Chapter 2
Bianca didn't dodge. She even stepped forward, meeting the danger head-on.
At the very last second, right before the scooter would have slammed into her, the rider yanked the handlebars in a wild drift. The back wheel skimmed the edge of her dress.
Her billionaire fantasy vanished instantly.
She did not even have time to feel disappointed. That same back wheel kicked up a pothole full of foul, black street sludge and launched it straight onto her face and her perfect white dress.
The muck dripped from her hair in greasy streaks. Her brand-new dress transformed into something that looked like it belonged under a kitchen sink.
The livestream chat froze for three long seconds. Then everything exploded.
[Holy crap! This is her first doom token? I'm crying.]
[I'm dying here. She looks like she got baptized by sewage.]
[Where's the billionaire's son?? Not her getting dunked by a delivery dude.]
Bianca stood frozen, her expression shifting from anticipation to shock, then humiliation, and finally her face twisted in fury.
Because this wasn't the script she remembered.
Not at all.
On my screen, another system chime rang. "Mira Hartwell, your first Provision Pack is about to drop."
My stomach growled so loudly I winced. I looked up at the sky and called out, half annoyed, half hopeful, "I need food and water."
With a deafening boom, a huge airdrop crate crashed down onto the beach not far away.
I strolled over and popped it open.
Inside was a whole box full of bottled water, instant meals, BBQ meal kits, fresh fruit, and heck, there was even a little jar of caviar in there.
I grabbed an instant meal, plopped down on the beach, and started feasting away, soaking in the ocean view while I devoured my meal with gusto.
The live chat went wild.
[What am I looking at? Aren't first Provision Packs supposed to be toilet plungers? Why did she get a five-star buffet?]
[There is no way this is normal. The system is definitely bugged.]
[Hold on. Look at Bianca's screen. You have to see this.]
I glanced up at the split screen.
Bianca, still covered in grime, had grabbed a bottle of water from a convenience store to wash her face.
She uncapped it. At that exact moment, a man who looked completely unhinged sprinted over, snatched the bottle, and ran away while screaming, "Mine! All mine!"
Bianca shrieked and chased after him.
She rounded a corner, stepped wrong, and landed directly on a warm pile of dog poop.
Her body flew forward. She crashed into a public trash can with a messy, echoing thud.
The system chimed again. "Participant Bianca, doom token stacked: public humiliation."
Laughter in the chat was so loud it felt like it could blow through the screen.
Inside the trash can, Bianca finally started to understand.
Something about this world felt different from the version she remembered.
By the time Bianca crawled out of the trash can, she was radiating a smell that could peel paint.
People covered their noses as she walked past. Some whispered. Others simply fled.
Her face went dark red. She screamed at the camera, "Why? Why is this happening to me?"
Chat was roasting her non-stop.
[Why? Because your Doom Tokens are actually legit, kiddo.]
[She thought a rich pretty boy would fall from the sky. Instead she got falling garbage. I cannot breathe.]
[She still thinks this is a coincidence. She has no idea how cursed she is.]
Bianca refused to accept any of it.
She was sure this was nothing more than the appetizer. Her real luck just needed one more chance.
Braving the stench, Bianca slipped into a high-end boutique, hoping to soak up some air conditioning. She also wanted to trigger that classic plotline where someone mistakes her for a rich heiress.
The moment she stepped inside, alarms began blaring like she had walked in with explosives.
Two security guards rushed out and grabbed her by the arms.
"Sorry, miss, but we don't let beggars in," one of them said.
The words crushed her pride. She screamed and struggled. "I am not a beggar. Let go of me!"
Her struggling only made things worse. The guards dragged her like a dead dog and tossed her out onto the sidewalk.
"Participant Bianca, doom token triggered: publicly shamed."
Meanwhile, my island life felt like a spa retreat.
With my stomach full and the breeze warm on my skin, I looked at the sky and said, "I need a place to stay."
A second supply crate dropped from above.
Inside was a luxury wilderness tent with solar panels, a soft folding bed, a down blanket, and even a portable shower.
Within half an hour, I had a five-star beach house while viewers poured envy into the chat.
[I finally get it. The system is not reacting to choices. It is reacting to people.]
[Mira must have saved the galaxy in her past life. These Provision Packs are unreal.]
[Meanwhile Bianca probably blew the galaxy up. There is no other explanation for how unlucky she is.]
The moment that last comment appeared, Bianca's face went ghostly pale.
Something clicked in her mind. She stared at me through the screen with an expression so poisonous it felt like it could cut skin.
"Mira. You. What did you do to the system?" she shouted at the camera.
I could not be bothered to answer. I lay on my soft folding bed with a novel and let the ocean breeze wash over me.
Night arrived. The air grew cold.