Zoey's POV
[System binding in progress, please choose a. agree, b. agree]
Before I died, a strange voice popped into my head. I was already dying, and now it was giving me a multiple-choice question?
"I agree…" Damn it! Before I could finish speaking, I spat out blood and died instantly.
I was on a mission abroad, but because of my teammate's betrayal, the mission failed. I was unlucky enough to be shot in the head by the enemy. I died with my eyes open, full of unwillingness.
Right before my death, I saw my close teammate standing next to a smug, lawless criminal.
A bullet pierced through my skull. I didn't even have time to feel the pain.
[System binding complete! Current level: 1000. Points: 100,000,000,000]
[1000 points deducted. Auto downgrade to level 999]
[Beginner downgrade gift pack available!]
I opened my eyes. I wasn't dead?
Shot in the head, impossible!
Looking around, I saw rocks. Not far away was a cave entrance. I was in a cave, and a voice in my head told me this was the Beast World of another continent.
I tried to get up and look around, but then noticed my body was covered in fur. I even had a tail behind me. A fox?
And a smelly one at that. Me, a super agent from the 25th century, had turned into a vulgar little fox? I'd rather die!
[Host must enjoy within one day, or suffer the pain of being burned alive]
Enjoy my ass! I wasn't afraid of death, why would I fear fire?
Thinking about how my whole team had been wiped out, my heart ached.
We had gone through so many trials, resisted temptations, and hidden for three years. Finally, the time to capture the enemy came, but I still didn't understand why my comrade betrayed us.
Why couldn't I become a vengeful ghost, find him, and demand answers? Why couldn't I avenge my dead teammates? Living as a useless fox, what was the point?
I didn't care what "enjoy" meant. I just laid there motionless like a corpse.
[Does the host want to experience the pain of being burned alive?]
My mind was full of failure, betrayal, and grief. I ignored the system.
[Does the host want to experience the pain of being burned alive?]
The voice came again. I still ignored it.
If the mission had succeeded, I would have earned glory and at least three promotions. On a larger scale, removing such a threat would have been a huge service to my country and its people.
Why did he betray us? I couldn't die peacefully!
[Default set to agree. Reward: 1000 points. Auto upgrade to level 1000. Points: 100,000,000,000. Experience begins!]
While I was lost in grief, sudden burning pain spread through my body. It grew stronger and stronger, making me leap from the stone.
The pain was like being stabbed with countless needles and roasted over fire at the same time.
I screamed in agony. "Ahhh!"
"I'm not afraid of death, just give me a quick one!"
My whole body was overwhelmed with sharp, searing pain. I had never felt this even deep in enemy territory. I couldn't even curse anymore.
[Don't worry host, you are immortal]
Hearing this, I fainted. Before losing consciousness, I heard the system's cheerful reminder:
[Kind reminder: Experience complete]
When I woke up again, the sky outside was completely dark, but the moonlight was bright.
[Congratulations host for waking up again. Please enjoy. Time left: two hours. Otherwise, you will feel the pain of being burned alive again, and the experience time will double!]
Hearing this, I shivered. Living worse than death must feel like that. I wasn't afraid of dying, but I didn't want to suffer the pain of being burned alive again.
If I was facing an enemy's test, I wasn't afraid at all. But to spend points just to torture myself, only an idiot would do that.
After calming down, I finally understood what the system meant by "enjoy." It meant I had to get pregnant, give birth, and become a mother.
"What kind of joke is this? I've never even been in love. With who am I supposed to have a baby? And besides, I'm still… an animal!"
The system ignored my complaints.
[The system will downgrade depending on the completion progress. The faster the downgrade, the more rewards and points deducted.]
[The more points deducted, the faster the downgrade. If the task is not completed, points will increase, the level will rise, and there will also be punishments.]
I didn't bother to analyze these downgrade rules. What caught my attention the most was that after downgrading all the way from 999 to level 1, the ultimate reward package would actually be resurrection for me and my teammates.
