Lin Xi was on her side of the world in the middle of the night. She rolled out of bed, turned on the light, selected the brightest mode, and took out her father's belongings from her space. She hadn't touched any of those items, including the spirit stones.
She took out that stack of cards, found the one that looked exactly like the picture, and held it in her hand. The card resembled stainless steel but felt surprisingly light.
Lin Xi changed into outdoor clothes.
[System Message: Group member Earth Girl Lin Xi has obtained the correct item. Initiate transmission to Mary Sue World?]
Lin Xi clicked yes. After a wave of dizziness, Lin Xi appeared beside Chi Qiushui, who stared at the suddenly appearing Lin Xi, her mouth agape in shock.
"Holy crap, that's awesome, girl! Can you freely travel through time and space? Wow, that skill is just too cool." Chi Qiushui circled around Lin Xi, her face full of envy. The ability to travel through time and space freely was so cool; the last time she'd seen such a skill was in a novel.
She wanted that skill too, preferably a one-way ticket, so she could travel back to Earth and never return to this messed-up world. Sadly, she knew the hope was slim, so Chi Qiushui didn't dwell on it further.
"There are conditions, though. I can't come unless you seek help or a group member is in danger. Also, my visit has a time limit. Look at our chat window; there's a countdown on it."
Chi Qiushui quickly took out her phone to check. The pinned chat window with Lin Xi indeed had a bright red countdown attached.
Chi Qiushui sighed regretfully. She had always been a carefree person, but no matter how carefree one was, crossing over from another world to this crazy world would make anyone miss their parents.
If it weren't for all the nonsense those idiots had been causing these past two days, Chi Qiushui didn't know how much she would have missed home. But then she thought, even being able to go back for a day or two would be good. She would definitely spend quality time with her mom and dad. Thinking about it, her last visit home was several months ago. The older you get, the fewer times you go home. She never thought much of it before, since home was always close by. If she missed them, whether by taxi or driving herself, she could get home quickly.
It's only now, after traversing, that she truly understood regret.
Lin Xi patted her hand and took out her own phone. The historical progression of this Mary Sue World was actually quite similar to the Earth dimension, just like Ye Bingbing's domineering CEO world. The turning point was during World War II. In the CEO world, those three families had enclosed S City, making it completely their private territory.
This world was a bit different. Here, they didn't circle territory; instead, they made everything public on the internet, gripping the nation's economic lifeline.
Lin Xi's phone could still receive group chat messages here. The messages in the group were scrolling as fast as ever. Lin Xi didn't click to read them. Since more people had joined, the chat content had become much more voluminous. She silently summoned the group chat system, which promptly appeared.
[System Message: Detected that group member Earth Girl Lin Xi has arrived at the Mary Sue dimension. View the origin of the Mary Sue World?]
Although this option also had Yes and No choices, the No option was significantly dimmer than the Yes option.
Lin Xi undoubtedly clicked Yes. Soon, darkness enveloped her and Chi Qiushui.
Chi Qiushui was startled and immediately moved closer to Lin Xi.
A projection screen unfolded before the two of them.
Four men, each pulling a chest of gold, silver, and jewels, were rushing through a jungle. Their strides weren't large, but their speed was fast.
"Duanmu, are you sure? Once we pass through the Misty Forest, we'll reach the new world?"
"Yeah, we've been walking in the Misty Forest for months now. The food we brought is almost gone, my solar charger is broken. If we don't reach the new world soon, we'll probably starve to death in the Misty Forest."
"Ouyang, you're as pessimistic as ever. If you're so scared, why don't you turn back? Your family found you a fiancée anyway. Go back and you can directly live off her wealth," the man in the second position scoffed in retort.
"You want her? I'll let you have my fiancée. Become her fifteenth husband, maybe you'll even father a highly talented heir." Ouyang retorted sarcastically.
"I'd like that, but she said I don't meet her aesthetic standards, she doesn't want me. If she had wanted me, would I be wandering the ends of the earth with you guys?"
The lens focused, and this man's face appeared on the large screen. Lin Xi and Chi Qiushui exchanged a glance. This man bore a three-point resemblance to Zhuge Yan, especially that eagle-hook nose, which was a perfect match.
