10:30 a.m., Stardate 5223
The Norton Family Villa
The butler knocked sharply on the bedroom door on the second floor, impatience clear in every rap.
"Miss Carrie, Madam is waiting for you in the main hall. Please come downstairs immediately."
His face twisted with barely concealed contempt. Inside, he felt a flicker of smug satisfaction.
The real Norton heiress has finally returned.
With her pathetic E-rank mental power and a fertility score of zero, Carrie Swann—nothing more than a mistakenly raised outsider—would soon be driven out of the Norton family.
Her very existence was a stain on the family name.
Carrie was jolted awake by the relentless pounding on the door.
Her head spun as she forced her eyes open.
The room around her was unfamiliar—elegant, spacious, and utterly strange.
Where am I?
Just a moment ago, she had been standing on a podium, accepting a medal.
As the world's only max-level dual ability user of the Wood and Psychic elements, she had fought through the apocalypse to its bitter end. Humanity had finally stepped into a new era of peace.
But the moment had overwhelmed her. Her vision had gone black, and now she had woken up here.
What the hell kind of place is this?
Before she could gather her thoughts, a flood of memories crashed into her mind—memories that did not belong to her.
The body's original owner was also named Carrie Swann.
Today was her twentieth birthday.
Yesterday, the real Norton daughter—Emily Norton—had appeared at the doorstep of the Norton estate. The family immediately conducted a genetic match.
The result was undeniable.
Emily was the true daughter of the Norton bloodline.
And Carrie Swann?
Nothing more than a baby who had been mistakenly swapped at birth—an unrelated impostor raised in the Norton household.
When the original Carrie learned the truth, she fainted on the spot from shock.
And that was the moment when this Carrie—the apocalypse veteran—had taken over the body.
Carrie closed her eyes again, piecing everything together.
This situation felt eerily familiar.
Wasn't this the exact plot of the interstellar romance novel she had been reading in her spare time?
Don't tell me…
I've transmigrated into a book.
Worse still... She had become the short-lived cannon-fodder villainess.
In the novel, after discovering she was merely an adopted child, the villainess refused to leave the Norton family. Consumed by jealousy toward the female protagonist, she repeatedly schemed to drive the real heiress away.
Her fate was brutal.
Her heart was ripped out, and her body thrown to the star beasts—leaving nothing behind.
The novel summarized her entire miserable life in just a few passing sentences.
And now, by some cosmic joke, Carrie had become that doomed side character.
Today... was the day she would be thrown out of the Norton family.
Seriously?
Heavens above…
God, are you kidding me?
She had clawed her way through the apocalypse, fought monsters, saved humanity, and finally earned the chance to retire and enjoy a peaceful life.
And instead of that comfortable future, she had been dumped into the role of a throwaway villain destined to die young.
No way.
I am NOT dying like this.
She hadn't even begun to enjoy life yet.
The violent pounding on the door continued, snapping her out of her thoughts.
Carrie shut her eyes stubbornly, then opened them again.
The room hadn't changed.
She was still here.
Her gaze turned icy as she stared toward the door.
Something about her entire presence shifted—an invisible edge of danger sharpening the air around her.
She tried to summon the powers she had wielded in her previous life.
Nothing.
Her body felt completely empty.
Where are my abilities?
Her dual Wood and Psychic powers—gone.
Carrie froze.
You've got to be kidding me.
Was she really this unlucky?
When other people transmigrated, didn't they usually get some kind of cheat ability?
Was she the only one who lost hers instead?
Then suddenly...
Her eyes lit up.
A necklace hung against her collarbone.
Attached to it was a small pearl pendant.
Her breath caught.
Wait…
Wasn't that the spatial pearl pendant she had possessed in her previous life?
It had actually followed her across worlds.
Back during the apocalypse, she had first obtained the pendant's pocket dimension. After drinking the spiritual spring water inside, she awakened her Psychic and Wood-type abilities.
If that was still true, then...
Carrie bit the tip of her finger and pressed the drop of blood onto the pearl.
The crimson bead sank instantly into the surface.
A faint glow flickered.
The pendant acknowledged its new master.
Ding.
A crisp electronic chime sounded in her mind.
System activation in progress… Binding complete.
A mechanical voice followed.
[Greetings, Host. The Merit Accumulation System is now online.]
Carrie blinked.
She had expected many things.
But she had not expected to awaken a system.