Delhi City

Somewhere inside a tiny rented apartment

“Ahhhhh! Fuck! Why can’t I find a novel where the female lead actually uses her powers properly?!”

anshika threw the book onto her bed before aggressively rubbing her face in frustration.

“And why do they always become some holy mother till the very end? Like yeah, helping people is good, but letting them leech off you your whole life is not!”

She stood up from her chair and started pacing around the cramped room, ranting to absolutely nobody.

“And somehow those trash characters magically become good people in the end.” She scoffed loudly. “Please. Let’s be real for one second — they only survive because of female lead aura. In real life, those people would stab you in the back the moment your supplies run out.”

anshika grabbed the novel again and flipped through the pages angrily.

“‘Oh, I don’t want to depend on cheat powers.’”

She stared at the line in disbelief before nearly screaming into her pillow.

“BITCH, THEN WHY DID GOD GIVE YOU THE CHEAT?!”

Silence.

Heavy breathing.

Then another wave of irritation hit her.

“Seriously, give me one chance.” anshika pointed dramatically at the ceiling like God himself was listening. “I swear I would do so much better.”

RING!! RING!! RING!!

anshika froze mid-rant.

“…Who the hell is calling me now?”

She grabbed her vibrating phone from the desk and glanced at the screen.

Her soul nearly left her body.

Boss Calling

“…Oh.”

Suddenly, fictional problems didn’t seem so important anymore.

Anshika stared at the screen for a few seconds before answering the call.

“Hello, sir?”

“Where are the files I asked for?”

Her soul almost left her body.

The files.

Right.

In the middle of ranting about fictional female leads, she had completely forgotten about the presentation due tonight.

Anshika slowly looked toward her laptop.

The blank laptop.

“…Sir,” she said carefully, “hypothetically speaking… what would happen if the employee suddenly disappeared from Earth?”

Silence.

“Anshika.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Finish the presentation.”

The call ended.

Anshika dropped face-first onto her bed with a groan.

“Okay,” she mumbled while opening the laptop.

“Presentation first. Mental breakdown later.”

The bright screen lit up her tired face as she stared blankly at the unfinished slides.

Numbers.

Charts.

Emails.

Truly the peak of human existence.

Anshika let out a long, exhausted sigh before typing half-heartedly on the keyboard

“God,” she muttered dramatically, “either kill me already or transmigrate me somewhere.”

She paused for a second before adding:

“And if you do transmigrate me, at least give me cheat powers. Most powerful one. I’m not wasting them like those dumb protagonists.”

Somewhere far away, something answered.

Of course, Anshika knew none of this.

She was too busy fighting for her life against PowerPoint slides and corporate slavery.

Ten minutes later, her eyes started burning from staring at the screen.

Another five minutes later, she accidentally typed random letters into the presentation because she nearly fell asleep on the keyboard.

“This is torture,” she whispered dramatically.

Outside her apartment window, rain slowly began falling over the city.

The sound mixed with the constant typing of her keyboard and the distant honking of traffic below.

Midnight passed quietly.

Anshika stretched her arms tiredly before reaching for the cold cup of coffee sitting beside her laptop.

One sip.

She immediately made a face.

“Disgusting.”

Yet she drank it anyway.

Because adulthood was cruel like that.

Another thirty minutes passed before she finally finished the presentation.

“Done,” she whispered weakly, sounding seconds away from death.

With the last bit of energy left in her body, Anshika emailed the files to her boss and shut the laptop closed.

Freedom at last.

She collapsed onto her bed dramatically, not even bothering to turn off the lights.

“I swear,” she mumbled sleepily into her pillow, “if I wake up tomorrow and still have to go to work, I’m suing God personally.”

The room fell silent.

Then—

The lights flickered once.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Anshika blindly reached toward the screaming alarm before smashing her phone face-first into the mattress.

“Shut up…”

Silence returned.

For exactly three seconds.

Then the alarm started ringing again.

“…I’m going to commit crimes.”

