"..."
"Miss Zi'an?"
A faint voice came from somewhere nearby. It was soft, hesitant, and slightly unsure, as if the speaker was afraid of disturbing someone.
Zi'an blinked slowly, her mind foggy and her body aching all over, as though she had been lying on a hard, uneven surface for an indefinite amount of time.
Her head throbbed sharply, and a dull stiffness had settled in her limbs, making even the act of lifting her hand feel heavy.
She tried to recall her surroundings, only to find that everything looked unfamiliar.
The air smelled faintly of dust and straw, mixed with a subtle, earthy aroma she could not place, and the dim sunlight filtering through thin wooden slats painted long, pale lines across the floor.
She did not respond immediately.
Her mind was racing, trying to connect this sudden, strange reality with her last memory.
The explosion came unbidden to her thoughts: the narrow streets crowded with vendors, the roaring heat of flames, the deafening sound that had torn through everything before she could even react.
She remembered the force throwing her backward, the sharp, overwhelming pain, and then the darkness.
Everything went black, and she had thought that would be the end of her.
Yet now, she was here, lying on a thin straw mat, in a small wooden room whose walls were cracked and warped by age, and there was no one else in sight.
Her temples throbbed faintly as fragments of memory not her own, yet intimately familiar flashed through her mind.
Names, faces, and events she had only ever read about surged forward with unnatural clarity.
A courtyard where a young woman lingered at the edge of every conversation. The sounds of hurried steps in narrow streets.
Each fragment precise, yet incomplete, as though the memory itself was seeping into her consciousness.
Zi'an's gaze sharpened. She recognized the details, recognized the pacing, the patterns, the very threads of the plot.
These were not memories of her life. They were borrowed, extracted from a story she had read. The familiarity settled into her bones with a mechanical inevitability.
Her stomach tightened, and a chill ran down her spine as the realization hit her fully. She had transmigrated.
The thought came to her calmly, almost mechanically, and yet it carried an undeniable weight: she was no longer living in the modern world she had known, with its bustling streets, technology, and conveniences; instead, she had entered a world she had only ever encountered through the pages of a novel she had read recently.
That novel.
The one in which she had come across a secondary female character named Zhen Zi'an, a girl of little importance, meant only to exist as a foil in a romance plot, destined to fall in love, stir minor complications, and then vanish quietly without leaving a trace.
Zi'an sat up slowly, testing her body and the thin mat beneath her, noting the way the floor creaked slightly under her weight.
She was alone.
Completely alone.
No family to call for help, no physicians to tend to her injuries, no wealth, no home, nothing but the bare wooden walls, a single low table, a clay jar containing a small amount of water, and the lingering ache in her limbs.
She could feel the thin robes she wore clinging to her skin, worn and threadbare, and the hunger gnawed at her stomach with an insistence that could not be ignored.
At that moment, a sharp, mechanical chime sounded in her mind, startling her despite the fatigue and shock. Ding.
A translucent panel appeared before her eyes, hovering in midair with precise clarity, and words formed carefully within it:
[Host detected. Greetings, Zi'an. I am the Merchant System. While your previous life specialized in chaos and curiosity, I specialize in wealth, profit, and influence. It appears you have transmigrated into a second female lead—a minor, disposable character whose survival probability is low. Fortunately, you have me.]
Zi'an blinked at the words, and the voice continued, as if it had been waiting for her reaction.
[My functions are straightforward, though their potential is vast. I can detect rare resources, appraise their value, enable you to craft magical items, and accumulate wealth, influence, and reputation. Your survival depends on how cleverly you use me. I suggest you begin immediately, though I am not here to do your work for you.]
Zi'an exhaled slowly.
She leaned back on the straw mat, allowing herself a measured moment to absorb the information.
A body with no family, wealth or home.
Just her own wits and this system that had chosen her??
"Not bad.." she murmured softly, a faint, sharp glimmer in her eyes. "Starting from nothing is a clean slate. Every coin, every rare ingredient, every magical item will belong to me."
The system's voice responded, dryly amused, as if reading her thoughts aloud: [Ambition noted. Do not waste time contemplating what you lack. Begin with what is immediately available, and expand. Your tiny thoughts can grow into an empire, provided you survive the first steps.]
Zi'an's fingers traced the rough fibers of the mat beneath her. She studied the bare wooden room, the single low table, the cracked jar of water in the corner. She was alone, but not powerless.
"If I am going to exist in this story, I will not vanish quietly.." she said, her voice steady, deliberate. "I will survive. I will thrive. And I will make every coin count."
The system pulsed faintly, as though approving her declaration.
[Good..] it said. [We will begin when you are ready. Resources, opportunities, and profit await. Do not disappoint me, Host.]
Zi'an's lips curled into a small, confident smile. "Then let's get started."
Zi'an tilted her head slightly, her dark eyes narrowing as the faint pulse of light shimmered before her. "Before we start," she said slowly, her voice calm but carrying a sharp edge, "I want to know exactly what you can do. I don't want some weak system bragging empty promises at me. Tell me everything."
The glow flickered, and a mechanical voice sounded in her mind, sharp and slightly irritated.
[Host, that tone is unnecessary. I have already introduced my capabilities. Detect rare resources, appraise value, craft items, accumulate wealth, influence, and reputation. Additional features will manifest as you progress. Do not presume weakness where there is none.]
Zi'an raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "That's all? That sounds… basic. If you're supposed to be a system, you should have more. What else can you do? Can you provide insights on resources? Track market trends? Help me identify high-value opportunities beyond just detection?"
The system hesitated for a fraction of a second, as if taken aback by her directness, before replying in a slightly harsher tone.