In a world destroyed by the apocalypse...
Inside a frontline warrior's single dorm room, a robotic housekeeper turns on the screen to begin the morning wake-up service.
"Today is the year 5555 of the apocalypse, May 5th. Surface temperature is 80 degrees Celsius. It feels comfortable outside. Time to get up, Master. Some exercise will make your body stronger and boost your combat power!"
Veera opened her bright, almond-shaped eyes and looked at the main screen.
Something in her gut told her that today felt strangely unlucky.
For a soldier with obsessive habits, staying comfortable was part of doing the job right.
"Robot, switch to the live channel."
Veera believed if she didn't see something, it didn't exist.
The screen changed to a live broadcast of the day's zombie activity. Warriors were fighting zombies in a brutal battle.
She squinted and smirked. The battlefield was chaotic and bloody.
Honestly, it was kind of exciting to watch on TV.
In a good mood, she hummed a tune and threw off her blanket. Barefoot, she walked into the shower.
Her toned body was visible behind the frosted glass. Her figure was perfect, shaped by regular training.
She let out a satisfied sigh, enjoying the rare moment of peace.
Lately, zombies had been attacking the base more often.
For a frontline soldier like her, rest was a luxury.
The fighting was intense and nonstop. Things were only getting worse.
Today, she could still sing in the shower, but tomorrow, she might become a zombie's meal.
After showering, Veera put on her temperature-controlled combat suit. She glanced at the screen again.
"I really hope today ends soon."
She loved fighting but hated war.
She hadn't had a proper rest in over a month.
Today was her day off. She only had one task: go to the food center to collect her nutrition pack.
Because of the war, supplies were running low. Nutrition packs used to come in many flavors and in larger amounts.
Now, the amount was limited, and there was only one plain flavor left.
For someone who loved food, this was torture.
Veera looked at the pack in her hand. Her excitement faded instantly.
She told herself to be grateful. Soon, the whole base might run out of food.
Everyone could starve.
She wondered if the leaders had come up with a new plan or found a way out.
"Did you hear the news? All frontline soldiers are being sent to the front again. Is that true?" a rough-looking man asked his friend nervously, holding a pack of supplies.
Veera heard him and glanced over thoughtfully.
The man looked strong and wore a combat uniform, probably a soldier too, though he seemed a bit scared.
She stood tall and walked down the steps confidently.
As a warrior, going into battle was her duty. There was no reason to be afraid.
Zombies didn't scare her. She was an orphan who had always lived close to death.
If there was one thing she feared, it was hunger.
She grew up in an orphanage where children were trained to fight. Only those who completed missions got enough food.
Even after she started getting enough to eat, the fear of hunger never left her.
At age ten, she was sent by spaceship to take the military test at the central zone.
Her combat skills were outstanding, so she was quickly sent to the frontline base.
Her life became a routine of endless battles.
Now, she was an elite frontline warrior.
Despite her young age, she had been in countless battles.
She was so used to zombies that she could finish a nutrition pack calmly before fighting them.
As long as she was full, everything else was easy. Zombies only made her more alert and active.
Fear didn't exist for her.
Before age ten, her goal was to become a warrior.
After that, her only goal was to kill zombies and collect resources.
Kill zombies = gain resources. Simple.
Suddenly, the news announced an emergency: unknown objects were seen in the sky. Everyone was told to evacuate to the air defense base.
Boom!
A loud explosion shook the ground. Before Veera could react, something hit her.
The force knocked her out.
When she woke up, she was crushed under a collapsed wall at the food center.
Pain shot through her body, but her soldier instincts kicked in.
She dragged herself out from under the rubble.
"Damn... everything's gone."
The base had been destroyed. Zombies were everywhere.
The ground was littered with broken and rotting bodies.
Veera, now alone, was quickly spotted by zombies and attacked.
She used her last bit of strength to fight, but it wasn't enough. She was torn apart by the zombies.
To her, dying like this was an honorable end. At least she had made good use of the base's food.
Looking back, her life wasn't bad—except for never having a man.
She had one regret: she had seen illustrations of Old Blue Star. It looked beautiful.
If she had another life, she wanted to go there.
Suddenly, a cold robotic voice spoke in her mind.
"Apocalypse Pet is at your service. System activation complete. Now traveling through the time tunnel to Ancient Blue Star."
Veera felt herself getting lighter. A beam of light flashed before her eyes.
Her memories were being pulled apart.
"Memory deletion failed. System malfunction. Main system destroyed. Formatting..."
Main system destroyed?
Formatted?
Veera wondered who had the skills to hack the system like that. Impressive.
A voice on the radio said, "Our troops are fighting back at the G-X and Y-N border to protect national peace."
A noisy fan was spinning.
Chopping sounds echoed from downstairs.
Veera woke up to the noise, confused.
She looked around the unfamiliar room.
"What the hell... why does this place feel so poor?"
She was lying on a wooden bed with a plain red quilt. Ugly.
An old red wardrobe stood across from her. Ugly.
Next to it, a wooden box. Ugly.
Everything looked strange. Just one word in her mind: ugly.
She had never seen such an old and low-tech house.
Luxury to poverty—it was hard.
It looked like the room belonged to a newly married couple. Red decorations with the Chinese word for "double happiness" were everywhere.
Very festive.
This was something she'd seen in Old Blue Star illustrations.
In that mysterious Eastern country, people used this tradition when getting married.
They called it: marriage.
After looking around the room, her eyes fell on her own hand.
It was thin and delicate, without a single callus.
Her fingers were long and elegant, and the skin was smooth and pale.
Veera frowned, her eyebrows slightly creased.
She gently breathed out through slightly parted lips. This wasn't her body.