As long as I could bring myself and my teammates back to life, I was willing to do anything.
So what if I had to downgrade 999 levels?
So what if I had to give birth and become a mother?
But still, how was a fox supposed to give birth?
No matter what, I had to go back. I had to punish the traitor, finish the mission, and make sure my teammates didn't die in vain.
I decided to keep downgrading. First, I opened the beginner's gift pack from the system.
[Beginner's gift pack has been automatically opened]
[Given: one Beginner Power Pill, can help you greatly, duration 30 minutes]
[Given: one Beginner Transformation Pill, can change into human form anytime, transformation lasts 30 minutes]
[Given: one Treasure Crystal Pill, after taking it you will become extremely strong and accurate in every strike. Host may use as needed]
Looking at the pills in the system, then looking at the fur covering my body, I turned my head left and right. It actually felt very comfortable. I really liked this fur.
In my previous life, I always wanted to buy a fox-fur scarf.
Now, as long as resurrection was possible, everything looked acceptable to me.
Out of curiosity, I swallowed a red Transformation Pill.
This was my human form. Long, shiny white hair flowed down my back. My skin was soft and white like a newborn baby. My body was curvy, clearly beautiful.
Too bad there was no mirror. I couldn't see what my face looked like, but with such a perfect figure, I was already very satisfied.
But in the middle of the night, with the cold wind blowing, being naked felt really chilly.
Then the system's voice spoke again:
[First successful transformation. System rewards one gift pack!]
I opened the gift pack and found a set of very loose coarse clothes. Ugly.
But whether it looked good or not didn't matter. I quickly put it on. With one more layer, I instantly felt much warmer.
"Couldn't you at least give me a mirror? I want to see what I look like!"
The system acted arrogant and didn't answer.
This Beginner Transformation Pill only lasted 30 minutes, but later, as I downgraded, I would receive higher-grade ones.
Anyway, everything about the system worked in reverse. I only needed to downgrade as quickly as possible.
Through the system's explanation, I slowly understood that in this Beast World, creatures that fly in the sky, crawl on the ground, or swim in the water were all divided by different talents and attributes.
The lowest rank had to serve the middle rank, the middle rank had to submit to the high rank, and the high rank ultimately lived for the females. The lowest rank could not transform into beast-men, while the high rank could transform at will.
As for me, I was in a special category. I had no talent or attribute, and could only use transformation pills to take human form.
There was also another fact. In this Beast World, each clan had very few females. Only once in about ten years would a female be born, and all the rest were males.
This meant that aside from natural talents and ranks, the kind of children a female gave birth to also determined the father's level. But so far, every female of every clan had only given birth to males.
Right now, different clans in the Beast World were not allowed to interbreed. Each clan had its own territory. Anyone who crossed the border would be punished and expelled.
I frowned. Too many males, too few females. If I went out, wouldn't it be dangerous?
But if I didn't go out, where would I find my kind?
[System reminder: A suitable male has been found for you. Please adapt quickly and unlock a new level!]
Where? I was just about to ask the system when I suddenly heard a noise outside. I pricked my ears and listened toward the cave entrance, but then it went quiet.
Maybe it was the wind? I felt nervous and didn't dare to move.
Rustling sounds started again…
The noise came closer from the cave entrance. It didn't sound like two feet walking. Hiding behind a rock, I didn't dare stick my head out, but I was sure it was a four-legged animal.
The hairs on my body stood on end as I listened. For the sake of reviving myself and my teammates, I couldn't back down.
Except for snakes, I wasn't afraid of any animal. Besides, I had already died once. What was there to fear?
When the creature outside came closer, I quietly peeked out and saw a thin, bony little fox with a long snout and sunken eyes. The system gave a message:
Attribute: Male Fox
Parentage: Father Heyadelu as Heaven, Mother Yelalai as Earth, born from their union
Talent: Mist and smoke
Rank: Middle
Transformation: No
[System reminder: This male is suitable. Please host, go all out!]
