She passed out — not from anything dramatic.
Just exhaustion. Or..... a bit of self-pity.
The last thing she remembered was curling up on the bed, not even bothering to shut off her screen. Then... dark.
But this smell…
What the hell was this smell?
Didn't she just pass out?
Nian cracked her eyes open.
The scene in front of her was... not her cramped dorm room.
This wasn't even close.
She was lying in a junkyard.
Rotting metal, chemical fumes, something like burning rubber — it hit her all at once and nearly made her retch.
She gagged and sat up.
This wasn't her roommate's fault, right? There was no way she ate instant noodles and got dumped outside like garbage.
She looked around, dazed.
Still a junkyard.
But something was off.
Her perspective had changed. The ground felt... closer.
She glanced down at her feet — barefoot. Bruised.
Thin ankles, too small to be hers. Her height was gone — she wasn't 177 cm anymore.
Oh no.
As a die-hard comic reader and creator, Nian figured it out fast.
"I crossed over."
The revelation hit like a slap on her face.
Her chest jumped a little — part panic, part excitement.
But her situation?
It Not so great.
She looked down at herself.
Torn clothes, gray from grime. A shabby rag passed off as a shirt.
But one thing stood out: a silver bracelet on her wrist. Thin and cold, with a red gem embedded in it — a color so dark it was nearly black. Blood red.
It glinted even in the trash heap.
She stared at it, confused.
What was this doing on a beggar kid?
As a reader, she knew — shiny accessories on poor people in transmigration stories meant one thing: trouble.
She tried yanking it off, twisting it, biting it — nothing worked. It clung to her skin like glue... but weirdly, whenever she loosened her grip, it almost felt like it was sliding off by itself.
She gave up and slumped back down.
"God, what kind of mess did you throw me into this time?" she muttered, looking up at the sky.
The clouds were starting to brighten. Dawn was coming.
Somewhere nearby, voices echoed through the lot — rough, loud, and in a hurry.
"ERIC! What the hell are you doing? Slacking off again? Get your ass to work!"
Nian flinched.
Right. Of course.
Why didn't she think about that? Junkyards had people. Workers. And she had somehow passed out right in the middle of one.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!"
Boots thudded over broken pavement. Metal groaned as machinery kicked to life.
She sat up straighter, trying to crawl behind a rusted beam, when a long shadow suddenly fell over her.
She looked up.
A chunk of rusted scrap was falling right toward her.
She screamed.
Her brain froze.
Was this it? Was her transmigration arc going to end in Chapter 2?
The junk crashed into her — or almost did.
At the last second, a rough hand grabbed the collar of her shirt and yanked her straight into the air like she weightnothing.
She gasped, hanging in the air, limbs flailing.
"Huh? A beggar?"
The man who'd pulled her up was massive — an ox of a man in a stained gray jumpsuit. His forearms looked like construction beams.
He held her up with one hand like she weighed nothing.
Nian blinked at him, too stunned to speak.
Another voice called out.
"Hey! There's a kid over there?"
Another worker jogged over, also wearing a jumpsuit. Both of them looked Asian, but the language they spoke was English. Fluent, casual.
Nian was surprised. But she had studied abroad. Her English was decent. The words came to her automatically.
"I'm not a beggar."
The words slipped out before she could think.
And instantly, she regretted it.
The two men froze, staring.
Her filthy clothes, bare feet, and bruised arms told a different story — and she knew it.
She quickly covered her mouth, as if her secret had just escaped.
The two workers frowned.
"If you're not a beggar, then...?"
The big guy looked confused. He turned to the other worker.
"Thought she was one of the usual kids that sneak in and steal copper. They always run off before dawn."
The other guy shook his head.
> "Whatever. Eric, get back to work. Shift's starting."
> "What about the kid?"
> "Shoo her off. It's not our problem."
Eric — apparently the big guy — looked at Nian again. Then finally seemed to realize he was still holding her off the ground by the collar.
He put her down gently.
Nian winced. "Agh... that hurt."
The wounds on her neck had gotten scratched by that man's rough hand.
Now at ground level, she looked up at him.
He was even taller than she'd thought. She barely reached his waist.
The man turned his back to walk away. But Nian, thinking fast, grabbed the fabric of his jumpsuit.
She gripped hard.
He froze. Like he'd hit pause.
Because the little chick he thought as just a small begger. It's strength was greater then had ever expected.
He had known enough from doing dirty work I the junk yard that the world was not as innocent as it might look on the surface. Behind the veil powers beyond his reach were moving
He looked down again, at the little kid and for a second he saw a red shine in its eyes.
"Take me to an orphanage," she said.