Please control me, my divine being!

Huangshui Town is a small town that is extremely far from Jiang'an City.

Inside the sheds made of scraps of cloth and wooden planks.

Li Qinghe scooped a bowl of wild vegetable porridge from the stone pot and placed it on the stove: "Mother, drink the porridge when you get hungry. I'm going to work at the Zhang family's house first. After I get paid today, I can call a doctor to see you."

Look in the direction the girl was talking.

In the darkness deep within the house, a figure sat on a straw mat, only a vague outline visible.

Li Qinghe was already used to her mother's silence. She picked up her bamboo basket, pushed open the door, and went out.

As the door closed again, the room became pitch black, and the figure on the straw mat remained motionless, like a stone sculpture.

The air in the shantytown was foul and murky.

The residents who have lived here for a long time are used to the smell.

Li Qinghe felt that the air had become increasingly unpleasant in recent days, so he quickly lowered his head and walked towards the town.

Other residents of the shantytown, upon seeing the teenage girl, could only shake their heads and sigh, instinctively keeping their distance, despite their pity in their eyes.

The Zhang family was a well-known wealthy household in Huangshui Town, with numerous fields and livestock.

Li Qinghe's daily work was to herd cattle and sheep for the Zhang family. It was a very hard and tiring job. He would herd the cattle and sheep up the mountain at dawn and drive them back to the village before dusk.

Driving cattle and sheep on the mountain all day would leave an ordinary person unable to lift their legs the next day, but the young girl was already used to it.

The sun sets in the west, after a day's work.

Li Qinghe stood outside the manor, looking at the middle-aged man in front of her with fear in her eyes, and said in a low voice, "Manager Zhang, I've finished today's work."

Manager Zhang smiled kindly: "Go home after you're done. It's freezing cold, don't wander around alone."

Li Qinghe gripped the bamboo basket tightly, her legs not moving: "Manager, this month's wages haven't been settled yet. My mother is sick, and we urgently need money."

"Oh dear, look at my memory." Steward Zhang slapped his forehead and muttered, "Recently, the floods have been severe, and banditry and religious disturbances are rampant. The estate is running at a loss, and the master has cut wages in half."

In the midst of conversation.

Manager Zhang pulled out ten coins from his pocket: "Take these. If you're sick, don't delay. Go to the clinic and get your medicine right away."

One tael is equal to ten copper coins.

Asking a doctor to make a house call at a clinic would cost at least several hundred copper coins.

Li Qinghe gripped the bamboo basket tightly, wanting to get the rest of her wages, but Manager Zhang had already turned around and closed the door.

She gritted her teeth, put ten coins into her small cloth bag, tidied up the firewood knife, wild vegetables, and wood chips in her bamboo basket, and hurriedly left.

This month's wages, plus previous savings, totaled twenty-six coins. I don't know if that's enough to hire a doctor.

No matter what, Mother's illness can't be delayed any longer!

Walking on the streets of Huangshui Town, the enticing aroma of food filled the air. Li Qinghe suppressed her hunger and strode resolutely toward the clinic.

But after taking two steps, she suddenly felt dizzy.

Hunger, malnutrition, anxiety, coupled with strenuous labor and the bitter cold, finally caused her to collapse.

Before falling into a coma.

Li Qinghe vaguely heard a muffled voice in her ear: "The initial attributes are so low. It seems that this game is much more difficult than I expected."

……

In fact.

Zhou Qing underestimated the difficulty of this word game.

After choosing his character, he took a moment to drink the bird's nest and lotus seed soup that the butler had brought him. When he re-entered the game, he found that the little girl's storyline had progressed significantly.

Having already received the deducted wages from the manager, he walked through the streets, preparing to go to the clinic to ask a doctor to treat his mother's illness.

The game has a storyline, characters have independent action paths, and there is no pause/save option. It still requires a "one-life" "Iron Man Mode" to complete the game!

This means that every choice needs to be made carefully.

"It seems that curing my mother's illness is the main objective."

There is no task icon.

Zhou Qing could only determine what the game character needed to do based on the text content.

