I Was Written as Cannon Fodder, Now I'm Rewriting the Genre

Before Yin Zhen could even adjust to the dizziness of the teleportation, a wave of heat washed over her face.

The sun hung brightly in the sky, glaring off the ground, and the air was thick with the hot, baking scent of asphalt.

Yin Zhen raised a hand to block the sun, only to realize her hand had shrunk. She had turned into a seven- or eight-year-old girl, her hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt printed with little daisies and matching yellow capri pants. A child’s backpack rested on her shoulders, and she held a thermal lunchbox in her hand.

Clearly, this was meant to weaken her combat power. Fortunately, this body wouldn’t become her Identity in the official game.

”Ying, are you still there?”

The shadow at Yin Zhen’s feet nodded, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Since Yin Zhen didn’t have any of this body’s memories, she lifted her wrist. Her smartwatch displayed the time: Saturday, July 17th, 10:00 AM. The year matched Ancient Abyss, but the month and time were entirely different. Considering this wasn’t the official game, Yin Zhen didn’t dwell on it.

She looked up at the building in front of her: Renxin Hospital. It was a grayish-white comprehensive outpatient building with a faded red sign on the roof. Below it stood a few plane trees, wilting under the scorching sun.

Yin Zhen checked the quest issued by the system first.

[71:59:45]

[Quest: Accompany your mother in the hospital for 3 days. During this period, you cannot leave the confines of the hospital walls.]

”Mother?”

Yin Zhen suddenly had a bad feeling. She sent Bai Qiang a message through the team chat channel.

[Blossoming Prosperity]: Where are you?

[Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence]: Inpatient department, 4th floor, Room 414.

Resigning herself to her fate, Yin Zhen grabbed the lunchbox and walked through the hospital’s main entrance.

The air conditioning in the first-floor lobby was turned up way too high. Cold air blasted directly from the overhead vents, dropping the temperature by more than ten degrees in an instant. It gave Yin Zhen goosebumps the moment she stepped inside, making her sneeze from the sudden chill.

Passing by the hospital floor plan in the lobby, Yin Zhen stopped to study it carefully.

”Why does the layout of this hospital look like my villa? It’s another dual Feng Shui Formation.”

Yin Zhen craned her neck to scan her surroundings. She temporarily snapped a picture of the floor plan with her smartwatch. Once she found Bai Qiang, she would properly inspect the area for details.

The inpatient department was located at the back of the hospital. While waiting for the elevator, Yin Zhen rummaged through the backpack on her shoulders. She discovered that her name was Qin Jia, a third-grade student, and her backpack was filled with summer homework.

The corridor on the fourth floor of the inpatient department was very quiet. A plump nurse sitting behind the nurse’s station immediately leaned forward with a smile when she saw Yin Zhen.

”Jiajia is here to bring food to her mom again. What a good girl, go on.”

Yin Zhen nodded. As she passed the nurse’s station, she noticed the hospital admission guidelines posted on the wall. Normally, this would be a perfectly ordinary thing, but the contents...

1. Please do not leave the ward after 10:00 PM. If you need assistance, please press the call bell.

2. Open flames are strictly prohibited in the ward. Please set your mobile phones to silent mode.

3. Do not answer any calls from the nurse’s station if it is unattended.

4. In case of an emergency, please use the east stairwell to evacuate. Do not go to the west stairwell, and do not take the elevator.

5. If you encounter a nurse on night rounds, please answer their questions.

There were a few more rules below, but Yin Zhen didn’t break her stride and only caught the general gist of them. They seemed normal at a glance, yet carried a distinct hint of weirdness.

Entering the ward, Yin Zhen first noticed a young woman in her early twenties near the door. With her left arm in a cast, she leaned against the headboard, reading a novel and sobbing constantly. How strange.

In the middle bed lay an elderly woman with her arm wrapped in bandages. Beside her, a middle-aged woman was packing up her things, looking like they were getting ready to be discharged.

And in the innermost bed by the window, a plain-looking middle-aged woman sat propped against the headboard, fiddling with her phone. Her right hand was supported by a sling across her chest, and her left leg was in a cast.

