Chapter 1 : I Became a National Power-Level Beautiful Girl

Waking from sleep, I felt a burning thirst in my throat the moment I stirred.
Heavy eyelids barely lifted as I reached for the water bottle beside my bed.
For some reason, I couldn’t grip it with one hand and had to use both.
Still groggy, my blurry eyes brought the bottle to my lips, and I took a sip.
The water slid down my throat, spreading a refreshing sensation through my body, washing away the thirst.

“Phew…”

Only after drinking and regaining some clarity did I notice something strange.
My body felt unusually light.
I work late into the night, so my mornings are never this refreshing.
But that wasn’t the only oddity.
My body seemed smaller.
No, it was smaller.
Definitely.

The first thing that caught my attention was my hand.
Normally, a small water bottle would fit easily in one hand with room to spare, but now I needed both hands to hold it.
I hurriedly looked down.
A smooth, slender palm greeted me.
What the hell?

Eyes wide, I examined my hand closely.
Small, delicate, and soft—it still greeted me, unwavering.
Startled, I raised my hands, feeling my body.
The firm, masculine frame I expected was gone.
Instead, I felt a soft, strangely curved body.

‘What is this…’

I stumbled out of bed and rushed to the bathroom mirror.
The moment I saw my reflection, my heart sank.
It felt like the blood drained from my head through my feet.
In the mirror stood a stunned, beautiful girl.

Long, pink hair flowed messily yet gracefully, and large, golden eyes sparkled like jewels in a small, delicate face.
She stared back at me.
When I blinked, the girl blinked.
When I raised my left arm, she raised her right.
Her movements seemed to insist she was me.

Even more shocking was the glowing halo above her head.
A sizable halo floated in the air, radiating a soft light like an angelic symbol.
When I tilted my head slightly, the halo swayed gently, staying in place.
Looking behind, I saw small wings fluttering.
Covered in white feathers, they were small but created a soft breeze with each flap.
Paired with the halo, it was an angelic appearance.

If the mirror wasn’t lying, had I really become a beautiful girl?
I didn’t know.
The sudden situation made my head ache.

“What the… huh?”

I noticed the second change.

“Huh? Oh? Sh*t?”

My voice was off.
Instead of my usual low tone, a sweet, melodic voice—typical of a beautiful girl—came out.
I didn’t know what to do.
What now?
Become a streamer?
A virtual idol?
Even I thought these ideas were stupid, but in this absurd situation, my mind rejected normal thoughts.
How was I supposed to process this?
In novels or comics, I’d laugh at scenes like this, but being the one in it, I had no idea what to do.

As my mind spiraled, a sound snapped me back.

—Kyaaaah!!!

A piercing scream came from outside.
A woman’s sharp cry mixed with sounds of destruction and explosions beyond the window.
I approached the window and cautiously parted the curtain.
The usual morning noises were gone—no birds chirping, no distant car hums, no chatter of people heading to work.
Instead, a new kind of noise filled the silence.

Some people ran desperately, while a larger group, drooling with crazed expressions, chased them.
Those caught were swarmed and torn apart by dozens—no, scores—of people.
The streets were stained red with blood, and white smoke rose in the distance.
A horrific scene I’d never witnessed in my life.
But I knew what to call it.

“Zom…bies?”

A scene straight out of TV or movies unfolded before me.
With my limited knowledge, this could only be zombies.

Whoosh.

“Hik!”

Suddenly, a figure I assumed was a zombie turned its head, as if sensing me.
I quickly closed the curtain and crouched down.

“Haa… haa…”

My heart pounded as fear surged.
But my mind began rapidly processing the situation.
In this crisis, my brain kicked into overdrive, searching for the most logical answer.
A beautiful girl’s body.
A world overrun by zombies.
For both to happen at once, there was only one possibility.

“It’s a lucid dream.”

This couldn’t be anything but a dream.
A lucid dream could explain this kind of scenario.
It had to.
I marveled at my first lucid dream—so vivid.
I’d always wanted to try it, but I didn’t expect it to be this realistic.
Lesson learned: don’t mess with lucid dreams.

With newfound wisdom, I returned to bed.
Time to sleep.
Wake up from this lucid dream.
Then, I’d search online for how to handle lucid dreams.
I drifted off.

