Chapter 20: The Stand-In Heroine (Part 1)

Although Mu Yin was eager to take on tasks after advancing her abilities to level two, she had clearly underestimated the energy required after her powers fully awakened. Previously, a single piece of origin stone had been enough for her to cultivate to level five. Yet now, even after completely depleting her origin stone, she had barely managed to reach the first stage of level one. Most of it had been consumed by the Fortune Body Refinement Technique, which was necessary to strengthen her body to match her powers—after all, possessing great abilities without a suitable vessel would only result in self-destruction or chronic illness.

Evidently, the awakened powers now demanded more than ten times the energy they had before. Previously, her abilities drew upon spiritual energy, but now they relied on origin energy—a consumption rate almost ten thousand times higher. In exchange, her abilities had grown much stronger; at just level one, she could create objects that previously required five or six levels, though manufacturing and creating were fundamentally different matters.

Still, though her range of creation had expanded, it was of little practical use. She could only make inanimate objects and replicate things whose principles and structures she understood. Even if she could manufacture futuristic energy vehicles or super-brains, she lacked the energy to power them, so it was not worth the effort.

What frustrated Mu Yin even more was that, unlike before, she could no longer absorb the faint spiritual energy around her to cultivate. Now, her powers could only recover through slow, automatic regeneration; she was completely unable to absorb energy for faster recovery.

Thus, after only a few days, Mu Yin had no choice but to resume completing tasks to earn origin stones for cultivation. She felt somewhat swindled, yet the advancement of her abilities still left her content.

With this means available, Mu Yin believed she could reach her goals within the designated timeframe. Unlocking the task interface on her time-key, she began to select her next mission.

Given her current lack of strength, Mu Yin chose to take on tasks in worlds with strict laws. Though these would impose some restrictions on her, her abilities were rooted in origin energy, so the limitations would be minor. She would not be entirely suppressed, unlike those pests who might not fare as well—an advantage she was happy to exploit.

She decided once again to choose a guardian mission. The substitute missions were all highly dangerous, and she was not certain she could handle them yet. To be safe, she would stick with the guardian tasks for now.

Reviewing the list of characters, Mu Yin picked a one-star mission. This one followed the typical romantic template of the “Bay Area” stories. The fated heroine, Zhou Rongrong, was a junior who admired the male lead and worked hard to enter his company.

By chance, she and the male lead met a few times, after which he began to pursue her. Zhou Rongrong was overjoyed, and the two soon became a couple. Yet a year later, she discovered to her heartbreak that she was merely a stand-in for the male lead’s first love.

When the first love returned, Zhou Rongrong left in grief. Only then did the male lead realize he had truly fallen for her, setting the stage for the classic domineering CEO’s pursuit of his beloved. Fortunately, there was no “pregnant and on the run” subplot—otherwise, Mu Yin might have choked on her own blood.

Of course, all this was the original fate line before the arrival of the counterattacker. But the white moonlight first love had been reborn. Unlike the previous world, where the male and female leads were each other’s first loves and their feelings were destined, this time the counterattacker was the male lead’s unforgettable first love—otherwise, why would he need a substitute?

After her rebirth, the white moonlight returned early and directly prevented the male and female leads from meeting. If that were all, it would not be a big deal; as the heroine, Zhou Rongrong still had the fallback of the second male lead. However, the reborn white moonlight was not about to let things go so easily.

This time, she acted much more decisively than the previous one, arranging for someone to secretly kidnap and kill the heroine—utterly ruthless, with no hesitation.

It seemed like a straightforward story of a reborn white moonlight taking her revenge, with no mastermind pulling the strings. But was that really the case? Mu Yin did not believe so. If it were truly that simple, then why had this world nearly been destroyed and ended up on the mission board?

After selecting the task, Mu Yin’s soul left her body and entered the mission world. The body she was given this time proved somewhat troublesome—she had become the heroine’s landlady, a middle-aged woman.

Though this put her in close proximity to the heroine, the problem was that this body had both a husband and a son. Rubbing her forehead, Mu Yin felt a wave of frustration.

Unlike her previous host, who had died in a traffic accident, this one had succumbed to a sudden heart attack. She also suffered from the “three highs” and was far from healthy. This was not a problem Mu Yin could resolve immediately, as it was not an accident but a physical condition. Surveying her new family—a retired husband who played mahjong all day, a troublesome son and daughter-in-law, and an occasionally returning daughter—Mu Yin doubted she could maintain her composure for long.

After several days of being tormented by her family, she finally packed her things and moved into the same complex as the heroine. Though the complex was old, its location was excellent, with a subway station right outside providing direct access to various parts of the city. It had been slated for redevelopment for years but, for reasons unknown, the project had never succeeded.

Her original family was fairly wealthy, with several properties to their name. In this old complex alone, they owned an entire building, all of which was rented out. Mu Yin seized the opportunity to move in when one floor became vacant, fed up with her family’s endless trivialities.

“Mrs. Landlady?” As Mu Yin was moving in, a voice called from behind. She turned to see none other than the heroine, Zhou Rongrong.

“Mrs. Landlady, what are you doing?” Zhou Rongrong came forward to help with her things, inquiring as she did.

“Sigh, I’m getting old, and my body is riddled with ailments. It’s uncomfortable living at home, so I decided to move out for some peace,” Mu Yin replied with a sigh. It was the truth—she had died young in her previous life and had never experienced the many ailments that come with age.

Moreover, the endless family trivialities were truly vexing, making Mu Yin wary of marriage and childbearing. After just a few days, she felt she could not go on. She explained to her husband that her health was deteriorating and she wished to move here for a quieter life.

Thankfully, her original husband, though usually out playing mahjong, was still responsible and cared about the family. Out of concern for his wife, he agreed—after all, their son was already married; surely he did not need his mother to look after him.

Originally, he wanted to move in with her as well, but Mu Yin firmly refused—she had moved out precisely to avoid him. Sharing a bed with an old man was even less tolerable than the family squabbles. Even if they simply slept, she could not endure it. If he had been handsome, perhaps she could have managed, but he was just an ordinary man in his sixties.