Bella was as careful as could be, paying attention to every detail, yet she still didn't manage to board her plane on time—because, naturally, the flight was delayed.
"Damn it!" She slumped into her seat, utterly exasperated.
She didn't want to just sit around waiting, but in an unfamiliar place, she had nowhere else to go.
After some thought, she decided to browse the shops inside the airport, maybe buy a small gift for her biological father whom she'd never met.
Though Forks was a small town of just three thousand people—about as tiny as it gets in this country—and her father, the police chief, might have gotten the position by default, the title still carried weight. He wasn't just some ordinary guy.
Her past self hadn't known how to take advantage of that, but she did. At the very least, building a good relationship couldn't hurt.
"Fifty, a hundred fifty, a hundred sixty…" She counted the dollars in her wallet.
It was March 2000. Mobile payments didn't exist yet, and her past self hadn't applied for a credit card. All she had was cash.
As she walked while counting her money, a girl listening to music with her head down suddenly appeared in front of her. Neither of them noticed the other, and both were walking briskly—before they knew it, they collided.
With a dull thud, Bella, being taller, took the impact directly on her chin as it slammed into the girl's forehead.
"Oww!" She staggered back two steps, her chin completely numb, her head ringing. Trembling, she braced herself against the wall to avoid falling.
The girl opposite her wasn't faring much better. Dignity was the last thing on her mind as she crouched on the ground, clutching her forehead in pain. The girl in the pale purple knit sweater had clearly been hit hard.
"Sorry, sorry."
"My bad, my bad!"
Bella and the girl apologized simultaneously.
Bella genuinely hadn't been paying attention, and being in an unfamiliar place, she didn't want trouble. Her apology was sincere.
The collision had sent Bella's wallet flying. It was stuffed with tens and fives—not a huge sum, but the sheer number of bills made it look like a small fortune. Now, they were scattered everywhere like confetti, which only made the girl feel even worse.
As they exchanged apologies, the girl's family hurried over to help gather the money.
A middle-aged man even asked if Bella needed to go to the hospital.
Unlike Bella, an only child, the other party was a family of five—a classic American household.
A couple with two sons and a daughter. The girl who'd bumped into Bella seemed to have an older brother beside her, while a little boy clutching a toy box with a mischievous glint in his eyes was clearly the younger brother.
But the girl was stunning.
Even Bella had to admit it.
The girl's eyes seemed naturally alluring, her features delicate, her lips slightly upturned, her face full of youthful vitality. Her figure was graceful, though she looked a year or two younger than Bella, her beauty not yet fully matured.
The girl, still rubbing her forehead discreetly after the hard impact, looked up and was equally struck by Bella's appearance.
Flawless skin, delicate features, a natural glow—Bella's beauty was on another level, untouched by makeup. Only the faint irritation in her expression and her slightly pale complexion marred it just a bit.
Natural beauties were rare. Two natural beauties colliding head-on? Even rarer.
"I'm really sorry."
"No, it was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going."
They were strangers passing by, with no need to get acquainted. Burdened with her own worries, Bella politely bid the family farewell.
But then—
"There! I see them! Get them!" A loud shout rang out nearby.
The family of five and Bella all turned to look.
Three men and a woman, all radiating an intimidating aura, were charging toward them from both ends of the hallway.
Bella noticed the family freezing in place. She was just as stunned.
What was happening? Robbers? This bold? In broad daylight, inside an airport?
The father in the family instinctively reached for his phone to call the police, but before he could dial, the four assailants were upon them.
The leader, a burly man with a rough face, lunged at Bella, his massive hand aiming for her shoulder.
Were they after her?
She wasn't about to surrender without a fight. Ever since realizing this was the Marvel world, she'd been on high alert—and had come prepared with pepper spray.
She emptied half the canister straight into the man's eyes, then followed up with the classic move every woman kept in her arsenal: the groin kick.
Tall and long-legged, she'd been saving this one. Precise, ruthless, and utterly merciless!
The man had no defense against such an attack. Clutching his injured pride, he crumpled to the ground, writhing in agony.
But before Bella could even catch her breath, another assailant—a lanky man—was already in her face.
Without the element of surprise, Bella was just an ordinary girl. No martial arts training, no secret powers, no sudden enlightenment from a master.
Luckily, the mother of the family of five seemed to know her way around a fight.
She stepped in front of Bella, grabbed the lanky man's fist, pivoted, and—using her hips and back—flung him over her shoulder in a flawless judo throw.
In the blink of an eye, the two men from the west hallway were down.
After learning how dangerous this world could be, Bella had mentally prepared for anything. A few robbers? Please. If aliens popped up right now, she wouldn't even blink.
The family, however, reacted differently.
The father seemed hesitant, watching his wife take down the attackers but saying nothing.
The girl Bella had bumped into was practically vibrating with excitement, biting her lip as if itching to join the fight.
The older brother? No readable expression. Maybe in shock.
The little brother? No "maybe" about it—he was definitely in shock.
With six of them against four attackers, and the airport crowd starting to gather, the remaining two assailants hesitated.
The woman from the east hallway exchanged a glance with her partner. While he distracted the group, she circled around and made a grab for the little boy's toy car!
"Got it! Split up!" The fierce-eyed woman snatched the toy and bolted without a second glance.
Bella: Σ(⊙▽⊙')
She was floored.
All that drama… for a kid's toy car?
She didn't get Americans sometimes.
And that wasn't even the weirdest part. The man she'd kicked in the groin had a gun tucked in his waistband.
Sure, America had its issues, but people didn't just casually carry firearms everywhere.
Something was very off here.
(End of Chapter)