"Pah, scammer! Still claiming that the Zhuge family built their wealth from the ground up through hard work. Just look at how much gold and jewelry is in that chest!!" Chi Qiushui didn't hate the rich, but she despised those who clearly relied on wealth accumulated by their ancestors yet boasted to the outside world about how hard their own entrepreneurship was.
The reason for her dislike was that when she graduated from university, there was a guy in her class who often boasted like that, trying to establish a rich second-generation persona to pick up girls at school.
Everyone knew that his so-called entrepreneurship was just his dad funding a milk tea shop for him off-campus. And it was a franchise brand at that, with ready-made recipes and supply chains. All he had to do was wait for the money to come in.
It couldn't be denied that this was indeed a form of entrepreneurship, but it just wasn't the same as what he boasted about. In his boasting, he wasn't a franchisee but the founder of the entire milk tea industry.
She thought she wouldn't encounter that type after graduation, but unexpectedly, Chi Qiushui ran into it again in another world. At this moment, Chi Qiushui felt mocked. What normal person from the bottom could produce such a large chest of gold and jewels?
"Pah! And saying that the third generation of the Zhuge family has forgotten the hardships of the bottom and the original intention of their entrepreneurship. The original owner having such relatives is truly unfortunate." If the earlier parts only made Chi Qiushui feel angry at being fooled, remembering Zhuge Yan's nonsense about not forgetting their original intention from yesterday just made her furious.
If what he said yesterday were true, it might be acceptable, like his online supporters said—children of wealthy merchants should indeed look down and understand the common people. Even if Zhuge Yan's method was wrong, his starting point was good.
I really want those people who speak up for Zhuge Yan to come and watch this video. Once they see it, they'll know that what Zhuge Yan said in the interview is pure bullshit! Thinking of Zhuge Yan's usual tricks, Chi Qiushui has reason to suspect that this so-called "Test of Life" plan is also part of his manipulation of public opinion.
Just like how he manipulated the aftermath of Zhuge Xiong's passing all those years ago, and how he's maintained Zhuge Mo'er's good reputation over the years. And this public opinion campaign, he started laying the groundwork for it many years ago. Chi Qiushui shivered. Zhuge Yan really is sinister.
Lin Xi had also seen the video, so she could understand Chi Qiushui's anger.
"Let's keep watching."
The footage on the large screen continued to play. Several people crossed a wide river. The leader, called Duanmu, took a card from his pocket. He threw the card onto the water's surface, where it rapidly enlarged, eventually extending into a bridge floating on the water.
Chi Qiushui let out a surprised sound. "So the founders of this Mary Sue world know magic too?"
Lin Xi didn't speak, her eyes fixed on the card Duanmu had thrown into the water. That card was not exactly the same, but it was eighty percent similar to the ones the system had instructed Lin Xi to retrieve from her father's old belongings.
"Truly magical," Lin Xi remarked.
"It really is magical," Chi Qiushui agreed. She had only eaten a corn cob in the morning and nothing else since. After riding a shared bike and being stuck here for quite a while, she was a bit hungry. Fortunately, she had bought some ready-to-eat food at the supermarket earlier and stored it in her space.
The space had built-in preservation and insulation functions. She took out some steamed buns and handed one to Lin Xi. Lin Xi accepted it, then took a small table and two folding stools from her own space, and they simply sat down. Delicious food soon covered the little table.
Even though reclaiming the Mary Sue world was supposed to be a tense matter, the two of them acted as if they were at an open-air movie screening.
Lin Xi looked at Chi Qiushui with amazement, surprised by her carefree attitude.
Sensing Lin Xi's gaze, Chi Qiushui, biting into a lemon chicken claw, smiled at her and said, "My dad always told me, 'The boat will straighten itself out when it reaches the bridgehead,' and 'Beyond the dark willow and bright blossom lies another village.' He said when you encounter problems, don't get too anxious, because anxiety is utterly useless."
"Panicking only makes things worse, like a tangled ball of yarn—the more you rush, the more tangled it gets."
"When you have no solution and can't think of a way out, just stop, wait, and observe. Before long, those things you thought were impossibly difficult and unsolvable will naturally present a solution." Chi Qiushui's father was a farmer who raised some cattle at home.
