Chapter 3: The Cheat Ability is Mine Now?
The three of them sat amidst the ruins, digesting everything they had just learned.
“So, at this point in time, where are the male and female leads?” Wen Xiuyi asked. Since they had ended up inside the novel’s world, wouldn’t staying far away from the protagonists ensure their safety?
Wen Yao did some quick calculations. “The female lead is five years younger than Wen Zhao. Our little brother isn’t even four yet, so the female lead probably isn’t even a fertilized egg right now.”
Wen Xiuyi immediately stood up, dusting off his clothes. “Then that settles it. I won’t sell you two, and I won’t gamble myself into an early grave. As long as we’re still alive, there’s no reason for the capital to take Wen Zhao away, which means everything is still in our hands. No matter what he might have become in the original story, now that we’re here, we won’t let him turn into that bastard Meng’s stepping stone.”
The siblings nodded in unison. Their old man was on point.
Wen Xiuyi then turned to Wen Yao. “Yao Yao, you need to remember the novel’s plot. It might come in handy someday. But for now, let’s start cleaning up this place. This isn’t a home—it’s a junkyard.”
Muttering complaints as he worked, Wen Xiuyi began clearing away scattered wooden debris. The siblings exchanged glances and followed suit. Their father was right. The original trio was gone, replaced by them. That meant none of those tragedies would happen.
In the novel, the female lead had a spatial dimension cheat ability. It was because of this ability that she gained fame and helped the male lead seize the throne, eventually marrying him. On the surface, it seemed like a grand love story, but their methods had often been so morally questionable that Wen Yao had spent half her time ranting about it.
Since they had taken over, why should the cheat ability still belong to the female lead? Wouldn’t it be better if she had it instead?
As soon as this thought crossed her mind, Wen Yao faintly heard a sigh. Then, a sudden wave of dizziness overtook her. Her vision swirled, and when she opened her eyes again, the wreckage was gone. So were her father and brother. In their place was a barren expanse of land and a dilapidated house.
What the—?
“Dad? Bro?” Panic set in as Wen Yao called out frantically.
A distant, elderly voice, ethereal and indistinct, answered, “No need to shout. They can’t hear you.”
The sudden voice startled Wen Yao, sending a chill down her spine. Had she just encountered a ghost?
Wait, no—that didn’t make sense. Technically, she was a ghost too, wasn’t she?
“……”
The voice seemed speechless for a moment before continuing, “You wanted the female lead’s spatial dimension, didn’t you? It’s yours now.”
Good grief. Wen Yao thought she had misheard. But there was no mistaking it—there was someone else here.
“Who are you? If you’ve got the guts to talk, then come out and show yourself! What kind of hero hides in the shadows?”
The voice responded again, “Consider this our way of compensating you. From now on, how you live is up to you. I’m leaving.”
Hearing this, Wen Yao hurriedly shouted, “Hey, hey, hey! Explain yourself! What compensation? Who the hell are you? Where is this place? And how do I get out?!”
“All you have to do is think about leaving, and you’ll be able to…” The voice trailed off into an exasperated sigh. “Ugh, all I wanted was to take a stroll, and now I’ve lost centuries’ worth of cultivation…”
As the voice faded into nothingness, Wen Yao found herself standing alone in the vast, empty space.
The eerie, run-down house ahead of her gave her the creeps. A shiver ran down her spine as she quickly shut her eyes and focused on leaving. When she reopened them, she was back—only to see Wen Xiuyi and Wen Jun staring at her in panic.
“Yao Yao! You suddenly disappeared! You nearly scared me to death!” Wen Xiuyi was on the verge of running off to find her when, out of nowhere, she reappeared in the exact same spot.
Luckily, their rundown house was a bit isolated from the rest of the village. If anyone had seen what just happened, the three of them might’ve been burned at the stake for witchcraft.
Dizzy from being yanked around by the two men, Wen Yao took a moment to regain her balance. Then, a bright smile spread across her face, the corners of her lips curling up in a foolish grin.
Wen Xiuyi frowned. “Xiao Jun, check on your sister. She didn’t hit her head too hard, did she?”
Wen Yao’s smile stiffened. “Dad, I’m fine, I’m fine. Hahaha… I just—uh—think I’ve stumbled upon something amazing! Hahahahahaha!”
Watching his daughter double over in laughter, Wen Xiuyi yanked at his son’s sleeve. “Doctor Wen, check her head. She’s acting like she cracked her skull or something.”
Wen Yao swatted Wen Jun’s approaching hand away and motioned for them to come closer, looking extremely secretive.
Father and son exchanged a glance before leaning in.
Lowering her voice, Wen Yao recounted her bizarre encounter in detail.
“You’re telling me… you just thought about wanting the female lead’s space, and suddenly, you were transported to some mysterious place? And someone even spoke to you there?” Wen Xiuyi’s entire worldview was crumbling before his eyes.
Wen Yao nodded. “Yep. That voice even said it was compensation for us. And something about losing centuries of cultivation. Who do you think it was? Why would they compensate us? It’s not like they caused our—” Wen Yao abruptly stopped mid-sentence.
Wen Jun and Wen Yao, being siblings, immediately came to the same realization. They both exclaimed at the same time, “Those two foxes!!”
Meanwhile, deep in Yunwu Mountain, a certain fox who had just accomplished its mission sneezed multiple times in a row, grumbling as it led its grandchild back into the depths to resume cultivation.
Wen Xiuyi, however, was more focused on the practical details. “Yao Yao, what’s inside this… space? Have you checked?”
Wen Yao shook her head.
Wen Xiuyi immediately pushed her toward the house. “Your brother and I will clean up outside. You go figure out what that thing does.”
Before she could react, Wen Xiuyi had already shoved her inside and even thoughtfully shut the door behind her.
Well, since it had come to this, Wen Yao had no choice but to close her eyes and focus on re-entering the space. When she opened them, she was back.
The same barren land. The same dilapidated house. Wen Yao called out a few times, but no response came. Resigned, she approached the structure.
It looked like a storage room. Hanging on the wall near the entrance was something resembling a touchscreen panel, though it was covered in dust.
Wen Yao wiped it clean with her already-dirty sleeve, and the screen lit up, displaying an interface reminiscent of an online shopping app.
Just as she suspected—it was the female lead’s spatial ability from the novel!
Wen Yao barely resisted the urge to throw her head back and cackle. This was basically a portable e-commerce platform! And thankfully, she never skipped sections when reading novels, so she knew exactly how to use it.
All she had to do was exchange items for achievement points, which could then be used to buy things. Simple.
Wasting no time, Wen Yao exited the space to inform Wen Xiuyi and Wen Jun. Just as she stepped out, another thought struck her. She crawled under the bed, retrieved the few dozen copper coins the original owner had hidden, and returned to the space. Gritting her teeth, she exchanged ten coins for ten achievement points, intending to buy some food—after all, they were still starving.
But the moment she saw the prices, she nearly exploded.
“What the hell?! Why are my prices different from the female lead’s?! You old fox, you scammed me!” Wen Yao furiously yelled at the air.
In the original novel, the female lead could buy a large meat bun for just one achievement point. But for her, it cost two!
Two coins for a single bun? That was the same price as the steamed bun shop in their old neighborhood!
Checking the rest of the prices, Wen Yao burst into laughter.
Great. The whole pricing system was lifted straight from modern-day markets.
With only a few dozen coins, what the hell could she even buy?
