The scorching heat of the apocalypse had arrived, and with it came the Beastman System. Your survival depended on your National Aptitude Test score. High scores meant priority access to S-Tier Beastmen. In my past life, my younger sister, backed by our parents, forced me to give up the Ice Python. I had to use every last one of my points to exchange for a Fire Fox instead. The heatwave was short-lived. The Eternal Freeze followed immediately after. My parents and sister didn’t survive the cold; they turned into ice sculptures. As for the Fire Fox? He had always lusted after my sister. After she died, he set me up and got me killed. Now, I’ve been reborn. And my sister, carrying the memories of her past life, is desperate to snatch the Fire Fox from me. Perfect. That’s exactly what I want. Chapter 1 When I opened my eyes, I was sitting at my desk, staring at the computer screen, waiting for my test results. In my last life, two days before the scores were released, the Heat Apocalypse began. Global temperatures skyrocketed. People were dropping like flies. Simultaneously, the "System" descended, offering the survivors a glimmer of hope. The Beastman System. Everyone could bind with a creature. Your options depended on your test score. High score? You get first pick of the elite bloodlines. Low score? You get the scraps. I didn't even bother checking my score this time. I already knew it. I had always been the smart one. My sister, Bella, was the opposite. Her grades were trash. We were the only two kids, but Mom and Dad played favorites like it was an Olympic sport. Bella was the golden child. I never wasted energy arguing. I poured everything into my studies, consistently ranking at the top. Bella, spoiled rotten, barely scraped by but always knew how to sweet-talk our parents. In my previous life, she threw a tantrum and, with our parents' help, stole the Ice Python I had selected. I knew exactly what was coming. Right on cue, the door burst open. Bella marched in, flanked by Mom and Dad. "Chloe, did you check your score?" No knocking, no manners. Bella cut straight to the chase. "I did. State Rank One." Hatred and jealousy flashed in Bella’s eyes. Seeing her like this gave me a twisted sense of satisfaction. She looked down on me for being a nerd, yet here she was, about to beg for the very privilege my hard work had earned. Mom and Dad lit up. "Really? I knew our Chloe was a genius! Top of the state!" "This is huge! The Jiang family name is finally going to mean something!" Their praise annoyed Bella. She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "It's the apocalypse, Mom. Grades don't mean anything anymore. Survival is the only thing that matters." I watched her try to rain on my parade and sighed internally. "Actually, since my score is high, I get priority selection on a Guardian Beast. That pretty much guarantees my survival," I said, yawning and leaning back in my chair. Bella’s face twisted. She remembered why she was here. Her expression shifted through three different emotions before settling on a fake smile. "Sis, you haven't picked your beast yet, right?" "Not yet. Just saw the score." "What are you gonna pick?" "None of your business. Any S-Tier beast is enough to keep me alive." Bella’s expression darkened with malice. "Open the interface. Let me see what the top-tier beasts look like." With her garbage score, she wouldn't even have access to view the S-Class catalog. My parents, suddenly remembering their precious baby’s predicament, chimed in. "Yes, Chloe, show us." "You know Bella didn't do well. Just let her take a peek." I could practically hear the abacus clicking in their heads. I opened the selection interface. Two holographic projections materialized in the center of the room. One was a massive, snow-white Python, coiled peacefully on a glacier. The other was a Fire Fox, sitting proudly on a burning rock, flames dancing around its tails. The moment she saw the Fire Fox, Bella’s eyes lit up with greed. My eyes, however, filled with hate. Chapter 2 In the previous timeline, during the scorching heat, Bella had set her sights on the Python. The logic was simple: it was hot, and the snake was cold. They coerced, guilt-tripped, and threatened me until I handed the Python over. I was left with the Fire Fox, which cost me every single point I had, leaving me with zero currency to buy survival items. Bella got the top-tier Python for free and refused to lend me a single point to stay alive. "Chloe, can you let me have the Fire Fox?" Hearing her make the opposite choice confirmed it: Bella was reborn, too. Unless she knew the heat was temporary and the Eternal Freeze was coming, she would never pick a fire-attribute beast in this weather. I smirked. "Why should I? I earned the priority pick. Why should I give it to you?" "Chloe! Bella is your little sister! Be the bigger person!" Mom snapped. "Exactly," Dad added. "You only have one sister. She's younger than you. It won't kill you to protect her." Here we go again. "Since we were kids, I’ve had to yield everything to her. She's younger, sure, but I'm getting older too! Why doesn't she ever yield to me? My beast is the reward for my hard work. Why should I give it up?" I used to think that if I showed them success, they might love me. I see now that was a waste of time. Bella bit her lip, looking aggrieved. "Are you trying to kill me, Chloe? You know my score is bad. It's a million degrees outside. I’m not asking for the snake, I’m leaving the cooling one for you! Can’t you just help me?" If I hadn't seen her vicious face in our past life, I might have believed her logic. Last time, she neglected the Python. She refused to spend points on him, so he never evolved. When the Freeze came, she froze to death along with the snake she’d starved. I, meanwhile, had to play deadly System Games to earn points to feed that ungrateful Fire Fox. And while I was fighting for my life, Bella had been secretly seducing the Fox. When she died, the Fox—now evolved and humanoid thanks to my blood and sweat—blamed me. He left me in the snow to be torn apart by feral beasts. Seeing Bella so desperate for the Fox, I decided to be a benevolent sister. I wanted to see how she’d handle that high-maintenance, gold-digging fox without my ability to earn points. I immediately tapped the [Bind] button under the Snow Python. The projection vanished. In the room, a slender white snake materialized, coiling around my arm. The temperature in the room instantly dropped twenty