He wasn't a man of many words, but he played an indispensable role in Chi Qiushui's upbringing, teaching her many life principles.
Lin Xi envied Chi Qiushui for having such a father. She gave Chi Qiushui a thumbs up. "Your father possesses great wisdom."
Chi Qiushui's smile brightened even more. Praising her parents made her happier than praising herself. "Of course, all my friends say that."
Chi Qiushui was radiant. She thought of Xu Huanhuan, Ye Bingbing, and the others again. She felt this so-called transmigration was really not a good thing, pretty much equivalent to interdimensional trafficking. But looking at it from another angle, most transmigrators had encountered trouble in the modern world before crossing over. They gained a new lease on life after transmigrating. The question was, did they lose their lives in modern society first and then transmigrate, or did they lose their lives because they were destined to transmigrate?
This question was very metaphysical and complex, like the chicken-or-egg dilemma. Lin Xi absolutely let herself off the hook, refusing to ponder such convoluted matters.
On the big screen, the four founders of the Mary Sue families had successfully crossed the great river.
The leader, Duanmu, bore little resemblance to Duanmu Xiu. With a wave of his hand, the "card" floating on the water shrank rapidly, returning to the size of a playing card, which he then held. The group continued their journey. They didn't talk much, but their walking speed seemed to be on fast-forward, getting faster and faster.
The card in Duanmu's hand was incredibly powerful. It built bridges over water, created paths through swamps, and turned into ropes when facing cliffs. Finally, by the time Lin Xi and Chi Qiushui had finished a small box of lemon chicken claws and drunk two cans of cola, the group reached the edge of the Misty Forest.
Before them was a layer of fog so thick it appeared black, churning visibly even on camera. The trees behind them were also shrouded in mist, but compared to the pitch-black fog ahead, the mist behind them was the normal, whitish kind.
The four men stood or sat. Zhuge asked, "Do you think there's really a new world beyond the Misty Forest? Does a new world truly exist?"
"Definitely."
"It must." Ouyang and Nangong answered in unison.
Duanmu took out some water to drink. "If the fragment says there is, then there must be." Duanmu was resolute, his face showing a do-or-die determination. They had no way back but to press forward, so it simply had to exist.
Beside them, lines of black text appeared.
Duanmu Yu, from the Duanmu family of the Mary Sue Federation. Illegitimate son. Awakened 30% card talent. Possesses construction-type card x1.
Zhuge Wenyuan, from a collateral branch of the Zhuge family of the Mary Sue Federation. Awakened 5% card talent. Possesses public opinion manipulation-type cards x2.
Ouyang Hua, from the Ouyang family of the Mary Sue Federation. Family outcast. Awakened 3% card talent. Possesses weapon-type cards x5.
Nangong Xuanyi, from a collateral branch of the Nangong family of the Mary Sue Federation. Awakened 3% card talent. Possesses calculation-type cards x2.
After introducing their personal information, a line of text slowly appeared beside the screen.
Due to their low card talent, Duanmu Yu and the other three were sent away from their families upon reaching adulthood. Before leaving, Duanmu Yu found a scroll in his family's study titled "The Lost Continent."
One only needed to cross the Misty Forest to reach the shore of the Lost Continent. Using a special method to open the barrier would allow passage into the Lost Continent itself.
After the final period was typed, the black block text dissipated. On screen, the four men rummaged through a jewel box, each pulling out one item.
The screen paused. A black arrow appeared next to each of the four items, with their descriptions displayed beside them.
"Incredible. These four guys stole their family treasures for something that might not even be real? No wonder they kept saying there must be a new world beyond the Misty Forest. Turns out they had no way back." Chi Qiushui felt this screen was even more entertaining than a TV drama.
"That's just too fantastical." Pretty as it was, it did feel a bit fantastical, with a sense of absurdity from mixing different elements. But Chi Qiushui thought about the castles of the Four Great Families behind the mountain and the world where ordinary people lived—wasn't the sense of disconnection there just as strong?
"Since time travel exists, even the most fantastical things are pretty normal now." Lin Xi downed her cola in one go. Ever since joining this Transmigrators' chat group, she had become able to accept even the most fantastical things.
