No person in their right mind would be alright when they'd just died, watched their mangled corpse get pulled out from under a truck, been sucked into a glowing blue box, and then woke up in a child's body only to be cornered by a sparkly, winged being who called herself Green.
Green.
But instead of screaming or passing out, both really viable options, I did the only thing I could think of.
I swallowed.
Hard.
Then I forced my lips into a semblance of a straight line and nodded, barely.
"I'm fine," I said, voice tight and brittle. "Just... processing."
Green beamed like I'd passed some invisible test.
"Excellent! Then we can proceed to orientation!"
Orientation?!
I blinked at her again, this time in exhausted disbelief.
I nodded my head silently, though in the back of my mind, I was still questioning my sanity.
"This is the Farm System," Green began, as if that explained everything. "This entire dimension is your personal farming space—where you can plant, harvest, and grow just about anything."
Before I could ask a single question, she grabbed my much smaller hand and began dragging me out of the house. Her grip was surprisingly strong for someone who looked like she weighed less than a sparrow.
She stopped just outside and gestured proudly toward the large red barn beside the house.
"That's your storage facility. It can hold an unlimited amount of harvested goods." She gave a wink like that was supposed to blow my mind.
I blinked. "...Unlimited?"
"Totally. No spoilage, no space limits, no cleaning necessary. It's magic."
Of course it is.
Then she pointed out toward the rolling green horizon. "And that," she declared with a dramatic sweep of her arm, "is your field. That's where we plant."
I squinted at the endless sea of grass. No furrows. No tools. No soil beds.
"But there are no fields," I said, narrowing my eyes suspiciously. "It's just... grass."
Green turned to me with a mischievous grin. "That's because you haven't unlocked them yet."
"...Unlocked?" My suspicion deepened. "This isn't a video game."
"Isn't it?" she replied, voice sing-song.
That shut me up for a moment.
I followed her with my eyes, trying not to feel too ridiculous staring at a floating, glittering fairy.
She pointed toward a floating bar above us that I hadn't noticed before. "See that? That's your money. Right now, you have 500 gold."
I squinted up at the translucent display. Sure enough, next to my name—Qin Ruolan, in glowing golden letters—was a neat little number: 500G.
"Oh... it really is like a game," I muttered. I had no choice but to accept everything even if my stomach was doing suicide drills telling my body to bolt at any chance I could get.
Green nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! Right now, you're Level One." She gestured to another number floating beside the gold bar. "As you level up, you'll unlock new features in the dimension. Eventually, you'll even be able to bring gold and resources back into the real world."
My eyes widened at that.
Bring gold... into the real world?
That meant... I could help my new family.
I could almost hear the sound of debt disappearing and rice bowls magically refilling in our shabby little kitchen.
Green, clearly proud of herself, continued, "I'm in charge of nurturing the plants so they grow properly. Think of me as your in-house farming manager."
She puffed up a little, arms crossed as she floated in midair.
"Also, time flows differently here. Much faster than in the real world. So all Master has to do is plant, level up, and enjoy the bounty. Leave the rest to me!" she finished with a self-satisfied nod, clearly pleased with her role.
I stared at her for a long moment.
A farming dimension. A personal fairy. Gold I could bring back. Leveling up to help my new family.
Was I actually inside one of those novels I used to read in my off-hours at the hospital?
"...This is insane," I muttered, but a small, reluctant smile tugged at the corner of my lips.
"How do I level up?" I asked flatly, leveling my eyes at the floating sprite as she finally decided to flutter back down to my height.
I had to resist the strong, very strong urge to grab her by that shiny green hair and drag her down properly, just once, you know, just to make a point.
Instead, I stood there, arms crossed.
Green beamed like I hadn't just imagined assaulting her. "All you have to do is bring in different stuff into the dimension!"
"Stuff?" I echoed suspiciously.
"Hmm!" She nodded, pleased with herself. "Herbs, plants, animals, anything from the outside world! Once you bring them in, the system scans it and poof! you can replicate it here. The more you bring in, the more you unlock, and the faster you level up!"
I blinked.
Replicate?
"Replicate," I repeated slowly, mentally face-planting. "As in... magically duplicate items for free?"
"Yep-yep!" she chirped, her voice now alarmingly chipper. "Would you like to get started?"
She was starting to sound like one of those overly happy NPCs in low-budget indie farming sims. The kind that smiled way too much and never blinked.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "This is absurd," I muttered to myself.
But absurd or not... a system that lets me mass produce herbs, food, or maybe even medicine? That could mean survival. Comfort. A real chance for this body's family to stop starving.
Slowly, I looked up at her.
"Fine," I said. "Let's get started."
Green clapped in delight, sparkles trailing from her wings. "Yay! You're going to love this!"
Somehow, I doubted that very much.
Green dragged me back into the house like an overexcited tour guide, and before I could protest, she sat me down in front of a massive flat-screen TV.
Yes. A TV. In a farming dimension.
With an enthusiastic hum, she picked up a remote that looked suspiciously like a gaming console controller, turned on the screen, and just like that, I was staring at what looked like an in-game menu.
"Here, Master! You can buy stuff from the Shop using your gold," she chirped.
A grid of icons appeared on the screen—wells, fences, plants, tools, even a suspiciously shiny chicken coop.
My eyes scanned the options until I landed on a simple stone well. It looked sturdy. Basic. The price: 250 gold.
"Can I buy the well?" I asked, pointing at the screen.