“You’re awake? You look pretty good.”
Hiss… an unfamiliar ceiling…
Gu Yu opened her heavy eyelids, and the world before her bloomed like a kaleidoscope.
A woman in a white coat, holding a clipboard, waved her hand in front of Gu Yu.
“Do you remember your name?”
“Gu Yu.”
It felt like the opening of some game.
If a rabbit with donkey ears grabbed her hand and shouted “Doctor~” right now, it would feel even more authentic.
Pink-haired Intertwined Fates and a cold-faced Little Green Dragon would also work.
Gu Yu thought.
“Then do you remember why you’re in the hospital?”
“I became Kennedy… a wild idea…”
“She can even be glib…” The female doctor’s mouth twitched. “Your condition is much better than I expected. However, your body still needs time to compensate and adapt, so get some good rest first.”
The doctor called a nurse, gave a few more instructions, and then turned to leave.
Not long after, the nurse also left.
Gu Yu was left alone in the ward, and she slowly sighed.
There was no such thing as a chosen one who could survive a rebar through the head.
The original owner of the body had already kicked the bucket the moment the rebar pierced The Brain. The fact that she was still breathing was entirely thanks to Gu Yu, the transmigrator taking over.
Luckily, both of them were named Gu Yu, otherwise, the jig would be up. It was also thanks to the hole in her head that even if Gu Yu behaved slightly differently from the original owner, no one would find it strange.
As the saying goes, there is great terror between life and death, and even more so when The Brain, the core of all thought and consciousness, is injured. Not becoming a drooling imbecile or an unresponsive vegetable was already a blessing from her ancestors in the underworld bowing until smoke came out.
As for the culprit behind all this…
From the scattered information revealed by the doctor and nurse, Gu Yu learned that she had apparently been involved in an accident while passing by a tall building; a billboard had fallen from a high-rise.
Thirteen people were in danger, but all except Gu Yu died.
However, the legendary undying Gu Yu also permanently lost a significant amount of memory due to the permanent loss of some brain tissue, in a physical sense.
Thanks to the doctor’s miraculous skill, Gu Yu’s damaged frontal bone was repaired with an alloy, so she didn’t have to worry about cold wind or any dirt getting into The Brain.
“From now on, when people call me brain-damaged, it won’t be an insult, but a statement of fact,” Gu Yu lamented.
Fortunately, the investors behind the building involved readily paid a large sum of money and covered the medical and hospitalization fees, preventing the already miserable Gu Yu from being thrown out to die.
The days of recovery that followed were uneventful: lying in bed, eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating, watching TV when bored, and occasionally dealing with doctors and nurses who came to check on her.
Strangely, despite her severe ordeal, not a single family member came to visit her.
After searching her fragmented memories to no avail, Gu Yu added her own conclusion:
【The Transmigrator Orphanage welcomes a new member.】
Not long after, a phone call broke Gu Yu’s life of recuperation, simply waiting to die.
“Student Gu Yu, do you still remember me?”
“You are…” Gu Yu hesitated, then matched the name in her memory: “Willow Teacher?”
Willow Teacher on the other end seemed relieved: “That’s great. I was worried when I heard you injured your head. Now it seems your memory and intelligence haven’t been too badly affected.”
The way she said that…
Gu Yu’s mouth twitched, and a premonition of something bad suddenly struck her.
“Student Gu Yu, the midterm exam is in two months, and there are only a little over a hundred days left until the college entrance exam. No matter what, I hope you can catch up.”
No, even after transmigrating, is it still this competitive?
I almost died!
Gu Yu completely lost her composure. Having long become a wage slave, she once again recalled those days of struggle, like thousands of soldiers crossing a single-plank bridge.
If she were ten years younger, Gu Yu might not have taken Willow Teacher’s words to heart, and might even have inwardly complained about the lack of humanity.
Your student almost died, and the first call is for this trivial matter.
But now it was Gu Yu, who had been beaten down by society for several years. She understood the good intentions behind the seemingly unfeeling words.
The college entrance exam was like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, a battle that would change one’s destiny and future life.
In this world, it held even more significance due to its unique worldview.
To fall into the dust, or to fly to the high heavens.
“Willow Teacher, thank you for the reminder. I will catch up.”
Gu Yu answered seriously.
Since she didn’t die, there was still a future, and she needed to consider the future.
To consider the future, she would inevitably have to face that college entrance exam.
“That’s good… Tomorrow, I’ll take a few hours off to visit you and bring over the study materials and class notes from this period. Gu Yu, keep up the good work.”
“Mm!”
Willow Teacher’s full name was Liu Gengyan, just one character short of the legendary Emperor Ruyan.
She was a classic homeroom teacher image: low ponytail, black-rimmed glasses, and an old-fashioned, dark suit that tightly encased her attractive figure.
Her face, though young, was always stern, and she wielded a teaching whip with formidable power.
Willow Teacher brought study materials and a fruit basket. After grilling Gu Yu on her lessons for two hours and giving a few more instructions, she left in a hurry.
High school homeroom teachers, especially nearing the college entrance exam, were usually like this: busy and under immense pressure.
Fortunately, the high school curriculum in this world was much simpler than in her previous life.
If she had to compare, it would probably be—
Previous life’s Great Heavenly Dynasty ordinary high school > Japanese ordinary high school > This world > American community ordinary high school.
But that didn’t mean the high school content in this world was simple.
Flipping through the geography book: Scorched Earth Australia, Decapitated Tiger Korean Peninsula…
Flipping through the biology book: Detailed Explanation of 7 Common Slime Forms, Ecology of Kobolds, How to Survive if You Encounter a Dragon in the Wild…
Then flipping through the history book:
Otherworld invasions, dimensional wars, magic, superpowers…
Gu Yu’s scalp tingled as she read various proper nouns that had only appeared in novels, animations, and other literary works.
Especially the last sentence: 【Even though the war has ended, and the “Gates” have been closed, they still crave our territory, our flesh and blood, and one day they will return, dragging Earth into the abyss.】
Huh? I’m fighting otherworld creatures? Is that true? Will we win?
Gu Yu stroked her slender arms and legs, and already had an answer in her heart:
Absolutely doomed!
Then there were mages and ability users.
The development of these abilities didn’t necessarily wait until after the college entrance exam or adulthood; more often, it began at birth… or even in the womb.
Rich kids born with silver spoons had long taken their first steps under the guidance of various precious medicinal materials and famous teachers.
But not everyone could become a mage or an ability user, a person above others.
Heaven was fair; it seemed to favor 【Talent】 more than wealth and birth.
A rich child, exhausting all resources, might still only be an ordinary person.
A child so poor they couldn’t even eat might suddenly awaken heaven-defying abilities and rise to prominence overnight.
It was all about the thrill of gacha.
“What will my ability be? Do I have this talent?”
Gu Yu didn’t hold out much hope.
Because the original owner had already tried many times.
Although ability awakening had a certain randomness, the older one got, the lower the possibility of awakening an ability or sensing elemental power.
Considering it had been over half a month since she opened her eyes, and the legendary System-kun still hadn’t made a sound, she was most likely a Muggle this life… right?
“Oh my god, my cheat has arrived!”