As she put down the can, Lin Xi pondered silently: What is the Mary Sue Federation? What is a Card Talent? What were those cards among her father's old belongings? And how did he get them? Questions swirled in her head.
On the screen, Duanmu Yu and the others took out daggers and made a cut on their hands. Blood, like a thread, directly infused into their family heirlooms. Instantly, the heirlooms shone with a brilliant light. They flew into the air, converged, and began spinning rapidly. Before long, as the rotation slowed and the glow dimmed, the black mist at the edge of the Misty Forest rapidly parted to both sides. Gradually, a gate formed of mist appeared within the black fog, its far end filled with bright light.
Duanmu Yu and the others' faces lit up with ecstatic joy. The four of them, gripping the jewelry box tightly, stepped into that gate. Once inside the thick mist gate, their ecstasy faded. There was no turning back now. Their theft of the heirlooms was surely exposed, wanted posters for them would be plastered all over the Federation, and those close to them would undoubtedly face dire consequences.
If they turned back now, their own fate would be even more wretched than those they left behind. They were venturing to a new world precisely to carve out a fresh start. As Duanmu Yu had said, in the new world, everyone was ordinary. No one possessed Card Talent, and that world had no cards at all. Once there, they would be unique.
With the four of them united, what couldn't they achieve? So, despite their fear and apprehension, they walked forward resolutely.
They successfully passed through the gate. The moment they crossed, they lost their ability to create cards. The gate behind them, along with their precious heirlooms, vanished at extreme speed. That gate would never open again.
The final scene showed the four of them disguised as merchants emerging from the forest. When they arrived on this continent, it was still embroiled in war.
The group found a place free from conflict. Duanmu Yu used cards to establish the extravagantly luxurious manors of what are now the Four Great Families.
"So that's how the four manors came to be! I always wondered how a mountain could be so conveniently shaped, perfectly separating the Four Great Families from the normal world. And their houses—I wondered who had such peculiar taste, liking to live in gaudy, bathhouse-like palaces!" Chi Qiushui slapped her own thigh. "Look at those round, dome-like roofs on the manors. Did they just move a mosque back home?"
Chi Qiushui respected all beliefs, but she had no class and was a hypocrite. Anything related to this damned Mary Sue world, she had to disparage, otherwise she couldn't vent her hatred.
"And that mountain! The other day, I stood by the window and thought it looked so weird. Mystery solved, mystery solved." Lin Xi didn't respond to Chi Qiushui, but Chi Qiushui didn't feel awkward. She felt that sometimes her only flaw was being a bit of a chatterbox.
And she could happily chatter away even by herself.
Amid Chi Qiushui's rambling, the scene on the screen changed. With their grand mansion secured, the four began exploring the new world. Relying on their Card Talent, they gained a foothold and established varying levels of cooperation with different countries and factions.
After the war ended, having grown up in dens of power, they toned down their brilliance, returned to their manor, and laid low. After weathering the turbulence of the nation's early founding period, they reemerged and quickly seized market share in most cutting-edge enterprises just as this world's China was beginning to rebuild from ruins.
By the time the state realized what was happening, the Four Great Families were already beyond control. The state had considered weakening their influence, but it was too difficult. Their people would lose all self-control the moment they entered the Four Families' territory.
The screen before them finally vanished, and the dark place became bright again. The two of them sat on the asphalt road eating, as if on a picnic.
Chi Qiushui's phone started ringing frantically. Seeing the caller ID, she muttered "oh crap" and gave Lin Xi an apologetic smile.
"When I grabbed the food earlier, I accidentally put away the signal jammer too."
"Who is it?"
"The Zhuge family, of course." Chi Qiushui said, swiping to answer. Armed with a firearm, she wasn't too afraid of the Zhuge family to begin with. Now that Lin Xi had been teleported over by the group chat system, she was even less fearful.
"Chi Qiushui, oh no, Zhuge Qiushui." Zhuge Yan's smiling voice came through the receiver. He was certain that the apologies from all the top executives of the Zhuge Group would soften the heart of that sixteen-year-old girl, making her obediently return to the Zhuge family and walk the path he had arranged.