With the expression of someone personally betrayed by life, Anshika slowly sat up on the bed and stared blankly at her tiny rented apartment.

Same cracked ceiling.

Same pile of clothes hanging over the chair.

Same depressing corporate existence.

Nothing had changed.

She clicked her tongue softly.

“So God ignored me after all.”

Honestly, rude.

After last night’s suffering, the least the universe could have done was transmigrate her into some rich villainess novel with unlimited money and attractive servants.

Instead, she still had rent to pay.

Tragic.

Anshika dragged herself toward the bathroom before stopping in front of the mirror.

A beautiful young woman stared back at her with clear pale skin, soft features, and long dark hair falling messily around her face.

Unfortunately, the dark circles under her eyes ruined most of the effect.

“Beautiful,” she muttered sarcastically.

Cold water splashed against her skin as she tried forcing herself awake.

The apartment remained silent except for distant traffic outside and the sound of rainwater dripping from somewhere beyond the window.

Everything felt painfully normal.

And somehow, that was disappointing.

Life had never been kind to Anshika.

According to orphanage records, she had been found as a newborn near a garbage dumping area behind a marketplace.

Wrapped in an old towel.

Half freezing.

Barely alive.

Whether the story was true or not, she never cared enough to investigate.

The orphanage itself was hardly better.

The caretakers loved donation money far more than the children themselves. They smiled warmly when outsiders visited, pretending to be kind and caring adults.

The moment the visitors left, everything changed.

Food was limited.

Punishments were harsh.

And weak children quickly became targets.

The other children were not much better either.

Children raised in cruelty often learned cruelty early.

Some bullied others for entertainment.

Some stole food.

Some spread rumors just to avoid becoming victims themselves.

Anshika learned very quickly that crying solved nothing.

Trusting people solved even less.

So eventually, she stopped doing both.

By the age of ten, she already understood something most adults never learned:

Nobody was coming to save her.

From then on, survival became her only priority.

She learned how to hide herself.

How to smile politely.

How to lower her head and speak softly.

How to act harmless.

People liked masks.

Society rewarded masks.

So Anshika created the perfect one.

Her coworkers thought she was quiet and hardworking.

Her boss thought she was obedient.

Her college classmates used to describe her as cold but reliable.

Nobody knew the real her.

And she preferred it that way.

The truth was simple.

Anshika did not trust anyone.

Not friends.

Not society.

Not kindness.

Not love.

Experience had already taught her that people only stayed good when life was easy.

The moment survival became difficult, most humans would betray each other without hesitation.

Because of that, she never formed close relationships.

Never depended on anyone emotionally.

Never allowed herself to become attached.

It was peaceful that way

.

She was not cruel enough to hurt innocent people

for fun, nor did she enjoy watching others suffer.

But risking herself for strangers?

Sacrificing herself to save everyone?

Playing some selfless saint?

Absolutely not.

The world had already taught her what happened to people like that.

They got used.

Then discarded.

Anshika opened the fridge.

Inside sat:

one bottle of water

expired bread

emotional suffering

“…Damn.”

After staring at the fridge for a few seconds, she grabbed the water bottle before walking back into the room.

“Time to continue selling my soul to capitalism.”

The moment she took one step toward the door—

Ding.

Anshika froze.

A transparent blue screen suddenly appeared in front of her face.

[ Welcome to the Apocalyptic Hotel System. ]

Silence.

Anshika stared at the screen.

The screen stared back.

“…I finally lost my mind.”

Honestly, not impossible.

The panel flickered softly.

[ Candidate Successfully Selected. ]

[ Would you like to bind with the system? ]

[ YES / NO ]

Anshika narrowed her eyes immediately.

Unlike most people, she did not panic.

Instead, her first reaction was suspicion.

“A scam?”

The floating screen remained motionless.

Slowly, she reached one finger toward it.

The moment her skin touched the panel, a cold sensation spread across her fingertips like touching water.

Her expression finally changed slightly.

“…Interesting.”

More text appeared.

