Beneath the light, the gold bracelet shimmered with a soft, warm glow.
Its surface was smooth and polished, the delicate floral engravings carved into it elegant and refined. Every line appeared carefully crafted, carrying a quiet sense of sophistication.
Suzy had personally selected this bracelet.
Its appearance was intentionally similar to the original—similar enough that anyone comparing the two would struggle to notice the difference.
It had cost a little over a hundred dollars.
Not especially expensive, but far from cheap.
For the price, the craftsmanship was surprisingly decent.
Strictly speaking, parts of it really were made from gold.
Unless someone was highly knowledgeable about jewelry, distinguishing it from the genuine bracelet at a glance would be extremely difficult. The color, texture, and shine were all convincing enough to pass easily.
And Wendy certainly wasn't an expert.
All she remembered was the description from the novel:
A slender gold bracelet engraved with delicate floral patterns. Plain and understated at first sight, yet hiding extraordinary secrets beneath its simple appearance.
"That's it… it looks exactly the same."
Wendy murmured under her breath, certainty growing brighter in her eyes.
There was no doubt about it now.
This had to be the spatial bracelet.
The realization that she had obtained such a priceless treasure so effortlessly—practically handed over by Suzy herself—sent excitement surging through her chest.
The pleasure of taking advantage of someone else was intoxicating.
Barely able to contain herself, Wendy hurriedly opened a drawer and pulled out a brow razor.
Without hesitation, she sliced across her fingertip.
Fresh blood immediately welled from the cut.
Carefully, almost reverently, she smeared the blood across the bracelet's smooth golden surface. The crimson streak slid slowly along the metal, leaving behind a sticky trail.
Then she waited.
But nothing happened.
There was no mysterious connection forming in her mind.
No distortion of space.
No sensation of her consciousness being pulled into another dimension.
The bracelet remained perfectly still in her hand, unchanged except for the blood staining its surface.
Wendy froze.
"What's going on…?"
Was there not enough blood?
She clearly remembered the novel mentioning that only a single drop was needed to activate the space.
The process had sounded effortless.
Her brows slowly tightened as confusion replaced the joy on her face.
Refusing to believe it, Wendy squeezed her injured finger harder and forced another drop of blood onto the bracelet.
Still nothing.
A third drop followed.
Then a fourth.
Eventually, frustration overwhelmed her caution entirely.
Gritting her teeth, Wendy pressed harder and harder on the wound until blood continuously dripped from her finger. By the end, nearly half a bowl of blood had collected beneath the bracelet while her trembling hands hovered above it.
And yet—
Nothing happened.
Five minutes later, Wendy sat stiffly on the edge of the bed, her face pale from blood loss as she stared fixedly at the bracelet resting in the bowl.
There was still no reaction whatsoever.
Anxiety slowly crept into her chest, quickly followed by growing agitation.
The excitement she had felt moments ago was being devoured little by little by unease.
"That's impossible… it's obviously this bracelet. The original heroine activated the space with this exact item…"
She muttered to herself repeatedly, desperately searching through every detail she could remember from the novel.
She hadn't changed the storyline.
In the original plot, she had also asked Suzy for the bracelet.
Then she accidentally cut her finger, blood touched the bracelet, and the spatial dimension awakened.
The scene had been described vaguely in the novel, almost casually hidden between more dramatic events, but Wendy remembered it clearly.
So why wasn't it working now?
Could her transmigration have triggered a butterfly effect?
Or was she using the wrong method?
Maybe activating the space required some hidden condition she hadn't discovered yet.
Questions crowded into her thoughts one after another until her mind became a tangled mess.
No matter how hard she thought about it, Wendy couldn't understand what had gone wrong.
Then suddenly, a horrifying possibility flashed across her mind.
What if the bracelet is fake?
The thought sent an icy chill racing through her body.
But almost immediately, she rejected it.
Impossible.
How could Suzy possibly know the bracelet's secret?
She hadn't been reborn.
And Suzy's timid, obedient personality matched the novel perfectly in every way.
Still…
Why wouldn't the space activate?
After thinking it over countless times, Wendy finally forced herself to settle on what seemed like the most logical explanation.
The butterfly effect.
Her arrival in this world must have altered something subtle about the activation conditions.
Perhaps the spatial dimension required a very specific trigger now.
That had to be the reason.
Clinging tightly to that explanation, Wendy finally managed to steady herself slightly.
For now, gathering supplies remained the most important task.
As for the spatial dimension…
She would find another way to unlock it later.
At this point, there was nothing else she could do.
After leaving the Kale residence, Suzy soon returned to campus.
She went directly to her academic advisor's office and calmly explained that her health condition had worsened again.
Because Suzy had suffered from chronic illness for years, taking medical leave was nothing unusual for her.
The advisor didn't question her much.
After handing over the necessary paperwork and watching Suzy complete the forms, he approved her leave of absence almost immediately.
Once everything was finalized, Suzy left the office and headed toward the parking lot, preparing to retrieve her car and leave campus.