Chapter 4: The Skills Left Behind by the System

Upon receiving notice from the Youth Office, the Xu family was unwilling to let Xu Lin be sent to the countryside. So, on the very night they got the notice, her father broke one of her legs. Publicly, they claimed she had intentionally broken her leg to avoid labor in the mountains and fields, sullying her reputation throughout the town. Fortunately, Xu Lin had not yet registered, so punishment was difficult, and now that she was crippled, even if she were sent to the countryside, she would be unable to do much work. Thus, she managed to avoid being sent away.

The following year, Xu Nuan and Xu Kun turned sixteen and met the criteria for rural assignment, but the Xu family arranged jobs for both in time, sparing them the fate of going to the countryside, allowing them to thrive in the city. Yet she became the butt of everyone’s jokes, a cripple despised by all.

In her previous life, she pondered why the Xu family had been so ruthless. In this life, Xu Lin understood: they were afraid she would escape their control, and so they acted cruelly. Their intent was nothing less than to imprison her.

This time, she would not tread the path of her past life. If they tried to break her leg, well, she would break theirs first.

Xu Lin’s eyes flickered with a savage fire, and the arc of her lips revealed a hint of madness. She never claimed to be a good person, but neither was she evil. Her philosophy was simple: if you don’t provoke me, I won’t provoke you; but if you do, I will repay you in full. She would swallow anything except humiliation and loss. Her guiding principle: repay a grudge immediately, and if not, repay it tenfold!

Exhaling a breath of stale air, Xu Lin began to sort through the skills the system had left her.

First were the spatial and wood abilities she’d gained in the world of the apocalypse. Her spatial ability had reached level nine in that world, and she had mastered several skills—spatial black hole, spatial jump, and spatial displacement, among others. For instance, she used the spatial black hole to scatter sand and stones into the Xu family’s mouths. However, at present, her abilities were only at level one; she could only use the spatial black hole, and its range was limited to ten meters. Many spatial skills required higher levels to activate.

Her wood ability was also at level one. With it, paired with the medical skills she’d acquired in the ancient world, her healing prowess was formidable.

Aside from abilities and medicine, the system had also left her metaphysical skills from a parallel world where mysticism flourished. In that life, her mastery was the pinnacle of her world—face-reading, character divination, fortune-telling, feng shui, exorcism, and ghost-catching, all were her forte.

Beyond these, she had no other skills. She wondered if unexpected events might trigger new abilities, but that was a question for the future.

After bathing and changing into clean clothes, Xu Lin entered the large warehouse where the system’s assets were stored. She needed to inventory her wealth to plan her next step, but upon entering, she was dumbfounded.

Where were her treasures, once filling several thousand square meters? Where had they gone?

Heart aching, Xu Lin gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to curse as she searched. On the left side of the warehouse, shelves along the wall were lined with ordinary medicinal herbs and seeds. Aside from these, the shelves were empty; the gold, silver, jewels, rare treasures, various pills, spiritual medicines, and magical items she once kept were all gone.

The sight pained her deeply; those were her precious assets, things for survival. Alas, her fate was bitter—she’d have to earn her fortune anew in this world.

On the right side of the warehouse, also along the wall, were neatly stacked woven sacks—over forty by her rough count. She hurried over to inspect them, feeling a wave of relief.

Inside the sacks were snowy white wheat flour, crystal-clear rice, as well as soybeans, corn, sweet potatoes, and regular foodstuffs. With these supplies, she need not worry about hunger for some time.

Soon, she discovered two large dusty boxes in the northwest corner of the warehouse. Hope surged in her heart—could these contain valuables?

She rushed over, opened them, and was delighted by what she saw: two robots she had collected in the high-tech world.

The first was labeled as a farming robot, programmed with extensive knowledge about agriculture. Whether planting crops, tending flowers, or growing medicinal herbs, it excelled. With this robot, Xu Lin could confidently entrust her ten acres of land to its care.

The second was a medical assistant, programmed with skills for preparing medicinal herbs, making pharmaceuticals, and assisting in surgeries. With it, Xu Lin could delegate much of the work of preparing medicines and herbs, becoming a hands-off manager. In emergencies requiring surgery or wound care, this robot could help as well—truly invaluable.

Yet Xu Lin remembered she had collected more than a dozen robots in her past life—why were only two left now?

Well, no matter. She pushed the thought aside and promptly activated the robots. No more words—let the farming robot start cultivating the land.

She named the farming robot Tian Tian, assigning it to agriculture. The medical assistant was named Divine Lord, to be her right-hand helper. Xu Lin believed she would become a renowned healer in this world, her fame echoing everywhere.

Of the ten acres, she reserved half for grain and half for medicinal herbs. If she encountered fruit trees, she could transplant them into her space as well. In this way, she could achieve fruit and grain independence. As for medicinal herbs, the goal was ambitious; even with all ten acres planted, she would not achieve full independence, so she focused on the herbs she needed most.

Since her body was severely depleted and malnourished, Xu Lin decided to concoct Nourishing Pills to restore her health. Thankfully, the reversal system had left her some herbs; otherwise, she would have had to expend much effort to obtain them.

She input her recipe into Divine Lord’s panel, which immediately recorded it and began working. With the robot’s help, Xu Lin spent over two hours creating one hundred Nourishing Pills.

These pills, developed by an ancient master physician in another world, worked wonders for bodily restoration and even extended life. In that world, they were a rarity, and in Dragon Country at this time, an extinct miracle medicine. If word spread, people would fight to the death to obtain them.

Xu Lin took a pill, and soon a warm current flowed through her body, spreading to her limbs. She knew the pill was working and, not wanting to waste it, exited the space, sat cross-legged on Xu Nuan’s bed, and focused on maximizing absorption of its effects.

Early the next morning, Xu Lin woke to the clamor and chaos of the Xu household. At this hour, she would normally have prepared breakfast and stood at the table, ready to be scolded. The curses reminded her of her tragic past, and fury welled up within her.