The universe is vast, and the nebulae are brilliant.
How many times had she led the sons and daughters of Xia Country into battle?
Tang Ning could no longer remember. She only knew that facing the invading enemy, all she had to do was attack, and attack!
Standing inside the massive, transparent command capsule, she looked out. Her army had completely gained the upper hand, and the enemy warships were being blown to pieces, blooming like magnificent fireworks in the void of space.
The war was drawing to a close, and it was time for her to retire.
Just as Tang Ning was about to withdraw her gaze to deploy post-war missions, the console blared an alarm—the enemy's main battleship had launched a suicide attack!
Collision was unavoidable. Inside the command capsule, besides Tang Ning, were the reserve forces she had personally cultivated.
These young people possessed extraordinary ability, knowledge, and military acumen. Most importantly, they all shared a steadfast, pure, and passionate patriotism. They were Tang Ning's successors and the hope of the entire Huaxia for resisting foreign enemies in the future.
Tang Ning decisively disconnected the command capsule, piloted the warship, and perished together with the enemy.
A colossal, breathtaking explosion bloomed in space. A generation's God of War had fallen, leaving countless people heartbroken amidst what seemed like celebrations of ultimate victory.
[Beep—Long Live Love System activated!]
Love... system?
Tang Ning had seen her fair share of systems, but they were all auxiliary products from the R&D center—designed for combat training or learning. Was love—an illusion caused by human hormone secretions—even worthy of having a system specifically developed for it?
[The host must use romance to conquer men...]
What nonsense was this?
Use that illusory delusion to conquer others?
In Tang Ning's cognition, there were no longer so-called men or women; only the strong survived.
This damn system was still rattling on, but Tang Ning could no longer hear it. She lost consciousness.
***
"Guilan, your big girl has really turned out well. She's wealthy, filial, and went out of her way to secure a wife for her younger brother. Who in the village isn't green with envy right now?"
"Haha, thank you, auntie. Today is Goudan's big day, so you must have a few extra cups later."
"That's a given. But as for that little bride, what are your plans for her?"
"Hah, what's there to worry about? A couple of days of discipline and she'll fall right in line."
Regaining consciousness, Tang Ning was greeted by a commotion outside, the conversation between the two women ringing loud and clear in her ears.
Not far away, people were exchanging congratulations and banter, seemingly busy preparing for some joyous occasion.
Strange pains wracked her body, and the surroundings were reeked of dampness and a faint, stale odor. Memories that did not belong to her flooded into Tang Ning's mind.
In Zhujia Village, Daxing County, Guangshan City, Henan Province, Tang Niuniu had been sensible and hardworking since childhood. Though a girl, she put her back into every chore, growing up dark and thin until she reached the age of fourteen.
It was that very year that Mother Tang became pregnant, and it was also that year the natural disasters began.
By the time the longed-for younger brother was born, the family had run out of food, and Mother Tang had no milk to feed him during her confinement. Tang Niuniu tried every possible method, running out to the barren hills before dawn every day to forage whatever was edible to bring back to Mother Tang.
In the freezing cold, Tang Niuniu smashed the ice by the river to wash her baby brother's diapers.
The unbearable stench of infant waste was enough to induce retching, yet Tang Niuniu never uttered a single word of complaint. Her ten fingers were frozen red and split like rotting radishes. Which old crone in Zhujia Village didn't praise the Tang family's eldest daughter as capable and filial?
Tang Niuniu's happiest moment was when she was lucky enough to find a nest of bird eggs, cupping them in her hands as she ran home, eliciting a rare smile from the usually indifferent Mother Tang.
"Our Niuniu is truly a good sister. Someday Tianbao will rely entirely on a sister like you."
Mother Tang even stroked her hair—the warmest memory Tang Niuniu possessed.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Mother Tang's confinement ended, the Zhujia family came to the Tang household demanding their person.
The Zhujia family had an idiot son named Goudan, who was over twenty years old, still drooled, and ran around naked. The village children all called him "Da Shazhu". Da Shazhu had an elder sister married into the city, and the Zhujia family was the only one in the village not short of food.
Tang Niuniu was bought by the Zhujia family for half a sack of grain, assigned to be Da Shazhu's wife.
Tang Niuniu put up fierce resistance, but was gagged and bound by Da Shazhu's mother, Li Guilan, who threw her into the woodshed. At this very moment, the wedding banquet was taking place outside.
With the New Year approaching, Li Guilan had even asked her married daughter to procure some meat, making the celebration quite a lively affair.
Tang Ning opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. The cotton-padded jacket on her body was worn to shreds, revealing blackened wadding. Though she had no idea why she had ended up here, or whether this had anything to do with that bullshit system before she lost consciousness, Tang Ning did not panic.
She waited quietly until the sky gradually turned dark.
"Bang!"
The two wooden planks of the door were kicked open. A heavily built, burly man walked in. He was dressed in new clothes, but saliva still dripped from his mouth, soaking the front of his collar.
"Wife... want a wife."
He opened his mouth, remnants of the meat he had just gnawed still stuck between his teeth, and a foul stench lunged toward Tang Ning.
Though Goudan was simple-minded, his body had fully matured. He had peeked at weddings in other households in the village and knew he had taken a wife, which naturally made him happy.
Li Guilan followed closely behind her son. "Goudan, this is the wife your mother got for you." She looked at Tang Niuniu as she spoke. The girl was sitting quietly, presumably terrified, which satisfied Li Guilan's heart. This was a bride she had carefully handpicked—a powerhouse at doing chores; only someone like this could properly serve her son.
"Daniu, you'll live a good life with Goudan from now on. Starving, are you? Once the wedding night is over, Mother will bring you some meat to eat!"
As Li Guilan spoke, she went to untie the ropes binding Tang Niuniu. They were going back inside for the wedding night; having her tied up didn't look right.
Tang Niuniu said nothing, and Li Guilan took that as resignation to her fate.
In times like these, having food so you wouldn't starve—what else was there to wish for?
The moment Da Shazhu heard the words "wedding night," scenes he had previously spied upon flashed instantly in his mind. He couldn't wait to return to the room, completely ignoring whether his mother was present, as he possessed zero sense of shame. He lunged straight at Tang Ning and began rubbing against her.
"Wedding night! Wedding night!"
Like a beast in heat, he trembled with burning excitement, thrashing about incessantly.
The villagers outside watching the spectacle had not yet dispersed. An idiot taking a wife—and a bought one at that—was a rare piece of entertainment worth watching.
"Aigoo, the idiot is sharing the bridal bed with his wife!"
"Da Shazhu isn't so stupid after all; he even knows how to use that..."
"The fool drools the moment he sees a woman; I reckon he's been bursting for this forever. Wonder if Tang Niuniu can take it."
Anxious, Li Guilan slapped her son twice. "What's the rush, get back inside the room! Mother will bring your wife to you in a minute!"
No sooner had her voice fallen than a shrill howl erupted from her son.
The spectators assumed the fool had succeeded and crowded closer, blocking the doorway of the woodshed completely.
They saw the fool screaming miserably, clutching his ear as he tried to bolt outside. But with the doorway blocked, he hopped frantically in place, smashing his head against the door.
Tang Ning, who had been lying on the floor like a lump of tattered cotton, stood up, a piece of meat clenched between her teeth.
Bright red blood trickled down the corner of her mouth.