Lily felt as though someone was cutting into her body. She opened her eyes to severe pain. Amidst the dilapidated ruins, a colorful and massive spider scuttled rapidly across the collapsed building opposite.
Several silver flying objects resembling airplanes hovered in the sky, while bullets flashed with a crimson glow, weaving a dense web of fire, encircling the spider, which was as large as a small building.
Thick green slurry spurted from the spider's body, corroding the outer wall of the dilapidated building, emitting sizzling white smoke.
Was she dreaming? Why else would such a bizarre scene unfold?
Struggling to focus, Lily noticed the doctor cutting into the back of her hand, extracting a red leech-like worm. Countless pairs of long, slender, light pink legs spread from its abdomen, writhing in the air.
Lily, terrified of bugs, rolled her eyes and fainted.
Oh my god, she had only attended a comic convention, but on her way back, a Cadillac running a red light had struck her. The girl next to her screamed in fear. Darkness enveloped Lily as her body collapsed to the ground.
But was this a reason for such nightmares?
Why did she still feel intense pain even after losing consciousness? It felt as though red-hot iron was crushing her brain's nerves.
In the midst of agony, Lily's mind went blank, her soul imprisoned in eerie silence. Time lost meaning. It might have been a mere second or perhaps... 10,000 years. Suddenly, the chaotic sound of an electric current jolted her senses.
Beep beep beep.
Toot toot.
After the electric current ceased, consciousness briefly flickered, only to fade once more.
After what felt like an eternity, Lily regained consciousness. The sharp scent of disinfectant assailed her nostrils. A deep male voice spoke, "Survivors of large-scale accidents are fortunate to be resilient. The parasitic eggs were removed just after hatching, sparing any lasting damage."
Another voice chimed in, "Only one victim survived in that slum. The rest were fully parasitized by the Zerg. How she survived is beyond me."
"What now?"
"What else? To prevent any remaining insect eggs, the area is being sterilized at high temperatures. Many still retain their consciousness but are doomed to be burned alive."
"The situation is dire. Mutated mutants are highly contagious, and the Zerg pose a constant threat. Internal conflicts within our federation show no signs of abating."
"Why worry? When the sky falls, there will always be those to hold it up."
The doctors exited the ward, continuing their conversation. Shortly after, Lily overheard two individuals arguing outside her door.
"If you dare touch my brother again, I'll throttle you," a woman threatened angrily.
An arrogant male voice retorted, "I've already marked him. You can't change that even if you tried."
Amidst curses, the man added, "Stop meddling. Let me teach you a lesson."
Lily, semi-conscious, caught a whiff of cheap tobacco—a disagreeable scent amidst their dispute.
Why smoke during an argument?
As Lily pondered, a man's scream pierced the air, followed by the woman's disdainful remark, "The stench of inferior alpha is nauseating."
Alpha? Lily, a fan of ABO literature, recognized the term.
Was she indulging in such thoughts even on the brink of death?
Her phone!
It contained 400 gigabytes of personal data. Being hit by a car wasn't enough; was she to endure a social death too?
This was cruel!
Panic-stricken, Lily struggled to open her eyes, expecting to confront excruciating pain. Instead, she felt an inexplicable surge of strength.
Blinking through bleary eyes, she surveyed the hospital ceiling, adorned with hanging IV bags. Gradually, clarity replaced the fog in her vision. Sitting up, she scanned the empty bed beside her.
No one awaited her awakening.
Born into a wealthy yet emotionally distant family, Lily had grown accustomed to solitude. Her parents' divorce left her in the care of her grandparents. Materially pampered, emotionally neglected—such was her life.
Perhaps her parents were busy, or the hospital had yet to contact them. Maybe they were engrossed in business and couldn't attend immediately.
Sighing, Lily glanced at her damp hand. Delicate and slender, it was now—somehow—a masculine hand, its long fingers exuding strength.
Whose hand was this?
Masculine and powerful, it bore no resemblance to her delicate frame. Lily's mind reeled as she moved her fingers, watching the hand respond with fluid grace.
Goosebumps prickled her skin.
Examining her left hand, she marveled at its strength and symmetry—traits at odds with her femininity.
Where was the manicure she'd indulged in yesterday?
Was this a dream?
It must be.
With trembling hands, Lily tore off the IV line, stumbling out of bed and into the bathroom.
Midway, the urge to urinate hit her. Unbuttoning her pants, her hand brushed against something alien—a long, substantial appendage she'd never expected to possess.
Warm and unfamiliar, it hung between her legs, neither fully rigid nor soft. Its presence weighed heavily on Lily.
Urination was urgent, pressing. Standing before the toilet, Lily hesitated.
This was her first time urinating standing up—outside of a shower.
Post-urination, she hesitated over whether to wipe. The act felt foreign, uncomfortable.
Should she?
Shouldn't she?
After much deliberation, Lily mustered the courage to wipe, her actions tentative.
Exiting the bathroom, she felt utterly shattered.
The extent of her transformation defied description.
Returning to her ward, Lily examined her breasts—or what used to be. Hard and unyielding, they resembled warm stones.
No more worries about sagging, she mused.
Rubbing them absentmindedly, Lily startled as a nurse entered, casting a curious glance at her chest.
"I know female alphas like flaunting their assets, but isn't this a bit much?" the nurse remarked, perplexing Lily.
"Female alpha?" she echoed.
The nurse nodded, eyeing Lily's chest enviously. "Your endurance must be remarkable."
Confused, Lily sought answers from a helpful beta patient. Through their conversation, she gleaned basic societal norms: it was the interstellar era, inhabited by ABOs, Zergs, and mutants.
The silver bracelet adorning her wrist functioned as a personal terminal—a blend of ID and cellphone.
Her breasts, now referred to as "humps," stored energy akin to a camel's humps, granting remarkable endurance to female alphas.
With newfound understanding and a plethora of questions, Lily embarked on her journey in this unfamiliar world.