April did not spend her time brooding and asking why this system chose her. She didn’t even care why it chose to bring her back, but she believed it was because she had suffered way too much in her previous life, and it was high time she got compensated.

She turned away from the window, her back sliding against the wall until she sat down hard on the wooden floorboards.

Just moving her arms made her shoulders ache, a dull reminder of the deep, jagged scars hidden beneath her uniform.

She reached around, her fingers tracing the rigid, uneven skin on her back through the cheap fabric. She had almost forgotten them since she didn’t have time to care about her scars in the apocalypse.

Madam Morgan’s favorite leather whip had left those ugly scars. Ten years of her life had been spent here, and most of it was a blur of random punishments, hunger, and bruises that never quite healed.

April gritted her teeth, her knuckles turning white. If she really was back, then she was currently the only person on earth who knew about the impending doom.

In two months, the world would fall apart. Everyone down there, celebrating in the courtyard, would be screaming for their lives except for the protagonist and all the powerful men who would surround her due to her perks, but April couldn’t afford to just sit back and watch it all happen.

She had to do something.

If she wanted to avoid a tragic, brutal death a second time, she had to be prepared. She needed food, clean water, medical supplies, weapons—an absolute mountain of resources.

But most importantly, shelter. Without a secured roof over her head, she and her resources were just bait for the sharks to attack.

"But how am I supposed to buy any of it?" she muttered aloud, staring down at her empty hands. "How can I afford a place that’ll be so secure from the zombies and people?"

She didn’t have a single penny to her name. Her monthly wages were constantly docked by the mistress for broken plates or attitude problems. She was completely broke.

Then, would she have to resort to robbing a bank? Money would be meaningless in two months anyway. But if she gets caught and sent to jail, that’s even worse.

She pressed her lips firmly together. This was a serious case.

Right as the desperation started to creep into her chest, the blue system screen in front of her suddenly flickered, replacing the timeline with a new, glowing interface.

[Ding! System energy fully stabilized.]

[Fortune Telling Feature: ’Eye of Destiny’ is now activated.]

[As a novice host, you have been granted 3 free daily insights. Look at any target to view their immediate future or hidden truths.] 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

[Host can upgrade the number of insights a day based on the level of proficiency.]

April stared at the glowing text, her breath catching in her throat. Fortune telling?

Before she could even question it, a sharp knock rattled her flimsy wooden door, followed by a harsh, impatient voice from the hallway.

"April! Get your lazy ass up! Madam wants the entire first floor scrubbed before the young mistress comes inside, and if there’s a single speck of dust, you won’t be eating for the next two days!"

That was Matilda, the housekeeper. A mean woman who turned a blind eye to April’s suffering.

April gulped, a familiar rattling setting in her bones, but it only stayed for a split second. She had survived the apocalypse for ten years. There was no way she would be scared of that crazy old witch now.

She just wanted to punch her in the face.

But she couldn’t act out. Not yet. She had to first secure the necklace before anything else. That was her main priority.

April opened the door.

​Matilda was standing there, her face pinched into its usual permanent scowl, her arms crossed tight over her chest.

The moment the wood swung inward, the housekeeper opened her mouth to let out another sharp berating, but the words died in her throat.

​April didn’t flinch, like she usually did. She didn’t look down at the floorboards, and she didn’t offer a hurried, trembling apology either.

She just stood there, staring directly into Matilda’s eyes with a cold, deadpan stillness that she had learned from a decade of staring down things much worse than an angry housekeeper.

​As she looked at the older woman, the blue screen in her vision flickered slightly, a small text box expanding right next to Matilda’s head.

[Would you like to read Matilda’s fortune?]

April stared at it for a while, blinking. Just like that?

[Number of insights: 3]

’Ah, I guess I can try it to see if it works.’ She thought and subconsciously agreed to it.

​[Eye of Destiny: Target — Matilda Vance]

​Hidden Truth: Has been systematically skimming $300 from the weekly grocery budget for the past eight months, hiding the cash inside a hollowed-out romance novel under her mattress.

​Immediate Future (Within 2 hours): Will accidentally drop Madam Morgan’s favorite porcelain tea set while carrying it to the sunroom, resulting in a severe scolding and a docked salary.

​April’s eyes lingered on the floating text for a split second before the screen faded back into transparency. It wasn’t the fact that she had just read this woman’s fortune out of nowhere, but the money she saw.

Three hundred dollars a week. And yet, whenever a silver spoon went missing, or a pantry count was off, Matilda was always the first to point her crooked finger at April, claiming the ’impoverished rat’ was stealing from the hands that fed her.

Meanwhile, this whole time, Matilda had—

​"What are you staring at?" Matilda snapped, her voice dropping into a harsh, venomous whisper. She took a step closer, trying to use her height to intimidate her. "Did you lose your hearing along with your manners? Get downstairs and start on the floors. Madam wants everything spotless for the young mistress. Move!"

​April let out a slow, quiet breath. The familiar rattling in her bones from years of conditioning tried to flare up, but it disappeared just as fast. She had watched cities burn. She had buried people with her bare hands. A petty, bullying housekeeper was nothing anymore.

​"I’ll get right on it," April said. Her voice wasn’t shaky or submissive. It was flat, entirely empty of emotion.

​Matilda blinked, clearly thrown off by the lack of fear, but she simply scoffed, turned on her heel, and marched down the narrow attic corridor, her heavy footsteps echoing against the floorboards.

​April watched her go, a small, dark spark igniting in her mind. She needed to get closer to the long-lost daughter tonight to find out exactly where the jade necklace would be kept before the binding event.

She also needed a way to cross paths with the elite guests coming to the mansion, especially the wealthiest man in the city, to secure her funding.

​A maid assigned to heavy scrubbing would never be allowed near the main hall during the welcome banquet. But a server would.

​And thanks to the Eye of Destiny, she now had the perfect leash to put around Matilda’s neck to get exactly what she wanted.