"Hungry..."
In the darkness, all other senses had vanished.
Only the feeling of hunger had accompanied Tang Ning all along.
After an unknown amount of time, Tang Ning felt as if she were awake, yet also as if she had dreamt a very long, unclear dream.
Half-asleep, half-awake, Tang Ning slowly opened her eyes, only to be met with a blinding white light.
Instinctively, she narrowed her eyes and raised her hand to shield herself from the light.
However, upon seeing the hands before her, she froze.
"These are not my hands!"
In the apocalypse, Tang Ning had often fought with weapons, her hands inevitably developing calluses.
But the hands before her were slender, long, smooth, and fair, clearly well-maintained.
Tang Ning tried to summon the power within her body.
Yet, within this body, she felt not a trace of power fluctuations!
Tang Ning's heart leaped, and she became fully awake.
She sat up abruptly, raised her head, and looked around, finding herself in a clean and tidy room, with a light bulb shining overhead.
Seeing this, Tang Ning frowned.
She remembered that she had fled to a small town to escape the pursuit of traitors.
As her power had been depleted and her energy crystals were also gone, she had to find a safe place to rest and recover her power.
However, one moment she closed her eyes, and the next she was here.
But this was clearly not the small building where she had temporarily rested.
That town had been abandoned for a long time, and the houses were dilapidated. It was impossible for them to be as clean and tidy as this room, let alone have electricity.
"What exactly is this place? Why am I here?"
Seeing a dressing table by the bed, Tang Ning quickly walked over.
Upon seeing the face in the mirror, Tang Ning couldn't help but swallow.
In the mirror was a delicate, doll-like face, as sweet and well-behaved as a porcelain doll. It instantly struck a chord with Tang Ning.
But this face was not the face Tang Ning had used for 20 years!
And seeing this face, scenes flashed through Tang Ning's mind.
These were all memories of the original owner of this body, images that had appeared in the dream she had just had.
"So... I've transmigrated."
Tang Ning finally understood that the dreams she had just had were not "dreams," but the memories of the original owner of this body from childhood to adulthood.
The original owner of this body was also named Tang Ning and was 18 years old.
She had no parents since childhood and was raised by her grandmother.
Three years ago, because her grandmother fell seriously ill and urgently needed money, the original owner signed a contract with a company called "Tiansheng Entertainment" to become a small actress, earning money for her grandmother's medical expenses.
But last year, the original owner's grandmother passed away.
Over the past three years, under Tiansheng Entertainment's arrangements, the original owner had acted in several plays. This included the lead role in a low-budget web drama, "My Life as a Jianghu Chef."
With its lighthearted and heartwarming plot, combined with the original owner's pleasing appearance and lively acting, "The Chef" had become unexpectedly popular.
Just as the original owner's career was on the rise and her future looked bright, and she was about to film the second season of "The Chef," her agent asked her to accept a casting couch situation!
If she refused, she would not only be unable to participate in the second season of "The Chef," but would also be blacklisted by Tiansheng Entertainment, effectively ending her career.
At this point, the original owner realized that the contract she had signed with Tiansheng Entertainment three years ago had a hidden trap.
Over the past three years, apart from her grandmother's medical fees, the original owner had not received a single cent in salary, and her living expenses were borrowed from the company.
Even after "The Chef" became popular, this situation did not improve.
After three years, not only had she not earned any money, but she also owed the company 100,000 yuan, with no savings in her hands.
Once she was blacklisted, she would not only be unable to borrow living expenses from the company, but would also have to repay the 100,000 yuan loan.
The original owner was unwilling to submit to the casting couch and could not afford the consequences of being blacklisted.
She wanted to terminate the contract, but the breach of contract penalty was as high as 10 million yuan!
To force the original owner to accept the casting couch, Tiansheng Entertainment also fabricated negative rumors about her online.
They released a dark and blurry so-called "indecent photo" of her, blamed her for quitting the second season of "The Chef," and hired a large number of online trolls to spread rumors, smear her reputation, and verbally abuse her.
After her grandmother's death, the original owner already felt like she had no one in this world and had lost the will to live.
At this moment, seeing the overwhelming negative comments online, she couldn't think straight and committed suicide!
Glancing at the empty sleeping pill bottle on the bedside table, Tang Ning shook her head helplessly.
Having lived in the apocalypse for ten years, Tang Ning found it difficult to understand the original owner's actions and said with disappointment:
"Tell me, you! Even if you were going to commit suicide, you should have gotten rid of the people who wronged you first!"
"Now that you're dead, those who harmed you are still living well. What kind of outcome is this?"
At the same time, Tang Ning also pondered with some confusion:
"In those apocalypse novels, shouldn't the protagonist, after dying in the apocalypse, be reborn before the start of the apocalypse?"
"Why is it that when it comes to me, I've transmigrated? And to a completely unfamiliar world?"
In her past life, Tang Ning had read many novels and was familiar with concepts like transmigration and rebirth.
If she had a choice, she would have preferred to be reborn in the apocalypse world and experience it all over again.
After all, in the apocalypse world, she still had a great revenge to exact and was truly unwilling to die like this.
As for transmigrating to this world, she didn't know what else she could do besides avenging the original owner.
The original owner was unwilling to accept the casting couch, and neither was she.
The original owner couldn't afford the consequences of being blacklisted, and neither could she.
Besides killing the original owner's boss, agent, and the people who wanted to exploit her, Tang Ning could not think of any other good solutions.
But even to kill these people, she would need sufficient strength.
With the original owner's current frail body, it would likely be difficult to even kill her boss and agent, let alone the big shots who wanted to exploit her under layers of protection.
"If only I could go back to the apocalypse and bring my things with me..."
The Tang Ning of the apocalypse was a high-level Rank 4 ability user, possessing considerable strength and many powerful ability-user equipment.
If she could bring those items to this world, she would be an invincible existence.
Outside the window, a light rain dripped, and the alarm clock on the bedside table ticked, making the bedroom feel quiet.
Suddenly, Tang Ning heard a "gurgle."
Looking down, she saw that the stomach of this body was growling.
"No more thinking about it, let's go get something to eat first!"
Before she died in her previous life, Tang Ning had not eaten for an entire day and was very hungry when she died.
Although this body was not hungry now, she still wanted to find something to eat first.
Tang Ning walked to the bedroom door and reached for the doorknob.
At this moment, she suddenly felt a strange sensation.
Before she could think further, she had already pulled open the bedroom door.
Instantly, the entire world fell silent...