The demon's business was also quite busy. Knowing he couldn't persuade Yu Ling, he made a final compromise: "Alright, since you insist..."

Spacetime distorted for a moment, the air flowed around her again, and Yu Ling opened her eyes in the new world.

"Cough, cough... What's wrong? Ugh—!"

The first thing he did upon opening his eyes was to vomit violently onto the ground, gushing out mouthfuls of blood.

This is one of the reasons why dark mages are not popular. Dark magic is harmful to both the caster and the caster; every spell cast is self-torture, and it shortens one's lifespan.

For example, the original owner only swapped places with a demon for thirty years, and now he's about to die. That's absolutely terrifying in a world with magic.

Keep in mind, this is a world where the average lifespan is two to three hundred years. The original owner of this body only lived for thirty-six years at most, and he even brought this upon himself. Even if he doesn't die at the hands of the protagonist today, he will 'die of old age' in three days.

[Host, you're finally awake!]

The system sees the host has come back to life, resurrected—oops! He's alive again, and he's so excited he's started chattering away again.

[The group that attacked the original owner has left. Tests show the host is still alive. After the original owner's soul was extracted, the body is under the protection of a demon and still has vitality. So, host, you're not dead yet!]

"I didn't die, but the original owner only had three days left to live. Tell me, how am I supposed to survive?"

While vomiting, Yu Ling asked the system in her mind.

"The main quest requires you to live for a year to be considered complete, not to die of old age. So is that considered a success or a failure?"

system:【.......】

It really doesn't know how to calculate it.

Receiving a silent response, Yu Ling knew that this useless system was hopeless. He wiped his mouth and calmly looked around.

This is a building ravaged by magical attacks, the original owner's base of dark magic forces, where many valuable magical items are still buried in the ruins.

Yu Ling tested the storage space and found it worked. She first exchanged a black cat body for the system so it could 'collect scraps' before starting to use the Longevity Turtle Breathing Technique to heal herself.

"No, I can't stay here any longer."

Yu Ling barely regained her mobility and struggled to her feet.

"System, you stay here and collect scraps. The main characters might use divination magic to detect that 'I' am still alive and come back to kill me. I need to find a place to hide first."

system:.......

Host, you said it out loud, didn't you? You just said the words "picking up trash" so directly!

Even systems have tempers! I... I'm not saying goodbye anymore!!!

Yu Ling decisively abandoned the rag-and-bone scavenging system, found a black robe in the original owner's spatial ring to cover herself, and quickly left the place.

........

The Pumairi Empire has a vast territory with many cities and villages scattered throughout it. Not everyone has seen the original owner of this major villain. Yu Ling didn't need to worry about concealing her appearance and found one of the most prosperous cities nearby to blend in with.

After paying the room fee, Yu Ling randomly found a small suite in a guesthouse on Pingmin Street and checked in. The mottled mold on the walls and the dripping sound of water pipes indicated that this place was indeed not a good place to stay.

However, the original owner was so poor that she didn't have a single extra gold coin. Yu Ling had never seen a villain live such a miserable life before.

Before the main characters find him, Yu Ling's most pressing issue is resolving his lifespan problem. He sits on an old, worn-out sofa, trying to alleviate the fatigue of the body he's possessed, and remotely connects with the other person:

"System, open the control panel."

Okay~

Name: Yu Ling

Gender: Male (variable)

age:???

Race: Demon

Rank: Advanced Survivor

Main quest: Survive!

Side quest: Change the world's prejudice against dark mages and establish a legitimate and legitimate dark mage force.

System Level: Level 1

Skill slots: Longevity Turtle Breathing Technique, Body Refining Technique

System Backpack: Savior Badge, Blood Coagulation Gem*6, Concealing Breath Necklace, Thousand Illusions (Clothing), 100 Cubic Meters of Storage Space, Magic Affinity Badge, Concentrated Life Elixir*1, Jade Frost Cold (Immortal Sword), Blank Character Card, Messenger of Justice Badge, Ghost Candle (Unlimited), Darling of Time Badge.

System Shop: Now Open

Survival Points: (+66*100-50)

[The darling of time can reverse their body back to any point in history, including infancy. The body's state after the reversal is the same as in the original time. For example, if the host reverts to a time before the original owner learned dark magic, there will be no traces of resting magic in the body...]

【Huh? Host, I was just giving an example. You don't actually need to... change back.】

That's right, Yu Ling had already activated the newly acquired Time's Favorite Badge while the system was explaining its functions.

He directly reversed the original owner's life state back to 18 years old, with a delicate and handsome face, a short stature, clear eyes, and soft, unwounded skin. Even the clothes he was wearing were the same commoner's clothes from his memory.

This was when the original owner awakened his magical talent but hadn't formally studied dark magic, which would shorten his lifespan. It was also before he made a deal with the demon.

That should resolve the threat of losing three days' life, right?

Yes, Yu Ling is trying to exploit a bug.

But... he failed.

The moment the conversion was complete, the system notification sounds started ringing incessantly.

[Survivor's status detected as abnormal, investigating...]

[Detected irreversible effects from a deal between the survivor's host and the demon; detected the survivor's host is near death; detected abnormal functionality of the survivor's side quest reward item...]

[Under review...]

The verdict is: the lifespan reversal granted by the 'Time's Favorite Badge' is rejected.

"I'll [beep] you [beep] you piece of trash [beep beep beep]!"

It wasn't that Yu Ling wanted to curse, but the main god was being inhuman, refusing to return her lifespan, so what was the point of her mission?!

However, before Yu Ling could even dwell on the effects of this useless side quest reward, an unexpected surprise quietly arrived.

A gigantic ball of holy light slammed squarely into Yu Ling's forehead.

Before falling into a complete coma, Yu Ling only had time to throw the original owner's magical items and spatial ring back into her storage space, and to put the Concealing Breath Necklace and various badges from the side quest rewards into the wearing state.

Then, Yu Ling only saw the tall figure with shiny silver-white hair flash by before her eyes, and then she closed her eyes completely.