Alva Gabrielle never expected death to feel this… ordinary.
One second she was lying on her bed, scrolling through the last chapter of Hareming Beastmen: Apocalypse Edition like she always did every night—
—next second the world snapped like someone cut a cable inside her brain.
Dark. Silent. Nothing.
And then—
Heat.
She gasped and choked on air that was not her room's stale AC breeze.
She sat up, heart pounding, eyes blown wide.
This wasn't her bedroom.
This was a cracked asphalt ground, buildings shattered, metallic dust floating through the air like glitter from hell. Red clouds dragged across the sky like old scars. A siren wailed in the distance — low, broken, dying.
Her breath stilled.
"Wait… this scene…" she whispered.
This was the EXACT place from chapter 17 of her favorite novel.
The exact moment the meteor fragments fell.
The exact moment the world mutated.
"Am I really— inside the story?"
Her hands trembled. But not because of fear.
Because she knew what came next.
Screams exploded from the street corner — sharp, wild, uncontrolled. A woman ran past her barefoot, her pupils blown wide, her skin turning cracked grey like old stone. She dropped to the floor and screeched like an animal, bones twisting beneath her skin—
Monster.
Mutating.
Exactly how the novel said.
Alva stumbled backward, heart pounding so loud she felt it in her teeth.
80% of humans would turn into mindless killers.
20% would evolve into beastmen with power.
And females… would become rare.
She grabbed her reflection in a broken shop window — her face stared back at her.
Same her.
Same body.
Except—
Her features looked softer.
Her eyes looked brighter.
Her skin looked like she spent 50k on skincare.
She looked… beautiful.
That was her "gift"?
No cheat.
No system.
Just beauty.
Alva's voice broke into a bitter laugh.
"Are you kidding me? I asked for a golden finger, and they gave me a pretty face?"
A shadow moved behind her.
Her blood froze.
Slow, heavy footsteps.
Not monster-like — steadier. Controlled.
She turned and saw him.
Tall. Broad. Bare arms dusted with faint silver fur. Sharp eyes like a wolf sizing prey — or treasure. The mutation had already started; she could feel the power in him like static.
A beastman.
He looked at her as if she was something priceless.
"You're female," he said, voice low.
Alva swallowed hard.
And she suddenly realized something:
Beauty wasn't a gift.
In this world — it was bait.