[ Please bind quickly. ]

[ Time until apocalypse: 29 Days 17 Hours 42 Minutes. ]

Silence filled the apartment.

“…What?”

The system continued calmly.

[ Due to upcoming global catastrophes, humanity has entered the survival selection phase. ]

[ Natural disasters, viral mutations, monster evolution, and dimensional corruption will begin soon. ]

[ Host’s intense desire for cheat abilities before the beginning of the apocalypse has been acknowledged. ]

[ Divine permission granted. ]

[ Congratulations. ]

[ You have been chosen as the sole owner of the Apocalyptic Hotel System. ]

Anshika stared at the glowing screen without blinking.

For several long seconds, the apartment remained completely silent.

Then—

“…Holy shit.”

Her sleepy brain finally started working properly.

Apocalypse?

Monsters?

Dimensional corruption?

Any normal person would probably panic immediately.

Anshika, however, focused on something far more important.

“Sole owner?”

[ Correct. ]

Her eyes narrowed.

“So nobody else has this system?”

[ Correct. ]

A slow smile appeared on her face for the first time that morning.

Not a warm smile.

Not a kind one.

But the smile of someone who had suddenly realized life might finally become interesting

.

The countdown on the screen continued ticking downward silently.

29 Days 17 Hours 41 Minutes.

If this was real—

Then the world was going to become hell soon.

Food shortages.

Violence.

Chaos.

Humanity tearing itself apart.

Honestly?

Exactly what she expected from society.

But unlike everyone else…

She had a cheat.

And unlike those idiot novel protagonists—

Anshika had absolutely no intention of wasting it.

Without hesitation, she pressed YES.

🏨 Chapter 3 — Binding Complete

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

The sound no longer felt like it was coming from outside.

It felt like it was inside her thoughts.

Anshika lay on her bed, staring at the floating blue screen in front of her eyes.

[ Apocalyptic Hotel System ]

[ Binding Progress: 66%… 82%… 94%… ]

She stared at it quietly.

“…Still here.”

She waved her hand through it.

No resistance.

No physical presence.

Nothing.

It simply existed.

🌙 Day 1 — Only She Can See It

She went to work anyway.

Because reality does not stop for unknown phenomena.

But the screen followed her everywhere.

[ 33%… 44%… 52%… ]

While she worked, walked, and sat in silence — it remained in her vision.

No one reacted.

No one noticed anything unusual.

That was the first confirmation.

She turned her eyes slightly toward a coworker.

Nothing.

No change.

No awareness.

“…Only I can see it.”

Later, she stood in front of a mirror.

The panel appeared in her vision.

But the mirror showed nothing.

Only her normal reflection.

🌫️ Day 2 — Silent Progress

The next day, she still went to work.

Not because she trusted it.

But because she didn’t trust it enough to change her life yet.

[ 63%… 71%… 79%… ]

The system remained silent except for progress updates.

The world, however, felt slightly unstable.

News reports mentioned:

strange animal behavior

signal disturbances

environmental fluctuations

Nothing confirmed.

Nothing understood.

Just… wrong enough to notice.

She closed the news.

That night, she lay on her bed again.

Same ceiling.

Same silence.

Same life.

But something new was forming above it now.

A countdown she could not ignore.

[ 86%… ]

“…This is too persistent to be fake,” she murmured.

Then she slept anyway.

⏳ Day 3 — Waiting

She did not go to work.

Not because she believed.

But because waiting felt more logical than pretending nothing was happening.

The screen had become constant now.

[ 92%… 97%… 99%… ]

The air in her room felt slightly heavier.

Not dangerous.

Just different.

Like reality itself was holding its breath.

Anshika sat quietly.

Watching.

Thinking.

No fear.

No excitement.

Only observation.

🔷 Binding Complete

Ding.

A sound echoed inside her mind.

Not from outside.

From everywhere at once.

[ Binding Complete. ]

The screen expanded.

And information flooded her mind instantly.

Not painful.

Just complete understanding.

