Chapter One: The Realm Beyond

Xia Wulei propped her chin on her hand, lost in thought.

She hovered in midair in a semi-transparent state, gazing at her own body slumped over the computer.

If she guessed correctly, she must be dead.

It was now 3:41 a.m. After working for twenty-six hours straight, she’d felt her heart race, and when she woke, she found herself like this.

Xia Wulei shrugged indifferently. She’d had no family since childhood, clawed her way up on her own, and now, with her passing, there were no attachments left behind.

But where was a ghost supposed to go?

Before she could ponder further, a wave of dizziness struck, and she found herself in a brand-new, unfamiliar space.

“Number 80757, welcome to the Realm Before Passing!” A white orb floated before her, voice bright and cheerful.

“The Realm Before Passing? What’s that?” Xia Wulei was stunned.

“It’s the world right before you pass on completely! I’m No. 8, the manager here, and I’ll be your guide! I’m sure you’re full of regret at your sudden death, but as long as you work hard and complete your tasks, earn enough points, you can be resurrected! So, let’s—”

…What a carelessly named world.

“I don’t want to be resurrected.” Xia Wulei didn’t even think before cutting No. 8 off mid-speech.

No. 8 looked as if it had been strangled, and after a long pause, it managed, “What did you say?”

Nearly everyone on the brink of death would be overjoyed at the chance to return. Who would refuse?

“The living world is too exhausting—I can’t keep up anymore. Let me just reincarnate.”

There was a heavy, weathered exhaustion in Xia Wulei’s soul that even No. 8 found overwhelming.

No. 8 hurriedly tried to persuade her. “Our Realm Before Passing isn’t competitive at all! We’re very friendly to newcomers! Each newcomer gets to draw a random system from our library, and with your system’s help, earning points is easy.”

No. 8 produced a smaller orb, shook it like a lottery drum, and soon a sparkling shard fell out.

“All right, let’s see what system you drew. With this, you’ll be able to—”

No. 8 picked up the shard and choked out, “A farming system?!”

It was supposed to be in charge of the Infinite Worlds! How did a farming system get into its library?

No. 8 despaired. That was it, there was no way this host would stay now.

Unexpectedly, Xia Wulei’s eyes lit up. “A farming system? Does it come with a personal space where I can grow all kinds of delicious things?”

No. 8 floated in a daze, “Ah, yes.”

“That’s wonderful. I accept.” Xia Wulei took the shard. “You said I could earn points to resurrect, but can I exchange the points for something else instead?”

“…Ah, yes.”

“Then let’s begin. What are we waiting for?” Xia Wulei urged.

No. 8 was left speechless.

A powerful white light burst from No. 8, instantly engulfing Xia Wulei.

In the next moment, she found herself standing on damp, muddy earth.

It seemed it had just rained; the sky was bright and freshly washed. The scent of green grass filled the air, mingled with the music of birdsong.

She appeared to be in the countryside, at the edge of a thriving rice paddy, not far from a quiet little village nestled beside the fields.

Xia Wulei touched her face and realized she’d grown much younger.

Compared to her work-ravaged body, this one brimmed with vitality. Her hands were fair and plump with collagen, looking no more than twenty.

She crouched to see her reflection in the water: rosy lips, pearly teeth, a beauty mark beside her nose, black hair like a waterfall, eyes brimming with a subtle allure—the very image of herself at twenty.

Young, beautiful, full of life.

Xia Wulei was quite satisfied.

But most important was her system. She was just pondering how to check her farming system when a cold mechanical voice sounded in her mind.

[Congratulations, Host, for binding with the Sovereign Land System. You have obtained a personal space!
Note: This space can be expanded through upgrades. Please work hard.]

Xia Wulei nodded vigorously—she would work hard, absolutely!

And who could blame her for such enthusiasm? The love for farming ran deep in the blood of people from her homeland. Every time she was ground down by the rat race, she’d dream of having her own land.

Spring planting, autumn harvest, chasing chickens, teasing dogs—even exhausting labor seemed better than being a walking corpse in the city.

But it had always been just a dream. Land in the countryside wasn’t cheap, and she’d never had the money.

But now, after death, her dream had come true!

[Host can enter the space physically or spiritually. Would you like to enter?]

The system prompted her, and Xia Wulei silently chose to enter with her physical body. In an instant, she disappeared from where she stood.

Upon entering, her excitement was immediately doused with cold water.

Was the space large? Yes, incredibly so.

She looked across what must have been hundreds of acres, the rest shrouded in mist—probably locked areas yet to be unlocked.

But was it barren? Absolutely.

The dry fields beneath her feet were worse than the muddy path outside, parched as if they’d baked in the sun for years, cracks uglier than the shattered screen of her accidentally dropped phone.

How was she supposed to farm this?

Xia Wulei stood empty-handed, glancing around in bewilderment.

“Hello, Host! How are you adjusting? Satisfied with the physical transformation? I’m here to grant you a special reward!”

The cheery voice rang out and the little orb appeared out of thin air.

It was No. 8.

No. 8 immediately boasted, “This is special treatment just for you. I applied for it personally—your body has been restored to its peak. Plus, with this tool, you’ll be unstoppable in the infinite dungeons!”

What No. 8 didn’t admit was that the farming system in its library was actually a bug, and after reporting the issue, the world consciousness had issued compensation, hoping to salvage Xia Wulei’s fragile soul.

Soon, a long-handled object landed in her hand.

Half as tall as a person, with a wooden handle and a thin, sharp blade.

It was a hoe.

Xia Wulei: …

“So it was you who made me young again. Wait, what did you say about infinite dungeons?”

She’d read her fair share of novels in life and knew exactly what infinite worlds meant.

Horror, grotesquerie, the uncanny.

So she was supposed to use a hoe to fight ghosts?

No. 8 gave a couple of awkward laughs. “Ah, yes, the world I manage is one of infinite dungeons. Didn’t I mention that before…”

Xia Wulei almost laughed with exasperation. She’d been blinded by the farming system and entered the game without getting the whole picture.

But she wasn’t aiming to earn points for resurrection anyway. Since she was here, she might as well enjoy herself and farm to her heart’s content.

“How am I supposed to farm such barren land?” She tried poking the ground with the hoe, and the clod crumbled instantly into powder, sinking in.

No. 8 also noticed the state of the farming space and was at a loss.

“...It’s probably because it hasn’t been used in too long, which is why it’s so desolate. Good luck, Host! I’ll be going now!”

“Hey, you—!”

Xia Wulei reached out, but No. 8 vanished on the spot, leaving behind a final message.

“I’ve upgraded the farming system for you. It’ll issue tasks to help you expand your space, so don’t worry! You can do it!”

Xia Wulei: Like hell I can!

She sighed as a prompt from the system sounded again.

[Primary Mission: Reclaim the Wasteland. Does the host accept?]