[Kindhearted passerby, would you like this little puppy, little wolf, little fox, little cat, little rabbit, little panda, little lion, little leopard, little tiger, little bird, little snake, little peacock, little shark, little shrimp, little pig, little cow, or little horse?]
"Stop talking nonsense!" Xiao Jinsheng erupted in frustration, "Send me back already! I don't need to run a zoo!"
What had she, a fragile college student, done to deserve this?
Exhausting herself to fail an 800-meter run, choking on a bun she ate tearfully, only to be mistakenly sentenced to death by the Divine Gold System and thrown into a world overrun by zombies.
With her weak build, her running speed might not even beat that of a crawling elderly zombie missing a leg.
Xiao Jinsheng was well aware of her fragility. There was no way she'd agree to stay in the apocalypse!
The system refused her plea, so she went rogue, flailing around and rolling on the floor in the virtual space.
[Kindhearted passerby, I sincerely apologize for the program's error that bound you to the apocalypse.]
[However, your body in the original world has already started cremation. Even if I sent you back, you'd wake up in the cremation furnace.]
[Time is irreversible, and the mistake has been made. Considering your physique is just... a teensy bit weak, survival in the apocalypse will be tough. To compensate, I've arranged for you to have five powerful bodyguards. How does that sound?]
"More animals again?" Xiao Jinsheng recalled the long list of creatures the system had initially rattled off.
[They're not just simple animals.]
The system said, tossing five high-resolution images in front of Xiao Jinsheng's eyes.
One had ink-purple hair, blood-streaked black scales along his cheek and waistline, with eerie purple eyes that exuded dark menace—half man, half snake, and battle-scarred.
Another had white hair and cat ears, with mismatched gold and blue pupils, lying among the flowers with his shirt slightly open, trying to stay stern-faced but failing to hide the amused twitch of his lips—a tsundere youth.
The third had fierce golden eyes, an unruly scowl, a bandage dangling from his mouth as he lifted his shirt hem, revealing smooth muscle lines and visible abs—an intense black-haired young man.
Then there was one with a warm smile, soft blue eyes full of affection, wearing an apron while baking intricate pastries in a kitchen—his light orange semi-curly hair radiated gentleness.
Finally, there stood a red-haired man with blazing wings, suspended in fiery clouds with orange-red eyes full of disdain for all, yet his strikingly handsome face retained an elegant smile.
Xiao Jinsheng looked at one picture after another, overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the five men, unsure of where to direct her gaze.
"System, are you sure these are the five bodyguards you're compensating me with?"
[Of course~]
[Kindhearted passerby~ Since you're satisfied, the virtual space won't last long. Once it collapses, you could easily get swarmed by zombies. Shall I transport you to your bodyguards now?]
"Yes, yes, hurry and send me over!" Faced with no return, the prospect of survival, and five gorgeous, extraordinarily well-built bodyguards, Xiao Jinsheng clapped her hands in anticipation.
[Kindhearted passerby~ Please press '1' to initiate the transfer.]
"1111111!" Xiao Jinsheng raised her index fingers and poked furiously at the abs in the bodyguard photos.
[Initiating transfer. Transfer complete. Kindhearted passerby, I wish you a pleasant journey.]
Having wrapped up its messy mistake, the system vanished without a trace.
Xiao Jinsheng nodded with satisfaction.
If you knew I had five handsome bodyguards, you'd think I was super lucky too.
"If you want to die, go ahead! Just don't drag us down, alright?" An irate yell rang beside her, and as Xiao Jinsheng opened her eyes, she came face-to-face with a blood-drenched zombie.
She didn't even have time for her legs to give out before someone wrapped a firm arm around her waist and whisked her away from the zombie swarm.
Caught by curiosity, Xiao Jinsheng tilted her head up, spotting a white-haired youth who had saved her—his fuzzy pointed cat ears bathed in sunlight, almost radiating a holy glow.
One glance was all Xiao Jinsheng needed to confirm—this was her husband, no... her bodyguard.
Flooded with unrestrained excitement, Xiao Jinsheng's eyes sparkled, but Yu Yunxiao, the white-haired youth, barely concealed his disgust. "Xiao Jinsheng, is this fun for you? If you want to die, just divorce me first!"
"Huh?" Xiao Jinsheng blinked, completely dumbfounded.
Di—Divorce?
Divorce.
When did I get married?
Weren't they supposed to be bodyguards? How did they end up as beast husbands?
Still puzzled, Xiao Jinsheng's head suddenly erupted in sharp pain.
Countless fragments of memories poured into her mind, each new piece draining the color from her gently flushed face.
As she absorbed the memories of the original owner of the body, Xiao Jinsheng felt as though the sky had collapsed.
This time, her legs really gave out, and she fell to the cement ground.
Yu Yunxiao, who initially reached out to support her in instinct, hesitated as memories of the woman's vile behaviors flashed through his mind. He swiftly withdrew his hand.
Curious, he looked at Xiao Jinsheng sitting on the ground, her face veiling a despair so profound it bordered on tragic.
"This... this is worse than choking to death," Xiao Jinsheng mourned internally.
Through the original owner's memories, along with the system's data dump, Xiao Jinsheng realized she hadn't merely transmigrated into an apocalypse, but into a post-apocalyptic novel.
And her identity? She was the villainess—a wicked supporting character used to highlight the gentle, kind-hearted heroine.
This was a world devastated by an apocalypse, where the ratio of men to women was skewed and birth rates were dangerously low. Upon turning 18, every human would have their marriage assigned by the terminal system, based on an algorithm.
The purpose? To preserve humanity and ensure the survival of fragile women.
Xiao Jinsheng had grown up as the heroine's neighbor, spending her entire life obsessed with outshining her. She competed with the heroine over everything, burning with the desire to win.
But after more than a decade of rivalry, she'd never scored a single victory—not even in terms of terminal-assigned beast husbands.
The terminal gave the heroine six beast husbands, but only allocated five to Xiao Jinsheng. Xiao Jinsheng was furious.
The heroine's beast husband included a magnificent gold flood dragon, while hers was a sickly black snake. Dragon beats snake—first rage.
The heroine's beast husband included a mighty white tiger, while hers was a pretty but unimpressive cat. Tiger beats cat—second rage.
The heroine's beast husband included a noble snow leopard, while hers was a snarly black leopard. Leopard beats leopard (when color preference matters)—third rage.
The heroine's beast husband included a dominant grey wolf, while hers was a timid, gentle sheep. Wolf eats sheep—fourth rage.
The heroine's beast husband included a splendid peacock, while hers was a tiny red bird just big enough to hold. Peacock dazzles tiny bird—fifth rage.
A life spent in constant comparison to the heroine had left Xiao Jinsheng bitter. Even the terminal's allocation seemed partial to the heroine.
Unable to direct her anger at the terminal, Xiao Jinsheng vented all of her frustrations onto her five beast husbands.
While the heroine's six beast husbands seemed to live in blissful harmony, Xiao Jinsheng's five were subjected to hell.
Daily verbal abuse, weekly physical beatings—it was routine.
This particular Mist Continent, however, had unique rules governing marriage. Out of a need to protect rare women, it prohibited divorce unless the wife agreed.
If the husband died, the wife's spiritual power would be damaged.
But if the wife died, all beast husbands would perish alongside her.
This protection was precisely why Xiao Jinsheng could treat her five beast husbands like punching bags without any repercussions.
With the system's information and the novel's plot loaded into her brain, Xiao Jinsheng understood her futile efforts to compete with the heroine had descended into obsession. Her relationships with her five beast husbands had already reached rock bottom.