I woke up.
My throat wasn’t dry.
How long had I slept?
Dazed, I stared at the ceiling, briefly confusing reality and dream.
Then, the dream came back to me.
Uneasy, I looked at my hand.
A soft palm stared back.
I touched my face—moist and soft.

I headed to the bathroom mirror.
Still there.
The damn beautiful girl stood in the mirror, with pink hair, golden eyes, and the halo and wings asserting angelic status.
When I frowned, she frowned too.
What’re you frowning for?
I’m the one who wants to cry.

“Why…”

Despair hit me.

‘Is this really reality? Wait… then?’

I remembered the second abnormality.
Outside.
Suppressing creeping fear, I cautiously parted the curtain to look out.
Damn it.
It was the same.
No more screams or fleeing people, but the zombies remained.
Countless zombies roamed the streets, hunting.
The city’s ownership had changed.
People no longer had the right to roam freely.
Zombies were the new masters.

Careful not to be seen, I closed the curtain and sank onto the bed.
I sat in silence, lost in thought.
Confusion and fear surged.
But having rested, rational judgment emerged.
I concluded I had to accept this reality.
Whether I accepted it or not, reality wouldn’t wait for me.

“Haaa.”

I stood slowly, sighed deeply, and returned to the bathroom to face the girl’s reflection again.
She looked as resigned as I felt.

‘Fine. No more denying it. With the sh*tshow outside, crying’s just a waste of time.’

Many thoughts arose, but useless ones belonged in the trash.
That’s how I’d lived so far.
Resolved, I grabbed my smartphone.
My new, fragile-looking body seemed incapable of even lifting a teacup.
The city was overrun by zombies, and any protective authorities were long gone.
To survive—and keep my body safe—I couldn’t sit still.

I didn’t know why I’d become a girl, but I could at least gather info on the zombies.
March 19. Tuesday.
The date caught my eye first.
I was sure I’d become a girl and noticed the zombies on Monday, March 18.
The day before was Sunday, March 17, the end of the weekend.
Had I lost an entire night?

Mourning lost time, I unlocked my phone.
Fingerprint recognition failed—naturally—so I used the pattern.
Dozens of government alerts flooded the screen.
Emergency disaster texts and messages about staying home long-term.
Not very helpful.
I skimmed them and went online.

Thankfully, the internet worked, though it was unstable, cutting out intermittently.
Online communities mirrored the real-world chaos.
Even my favorite sites were a mess.

—Fck, zombies surrounded my house, what do I do?*
—Top 10 zombie-related stocks to buy
—Army vs. zombies, who wins?
—Survival tips for home
—Lost my virginity to a zombie.

Most posts were useless, but a few provided what I needed.
The first key info: this zombie outbreak wasn’t limited to my city or country—it was global, happening simultaneously worldwide.

‘This… it’ll take a long time for society to recover…’

I didn’t know when or how the outbreak started, but it was worse than I thought.
Most cities had shut down, and even the military was compromised by zombies, unable to respond effectively.
Even in the best case, it’d take months to resolve.
A grim situation.

I kept searching, but reliable info was scarce.
Understandable, since it’d only been a day since the outbreak.
Still, I wasn’t empty-handed.
I stockpiled tap water in plastic containers, learned what food to eat or store before power cuts, and saved useful info on my phone in case the internet died.
I planned to transcribe it to paper if I had time.

While digging through community sites for more, I found an intriguing post.
Title: I Awakened a Status Window.

“I know I sound crazy, but listen. I awakened a status window today.
The method’s simple: kill one zombie.
Then you hear ‘Conditions met’ and awaken. I got electric powers.
Believe it or not, your choice. I told you, so do what you want.
[Photo]”

The post claimed awakening a status window after killing a zombie.
The attached photo showed dozens of zombie corpses, charred as if struck by lightning.
It wasn’t just this poster.
Other posts mentioned awakening after killing zombies, though not everyone succeeded.
Some claimed they killed zombies but didn’t awaken, calling the others liars.
Plausible skepticism.
Online, people could collude to spread fake info.

But I had my own reason to believe.

‘My body.
I turned into a girl. Something impossible already happened.’

If a man could become an angelic girl with a halo and wings, someone awakening a status window wasn’t far-fetched.
Right.
Maybe my transformation was part of an ability?
Hopeful, I spoke.

“St-Status window.”

The flag of promised victory.
And nothing happened.
Damn it.