On the game interface.

Compared to the initial minimalist UI, much more information has been added.

First, let's look at the character's three-dimensional dimensions.

This girl named Li Qinghe has relatively weak attributes such as strength and stamina, and next to her basic attributes, there is also a status bar.

The values ​​above represent rationality, saturation, and health, respectively.

At this moment, only the girl's sanity level remains at a normal level; her sustenance and health levels have both fallen below the red line.

Opening the detailed data in the status bar reveals a barrage of debuffs: excessive fatigue, drowsiness, hunger, extreme cold...

Despite having so many negative symptoms, how can someone still work a day? What kind of innate, superhuman physique is that?

"In the current situation, the character could fall into a coma or even die suddenly at any time. To play normally, we must prioritize restoring their health and stats."

Zhou Qing had played many games like this before; they were easy to pick up and he quickly adapted to the rhythm.

People come and go in the village, merchants, vendors, hunters and farmers weave through the streets. You are starving and freezing. After a brief fainting spell, you quickly wake up again thanks to your strong willpower.

Several strange eyes were secretly watching you.

Knowing the principle of not flaunting wealth, you planned to leave immediately after finishing your business in town.

So next, you're going to...

Text kept popping up, with several options appearing: clinic, market, dock, Zhangjiazhuang courtyard, dark alley.

Zhou Qing discovered another challenge in the game: the options had a time limit!

Unlike traditional story-driven text-based games.

After several options appear, a timer like an ink bar pops up below, giving you less than ten seconds to think.

If the selected time is exceeded, the character will proceed directly to the clinic according to their own movement path.

Looking at the series of negative statuses in the status bar, Zhou Qing selected [Market] without hesitation.

……

Li Qinghe rubbed her dizzy head.

Just as I fainted, I seemed to hear a sound.

However, prolonged fatigue and hunger had left her with no time to pay attention to such minor details.

"Let's go to the clinic and get a doctor first! Mother has been sick all winter; if we get a doctor, she'll get better."

Li Qinghe took a step forward.

My once light steps felt as heavy as lead, and with each step, my head felt dizzy.

What's wrong?

Li Qinghe felt a sudden sense of unease for no apparent reason.

Even when facing a manager who frequently beats and scolds people, I've never been this afraid.

Am I sick too?

The thought of this possibility sent a chill down her spine, and she broke out in a cold sweat.

However, the next second, she suddenly moved.

His body turned uncontrollably, and he walked briskly towards the market street.

Li Qinghe was completely bewildered by what had happened. By the time she realized it, she had already arrived at a noodle stall.

"Little girl, what would you like to eat?"

Steam rose continuously from the boiling soup in the pot, releasing a rich aroma.

The warmth of the fire dispelled the bitter cold.

Li Qinghe instinctively wanted to refuse the stall owner, and was just about to speak.

As a result, her expression froze, her empty eyes staring at the stall owner, cold as a machine: "A big bowl of noodles, extra broth, no scallions."

"Alright!"

The stall owner grabbed some noodles and put them into the pot, then turned the fire up even brighter.

Normally, Li Qinghe would never be willing to spend this money.

But she had already sat down at the stall and vaguely sensed that even if she refused, she would be stopped by the force controlling her.

Did we encounter something dirty?

Li Qinghe recalled the strange legends she had heard since childhood: possession, being possessed by evil spirits, being lured away by demons...

She was at a loss and filled with fear and worry.

But not long after that...

Steaming hot noodles were served.

The rich bone broth, paired with the toppings, was so fragrant that it dispelled all the distractions in my mind.

Li Qinghe had been trying her best to endure, but now that she saw this bowl of noodles, she felt an unbearable hunger in her stomach.

After her mother fell ill, she hadn't had a proper meal in a long time.

There's nothing I can do; the money has already been paid.

A mysterious entity controls the body, and one cannot resist it.

Since things have come to this, let's eat first.

Just this once, just this once!

She picked up her chopsticks, constantly telling herself to keep eating, but her mouth didn't stop. She slurped up the noodles, and the hunger and cold quickly disappeared from her body.