🏨 Apocalyptic Hotel System Activated

A structure formed in her consciousness.

A hotel.

Not physical in the normal sense.

A system-bound domain layered over reality.

And she understood everything at once.

👁️ System Visibility Rule

The system panel:

cannot be seen by anyone except Anshika

cannot be touched by anyone else

cannot be recorded or detected

exists only in her perception

Even if someone stands beside her:

They see nothing.

She tested it.

Tapped empty air.

A response appeared instantly.

No one noticed.

“…So it’s only mine.”

👑 Owner System Panel

A floating interface appeared only in her vision.

Through it, she could:

control hotel structure

manage rules

monitor guests

view system status

upgrade everything

Only thought was needed.

The system responded instantly.

🛒 Guest System Watch

Every guest entering the hotel receives a watch.

It displays:

Name

Age

Ability

Ability Level

Coin / Point balance

Used for:

payments

purchases

tracking transactions

👁️ Owner Visibility

Through her panel, Anshika could see:

every guest’s watch

every stat

every ability level

every balance

Nothing inside the hotel was hidden from her.

👑 Owner Privilege Rule

Everything inside the hotel is free for Anshika.

no points required

no payment needed

no restrictions

She can take anything directly.

She stands above the system economy itself.

🏪 First Floor — Trading Hall

A clean counter formed.

An exchange machine stood beside it.

Shelves contained only:

bread

water

Nothing else.

But infinite.

Every item taken:

reappears instantly.

“…So it never ends,” she said softly.

[ Correct. ]

🛡️ 3-METER ZONE + POST VISIT RULE

Around the hotel exists a 3-meter boundary zone.

🏨 Normal Condition:

people can stand in the area normally

🛒 During Visit:

guests enter hotel

trade for up to 1 hour

then system forces exit

🚫 After Exit:

guests are immediately blocked from entering the 3-meter zone

they cannot approach it at all

⏳ Cooldown Rule:

This restriction lasts for 3 hours

During this time:

no entry

no approach

automatic repulsion if attempted

After 3 hours:

access is restored

Flow becomes:

Enter → Trade (1 hour) → Exit → 3-hour exclusion → Re-enter

💰 Economy System (Guest Rules)

Guests must:

exchange valuables (gold, silver, crystals, etc.)

receive points in their watch

use points for purchases

✋ Purchase & Touch Restriction Rule

Guests can only take what they can afford.

Example:

water \= 10 points

bread \= 10 points

wallet \= 20 points

So they can only take:

items within their limit

If they try beyond it:

items become untouchable

system blocks interaction instantly

⏳ 1-HOUR TRADING RULE

Guests entering for trading:

can stay only 1 hour

timer starts immediately

After that:

trading automatically ends

guests are forced to leave

🚪 EXIT RULE

Guests are NOT trapped.

exit is always allowed

But:

they can only leave with fully paid items

unpaid items are locked or canceled

“So you can leave… but not cheat.”

🧼 CLEANLINESS SYSTEM

The hotel maintains itself automatically.

Dustbins appear everywhere.

If anyone:

throws trash on floor

The system responds instantly.

⚖️ SYSTEM PUNISHMENT ANNOUNCEMENT RULE

Before any punishment:

The system announces aloud inside the hotel:

who is being punished

what rule was broken

why punishment is happening

Everyone hears it.

No one can block it.

Only after announcement:

punishment is executed.

🌍 FINAL UNDERSTANDING

Anshika leaned back slowly.

The hotel was not a building.

It was a system.

A controlled economy.

A safe zone.

A private domain layered over reality itself.

Outside:

a world still unaware of what was forming.

Inside her mind:

a complete structure already existed.

The system spoke one final time.

[ First Directive Issued. ]

[ Please select a suitable location for establishing the Apocalyptic Hotel. ]

Silence.

Anshika looked at the empty space in her vision.

“…So I have to choose where it begins.”

She took another sip of coffee.

And for the first time—

this system was not just existing.

^^^...^^^...It was waiting for her decision....^^^...^^^