degrees. It was blissfully cool. Seeing I didn't take the Fox, Bella let out a breath she’d been holding. "Sis... I don't have enough points for the Fox. Can you... can you use your points to redeem him for me?" "No way. If I buy him, I'll have zero points. How will I survive?" I poked the little snake’s head. He looked at me with beady eyes and flicked a fork tongue against my cheek. "I can share my points with you, Sis!" Bella lied through her teeth. "It’s a win-win. Our family will have two S-Tier beasts. We'll be invincible." Yeah, right. I choked on that lie in my last life. "Tell you what, Bella. You transfer all your points to me first. Whatever you're short, ask Mom and Dad to cover it. My points will be the family reserve fund. Deal?" "No!" Bella rejected it instantly. My parents blindly backed her up. "How can you be so selfish? Using her points is fine, but using yours is a problem? Do you want your sister to have nothing?" I was done with their hypocrisy. I feigned impatience, moving my finger toward the 'Cancel' button on the trade interface. "Cut the crap. Use your own points or I’m closing the window. Let someone else grab the Fox." Bella panicked. She hated parting with her currency, but she wanted the Fox more. Just as I was about to close it, she gritted her teeth and agreed. She transferred her points—and Mom and Dad’s points—to my account. I completed the transaction for the Fox. Then, ignoring their hateful glares, I kicked all three of them out of my room. Bella hugged the Fire Fox, ecstatic. She had no idea what it cost to feed that thing. Chapter 3 I opened the System Shop and spent points like water. Nutrient serums, Evolution Pills, Elemental Cores—anything that was good for the Snow Python, I bought it. In just a few days, the little snake grew from a garden hose into a proper python. He used to wrap around my neck. Now, he was heavy enough to give me scoliosis. "You're getting heavy," I muttered, poking his head. It was the size of my fist now. He tilted his head, looking confused, then licked my face again. Kind of cute. I kissed the top of his smooth, white head. The scales on his head turned a faint pink. Cute and shy. I stopped teasing him. I needed to prepare for the Eternal Freeze. I had points from the trade, but I couldn't just sit on them. Luckily, I retained my combat experience from the previous life’s games. When I went to the living room for dinner, Bella was hugging her precious Fox. "Aren't you hot?" I asked. I rolled a can of soda down the Python’s body. It frosted over instantly. In this heat, he was better than an AC unit. "Tch. You don't know anything," Bella sneered. "Just wait. You'll see." "Is that so?" She stared at my snake. "How did he get so big in just a few days?" My python was now waist-high when he reared up. In her past life, she starved him until he died the size of a worm. "I fed him," I said, pointing at the red fox. "Don't tell me... you haven't fed yours anything? He's gonna stay a runt if you don't." The Fire Fox’s eyes glinted with malice when he heard that. "What?!" Bella shrieked, making sure our parents heard. "You spent all your points feeding that stupid snake?" My parents rushed out. "You ungrateful wretch! Those points were for the family! How dare you spend them all!" "How are we supposed to live now?" Bella smirked. She loved using them as a weapon. "Let's get one thing straight," I said calmly. "Your points went into buying that fox. My points are mine. I’ll spend them how I like." "This is our house!" Bella yelled. "Aren't you afraid we'll kick you out to die?" I patted the massive snake head beside me. "With him, I'll survive anywhere. But you guys? The AC is barely holding up. And your fox is a literal heater. Are you sure you want to kick out the only source of cold air in the house?" "Just you wait," Bella hissed. "This heat won't last. You're going to freeze to death soon enough." She just laid her cards on the table. "If you don't start feeding that fox properly," I replied, "do you really think he'll have the strength to protect you when the frost hits?" I went back to my room, leaving her looking anxious. Chapter 4 Bella took the bait. The fox was getting restless, so she started entering the System Games. But Bella was incompetent. She barely scraped by, coming back with injuries and meager points. It wasn't nearly enough to satisfy the fox’s gluttony. One day, while Bella was in a game, the fox came knocking on my door. I let him in. He hopped onto my keyboard and skillfully typed out a message. “Chloe. Why did you pick that useless snake? You know the Freeze is coming. I am the only one who can keep you alive.” My python, Frost, narrowed his beady eyes. His tail slammed against the floorboards—thud, thud—in irritation. I stroked his scales to calm him down. "Stupid fox. You're reborn too, aren't you? Then you know there's bad blood between us. I'm not dumb enough to raise a beast that stabs me in the back again." The keyboard clattered rapidly. “I was tricked by Bella last time. I regretted it. That’s why I self-destructed after you died.” He looked at me with puppy-dog eyes, feigning remorse. I felt nothing. "It's fine. I found a beast that suits me. I gave you and Bella your happy ending. Now go be with her." Before he could type another word, a white tail swept him out of the room and slammed the door shut. I turned to comfort Frost, but a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind. Cold breath tickled my ear. "Did you choose him in your past life? So I wasn't your first choice? You only picked me because you had no other option?" The voice was deep, aggrieved, and silky smooth. I froze. He transformed! He died before he could take human form last time. "Of course not! Bella stole you first! I had no choice but to pick the stinky fox!" I tried to turn around to look at him. Holy... The fox was handsome, sure. But Frost? He was ethereal. Silver-white hair, piercing silver eyes looking at me with deep devotion. His upper body was sculpted muscle, tight abs leading down to... A snake tail. He noticed me staring lower and blushed. Still shy! "What are you looking at?! Don't look!" He covered my eyes with his hand. I laughed. "I heard snakes have two..." "Mmph!" He clamped his hand over my mouth. His whole body turned pink. "Okay, okay. Do you have a name?" "Frost." While Frost thrived under my care, the fox continued to pressure Bella, complaining about his slow growth.
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