"Ugh... My head's spinning, where the hell am I?"
He rubbed his temples and slowly pushed himself upright. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw several figures in black robes standing with their backs to him, gathered just a short distance away.
'Who are they...? Why are there strangers in my house?'
The thought instantly cleared his dizziness—after all, having intruders in one's own home would be enough to jolt anyone awake.
But then he noticed something odd.
'Why does my chest feel so heavy?'
Curious, he looked down.
And there—right before his eyes—were a pair of strikingly prominent, full breasts, with a tiny mole on the left one.
'Wait… Is this me? Did I turn into a girl?!'
Given the unmistakably empty feeling below his waist and his extensive experience reading gender-bender novels, he immediately grasped what happened.
His "big dragon" was definitely gone—his equipment was downgraded to a "dragon pit"!
However, there was no time to mourn his departed junior, especially not in this unfamiliar, unsettling environment.
Slowly rising to her feet, she began surveying her surroundings.
After this careful observation, she became nearly certain: she'd somehow been transported to another world.
The robed figures, the crumbling walls and door, and the strange altar-like platform beneath her feet—all of it clashed completely with anything from her ordinary life.
If this wasn't a cliched isekai transmigration, then what else could it be?
It couldn't possibly be that someone had drugged, kidnapped, flown her overseas for gender reassignment surgery, and dumped her here—right? And even if they had, they needed her alive while keeping her unconscious the whole time. What possible motive could they have? Her bank account balance of less than a thousand bucks?
At that absurd thought, she nearly chuckled at her own ridiculous imagination.
Shaking off these wild musings, she began to think deeply about the present situation.
'Those robed figures seem to be exchanging gunfire with someone... and they haven't noticed me yet.'
Gunfire echoed continuously from outside—intense and rapid, growing louder by the second.
Just as she debated whether to seize the chance to escape or to stay put and wait...
Suddenly, a mechanical electronic voice, accompanied by subtitles, rang inside her mind:
[Honkai: Star Rail Gacha System Activated]
[Due to the host suffering cardiac arrest from overexcitement after pulling seven Cipher in a single ten-roll, the system has assigned your initial character: Cipher.]
[Earn Stellar Jades in this world by "influencing" events. Stellar Jades can be used for gacha pulls. Upon obtaining a 5★ character, additional characters will unlock.]
A... cheat ability?!
Hearing this system announcement, Cipher froze for a moment—then instantly understood.
"Initial character: Cipher... That means, System, does this mean I'm currently in Cipher's body?"
The system offered no reply.
Undeterred, Cipher looked down at herself.
Around her neck hung a coin bearing the grinning, one-eyed face of a cat—exactly like the one Cipher tosses when activating Chrono Surge in the story.
And from behind her, a tail swayed into view, flicking playfully before her eyes.
Fascinated, she reached back to touch it. The fur felt soft and warm beneath her fingers, and controlling it felt as natural as moving her own limbs—except when left alone, it moved on its own.
Next, she raised a hand to her head and quickly found a pair of fuzzy cat ears.
But the moment her fingers brushed them, she jerked her hand back as if shocked.
'Why is it so ticklish?! I thought it'd feel like touching my tail—no big deal...'
Her cheeks flushed slightly.
Now she was absolutely certain: she'd truly become Cipher!
The gunfire outside grew even louder, closing in fast. She quickly set aside her self-exploration and plucked the coin from her chest, holding it tightly.
Staring at the cat-faced coin, a question formed: If I've become Cipher, does that mean I've inherited all her powers too? The system never mentioned needing to unlock abilities separately...
Clenching her fist, she flicked the coin into the air.
The instant it left her hand, Cipher froze.
The coin hung motionless midair—frozen in time.
Only her sharp eyes could detect its imperceptibly slow drift.
"Did I... just activate Chrono Surge?"
She whispered in awe.
Not only had the coin stilled, but the furious gunfire outside had vanished completely the moment she'd tossed it.
Deciding to investigate the robed figures up close, Cipher took a step forward—then immediately lost balance.
Unaccustomed to high heels and the unfamiliar weight on her chest, she lurched forward, nearly toppling over.
Instinctively reaching out to steady herself, she stumbled several more steps—but only worsened her imbalance.
The cramped room offered little space; within seconds, she crashed headfirst into the wall, finally halting her clumsy stumble.
"Hss... That didn't even hurt?"
Rubbing her forehead as she pushed off the wall, Cipher frowned in confusion.
She'd expected a painful impact—but it felt like nothing more than a gentle tap.
Then realization struck.
Who was she now? Cipher—the Demigod of Deceit! Even without Mydei's immortality, a demigod surely wouldn't feel pain from a simple wall bump.
After briefly adjusting to the heels and her new chest weight, walking became natural again.
As for her tail—it seamlessly synchronized with her movements without any conscious effort!
Satisfied, she approached the robed figures and finally saw who they were fighting.
A hulking man over two meters tall, fists clad in gleaming metallic gauntlets, relentlessly pounded toward the robed group. Several of them fired pistol-like weapons at him, bullets flying thick and fast.
Yet those bullets hung suspended in midair, crawling forward at a snail's pace—like a real-life bullet time scene from The Matrix, except she was the one controlling the slowdown.
'This Chrono Surge ability is amazing! It's practically time stop!'
Giddy with excitement, Cipher darted playfully between frozen bullets and motionless figures, utterly untouchable.
After indulging in this thrilling new power for a while, she turned her attention back to the combatants.
She quickly spotted a teenage girl hiding behind the giant, using him as cover while firing her own pistol at the robed enemies.
Near the building's entrance, another girl of similar age clutched what looked like a laptop, anxiously watching the chaos unfold inside.
Having taken in the full scene, Cipher returned to her original spot and plucked the still-floating coin from the air.
Instantly, time snapped back to normal. Gunfire erupted anew, deafening and chaotic.
'I'll stay and observe for now. With Cipher's powers, even if things go south, no one could possibly catch me if I decide to run.'
With that thought, she slipped into a nearby wardrobe and settled in to watch