Su Li was rendered shocked and speechless as she looked at her transparent body. Nobody in their right mind could comprehend how a human body could be translucent and could be seen through.
Especially if the body in question was their own, since the general perception was that only ghosts are transparent.
Ghosts!
As soon as this thought streaked through her mind, Su Li understood the situation somewhat.
She had been a long time inpatient of the hospital thanks to being plagued by a chronic illness. Acknowledging that she couldn't outlive her malady left a bittersweet taste in her mouth.
Bitter in the fact that she died at the age of twenty-six without fulfilling any of her dreams and left a loving family.
They would no doubt be wallowing in sadness, grief and all the other negative emotions associated with the bereavement of a family member.
A larger part of her borne sweetness since she didn't have to face the pain that had seeped deep into her bones, along with the fact that she didn't have to put up a strong front while facing her family and friends.
At some point during her illness and the subsequent prolonged treatment, she has started resenting the whitewashed walls of the hospital room.
The well-meant but pity filled gazes of the hospital staff had made her sullen.
All the more, she had become sick of the smell of sickness that had surrounded her throughout the day.
Su Li went into an introspective mood and internalised all her emotions.
Afterwards, she took stock of her surroundings.
All around her there was a vast expanse of a starry night sky.
Before her illness, she had travelled extensively all around the globe.
But she could say that this scenery was the best she had seen to date.
It was as if she was in a 3D auditorium.
As far as the eye could see, there were clusters of stars.
It was as if constellations were studded amid a midnight moonlit sky.
She looked around in awe and for a moment, there arose an indescribable feeling within her that she could touch these star-like apparitions.
Though for the life of her, she couldn't understand what they were or where she was.
Conceding to the fact that she had already left the mortal coil and besides, thinking that nothing worse could happen; Su Li gave in to her whim.
She impulsively touched one of the shimmering clusters.
This proved to be a mistake on her part.
She experienced a sharp stinging pain in her brain.
It was as if someone was striking repeatedly on the inside of her skull.
It went on for a long period of time.
Just as she was on the verge of collapsing, all the pain receded abruptly, as though it had been a sensory illusion on her part.
Before Su Li could give the bizarre series of events much thought, she heard a gender indeterminate voice.
"Target Identified. Target meets the Requirement. Binding the Target to the System. 1%.....20%....70%...100%. Binding Completed"
The words didn't make any sense to her whatsoever.
But immediately afterwards, she received information directly from the gender-indeterminate voice that it was something called a 'SYSTEM'.
It had bound itself to her soul, that too without any prior notice to her and her consent.
It further explained that it would give her some so-called 'tasks' which she had to complete without fail.
Failing to comply with its demands would render her soul incapable of reincarnation which she thought was a pretty harsh punishment.
On the other hand, if she completed all her tasks she could have a chance to get three of her wishes fulfilled in the real world she had died in, irrespective of what those wishes were or how improbable.
The system would also give her minimal assistance to accomplish her tasks. Hearing that she would receive help was a relief to Su Li since she didn't understand what this was all about.
Moreover, she was a complete greenhorn in regards to all this, thus Su Li decided to go with the flow and take everything in stride.
Contemplating all this, she realised it wasn't so bad as a deal.
However, she still decided to be wary and cautious of the system and the reasons behind its abrupt decision to bind itself to her soul.
At this point, she had already come to terms with her death.
Just as she was about to voice her thoughts, a cluster of those flickering star-like lights condensed and formed a vague stick-like figure.
She perceived that it must be the system taking on a physical appearance.
Grasping the bigger picture at hand and having thought through things Su Li inquired.
"My task is to go to different worlds one at a time, merge my soul with the body of a specific person. The person in question irrespective of gender can be cannon fodder, protagonist, the second lead, main character or a passerby within the plot?"
The system responded in the positive.
She tried to gather as much information as possible.
"Furthermore, the setting can range from modern present-day world to the ancient past to futuristic science-oriented fantasy to anything in between? I'll have to complete the assigned task without making the plot collapse on itself."
The only response to her questions was a bland yes.
"After executing the task of the respective world, I'll have the option to live in that world unfettered by anything until I reach the end of the body's natural lifetime or could opt to leave that world. Anyhow, each task completed properly and thoroughly will give me a reward(s) that could help me in the subsequent tasks?"
In its monotonous voice, the system replied: [In essence, Yes ]
Su Li felt it was too convoluted. But she kept the thought to herself since she had no other option except to comply with the whims and demands of the system.
Thinking up to here, she told the system to send her to the first world and thereafter lost consciousness.