Sensing someone enter, the middle-aged woman looked toward the door. Their eyes met, and the woman’s eyes instantly lit up. The corners of her mouth stretched into a grin that nearly reached her ears.

”Oh, my sweet daughter! You’re finally here!”

Bai Qiang’s voice echoed through the entire ward, tinged with the glee of a successful prank.

”Come here and call me Mom! Let Mommy give you a big hug!”

Yin Zhen’s brow furrowed so deeply she could have crushed a fly between them. She really wanted to turn around and leave, but Bai Qiang’s booming voice caused everyone in the ward to look in her direction.

Yin Zhen had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk inside, slamming the lunchbox down on the bedside table next to Bai Qiang. Glancing at the patient information card on the bed, Yin Zhen said in a bad mood, ”Zhang Yueqin, here’s your breakfast!”

Seeing this, the elderly woman in the next bed chuckled. ”You two have quite a good mother-daughter bond.”

The elderly woman’s daughter looked bewildered. Calling her own mother by her full name—this was supposed to be a good bond?

Bai Qiang smiled bashfully. ”That’s right. Our mother-daughter bond is absolutely wonderful. Right, my sweet daughter?”

As Bai Qiang spoke, she reached out with her left hand and pinched Yin Zhen’s cheek. Yin Zhen slapped her hand away, prompting Bai Qiang to instantly wail, ”OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!”

Yin Zhen’s eyelids drooped. What was her problem?

Bai Qiang glanced pitifully at the lunchbox. ”My right arm is fractured, and the doctor advised me not to move around too much. You have to feed me.”

Yin Zhen remained unmoved.

Bai Qiang sniffled. ”Sigh, just think about when you were little. I fed you your very first bite of food. We agreed that I would raise you when you were young, and you would take care of me when I was old. I’m not even old yet, just a little injured, and you’re already unwilling to take care of me. Really...”

”Stop nagging!”

Yin Zhen had truly had enough of this person!

She opened the thermal lunchbox. It had compartments inside, holding two steamed buns, a boiled egg, and a bowl of porridge. Yin Zhen picked up a steamed bun and shoved it directly into Bai Qiang’s mouth. Bai Qiang’s head jerked back from the force, but she didn’t get mad. Taking the bun, she mumbled, ”I want to drink the porridge.”

Yin Zhen picked up the spoon and stood by the bed, feeding Bai Qiang spoonful by spoonful.

Bai Qiang smiled, deepening the fine lines at the corners of her eyes. Even though the damn system had weakened her to the point of a broken left leg and a fractured right arm, having this person wait on her for three days made it all worth it. Hahaha!

”Qin Jia, how are your dad and his mistress treating you?” Bai Qiang suddenly asked around a mouthful of steamed bun.

Yin Zhen gave her a look, knowing that Bai Qiang must have found clues on Zhang Yueqin’s phone and was discreetly revealing their Identities to her.

That single sentence was enough to make Yin Zhen understand: the parents of this body had divorced due to her father’s affair, and Zhang Yueqin was currently raising her as a single mother. Yin Zhen must have been dropped off at the hospital by Qin Jia’s father this morning.

Bai Qiang chattered endlessly, complaining the whole time, while Yin Zhen silently fed her. By the time Bai Qiang finished her breakfast, the elderly woman in the next bed had finished packing and was ready to leave.

Before leaving, the old woman glanced at Yin Zhen. She suddenly fished an old Triangular Yellow Talisman out of her pocket and handed it to Bai Qiang.

”Yueqin, the child is still young. You two shouldn’t sleep in separate beds at night. Put this under your pillow so you can get a peaceful night’s sleep.”

Seeing this, the woman’s daughter tried to stop her. ”Mom, Dad went to a lot of trouble to get that for you.”

Before the daughter could snatch the Yellow Talisman away, Yin Zhen was already standing in front of the elderly woman, receiving the item with both hands.

”Thank you, Grandma.”

The old woman rubbed Yin Zhen’s head before leaving with her daughter. Yin Zhen pinched the Triangular Yellow Talisman between her fingers and quietly asked Bai Qiang, ”Do you believe ghosts exist in this world?”