Failed Plea for Help

After coaxing Li Cheng to sleep and taking a shower, Li Wei changed the sheets and her nightgown. By then, the sky outside was already beginning to lighten.

Li Wei lay back down on the bed, crossed her legs, and swung her fair, slender feet back and forth. She was in an excellent mood.

The fatigue of the past three days had vanished completely. A Vitality Value of 70!

If this were at the Fifth Middle School, she'd definitely be first in the entire school!

Who would have thought that with a golden finger, a few simple clicks could let her cover the same ground that those top students in the advanced classes had struggled for three years to cover?

How to put it?

One word: awesome!

Recalling the grievances her original body had suffered during her three years of high school, Li Wei really wanted to do something right now – find an authoritative institution to measure her Vitality, then take a screenshot of the results and send it to the class group chat for Grade 12, Class 11.

Unfortunately, Li Cheng's life was on the line right now, and she wasn't in the mood for such trivial matters.

"Sigh, thirty million... where am I going to get that?" After only a few seconds of feeling good, she deflated again.

The golden finger was great, but it couldn't solve her current problem.

It couldn't make her a Master in one step, nor could it directly conjure thirty million in cash.

She was completely in the dark about where to stably obtain [Abyss Essence] as well.

She glanced at her status panel again.

[Name: Li Wei / Li Wei]
[Realm: Quasi-Martial Artist]
[Vitality: 70 (+)]
[Combat Method: None]
[Mind Method: "National Middle Schooler Blood Nourishing Guidance Technique (Ninth Revised Edition)" (Cannot be upgraded)]
[Abyss Essence: 167]

Staring at her Vitality Value, a sudden idea flashed through her mind.

"With my current Vitality, if I were to join Anhe Martial University, I'd at least be considered a top prospect, right? The school would have to cherish and dote on me?" Li Wei thought. "It's only early July now, and school doesn't start for almost two more months... I can't wait. I'll go to the school tomorrow and see if I can beg and plead for some help."

Thinking this, she felt she needed to add a bit more to her leverage.

With a thought, another series of light clicks sounded!

Crack, crack, crack...!

[Vitality: 75 (+)]
[Abyss Essence: 17]

Her bones popped again with a crisp sound. The pain was real, but the satisfaction was also real.

"Starting from 70, each point costs 30 Essence?"

Li Wei smacked her lips, thinking it was still acceptable. She just didn't know if the consumption would skyrocket when she aimed for Minor Perfection and Great Perfection later.

She rolled around excitedly on the bed. She really couldn't sleep, so she took out that weathered, broken mobile phone.

Opening her notes, she typed with both thumbs, alternating:

1. Get 30 million: ① Ask the school for help, ② Sell myself. 2. Research Essence mechanism: ① Rift entrance, ② Outside the Investigation Bureau, ③ Abyssal Monster Observation Garden. 3. Get stronger! Get stronger! Get stronger!

"Done!"

At seven in the morning, the outside world gradually became noisy. The urban village awoke from its overnight slumber, with various sounds weaving into a cacophony.

Li Wei quietly got out of bed, awkwardly fastened her bra, and pulled on a floral-print dress with a black background, left by her mother, from the wardrobe. Without even brushing her hair, she went out to buy breakfast.

The dress was a bit old-fashioned and didn't fit quite right. The shoulders and waist were a bit wide, but the chest was a bit narrow.

However, given her current incredible foundation, her looks and figure made it so that she surprisingly exuded a vintage magazine photoshoot vibe.

As soon as she stepped onto the street, she drew frequent glances from the elderly folks.

Li Wei's cheeks burned, and she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

If her washed-out summer school uniform hadn't been soaked through last night, would she be this embarrassed?

In her meager wardrobe, only the dress left by her mother could cover her ankles.

After hastily buying breakfast, she fled back to the attic.

She ate the food messily by herself, then woke Li Cheng up and fed him spoonful by spoonful.

"I'm going to Anhe Martial University today, so I won't be taking you. I'll take you to Grandma Wang's to stay for the day, okay?" Li Wei softened her voice, trying to negotiate.

"Are you going to seize the opportunities from your past life?" Li Cheng didn't answer directly, instead asking about something else curiously.

A "well" character seemed to pop up on Li Wei's forehead. She flicked his head with her finger. "I told you, I'm not some Immortal Emperor reincarnated! Nor am I the main heroine of some revenge novel!! Can't you think of something normal in that little head of yours!?"

