Chapter 01
The scorching afterglow of the setting sun woke the girl up, and the scene that greeted her as she slightly lifted her eyelids made her jaw drop.
A park has sprung up on the vast grassland.
Li Jia had only seen the ruins of Olympic Park in literature and picture books. Even a few huge, towering stone pillars were enough to shock the world, as if she had glimpsed the tip of an iceberg of the gods.
But when a truly complete replica of the ruins was placed before her, the only feeling she experienced was awe.
Wait a minute.
Let her sort out her thoughts.
First, she needs to make sure she's in good physical condition.
For example, her appearance, health, and age—the only thing she can be sure of now is that she is not in her original body.
Her original body was weak, and after spending a long time in the hospital ward, her hands were slender, fair, and even somewhat atrophied.
Now, his hands are covered with calluses from long hours of hard work, and his calves bear some old scars.
They don't seem to be from a very good family.
The original owner of this body was just as bitter as I am.
She struggled to get up and followed the sound of the stream to the riverbank. Instead of washing up, she quietly watched the reflections etched on the water.
First of all, she really liked this face; it was much prettier than her original face.
She had an oval face with a pointed chin, and her light blue eyes were pure and clear. Her thick, black eyelashes moved with the opening and closing of her eyes. There were also cute little dimples on both sides of her cheeks. Her flaxen curly hair was tied into a ponytail and hung down to her waist. Her white linen robe was stained with indigo waves, and the hem was embroidered with anemone vines.
Although it was an old dress, you could tell that the original female lead really liked it; it was spotless after washing.
It's the way foreigners look in textbooks.
It took her about two minutes to accept the fact that she was no longer herself.
She had always been in poor health, born with congenital heart disease. Doctors said she was unlikely to live past twenty. Her mother died early, and her father had a new family, a new wife and children. Everyone treated her as a burden. It was a good thing that she died peacefully in her sleep.
She seemed to have nothing to be attached to in that world; she was already content to be alive again.
No matter what identity I start over with, at least I'm a human, not some wild boar or weasel.
Is it possible for a free rebirth, such a windfall, to fall into one's lap for no reason?
She was somewhat skeptical.
Suddenly, a system notification sound appeared in her mind:
"Bingo, my master, you guessed right."
There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Sure enough, she transmigrated into a book, and to make matters worse, she transmigrated into the book she was reading before going to sleep, "Greek Mythology".
Li Jia University majored in industrial design and minored in foreign languages and foreign history. As the end of the semester approached, her teacher gave her several research proposals.
She chose the Greek mythology stories that interested her and researched how Hera, the first jealous woman, was made.
The topic of reasoning sounds bizarre and highly controversial. Zeus, the king of the gods, had countless romantic entanglements. It can be said that the entire storybook revolves around his complicated love affairs. From afar, it seems like the gods are returning to their rightful place, but up close, it's like tadpoles looking for their father.
As Zeus's only legally wedded wife, Hera, who was carried in a palanquin through the main gate of the Temple of Olympus in Athens, has been the subject of much controversy.
Li Jia reviewed a large amount of materials and film and television resources, and without exception, in all Greek mythology, Hera is often regarded as a jealous wife and a resentful woman who seeks revenge. The image she brings to mind can only be described as vicious.
She's even a marginalized character; her only role in the entire book is to punish Zeus's mistress, thereby highlighting Zeus's personal charisma.
What's even more ridiculous is that Hera, the goddess of marriage and childbirth, is the goddess of marriage who defends her own marriage, yet she is called a jealous woman.
Li Jia felt indignant. It was clearly Zeus who had been unfaithful, yet they said Hera was jealous, which implied a double standard.
As a homebody in the 21st century, Li Jia is well-versed in various transmigration novels, and the kind of novels with built-in system prompts and various cheat codes are practically the standard features of this kind of story.
Based on her understanding of the typical plot of romance novels, her mission must be to win over the male protagonist to achieve her goal. And the only male protagonist in the entire book of Greek mythology is Zeus.
She naturally assumed that she was tasked with winning Zeus's heart or breaking up his unwanted romantic advances. Li Jia felt that her analysis made perfect sense, but the task was far too difficult.
Conquer Zeus...
She vaguely remembered that Zeus's last affair was turned into a heifer by Hera.
"Moo moo moo"
Along with it comes the bitter taste of grass that comes with chewing on the tongue.
Sigh, Li Jia sighed helplessly. Why is it so hard to be a human being?
The system sensed her thoughts and sighed as well.
"My master, aren't you having too much of an imagination? Your idea is really eye-opening, and then it's all over my head."
"The difficulty level is not commensurate with my abilities."
This is the system's evaluation of her idea.
Alright then, if we don't need to seduce the male lead, then what's the point of letting her transmigrate here?
The system cleared its throat and slowly read:
"The main task you will be carrying out next, Master, is the [Spring Bud Protection Plan]."
Because Hera was angry with Zeus for his philandering, she imprisoned Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, in the ninth level of the funnel-shaped hell, which prevented Persephone, the goddess of spring, from being born. Persephone was the future queen of the underworld and the only person in the entire pantheon who could control Hades, the god of the underworld, and only she could stop the war of the gods.
