Chapter 3 | Miss Destiny's Speedrun Manual

The instant the figure looked over, Freya felt the hairs on her body stand on end. A primal terror welled up from the depths of her heart, whispering incessantly in her ear: Run! Run fast!

This feeling was like a mouse seeing a cat, or a rabbit seeing a snake—a fear of predators engraved in the deepest part of a living being's genetic code.

It was precisely this fear that allowed small animals to flee at the very first opportunity, giving them a higher chance of survival.

However, the greatest achievement of human evolution was the ability to suppress primal instincts with reason, to consciously override nature. Freya swallowed hard and forced herself to keep moving forward. After all, she was only in a simulation. The worst-case scenario was just dying a bit earlier, which was no big deal.

“Hey, you! What are you looking at near my house?” Freya said, lowering her voice as much as possible. Yet, because of her natural tone, it lacked any real intimidation, sounding instead like a hissing, ruffled kitten.

But the “stalker” acted as if he hadn't heard her. He took a step forward, swaying side to side like a drunkard as he stumbled in her direction, muttering something strange under his breath.

Since they were still some distance apart and he was speaking softly, Freya couldn't make out his words. She frowned, her right palm sweating against the grip of the revolver. Still, she didn't stop, continuing her advance. From an outside perspective, it looked as though they were rushing toward each other.

When they were barely two paces apart, the stalker reached out with his right hand, seemingly trying to grab the young girl. But Freya's reflexes were quick. She instantly drew her revolver, gripped it with both hands, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

After all, it was her first time firing a gun, and she had never received any training. Her accuracy was bound to be terrible, but at such close range, there was no need to aim.

“Bang—!”

The sharp gunshot echoed through the empty street. Even though she was prepared, Freya's ears still rang, and her wrists felt numb. The weapon shop owner hadn't lied; this gun packed a serious punch.

Before her eyes, the stalker's clothes around his abdomen were quickly dyed red. Any normal person taking a bullet like that would have collapsed to the ground, clutching their stomach and screaming in agony. Yet, bizarrely, this guy seemed completely immune to pain. His right hand continued forward, clamping onto Freya's shoulder.

“Hiss...”

Instead, it was Freya who gasped. Her shoulder felt as if it were locked in a vice grip, agonizingly painful. How is this guy so strong?!

She quickly raised the barrel, aiming for his head this time. But at that moment, a white blur flashed past, followed immediately by a sharp, stabbing pain in her wrist.

A long, skeletal, segmented tail had emerged from behind the stalker. At the very tip was a sharp, curved bone spur—the very thing that had pierced Freya's wrist.

At the same time, she finally heard clearly what the stalker was muttering:

“Smells so good... So hungry...”

What kind of monster is this?! Freya's eyes widened. No normal human could take a bullet to the stomach and act completely unfazed, let alone grow a tail from their backside!

Freya had initially assumed that, aside from slightly backward technology, the world she had transmigrated into was a perfectly normal, ordinary place. But now, it seemed that was far from the truth.

Just as she froze in shock, with a sickening squelch, the tail bone was swiftly withdrawn and thrust forward again, impaling her chest.

It was too fast—so fast she couldn't even track it, let alone react. Freya grit her teeth and screamed frantically in her mind, End simulation!

Instantly, the entire world seemed to hit the pause button. Freya felt as though she had been holding her breath underwater for an eternity, finally breaking the surface. She threw her head back, instinctively gasping for air.

“Huff... Huff...”

What met her eyes now was not the dark street at night, nor that bizarre stalker, but the notebook on her desk and the rays of sunlight streaming through the window.

This was the exact moment she had first transmigrated, the very place where she had initiated the simulation.

Everything that had just occurred felt like a dream. However, after taking a moment to collect herself, she looked at the system interface before her and knew it was no dream.

【Simulation complete. Duration: 15 hours. Save this file?】

A small window appeared in front of Freya, displaying a 3D avatar. It was Freya herself, bundled up tightly with goggles, a face mask, and gloves. However, the avatar had obvious wounds on its wrist and chest, with blood continuously dripping down.

This was undoubtedly an unsuccessful save file. Even if she saved and summoned it, she probably wouldn't survive long without immediate hospitalization. But it was impossible for Freya to take another version of herself to the hospital, wasn't it?

Her gaze first hovered over the “Do Not Save” option, but she quickly noticed something and decisively chose “Save.”

【Select save slot: 00, 01】

She naturally chose Slot 01. Overwriting Slot 00 would be committing suicide.

Afterward, Freya stood up and went to the bathroom. Looking at the system interface, she thought: Summon Save 01.

The next second, a black-clad figure materialized out of thin air a meter in front of her. Freya felt her consciousness split in two—one soul, one will, simultaneously controlling two bodies.

Frankly, it was a novel sensation, but before she could enjoy it for long, both Freyas hissed in unison, “Ow, ow, ow...!”

Freya 01 quickly dropped the revolver in her hand, then unburdened herself of the ammunition boxes and the satchel of cash she carried on her back, placing everything on the floor.

Once that was done, the original Freya said urgently, “Dismiss save, quick!”

With that, her other self vanished into thin air, leaving behind only the weapons, the money, and a small pool of blood on the floor.

When she had looked at the 3D avatar earlier, she realized that all her equipment was still on its person. Thus, she wondered if she could “withdraw” them. As it turned out, it actually worked.