"Then why are your muscles and bones ringing in harmony? If you had this ability, would you have struggled so much in high school?" Li Cheng looked unconvinced.

"Damn it..." Li Wei rubbed her forehead, unable to retort.

After a long while, she let out a sigh and stopped dwelling on the topic.

After helping Li Cheng put on his clothes, she reached out and felt the morning breeze outside the window. It was around twenty degrees Celsius, still a bit chilly for Li Cheng.

She pulled the thin blanket from the bed, wrapped him from head to toe, leaving only his small face exposed.

With the army-green canvas messenger bag her father had left her slung over her shoulder, Li Wei carried Li Cheng downstairs and knocked on the security door of Grandma Wang's apartment on the second floor.

Footsteps approached, and the door opened. Grandma Wang saw the siblings and quickly ushered them inside.

Li Wei also put on a bright smile, "Grandma Wang, I have something urgent to attend to today. Could you please look after Li Cheng for the day?"

Having known each other for two years, Grandma Wang had always been very good to them.

Li Wei felt relieved leaving her brother there.

"Okay, okay, okay, come in, come in."

Li Wei gently placed Li Cheng on the bed in the inner room, tucked him in, and retreated to the outer room with the old woman.

Looking at the small figure on the bed, so thin he was just skin and bones, Grandma Wang's eyes reddened as soon as she closed the door. She couldn't help but complain:

"Your parents, how could they be so heartless... They left so cleanly, leaving you two little ones to suffer in this world..."

Her words stirred the lingering emotions of the original host. Li Wei's nose stung, and her eyes welled up too.

She realized that ever since she had become a woman, she seemed to have become much weaker, prone to tears at the slightest provocation...

This wouldn't do; she had to change!

"Ahem!" She cleared her throat and forcefully wiped her nose. "Grandma Wang, I'm leaving now. I'll pick him up this afternoon after I'm done. I've already fed him breakfast, and I'll trouble you with lunch."

"Alright, alright, be careful on your way."

As she passed the shoe cabinet by the door, Li Wei, unnoticed by Grandma Wang, quickly took a fifty-yuan bill from her bag and slipped it into a gap in the drawer.

With her current skills, the old lady would never notice.

It was a pity that this was all the money she had in her pocket; she really couldn't give more.

"Sir, I'm truly a freshman at Anhe Martial University. My admission notice is right here, please look! Just let me in, I really have something urgent!"

"I said no, and that means no! The semester hasn't started yet, so whether you're a freshman or a returning student, no one is allowed in! If you damage anything at the school, who's responsible? I can't bear that responsibility!"

"Then could you please help me call someone in charge at the school? This matter is really important and urgent!"

"Hey! You little girl! I'm just a gatekeeper, how could I possibly have the gall to call the leaders? If I had that kind of ability, would I still be arguing with you here?"

"Then do you know how to contact the school leaders? The number on the admission notice isn't being answered at all!"

"Don't know, don't know! Hurry up and leave, hurry up and leave! If you have something, we'll talk about it after school starts! I'm telling you, don't even think about climbing over the wall, there are surveillance cameras everywhere! It's useless even if you climb in, it's a holiday, and there's no one in the buildings!"

"..."

After arguing with the stubborn security guard at the entrance of Anhe Martial University for nearly half an hour, Li Wei finally gave up and left dejectedly.

This school... truly lives up to its reputation as a third-rate martial arts university. The management, the attitude, it's incredible.

She took out her phone, crossed out "Ask the school for help" in her memo, and stared at the words "Sell myself" below. Sitting on the bus heading towards the Abyss Rift in the east of the city, her mind was in turmoil.

"Even with a cheat, growth takes time, but Li Cheng... can't wait..."

As if having made a firm decision, Li Wei clenched her phone. "No, I still have to sell myself!"

However, the decision was made a bit too forcefully, and she didn't hold back her strength.

With a soft "crack"...

The casing of her phone was squeezed and slightly deformed. A long crack appeared on the already worn screen.

Li Wei: "..."

She messed up, forgetting she had gotten stronger...

On the adjacent seat, a young man who had been secretly observing Li Wei, seemingly wanting to strike up a conversation, witnessed this scene of her crushing the phone screen with her bare hands. He felt a chill run down his spine and subtly shifted his position towards the aisle.

He clearly saw that although the phone was old, it was a rugged, military-grade product. Its structural integrity was undeniable...

This girl, who looked so delicate and beautiful...

She was someone not to be trifled with, definitely not to be trifled with.