After three knocks, the courtyard soon became lively, with footsteps gradually approaching. A slightly gruff male voice questioned impatiently from inside, “Who is it? It’s broad daylight!”
The door opened.
A strong-looking servant in a blue coarse cloth outfit appeared, resembling a bodyguard—though it’s not unusual to find such figures in a brothel. He glanced at Lin Ya and scanned him from top to bottom before saying, “It’s not yet time for receiving guests at our establishment. If you’re looking for a girl, come back later.”
“Please inform the master that I’m here to redeem someone,” Lin Ya replied.
After explaining his purpose, he was allowed into the courtyard.
This place seemed to be where the lower servants lived, not much different from a typical family setup. Through the archway, to the right was a slightly more elegant courtyard, while on the left was a larger two-story building, where the girls in the brothel usually lived and entertained guests at night.
“Wait here; I’ll go inform Mama Li.”
As the servant entered a room, Lin Ya quietly stood in place, waiting.
Listening to the arrival, Mama Li, the proprietress of the Cloudy Rain Brothel, emerged, lazily pinching a handkerchief. Spotting Lin Ya in the courtyard, a cynical grin spread across her face.
“Well, if it isn’t the scholar who sold his maid yesterday! What brings you here, Ren the scholar? Here to redeem someone today?” Mama Li swayed her hips closer, and spoke sharply, perhaps looking down on him.
“I wish to redeem the maid sold yesterday. I would appreciate your help in this matter, Mama Li.” Lin Ya smiled, though he sighed internally.
“Alright, let’s skip the pleasantries. It’s a flat price: two taels of silver, and you can take the girl home,” Mama Li replied. Although she scoffed at his situation, it was merely about a maid, so she didn’t take it too seriously. However, there was a difference between redemption and selling.
Lin Ya had anticipated that she might ask for a high price, so he wasn’t too surprised. He pulled out a pile of small silver and copper coins from his pocket, counted them, and offered them in a pouch.
Seeing that he really had money, Mama Li was slightly taken aback, but since the payment was made, the girl could indeed leave with him.
The little maid had only been sold the day before, and her cries most of the night prompted the staff to drug her to avoid disturbing the guests. Currently, she was still unconscious.
When Lin Ya picked her up from the storage room, he realized she was alarmingly light.
[Ding! Successfully bound to host!] A distinctive electronic voice startled Lin Ya, but he managed to maintain his composure and continued to walk while lost in thought.
[Hello, host! I am the Revenge System 123! Celebrate with flowers~ Let’s shake hands!] A fluffy little ball suddenly hopped onto his shoulder from who-knows-where.
[Detected an expendable character in need of a reversal; mission activated.]
Mission: Help the expendable female character achieve a reversal.
Expendable: Ren Lin.
Belongs to: The expendable counterpart of the heroine in “Rebirth on the Fleeing Route”.
Transmission of plot details in progress…
Lin Ya instinctively leaned against the wall, paused, and closed his eyes.
“Rebirth on the Fleeing Route” tells the story of a heroine who narrowly escaped droughts, floods, and bandits in her past life, only to die later from a plague. After being reborn, she acquired a golden finger—space—and struggled to survive with her family on the journey to safety, eventually reaching her destination and marrying a high-ranking nobleman.
Ren Lin is her counterpart—the expendable female character.
Ren Lin was sold to a brothel by her own father at the tender age of seven. After her brother was sold, they were both redeemed by their maternal grandfather’s family, but during the escape, their grandparents fell ill from the long journey and never recovered.
Her uncle, a weak scholar, continued onward with her and her brother. Later, they were attacked by bandits, and the group scattered during the chaos, leaving only Ren Lin and her brother holding tightly to each other’s hands. It was later that she learned from surviving companions that her uncle had been killed by bandits, and her aunt had taken her own life after being defiled.
Eventually, her brother was captured and so was she.
She was considered the expendable counterpart because the heroine also had a brother.
Lin Ya opened his eyes, feeling somewhat speechless.
He already had a survival system, and now this redemption system had bound itself to him without consent. Would there be other systems coming along too??
The Revenge System 123 finally realized that he had already bound to a survival system.
[You actually bound a survival system?!] The cute little voice sounded quite adorable, and its appearance was endearing too.
Lin Ya almost chuckled; the survival system was rather aloof, rarely spoke, and lacked any manifestation.
[Fool.] At this point, the survival system finally made its presence known, coldly throwing out two words.
[You’re the fool! Fool!] The Revenge System 123 exploded in response, its fluffy appearance becoming even more disheveled.
[This is my host. I advise you to unbind yourself quickly.] The survival system seemed to have switched to a more captivating voice.
[Hmph ╯^╰, it’s still my host now. What are you so proud of?! Do you have a system shop? I do!] The Revenge System 123 bounced proudly onto Lin Ya’s head.
[Who said I don’t have a system shop?]
[Hmph, your items are more expensive than mine, and not as many! Junk!]
Two screens flashed, one on each side. The system shop displayed a wide variety of items, from small seeds to various skills and all kinds of tools. Lin Ya took a closer look and indeed found that the items in the Revenge System 123’s shop were more complete.
The items in the survival system were mostly survival-related and quite expensive; Lin Ya could hardly afford most of them. More importantly, prices changed with different worlds.
For example, in the previous viral apocalypse, due to infections, most meat was inedible. Uncontaminated food and meat became exceptionally expensive, and protective gear and masks were either too cheap to be effective against the virus or too expensive to buy.
During that mission, since the virus had not yet spread significantly, he promptly took refuge in the deep mountains and forests, purchasing a pile of supplies, and became self-sufficient by farming, living through six years in that way. His parents eventually learned that the cities had turned into breeding grounds for the virus, and they no longer desired to return.