Chi Qiushui's brows furrowed tightly. She opened her mouth with sarcasm: "This grandma has been called Chi Qiushui her whole life. I always thought Qiushui was a beautiful name. How come when paired with the Zhuge surname, it sounds so awful no matter how you hear it? Oh, I get it. It must be because the Zhuge surname is too filthy, it's making my name sound bad too."
Chi Qiushui's name was given by her father. According to her mother, her father had scoured dictionaries and thesauruses before finally settling on this name. Changing it to Zhuge Qiushui made it sound worse by more than a little.
Zhuge Yan's breath hitched for a moment. "Qiushui, the Zhuge family needs you."
His voice was full of sincerity. "You grew up in the Zhuge family. You know, among the heirs of the Four Great Families, only our Zhuge family's heir isn't outstanding enough. I don't need to mention Ouyang Xiuming from the Ouyang family. He's the one who helped you with all those Weibo posts you made. Otherwise, you know, your posts would never have had a chance to reach the public."
"Duanmu Xiu from the Duanmu family isn't great either, but his parents are capable people. They can easily live long enough to support the grandchild generation. I'm getting old, Qiushui. You've met your parents, you know what they're like. They're hopeless mud that won't stick to the wall."
"Zhuge Mo'er doesn't even have a pretty face. The Duanmu family called today to break off the engagement. Her only use was for a marriage alliance. If Duanmu Xiu doesn't like her anymore, then she's useless. Zhuge Shan is a bit clever, but his cleverness has never been on the right path. I suppose no one understands that better than you."
"Qiushui, you know the wealth of the Zhuge family. After I die, all of it will be yours. Doesn't that tempt you? The Zhuge family's fortune is beyond your imagination. What's more, don't you want to stand before those who once looked down on you and make them regret their contempt and insults? Just like with Zhuge Shan, aren't you curious what expression he would make if you became someone of higher status than him?" Zhuge Yan's voice was thick with temptation.
Chi Qiushui knew the Zhuge family was rich, and she admitted she was a woman who liked money. But her father had taught her from a young age that while a gentleman loves wealth, he acquires it in the proper way. Under his guidance, she had always believed that money earned with one's own hands was the only kind spent with peace and comfort.
Therefore, she didn't want the Zhuge family's wealth. Who knew how many 'blood-soaked buns' their money was tainted with? The thought of holding it made Chi Qiushui feel dirty.
However, she didn't count the back pay the Zhuge family had given her among that dirty money, as it was compensation for the original host's years of sweat and toil. So, after earning money from doing nails, she had replenished the funds she had 'borrowed' in advance. It was just a slight temporary transfer, and if you rounded it off, she basically hadn't used it at all.
Thinking this, Chi Qiushui felt her reasoning was dangerously flawed. If she were a company accountant, this kind of thinking would be enough to land her behind bars.
"What does your Zhuge family's wealth have to do with me, Chi Qiushui?" Chi Qiushui rolled her eyes and hung up the phone with a smack. She admitted Zhuge Yan's words were very tempting. If she were five or six years younger, just the big promises he was painting would have been enough to make her jump at the chance. But the current Chi Qiushui was mature, grown-up, and had shed her teenage rebellious shell. So she definitely wouldn't return to that den of wolves and tigers just for a bit of so-called "face-slapping."
She turned around, about to speak to Lin Xi, when the phone rang again. Chi Qiushui cursed, "Is that old man sick? I just hung up on him and he calls again? Is it because I didn't curse him out last time, so he's getting cocky?"
"I think it's possible," Lin Xi replied with a smile, playing with the card in her hand.
Chi Qiushui snorted, "Never seen someone so eager to be scolded. That old bastard probably hasn't been cursed out as much in his entire life as he has these past few days. Fine, if you're looking for a scolding, I'll oblige and make up for all the education you've missed over the years."
Muttering to herself, Chi Qiushui pressed answer: "I say, old man Zhuge, are your ears stuffed with donkey hair or is your auditory nerve misfiring? Hasn't your grandma been telling you repeatedly that she's not interested in your Zhuge family's wealth? And about teaching a lesson to those who bullied me? Are you seriously ill? You stood by coldly when I was being bullied, and now you want me to settle scores with them? Sure, I do want to settle scores, but do I need you, a dog trying to catch mice, meddling in my business?"
