The sky churned with dense, dark clouds. Thunder rolled like a conductor swinging a baton across the heavens, and flashes of lightning turned the gray afternoon into a brief, blinding day. Rain began to fall—wild, torrential—pounding the earth like a broken string of pearls. The storm roared, and the steady rhythm of crash, drip, tock echoed through the air.
In front of a tidy tombstone, a girl stood quietly, holding a black umbrella. Her face was beautiful but distant, her eyes locked onto the photograph etched into the cold granite.
Beside her stood another girl, slightly tanner, about the same age. Holding an umbrella of her own, she spoke gently.
"Let's go, Bella. It's going to pour soon."
Bella nodded slightly. "Thank you for coming with me, Angie."
"Whoa, are you seriously thanking me right now? So sad! Now I'm going to have to punish you—flower park walk, after this."
Bella smiled faintly. "Angie, you know me..."
"Don't say no, I'll be so heartbroken."
"Okay, okay~"
As their voices faded into the downpour, the two girls disappeared into the curtain of rain.
Back at Bella's modest 90-square-meter home, the cozy European-style interior was warm and inviting. Modern fixtures and tasteful furniture gave the house a sense of simplicity and order. Soft lighting spilled from overhead reflectors and corner lamps, creating a peaceful glow that contrasted the chaos outside.
But Bella didn't care about lighting or design. She headed straight for the bathroom, shedding her coat and drying her damp skin with a towel. As she stood by the sink, her golden hair dripped slightly onto the counter. She reached for a pink towel, wrapping it around her head. But when she glanced at the mirror, she paused.
The face staring back at her didn't belong to a man anymore.
Shallow, finely arched brows. Bright, phoenix-like eyes with emerald irises. A delicate nose and sakura-pink lips rested above a finely sculpted jawline. Her skin was flawless—almost translucent—save for a few faint bruises on her arms and back.
She looked like a goddess from Greek mythology. Her figure stood over 170cm tall, graceful and poised. If anyone else had seen this reflection, they would have thought her blessed by the gods.
But Bella sighed bitterly.
In her past life, she had been an average guy. Not remarkable, but decent. He had gone through a mundane existence before waking up one day in this new world—in this body. The change had happened a month ago, and even now, it felt surreal. One moment he was a man, and the next... a beautiful orphaned girl named Bella.
And not just that.
Before the transmigration, her so-called father had died in a tragic car accident. Strangely, this event had triggered a windfall: a massive compensation of 1.5 million U.S. dollars. The payout included funeral costs, emotional damages, and projected future income.
The perpetrator chose to settle out of court and avoided prison, while Bella was left behind to deal with the aftermath. The police officer overseeing the case never let her meet the driver, citing emotional concerns—an understandable decision.
Over the past month, Bella had worked through the logistics, paperwork, and grief. School granted her an extended leave. But the truth was, she didn't mourn this man.
She had inherited Bella's memories. She knew what her so-called father was like.
A drug addict. A violent drunk. He'd abused Bella's predecessor both emotionally and physically. Starvation, beatings—those were routine. He had even considered selling her off to a local gang leader for quick cash.
But fate intervened. He died before he could carry out that final betrayal.
Bella didn't cry for him. In fact, she felt a strange sense of relief. The only thing he'd left her that held value was this house and the money.
And so, out of a polite gesture, she had brought Angie to his grave. A symbolic farewell.
Later, she lay on her bed in the dimly lit room, listening to the rain pattering against the window. Her thoughts were tangled.
This world wasn't normal.
It was dangerous.
It was... Marvel.
She had found out half a month ago.
It all started when her best friend Angie took her on a short drive in her father's car. They stopped at a gas station, and while Angie refueled, Bella wandered inside out of boredom. There, on a bulletin board, she saw a familiar name: Roxon.
It immediately rang a bell.
She wasn't a die-hard comic fan, but she had watched all the Marvel movies and followed Easter egg videos on YouTube. Roxon was a huge, shady corporate entity often tied to villainy and corruption in the Marvel Universe.
Back home, she looked it up—Roxon Energy Corporation. Sure enough, the real thing. Then she searched for Stark Industries. Boom. Another hit.
That's when the realization hit her like a brick: This is the Marvel Universe.
Her first reaction? Are you kidding me?!
Sure, she liked the movies—but live in that world? With aliens, killer robots, gods, mutants, and apocalyptic events every year?
Hell no.
Still, what could she do?
She had been given a second chance at life—just with a few unexpected strings attached. She needed to find a way to survive. If worse came to worst, maybe she'd cling to one of those bald, muscle-bound superheroes. She chuckled bitterly at the thought.
Feeling hungry, Bella stood and made her way to the kitchen. That morning, she had bought a fresh fish and four live crabs, hoping seafood might help her brain recover from all this stress.
In her past life, she'd been a decent cook. Wasn't every man who lived alone basically a home chef? She prided herself on that. Her predecessor, too, had picked up culinary skills as a survival tactic—cooking to avoid her father's wrath.
That trauma became an unexpected asset.
Under the bright kitchen lights, she rolled up her sleeves, tied on an apron, and prepped the chopping board. She laid out the fresh fish and reached for the cleaver.
But just as she struck off the head of the fish—
Whoosh.
Her vision blurred.
A warm, almost sunlit current pulsed through her body, melting her fatigue and clearing her mind.
Then—
Hum~
A screen materialized in front of her eyes. Transparent blue, circular, about forty centimeters in diameter. Like a game interface.
Catherine Isa Bella
Strength: F-
Stamina: C
Agility: F
Magic: F
Mental Power: F+
Luck: C
Noble Phantasm: None
Riding: D-
Intuition: D
Charisma: A
Bella froze.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the stats. It looked way too familiar.
"This... this looks like a Heroic Spirit template from Fate/stay night," she whispered.
Was she a Heroic Spirit now? No. That was dumb. More likely, this was her Gold Finger—the cheat system common in transmigration stories.
Still, the stats were underwhelming. Strength F-? Great. That meant she could walk to the store but not carry the groceries.
Stamina C was okay. Magic and mental power—average. But charisma A? That tracked. Her predecessor was the school belle. Everyone loved her.
But why now?
It had been a month since transmigration. Why did her cheat system only appear after butchering a fish?
Then it hit her.
The timing was too perfect. The panel had activated right after she took a life—albeit a fish's.
She narrowed her eyes at the four crabs nearby, crawling around cluelessly in the bucket.
Time for an experiment.
She lit the stove, boiled water in a large pot, and tossed in one crab.
Grunt... grunt...
Steam rose as Bella watched the floating panel. Seconds later, she felt the warmth again. The display flickered—Strength: F, Magic: F+.
Her eyes widened.
It worked.
One crab = two upgraded stats.
She tossed in the remaining three.
Another flash of warmth, another slight stat boost. Agility: F+.
Her heart pounded with excitement. She stared at her hand, clenched her fist—and felt strength pulsing in her veins. Slight, but undeniable.
Her cheat system had rules.
Killing living beings—absorbing some form of life energy—granted her power.
It was like leveling up in a game.
Bella couldn't help but grin.
She finally had something.
Something that could help her survive the Marvel Universe.