There was no way a hand that had held guns and fought for years could look this soft and fair.
The old calluses she had developed over more than ten years were gone.
Those calluses were a source of pride — proof of her battles.
Her face turned serious. Her head was fuzzy. Everything felt unreal.
She didn't know if this was a dream.
"If I did something terrible in my last life and died without a grave, maybe I've paid for it. But why am I here now?"
Veera stared at the room. She couldn't accept what she was seeing.
It felt like being thrown into a slum.
"Master, you're awake."
A childish voice rang out — very different from the mechanical voice that had activated the system before.
Clearly, it had reset to beginner mode.
"Robot pet, are you the one who brought me here?"
A screen popped up in her mind. A chubby snowball appeared on it.
"Yes, Master! Kiss kiss!"
"Go away. Why did you bring me to such a hard world?"
Veera's face was cold as she stared at the little pet on the screen.
This beginner robot was more flirtatious than she ever could be.
She couldn't fake that kind of sweet, silly smile. It made her want to smash the screen.
"Master, welcome to beautiful Blue Star, in Country Z! Isn't this what you wanted? To find a man and come to the ancient Blue Star? I'm your romance system. Let's fall in love and have a sweet relationship!"
The little pet's voice was sugary as it spun around on the screen happily.
Veera stared at the cute thing.
A sweet romance?
This was its beginner mode? A romance system?
So dumb.
"Robot pet, the Blue Star I wanted was filled with lights and advanced technology, not stuck in primitive times."
Veera raised an eyebrow. Was this thing trying to dodge responsibility?
"Master, I had a system error. I sent you a bit too early. In twenty years, this place will change a lot. Can you hold on until then?"
The pet's voice was soft and careful, afraid she'd get angry.
"Not even a bit. Can you send me to a different world?"
Veera had heard these robot pets could grant powers to find new hope for the apocalyptic world.
"Master, I'm out of energy now. You'll have to complete the mission first, and then I can try to find a way."
The little pet looked helpless. It couldn't figure out what had gone wrong.
In the post-apocalyptic world, Veera only relied on strength. She was a powerful fighter.
Even though she looked like a seductive beauty, the men at the base avoided her.
She didn't care about love — only food.
Men? They just got in the way when she was aiming a gun.
"Robot pet, you follow my orders. Don't force your ideas on me. If you do, I won't hesitate to shut you down and lock you in the dark forever."
And in her mind, she added: where you'll never see the light again.
Veera coldly rejected the pet. She had top scores at the base, perfect survival skills. Love wasn't something she needed.
Men? She needed them even less.
"Master, I'm a romance system. Only when the romance score reaches 100 can I return to the base, support the next warrior, and help find new hope. This is also your chance for a new start."
The little pet looked heartbroken when it heard her rejection.
It had chosen Veera because she was perfect — hot body, sharp looks, and stunning face.
In the apocalypse, she was the top of the top — the most popular vixen.
Just seeing her data made the pet excited.
She was the perfect heroine, made just for it.
In the apocalypse, it hadn't had any real purpose for a long time.
Now it had a chance.
It accepted the mission happily, sure that Veera would complete it in a month.
Then it could finally get a physical body — the dream of every robot pet.
The body she was in now had taken forever to find. It matched Veera's appearance almost exactly.
And the original soul had just left — her emotions had been too intense the night before.
The pet had barely enough energy to take over. It was fate.
It stared at Veera's small face — sharp jaw, beautiful peach-shaped eyes, and a straight, delicate nose.
She didn't even have to do anything — she looked like a living seductress.
Even better than her apocalypse self.
Hearts popped all over the screen. The pet was totally smitten.
Too bad it had no real body. It wanted to fall in love with her so badly.
"That's your business. It has nothing to do with me. I won't do your mission."
Her cold voice shattered the pet's fantasies.
She never did useless things.
"Master, just think of it as paying me back for saving your life. Finish the mission. I won't take any of your mental energy. Once I return to base, we'll go our separate ways."
Usually, pet systems attached to hosts to absorb mental energy and gain a physical form.
This time, the pet would be working for free.
"You sure?"
Veera hated owing people. Even though the system was dumb, she couldn't deny it had helped her.
"I'm sure. And I have good news. This body already has a man — broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs. And full of manly energy. He's no pretty boy. You'll be very satisfied."
The pet's eyes sparkled with excitement. Pink hearts floated all over the screen.
Veera looked at it and felt secondhand embarrassment.
Dumb and greasy. What a strange combo for a robot system.
"It's just a man. There were tons of them in the apocalypse. Two legs, one head — the only difference is the size of their bones. What's there to be excited about?"
Her voice was full of disdain. She'd seen all kinds of men.
This beginner system was too naive and had no taste.
It clearly didn't have the knowledge a proper apocalypse system should have.
The pet looked like it had lost all hope. What had it just heard?
Such a harsh statement from a true steel-hearted woman.
Thinking of the man who used to belong to the original owner, the pet suddenly felt guilty.
Was it really okay to push him toward someone like Veera?
It felt like it was about to ruin someone's life.
"Men are all the same. But some are different. You really don't like a man like this?"
A picture appeared on the screen.
The man stood in a desert, wearing camouflage.
Sweat rolled down his face. His eyes were sharp and full of power.
His lips were dry and cracked. His skin was bronze and his features were chiseled.
Just standing there, he radiated strong masculine energy.
"He does look good."
Veera's eyes lit up. She couldn't help but praise him.
Just from his eyes, she could tell he was a capable fighter.
If he were in her base, he would be a solid teammate.
She could feel they were the same kind of people.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find him! Time to hug, kiss, and lift him up!"
The little pet spun with joy.
The woman and the machine had totally different ideas, but when it came to this man — they both agreed.