"Could this also be part of your so-called 'test'?" The more Chi Qiushui spoke, the more she felt she had touched on the truth. "I used to think you were a dog. Now I apologize to you—you're worse than a dog..."
Chi Qiushui paused to catch her breath, ready to continue, but the person on the other end seized the gap and immediately spoke up: "Miss Chi, hello. I'm from the National Security Bureau. I have some matters I'd like to discuss with you..."
Chi Qiushui's curses got stuck in her throat. The feeling of being unable to get them out or swallow them down was extremely uncomfortable. She glanced at Lin Xi, who walked over and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
Chi Qiushui moderated her tone, "Please wait a moment. Let me ask my friend. If she's willing to see you, then you can come find us."
Chi Qiushui covered the phone and whispered this and that to Lin Xi. Not long after, Chi Qiushui said "Okay" into the phone. Lin Xi flipped her hand, storing the card in her space, and then turned to study the massive mountain range created by the card with Chi Qiushui.
Whether by sight or touch, this mountain was no different from an ordinary one.
The two of them were somewhat disappointed. Having read too many novels and watched too much anime, they had thought a mountain created by a card would have a 3D or 4D-like texture. They hadn't expected it to feel so real.
Plucking a leaf and holding it in her hand, Lin Xi looked at Chi Qiushui and asked, "Qiushui, if you could go back, but your memories of this world would fade, and you'd lose everything you gained from the group—like the spatial pocket, the firearms, or those pills that strengthen the body—would you be willing?"
This time, traveling to the Mary Sue world, the system hadn't activated the cross-dimensional livestream, which was why Lin Xi asked this question.
Chi Qiushui whipped her head around to look at Lin Xi, her heart pounding. She didn't understand what Lin Xi meant and was afraid of misunderstanding.
She blinked, forcing back the tears that instantly welled up in her eyes. "Xi, I really like the second half of an old poem. I've had it as my WeChat signature for many years."
Chi Qiushui looked at Lin Xi and spoke word by word: "That line of poetry is, 'The moon is brighter at home.'"
"If I could go back, of course I'd be willing. A golden finger is great, a spatial pocket is even better, but I think none of that compares to my parents, compares to our whole family being together." Chi Qiushui was beautiful; since middle school, boys had always been chasing after her.
Why had she chosen a man like He Jiantao, who wasn't good in any aspect? Wasn't it precisely to marry someone close to her parents? Of course, it also had something to do with how diligently He Jiantao pursued her back then.
She had even discussed it with He Jiantao: after getting married, they would live with both families. If they had children, one for each family. If not, it would just be the two of them.
But these were Chi Qiushui's past thoughts. Her current plan was to deal with that idiot He Jiantao once she got back. As for whether to marry or find someone afterwards, that could be decided later.
Just as she was thinking, someone approached. Chi Qiushui and Lin Xi looked towards the sound. Several men in black suits were walking towards them.
"Miss Chi, I'm the one who just spoke with you on the phone. My name is Xu Xuezhe." Xu Xuezhe walked at the forefront and extended his hand towards Chi Qiushui. She gave it a brief, perfunctory shake.
He then turned to look at Lin Xi: "Esteemed visitor from another world, greetings. Our leader has been awaiting your arrival not far from here for quite some time. Would you mind stepping aside for a conversation?"
Lin Xi exchanged a glance with Chi Qiushui. A faint smile appeared on Lin Xi's face. "You know I'm from another world?"
"Yes. We have been waiting for your arrival for twenty years," Xu Xuezhe said, stepping aside and gesturing in an invitation.
Lin Xi did not move. "How did you know I would come?"
"Twenty years ago, a gentleman surnamed Lin came. He said that the tumor growing in our world would be excised by you."
Lin Xi could no longer maintain her outward composure. Her hand, tucked in her pocket, clenched into a fist, nails digging into her palm. "Why can't your leader come here? Is it absolutely necessary to talk somewhere else?"
A trace of apology appeared on Xu Xuezhe's face. "Our leader would like to, but he is unable to approach this place..."
Lin Xi took a deep breath. "Let's go."
Her steps were somewhat unsteady.
After journeying through so many worlds, she had finally, at long last, caught a faint trace of news about her father.