She first cleaned up the blood in the bathroom, put away the revolver, and finally opened the satchel. In the simulation, she had borrowed one hundred thousand Ducats from Brother Scar and spent fifty-four thousand to buy the gun, leaving forty-six thousand Ducats.

Compared to her original assets of three thousand, this was a massive, multi-fold increase.

“At this rate, won't I never have to worry about money again?”

If she ever ran low, she could just enter a simulation, borrow money from Brother Scar, and withdraw it.

Brother Scar was truly a saint!

Having figured that out, Freya began to reflect on the bizarre stalker. Returning to her bedroom, she sat on the edge of the bed and crossed her legs. Her cute, slipper-clad foot tapped rhythmically against the floor, making a soft tap-tap sound.

Without a doubt, that stalker was highly likely the “death crisis” three days from now. Perhaps he had been watching her for too long and, in three days, would finally lose control, break into her home, and eat her?

It was worth noting that “eating her” was meant entirely literally.

Besides, his appearance is definitely not normal. Does some kind of supernatural power exist in this world? Thinking of this, Freya couldn't help but feel a spark of excitement. After all, having transmigrated to an alternate world, who wouldn't fantasize about gaining godlike, world-shattering powers and doing whatever they pleased?

“I need to find a way to uncover the truth behind this supernatural power.”

As she pondered, Freya glanced at the system screen. Next to 【Start Simulation】, a fifty-nine-minute countdown was ticking away. It wasn't surprising that simulations had a cooldown, but she was a bit surprised by how short it was.

Was it because her simulation had lasted such a short time? After all, she had only survived for fifteen hours.

With an hour to spare, Freya washed up and began to style her hair. However, when deciding on a hairstyle, she hesitated.

The original owner had poured all her energy into studying and working part-time. Just surviving took everything she had, leaving her with no energy to care about her appearance. In her memories, she either let her hair hang loose or tied it into a simple ponytail. There was nothing else.

As for her past life, she had no memories of “herself,” let alone any knowledge of how to style hair.

But... she was so cute now. Wouldn't it be a waste not to dress up a little?

Once she resolved this death crisis, with the system at her disposal and no shortage of funds, she would definitely enjoy life and make sure she lived happily.

However, after searching her small rented apartment, she realized she didn't even own a mirror. This made it impossible to practice styling her hair.

“Nothing to be done. I'll leave it like this for now, buy a mirror when I have time, and practice slowly.”

After taking care of her personal hygiene, Freya went out and ate the exact same breakfast she had eaten in the simulation, simply because she found it quite delicious.

During her outing, she saw Brother Scar's two blond lackeys again. This time, however, she didn't strike up a conversation. Instead, she ignored them completely and went about her business.

By the time Freya returned home, exactly an hour had passed (she had been checking the system's countdown periodically). Standing at the doorway, she thought: Start simulation, select Save 00...

It was the same sensation of diving underwater as before. When Freya opened her eyes again, she went into action immediately.

Knowing that supernatural forces existed in this world, it stood to reason that there would be official organizations dedicated to fighting these supernatural monsters.

Otherwise, wouldn't a monster like that stalker just run rampant, eating people on the streets like a free buffet?

Thus, Freya's current plan was to call the police! She wanted to see if she could use the authorities to avoid her impending death while simultaneously catching a glimpse of the truth behind this world and its supernatural forces.

Guided by the original owner's memories, Freya quickly arrived at the nearest police station. Just like when she had borrowed money from Brother Scar, she didn't really need to act. By simply keeping her head down and slightly lowering her voice, she naturally projected the image of a pitiful, mistreated kitten.

Sure enough, upon seeing her enter, two police officers in the station lobby immediately approached her. “Did something happen?”

Freya said, “I... I think I'm being watched by a strange person. For several days now, I've been hearing weird noises near my house. And last night, around ten o'clock, I looked out the window and suddenly saw someone standing outside...”

The two officers exchanged glances. Stalking and peeping incidents like this weren't particularly rare, but they were notoriously difficult to handle.

Even if the police caught the suspect, if they denied everything and claimed they were just passing by, the lack of surveillance cameras and evidence in this era meant the police would have no choice but to let them go.

Furthermore, these creeps were usually just peeping from afar. Since they hadn't broken in, robbed, or murdered anyone, they didn't pose a major threat, so the police rarely bothered with them.

Thus, one of the officers said, “Don't worry, don't worry. Just have your father lock the doors and windows tightly at night and pull the curtains shut. People like that are usually cowards. They only dare to look; they won't actually do anything out of line.”

However, Freya shook her head and said, “I don't have a father...”

“Uh...” The officer was taken aback. “What about your mother? Why don't you have your mother invite some friends to stay over for a while? You won't be as scared with more people around.”

Freya replied, “I don't have a mother, either...”

This was the truth. The original owner had grown up in an orphanage and had no idea who her parents were.

“Ah, well...” The officer's mouth fell open. Looking at Freya, who had kept her head down and seemed thoroughly depressed, he couldn't help but mutter, “I'm such a scumbag...”

“Yeah,” the other officer agreed. “You really are.”

If it were a family of three, such stalkers indeed wouldn't dare take things further. But if this young girl was living all by herself, then it was incredibly dangerous.

While the two officers were thinking, Freya continued, “And... and I don't think he's human. He looks terrifying. In the dark, his eyes actually glow red, and he has a white bony tail behind him!”