I doubted it in my mind and asked the system: Are you sure this one is right for me?
Forget about being a perfect match, at least it should look good, right? Me, such a great beauty, was supposed to have a child with this scruffy little thing?
[System confirmed! A suitable male has been found for you. Please host, boldly go ahead!]
Go all out? Boldly go ahead? How was I supposed to do that?
Besides, I wasn't in fox form now. The transformation pill's time hadn't run out, but I couldn't control turning back to my original form. One human, one fox—what kind of scene would that be?
[Time left: thirty minutes. Host will suffer the pain of being burned alive! Duration will be doubled!]
"…"
One human, one fox. Such a bizarre thing had never even been heard of, and now it was supposed to happen to me?
Just as I was about to ask the system what I should do, I realized I had already turned back into my fox form. The transformation pill's time was up.
The little fox in front of me pulled out something like a night pearl, and the cave lit up instantly. I noticed his yellow fur was filthy.
Could it be a stray? I felt even more unwilling…
At the same time, the little fox also noticed that there was another of his kind in this cave. Looking at my clean, tidy white fur, he thought I must be a higher rank of his kind, so he politely asked,
"I was sent out by the elder of my clan to handle some tasks. I traveled all day and wanted to rest here for a while and also look for something to eat. I didn't know you were already here…"
I looked at the little fox in front of me. The pearl in his hand was quite nice.
His voice was polite and sounded very gentle. No wonder he was so dirty—he had traveled the whole day.
Looking for food? Around here there were only rocks, no food at all. He looked very hungry. I remembered that I had a Baojing Pill in my system, so I took it out and tossed it to him.
"Thank you!" Without hesitation, he swallowed it in one bite.
I thought: He didn't even ask? Kind of dumb…
As soon as he swallowed the pill, Fuxi felt a warm flow spread through his belly. His whole body was filled with life force, reaching a state he had never experienced before.
Seeing that I didn't speak, Fuxi spoke softly again, "Then I'll stay by the cave entrance for the night. When it's daylight, I'll leave."
Seeing me still staring at the pearl in his hand, he added,
"When I leave, I'll give this to you. My father gave it to me to use for light."
I nodded. He probably didn't dare walk further into the forest in the dark, afraid of crossing into another clan's territory. If that happened, not only would he fail to return, he might even lose his life.
I couldn't help complaining in my heart. Could it be I had a thing for voices?
This little fox's voice was soft like water. I thought, if he could take human form, he would definitely be a refined scholar. The more I listened, the more my ears couldn't get enough. Thinking of this, I began to feel restless as I looked at him.
"My name is Zoey. How old are you?" I asked. Better not be underage—I couldn't do that.
As soon as I spoke, the little fox looked shocked and quickly jumped back several steps.
I hadn't figured out what was going on when I heard him ask softly, his voice carrying both surprise and a slight tremble,
"You are female?"
"Yes." I stepped closer, wanting to explain, "Yes, I want to…" discuss something with you.
Before I could finish, the little fox pounced on me. Damn! Were beasts always this forward?
Of course, as a modern advanced human, how could I let myself be the passive one? Until dawn, I was always the one attacking.
"My name is Fuxi. I'm one hundred and thirty-two years old…"
I didn't hear what else he said. My mind was stuck on the fact that this fox was actually one hundred and thirty-two years old? My age wasn't even a fraction of his…
Oh my God!
[System check: Male consumed Baojing Pill. Success rate one hundred percent. Host is now pregnant!]
"!!!" Damn.
[Level decreased by two. Points deducted: 2000. Current level: 997. One downgrade gift package awarded!]
I had dropped two levels at once. I quickly opened the gift package.
[Downgrade gift package has been opened. Please check immediately!]
I looked inside. This time the gift package contained: (Two Beginner Transformation Pills, two Beginner Support Pills, two Baojing Pills, two Pregnancy Protection Pills, two Memory Pills).