To prevent her three cubs from starving, the woman dug through the ice with her bare hands and threw the family's only edible fish into the bitterly cold deep water. As they watched their only food sink, the three cubs stared at her in disbelief. To them, this evil female intended to harm them. What they didn't know was that she did it because it was the fastest way to catch more fish in a place where food was nearly impossible to find.
In this world, beast people had no concept of fishing. They only dove into the freezing water or hunted whatever prey they could catch. But she wasn't a beast person.
She was once known as Krai, a wilderness survival streamer with over a million followers. Then, one day, she woke up in a different world—transmigrated into a novel she had read. She had become the birth mother of the ultimate villain.
The original owner of this body had done the cubs no favors. Despite being their mother, she neglected them. She often withheld food and would even snatch the scraps the cubs had managed to find on their own. She watched them starve.
Her mate, a male rogue beast, had died three years earlier during a hunt. In the beast world, rogue beasts were considered barbaric and cruel. Major tribes didn't accept them, and female rogues were especially unwelcome due to their low fertility rates. Rejected by the tribes, she wandered the wild alone.
Three years ago, she found a male fox beastman in a cave—unconscious and badly injured. He had a six-star beast soul, an unimaginable rarity. Even the strongest tribes only boasted warriors with two-star souls. Seeing her opportunity, she forcefully mated with him. The next morning, while she went to fetch water, the fox beastman disappeared. She never saw him again.
Months later, she gave birth to two fox cubs: Chaoang, the eldest, and Chow Chow, the middle child. They shared their father's snowy white fur and fox ears. But raising them alone was too much. Still desperate to find a powerful mate, she encountered a male snake beastman. Their "passionate encounter" ended with the snake beastman attacking her in rage. She escaped with her life—and shortly after, gave birth to a third cub: Chao Lie.
Now with three cubs and no support, the original owner considered them burdens. She always ate her fill first, tossing scraps to them if anything remained. Deprived of affection, the cubs grew up with resentment and hatred. In the original novel, they became villains who nearly destroyed the beast world.
But Krai, now inhabiting this mother's body, had no intention of letting that future play out.
---
The ice was endless. Krai's scalp tingled at the thought of surviving out here. Despite her real-world survival skills, she had no tools now. How many days could she survive in a place like this?
She turned to walk toward the frozen lake and spotted two cubs. Dressed in rough animal-skin clothes, their backs were turned, their four furry fox ears twitching with excitement. Unaware of her presence, they seemed to be playing.
Krai stepped forward and grabbed Chaoang's silver bangs.
He grunted and twisted around. His milk teeth were stained with fish meat. His light brown fox eyes were burning with anger.
"What are you doing, you stupid female? Let go of me!"
Beside him, Chow Chow blinked at her with big blue eyes.
"Mommy… Chow Chow is so hungry. Chow Chow hasn't had meat for days. Don't take Chow Chow's food away… okay?"
Krai was stunned. For a second, her heart softened—only for Chaoang to snatch the remaining meat and dart away. From a distance, he turned and made a face at her.
"Ha! Stupid female! You got tricked!"
Seeing her brother run off, Chow Chow squirmed.
"Chow Chow! Leave me some! That fish was stolen by me!" Chaoang cried.
Krai tightened her grip on Chaoang. His childish voice still hissed with anger.
"Stupid female! We caught that fish! Why are you stealing it from us?!"
Her face flushed. In the original's memory, they had lived miserably—always starving, too weak to hunt anything larger than fish. Most of the time, they caught nothing.
Just yesterday, the cubs had finally caught two fish. But before they could eat, their "mother" had snatched and hidden them.
Krai let go and softened her voice.
"If you want to eat… just tell your mother. I'll give it to you."
Chaoang glared.
"Stupid female. You only take our food. You'll never give us anything."
She sighed. The original truly hadn't given them anything. No wonder they hated her. In the novel, they grew up, force-fed her until she burst, then fed her corpse to wild beasts.
But there was still time.
Krai crouched down, picked up the fish head, and said,
"We can't eat it all now. If we do, what will we do when we're hungry again?"
Chaoang looked at her, suspicious. She was speaking calmly now. Reasonably. It was… weird.
She led him toward the ice cave.
"Go get the piece of animal hide."
Chaoang narrowed his eyes.
"What are you doing, stupid female?"
She smiled and held up the fish head.
"You'll see. Be good."
For the first time in his life, the "stupid female" was smiling at him. It stunned him long enough to obey.
Inside the cave, she caught her reflection in the ice. Long silver hair, sunken cheeks, a red mole at the corner of one eye. Dirty and starved—but she could see traces of beauty under the grime. She didn't dwell on it. No time for vanity.
She chipped away at the ice with a large chunk, her hands nearly frozen before she finally broke through. When Chaoang returned with the hide strip—scraps from a bear pelt—she tied the fish head to it and lowered it into the hole.
Chaoang panicked.
"Stupid female! How could you throw away food?!"
He tried to reach into the ice hole, but Krai pulled him back.
"Don't move. I'm fishing."
"Fishing?" he echoed. "What's that?"
"In this world," she explained, "you drop bait fish like into the water. When they bite, you pull them up."
As the cold wind whipped through the ice, she hugged Chaoang close to shield him. He stiffened in her arms.
"What's wrong with this stupid female today… hugging me?!"
Suddenly, the line moved. The bait worked. Several fish had been stunned by her final smash against the ice. She pulled up five large fish—enough for two days.
She raced back to the cave with the fish. But the sound of a commotion stopped her. She ran toward it—and saw a white bear cub being strangled by a small crimson python.
"Chao Lie, stop!" she yelled.
The python froze, then hissed and bit down. Krai leapt forward, grabbed his head, and pulled him away.
The bear cub scrambled to safety.
The python transformed. Now a boy, red hair, cold red eyes, and a red fang mark below them.
"You stupid female," he hissed. "You made me lose my food."
"Did you catch it?"
"I snatched it! That means it's mine!"
Rogue beast logic. If you took it, it was yours. That's how others saw them—as savages.
"In the future, don't steal food. Your mother caught fish. Come eat with us."
She reached for his hand.
He flinched.
"You're planning something. Stupid female…"
Then a clear voice echoed in her mind:
> "Congratulations, host, for binding to the Cub System. I am system Xiaoa. Complete tasks assigned by the system to receive rewards."
Krai nearly cried.
This was what she needed: a way to guide the cubs, prevent them from turning evil—and earn resources.
> "System task loaded: Have cub Lie apologize to the white bear cub and establish correct values."
"Failure will result in punishment via electric shock."
Krai grimaced.
"What happens if I don't complete the task?" she asked mentally.
> "Host will be punished with an electric shock."
Yup. No turning back now.
Back in the ice cave, Chow Chow and Chaoang were already gnawing on fish. Seeing her return, they protectively clutched their food, ready to flee if she came too close.
Krai didn't scold them. She just said, "Today, each of you can eat one fish. We'll eat the rest tomorrow."
The cubs hesitated—especially Chao Lie, who eyed her warily. But the scent of cooked meat overpowered their distrust.
Just as Krai sat down to eat, a roar thundered from outside.
> "Krai! Get out here!"
Krai stood up. The white bear family had come to confront them.