Simply put, it was about protecting Persephone so that she could be born safely.
Task progress: 0%
Only when the task completion rate reaches 100%
Only then was the entire task considered complete.
Li Jia felt her head was buzzing. Everyone else's mission was to win over the male lead, but her mission was to protect children.
The fact that it was another woman's child gave her a headache.
She even thought it would be better to try and seduce Zeus, at least then she wouldn't have to involve other people.
Just when she thought the system tasks had been assigned, the cold system notification sounded again:
Side Quest: Stop the War of the Gods and Maintain World Peace
Task progress: 0%
Li Jia's face immediately fell; this damn system was really taking advantage of her.
The war of the gods was caused by Hades, the god of the underworld. Persephone was the only one in the story who could threaten him, which essentially forced her to become a bodyguard for the mistress's daughter.
Now that things have come to this, it seems I really have no other choice.
Either way, I'm going to die, but at least my chest is still beating. I'll live one day at a time.
What happens if the task is not completed?
Li Jia raised a question to the system, and the system answered truthfully: "If the master's mission progress cannot reach 100%, then this world will collapse and disappear, and the master will also disappear along with it."
What if the task is completed?
"Then the master can return to his own world and receive a reward."
"The rewards are not limited to gold and silver jewelry, but also include methods to bring the dead back to life, and can even be exchanged for a healthy body free of disease."
A healthy body.
The allure of those words was simply too great for Li Jia.
"Another important note: To protect your safety, you must not disclose any information about the plot of the book. Informing others about the plot will result in your account being blocked and you will be punished accordingly."
What punishment?
"I'm sorry, Master, we do not currently have the authority to know. Sections related to this topic will be automatically garbled, and no strategy guide would ever joke about their own safety."
"You too."
"But don't worry, Master, the system is user-friendly. I will help you complete the task smoothly and provide appropriate hints and strategies."
They still have some humanity left.
Li Jia patiently inquired about the current status of the system and obtained two useful pieces of information.
Good news: Hera was still young and had not yet married Zeus.
The bad news: her temper was as bad as ever, and no one dared to approach this deity even a fraction of a second.
Li Jia's approach to protecting her child is clear and well-defined:
As long as Hera is not allowed to marry Zeus and become his wife, then Demeter will not be considered a mistress. If Demeter is allowed to marry Zeus legitimately and give birth to the goddess of spring, then Hades will not start the War of the Gods, and his mission will be accomplished logically.
Hera is the key to the mission.
So what is my current identity?
Just as Li Jia was about to ask another question, she was encircled by a strong and rough arm—it was an old woman holding a rolling pin.
She used all her strength to tackle Li Jia to the ground, her voice hoarse: "Miss Li Jia, as a good girl and a lady, you shouldn't throw a tantrum by the river. Miss Melina meant well."
Upon hearing Melina's name, fragmented memories drifted into her mind.
The original owner of this body was also named Li Jia, but her full name was Li Jia Fan Si, which is a homonym of her own name.
He's a pitiful person, really.
Having lost her parents at a young age, Riga was raised by her distant uncle, a fallen nobleman and a miser like Grandet, who had a son and a daughter.
Li Jia made it sound nice that she was staying at his house, but in reality, she was living worse than a maid. Her uncle only agreed to let her stay at his house because he thought that he could feed her and save a lot of money on maids.
This way, she preserved her reputation for not mistreating her brother's orphan and also saved on maid fees.
The matter arose because the gods wanted to choose servants for themselves. These servants, to put it nicely, were supposed to serve the gods, but in reality, they were at the very bottom of the slave system. Usually, the nobles would provide a list, which would then be chosen by the gods' messengers.
Correspondingly, if a god chooses a servant, then everything the servant possesses belongs solely to the god.
Whether they live or die, they are controlled by the deity and have no further connection with their original family. They can only stay in the deity's residence for the rest of their lives until they die.
The selection of attendants was based on a list of candidates provided by ten noble families, and the Vance family was one of them.
Melina was unwilling to become the lowest of slaves. She discussed it with her mother and added Rika to the list of candidates, even though she was just a dispensable insect.
After losing her parents, the original owner, Li Jia, suffered from depression due to long-term physical and mental abuse. Upon learning that she was about to go to that bitter and cold place in place of Melina, she took a lethal dose of mandrake and quietly passed away under the laurel tree, looking at Mount Olympus with a smile.
Moreover, the time of Li Jia's death coincided with the time of her death in modern times, and even their birth months were exactly the same.
She was chosen by the system and resurrected in her body.
From this perspective, compared to the original female lead, she is relatively happy in modern society. However, since she is currently occupying someone else's body, she can't say anything.
Li Jia calmly helped the old woman up, then stood up, dusted herself off, blinked her big eyes, and smiled, saying, "Madam Anna, you misunderstand. I was just happy to know that I had been selected for tomorrow night's banquet. I came out to talk to my deceased parents and ask them to bless me so that I could be chosen by the God."
Death is the fate that the weak choose for themselves; this is the ending that the original female protagonist chose for herself.
But living is not the privilege of the strong. She doesn't believe in fate; she's determined to fight for herself.
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