, the Jia House is going to be searched...
That's right, she also needs to get the bondservant contract back as soon as possible.
The next day, before dawn, Zhao Jing was woken up.
What could she do since she's now a concubine, and furthermore with such a domineering lady as Mistress Wang. It wouldn't be Mistress Wang without tormenting these concubines.
"Madam, why do I feel that your complexion is much better today? Your skin seems so hydrated I could squeeze water out of it," Peach Red helped Zhao Jing comb her hair, her eyes filled with envy as she looked at Zhao Jing's skin, along with a hint of confusion.
Over the past half a month, Madam Zhao's behavior had changed, and her skin was improving day by day. If she hadn't been serving Madam Zhao, she would have believed that Madam Zhao had been replaced.
"People, as long as they eat well, sleep well, and avoid messy thoughts, their skin will naturally improve. When the skin is good, you'll feel youthful. Look at me, don't I look like I'm in my prime again, completely different from before," Zhao Jing touched the beaded hairpin on her head and glanced at Peach Red through the bronze mirror with a smug smile.
She knew the obvious changes in her appearance would raise some suspicion, but that was okay. After all, no matter how curious people were, they would never imagine that Madam Zhao's soul had been replaced by another.
"Madam, it's been half a month since the Second Master has visited, aren't you...?"
"If he doesn't come, he doesn't come," Zhao Jing interrupted Peach Red, standing up from the chair. "My dear son Yuan is already seven, and I'm not expecting another. So even if the Master doesn't dote on me anymore, I'm fine with that. After all, with Yuan, the Master will not disregard me."
Jia Zheng's affection for Zhao Jing was important if she wanted a comfortable life. She had to firmly grasp Jia Zheng’s heart. This was the Rongguo residence where each person had an air of nobility. Plus, if she wanted to retrieve the original owner's bondservant contract, she needed Jia Zheng's aid.
Don't tell Zhao Jing she's being unambitious. As a modern person, she is willing to fight for men and live based on them, belittling her status as a powerful ability user.
Damn it! It was not easy to leave that ghostly post-apocalyptic world, so why would she care about anything else?
