Chapter 1: A Miserable Day

Today was another day without finding a single meal box.

The barren land was swept by gusts of wind, lifting fine dust into the air, mixed with the sour stench of rotting trash. It invaded Mili’s cracked nostrils.

She crouched beside a battered metal barrel, her thin body curled up like an abandoned little animal, rummaging through scraps in one of the slightly cleaner corners.

The emptiness in her stomach burned like fire, making her feel dizzy and faint again and again.

“Here we go again… I’m really going to starve to death at this rate…” Mili lamented inwardly.

It had been over ten days since she transmigrated into this desolate, utterly ruined wasteland.

There was nothing here but gray fog, mutant rats, and endless hunger and chaos.

At first, she at least had the protection of Sister Lin Lan.

—Lin Lan had found her in the middle of some ruins.

She gave Mili, who was on the brink of starvation, food and clean water, and even brought her back to a settlement called Oasis.

It was one of the rare fertile river valleys left on this land.

Refugees of the wasteland had managed to build a fairly large settlement there. Mili, being small, cute, and pitiful, received quite a bit of care from the neighbors.

But good times didn’t last long.

Just days after Lin Lan had settled her in, the Oasis came under heavy shelling from an unknown faction.

Fire lit up the sky, explosions deafened the ears.

Despite putting up fierce resistance, the residents of Oasis were no match for the enemy’s overwhelming, well-planned assault.

The river valley was quickly engulfed in a sea of flames.

In the chaos, Lin Lan shoved her into an off-road vehicle, her face streaked with tears and smoke.

“I’ll come back for you the moment I handle things,” she choked out.

And just like that, Mili was sent to this unfamiliar place, far away from the Oasis…

It was near a large shelter called Eisenburg.

Mili didn’t dare to wander far. She was afraid Sister Lin Lan wouldn’t be able to find her again.

So she could only loiter around the slums outside Eisenburg, scavenging for anything remotely edible in places even the other refugees avoided—waiting, barely surviving.

“Sister Lin Lan… when will you come for me…” she murmured, eyes damp.

Come to think of it, Mili seemed to have some strange kind of luck.

She always managed to find just a little bit of food—whether from trash heaps others had already searched, the corners of collapsed buildings, or even from the remains of mutated beasts.

It always felt like gambling with her life… like drawing loot from a gacha machine…

But at least…

She was still alive.

Barely nourished, constantly hungry, but alive.

In a world where just staying alive had become a luxury, that alone made her stand out.

Especially in the Eisenburg slums.

Here, hunger was a daily reality. Death was your neighbor.

Every day, someone would collapse from hunger or despair.

Before long, rumors about her started to spread…

“That new girl’s weird… She always finds food. Been days and she still hasn’t died…”

“She said she’s waiting for someone? That long? She’s probably waiting for nothing…”

“To still be alive… that’s some luck.”

“She’s gotta be blessed by some wasteland god or something. I mean, who finds potato chips buried in sand?!”

Mili heard the whispers, of course.

But all she wanted was to crawl into a hole.

A socially anxious girl like her just wanted to survive quietly, not be treated like some weirdo.

Being noticed was too risky.

Too dangerous.

As she carefully reached deeper into the metal barrel and felt a bag of dry but still-sealed potato chips, the steady sound of marching suddenly echoed from the alleyway entrance.

The steps were uniform, heavy, and thunderous—like war drums pounding directly on the hearts of the slum dwellers.

Wherever the footsteps passed, the air itself seemed to freeze. All whispered chatter died instantly.

A chilling, suffocating pressure spread through every corner of the slums, along with those boots striking the ground.

Mili’s hand trembled. The potato chip bag slipped and fell back into the barrel.

She turned her head in fear.

A squad of soldiers dressed in charcoal-black combat suits had appeared—like a ghostly army stepping out from the shadows, blocking off the alley entrance in an instant.

Their movements were efficient and synchronized, their eyes cold and empty, hands gripping metallic weapons that gleamed under the dim light.

Those were standard-issue firearms—

In the wasteland, that was considered very expensive firepower.

Was this the Eisenburg military?!

