She leaned against the shell wall and closed her eyes, trying to sort through the information in her head.
Her name was Bai You. She had just graduated and had been eating fish with pickled mustard greens in her rented room.
Then... there was no then. When she opened her eyes, she was in a body of water, with her mouth clamped onto Varesa.
She had also become a petite girl with white hair tipped in cyan, wearing a white dress.
Transmigration.
The word surfaced in her mind, carrying an absurd sense of reality.
She had read plenty of transmigration novels.
But when it actually happened to her, she realized that all that talk in those novels about "making the best of it" was nonsense.
There was no way she could settle down.
Because that saying simply didn't apply to her.
What kind of novel had someone change sex when they transmigrated?
Her heart was still pounding, and her palms were slick with cold sweat.
Her mind alternated between the first sight of Varesa's soft, adorable face right in front of her and the intense shock of this unfamiliar body.
Bai You opened her eyes and looked down at herself again.
A white dress, long white hair tinged with cyan, and a petite body.
That was what she looked like now.
She tugged at the corners of her mouth, trying to smile, but the muscles in her face were so stiff that the expression she managed looked worse than crying.
Forget it.
There was nothing she could do.
Just then, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
Wait.
Wasn't a transmigrator... supposed to have a cheat?
Wasn't that how it always went in those novels?
After transmigrating to another world, there was either a system, a grandpa, or some heaven-defying talent.
She had transmigrated, so surely she wouldn't get nothing at all?
Bai You's eyes lit up.
Deciding to give it a try, she silently called out in her mind.
System?
She called out tentatively in her mind.
There was no response.
Bai You waited a few seconds. The only sound in the cave was the gentle lapping of the lake against the shell. Nothing happened.
She was a little disappointed. How could systems be so common? Novels were just novels, but wasn't her current situation just like that of a novel's protagonist?
She sighed and was about to give up on the unrealistic fantasy-
Just then, a mechanical-sounding voice rang out in her mind.
Bai You jumped, nearly crying out. She instinctively covered her mouth, her eyes wide.
[Ding-host consciousness detected. Activating Sign-In System...] [Activation successful! The Sign-In System has officially bound to host: Bai You] [Sign-in function: sign in once per day. Every ten consecutive days of sign-ins can trigger an additional reward.] [Current consecutive sign-in days: 0] [Today's sign-in status: not signed in] [Ding-host detected binding to the system for the first time. A newbie gift pack has been awarded!] [The newbie gift pack has been placed in the system inventory. Open it now?]
A newbie gift pack!
Bai You's eyes grew even brighter. It was standard equipment for a transmigrator! Newbie gift packs usually contained good stuff!
Open it! Open it now! she cried impatiently in her mind.
[Ding-opening newbie gift pack...] [Congratulations, host! You have obtained: Mythic-grade talent-Mermaid Physique!] [The talent has automatically fused with the host's body. View the detailed description?]
Mermaid Physique?
Bai You froze for a moment. The name of this talent... did it have something to do with Water Nymphs?
Varesa was a Water Nymph too. Would this Mermaid Physique turn Bai You into one as well?
View the detailed description! she said in her mind.
The system panel flashed, and a detailed description of the talent appeared.
[Talent name: Mermaid Physique] [Talent grade: mythic] [Talent effects:] 1. [Dual form switching] The host can freely switch between human and mermaid forms. In both forms, the host can live normally on land and underwater and breathe underwater; in mermaid form, the host's legs transform into a fish tail, and underwater movement speed increases by 300%. 2. [Water element affinity] The host has a natural, supreme affinity for the water element.
After reading the talent description, Bai You was utterly stunned.
Mythic-grade talent?
Mermaid form??? This newbie gift pack was way too heaven-defying!
"But there's still something I want to ask, System. Why was it that when I was in the water inside the shell just now, I felt like I could breathe underwater without any problem?"
[You were about to drown back then, so I, the system, automatically used the newbie gift pack for you. Otherwise, you would have drowned long ago.] [Activating the system and opening the gift pack now were just formalities.] [Besides, this counts as a blessing in disguise for you. Normally, there's nothing particularly special in a newbie gift pack...] [That's all, then. I've said everything I needed to say, so I'm going to sleep. And don't disturb me when there's nothing going on. I'm a famously lazy system... uh, no, I'm just a tiny bit less than diligent.]
Bai You: ...
What a trash system. Aren't other people's systems diligent in helping the protagonist grow?
They hand out tons of miraculous pills or martial arts manuals to help the protagonist grow quickly, Bai You remarked inwardly, at a loss for words.
Bai You suddenly remembered her body and hurriedly asked the system:
"What happened to my body, you fucking system? Don't tell me this was your doing?"
[Didn't you say earlier that you wanted to be with the little Water Nymph nearby? You appeared so suddenly, and if you'd still been a boy, I'm afraid you'd have spent the rest of your life behind iron bars.]
Bai You cursed inwardly, For fuck's sake, what kind of system is this? You've ruined my life.
[Isn't this girl's body cute? Can you deny it?] [Forget it. I'm done wasting words on you. I'm going to sleep.]
"It really must be a Stone Age system, needing to sleep... sleep my ass." Whenever Bai You thought about the system turning her into this, she felt terribly aggrieved.
[A friendly reminder: the little Water Nymph nearby seems a bit anxious.]
"Oh, right! I was so busy dealing with this stupid system that I almost forgot about Varesa." Bai You immediately grew anxious too.
"System, get outta here! I'm going to see the adorable Miss Varesa!"
System: ...