Under the light, the gold pendant gleamed softly, its surface warm and lustrous. The carved patterns were delicate and refined, each line flowing with quiet elegance, as though shaped by a careful, patient hand.
This pendant had been personally chosen by Suzy.
Its shape was almost identical to her own—close enough to invite comparison, close enough to stir suspicion.
It had cost a little over a hundred. Not cheap, but nothing extravagant either—decent quality for the price.
Technically speaking, it was real gold. Well, some of its blend probably was.
Unless you were a true expert, it was nearly impossible to tell the difference at a glance. The color, the gleam, even the texture were convincing enough.
And Wendy wasn't an expert.
She only remembered how the pendant had been described in the novel—a piece carved with a single flower, unassuming at first glance, its true value hidden beneath its simplicity.
"That's right… it's exactly the same as described."
Wendy murmured to herself, her eyes gleaming with growing certainty.
This had to be the spatial gold pendant.
The thought that she had obtained such a priceless cheat item for free—handed over willingly by Suzy—sent a thrill through her chest. A rush of indescribable pleasure bloomed inside her.
Taking advantage of someone felt amazing.
Suppressing her excitement, Wendy pulled a brow razor from the drawer. Without hesitation, she sliced across her fingertip.
Blood welled up instantly.
She smeared it onto the pendant, her movements careful, almost reverent. The crimson droplet slid slowly along the smooth curve of the gold, leaving behind a faint, sticky streak.
And then—
Nothing happened.
There was no sudden mental connection. No distortion of space. No sensation of her consciousness being tugged into some mysterious, boundless realm.
The pendant lay quietly in her palm, unchanged except for the smear of blood glistening on its surface.
Wendy froze.
"What… is going on?"
Wasn't it enough blood?
She distinctly remembered the novel stating that the space could be activated with a single drop. It had been written so casually, as if the process were effortless.
Wendy frowned, the joy on her face slowly dissolving into confusion.
Unwilling to accept it, she squeezed her injured finger harder, forcing out another drop and letting it fall onto the pendant.
Still nothing.
A third drop.
A fourth.
Grinding her teeth, Wendy went all in. She didn't stop until she had drained nearly half a bowl of blood, her hands trembling as she held the pendant over it.
She refused to believe this.
Five minutes later, Wendy sat on the edge of the bed, her face deathly pale, staring fixedly at the pendant soaking in blood.
There was still no reaction.
Unease crept in, followed quickly by agitation, the two emotions gnawing away at her initial elation.
"That's impossible… it's clearly this pendant! The original owner definitely activated the space with it…"
She muttered to herself, desperately trying to recall every relevant detail from the novel.
She hadn't changed the plot at all.
In the original story, she'd also asked Suzy for the pendant. She'd accidentally cut her finger—and then the space had activated.
That scene had been written vaguely, buried among far more explicit descriptions, easy to overlook but impossible to forget.
Could it be that her transmigration had caused a butterfly effect? Or was the method wrong? Or did the activation require some special condition she hadn't accounted for?
Questions flooded her mind one after another, overlapping until she couldn't tell where one ended and the next began.
Wendy couldn't make sense of it.
Then, suddenly, a terrifying thought flashed through her mind—
What if the pendant is fake?
The idea sent a chill racing through her entire body. But she rejected it almost immediately.
Impossible!
How could Suzy—that sickly, weak little thing—know the pendant's secret?
She hadn't reincarnated.
And Suzy's timid, obedient demeanor matched the novel perfectly, down to the smallest detail.
Still… why wouldn't it activate?
After turning the problem over again and again, Wendy finally settled on what felt like the most reasonable explanation: the butterfly effect caused by her arrival.
Maybe the space required a very specific trigger.
That had to be it. She clung to that thought, using it to steady herself.
For now, the priority was preparing supplies. As for the space… she would think of another solution later.
There was nothing else she could do.
***
After leaving the Kale house, Suzy soon arrived back on campus.
She went straight to her academic advisor's office and calmly explained her situation.
Her health had always been poor—she'd taken medical leave more than once before.
The advisor didn't press her for details. He simply handed her the necessary forms, watched her fill them out, and approved the request without hesitation.
Once the leave-of-absence procedures were complete, Suzy headed toward the parking lot, ready to retrieve her car and leave.