The woman leading them was tall and commanding. Her long silver hair fell like a moonlit waterfall, so dazzling it felt unreal.

But her eyes—one a blazing gold, the other a deep, icy blue—were even more striking.

Sharper than a hawk’s, her heterochromatic gaze felt like it could pierce through any illusion or shadow.

Just one glance from her, and Mili felt an overwhelming chill surge up her spine.

She had no idea who this woman was.

But the sheer dominating aura she radiated told Mili everything she needed to know—

This was someone you absolutely do not mess with. Not even look at.

But she had nowhere to run.

It was a dead-end alley.

Mili quickly lowered her head, curled up by the trash bin like a frightened quail, praying silently that the woman wouldn’t notice her.

The woman’s sharp gaze swept over Mili, then paused. Her lips curved into the faintest of smiles.

But it wasn’t a warm smile.

It was the kind of smile a hunter gives when they’ve spotted prey.

That look…

She didn’t even see Mili as human.

More like a rare specimen—a curiosity to be studied. A broken thing with some bizarre value.

The soldiers, like well-trained machines, immediately sealed off the alley and pushed aside the nearby refugees.

No one dared protest. Heads hung low in silence.

Their eyes were full of fear, with just a tinge of pity for Mili.

And perhaps… a hint of schadenfreude—

One less mouth to feed. Maybe our chances just went up.

The woman ignored the refugees entirely.

She drew a sleek energy pistol from her hip and walked straight toward Mili.

Her tall figure cast a monstrous, looming shadow over Mili, trapping her within it.

She looked down at the trembling girl, casually twirling her weapon.

Those strange eyes had a hypnotic pull. Just locking eyes with her made it impossible for Mili to even think about running.

The pressure was so overwhelming, it nearly broke Mili on the spot.

She just wanted to vanish.

To melt into the dirty ground beneath her.

“So you’re the one—‘The Saint of Abundance’, who can squeeze oil from stone?” the woman said, her voice proud and cold.

There wasn’t much emotion in her tone, but it held a trace of amusement and mockery.

“The rumors are… amusing.”

Mili was shaking, her voice barely audible, like a mosquito’s buzz.

“I… I’m not a saint… You’ve got the wrong person…”

No way! she screamed internally.

People actually believe those rumors?!

I’m just a trash-scavenging, unlucky girl waiting for rescue! What the hell is this sudden arrest arc?!

The woman ignored Mili’s panicked babbling.

She reached down and grabbed Mili’s chin, forcing her face up with icy fingers.

Mili could hardly breathe.

Reflected in the woman’s eyes was her own terrified expression—wide-eyed, pale, and helpless.

But behind that gaze was a terrifying sense of possessiveness.

Like a spoiled child who had just found a shiny new toy—and decided to keep it, no matter the cost.

In a low, commanding voice, the woman said:

“Mistaken identity? No, no. I’ve never seen luck like yours.”

“Eisenburg needs your kind of ‘abundance.’”

“From this day on… you belong to me—Seraphina von Kahlen.”

The cold muzzle of the pistol pressed against Mili’s cheek.

She couldn’t even form a coherent protest—only a weak, helpless whimper escaped her lips.

Her heart froze.

It was over.

Either get shot—

Or fall into the hands of this terrifying, possibly insane woman…

Mili wanted to run, to beg, anything—but the way that gun lazily tapped against her face made it clear:

Don’t even try.

Seraphina seemed pleased by the look of raw fear on Mili’s face.

She released her chin, then waved a hand with sharp authority.

“Take her.”

The soldiers immediately stepped forward and grabbed Mili’s arms, one on each side.

Their grip was strong, painful even.

“Damn… being chosen by the Queen herself… guess she won’t have to worry about food anymore.”

“Yeah, no more scrambling for scraps…”

“Shh! Don’t you know the Queen’s into… well, that kind of thing…?”

Dragged like a criminal through the streets, Mili heard the whispers behind her.

Huh?!

What kind of thing?!

She didn’t even have time to process it before being thrown into an armored vehicle.

The engine roared.

The war wagon, clad in bulletproof plating, sped through the slums and headed straight for Eisenburg’s towering fortress walls.