Chapter 17: The Reversion and the Call

“Okay, good. There’s no one here now, so I’ll emerge from this spot.”

Utilizing the drill affixed to her right hand, Liu Xingluo meticulously excavated an underground passage, successfully making her way back to the surface. She cautiously peered out, only daring to fully emerge once she had confirmed that the path was deserted at that particular hour.

As for why she hadn’t opted to return to the bus and await rescue, it was simply because she had lost all sense of direction. The drill rats’ sprawling nest was situated far deeper than the bus’s crash site, and with countless tunnels burrowed throughout, Liu Xingluo had no way of discerning the original path she had fallen through. Reversing her course was an impossibility. Thus, rather than fruitlessly searching for the way back to the bus, it seemed far more pragmatic to forge an entirely new route to the surface.

The decision to emerge only in a secluded area, though perhaps amusing, stemmed entirely from Liu Xingluo’s profound sense of shame. As previously noted, the suit she now wore had been utterly shredded during the recent battle. To present herself in such a state before a crowd of strangers? ‘Absolutely not,’ she thought. ‘I’m hardly an exhibitionist pervert.’ Even during her time as a man, such an act would have been unthinkable, let alone now that her physical form was unequivocally female.

Having successfully reached the surface, the drill on her right hand became superfluous. Drawing upon her earlier experience with the peculiar implement, Liu Xingluo mentally willed the drill to vanish.

As if in immediate comprehension of her unspoken command, the drill promptly disintegrated into shimmering light particles, dissipating into thin air and reforming into her familiar right hand.

“Oh, marvelous! It truly can revert. That’s a huge relief. I was starting to fret about what I’d do if it remained a drill forever. Thankfully, it’s back. Welcome home, my right hand. Hoh hoh hoh, it feels remarkably pleasant to stroke, this sensation of sheer smoothness.”

Propelled by an emotion she couldn’t quite name, she brought her right hand to her face, rubbing it against her cheek with an almost childlike glee. The sight was undeniably peculiar, verging on grotesque. Any passerby who chanced upon this scene would undoubtedly conclude that Liu Xingluo was deeply disturbed.

Indeed, observing a woman in a tattered suit, her face alight with pleasure as she caressed her own hand, would instinctively lead most to question her sanity.

Yet, after luxuriating in the silky caress of her right hand for a brief moment, Liu Xingluo abruptly snapped back to reality, comprehending the bizarre act she had been performing. She swiftly snatched her hand away from her face.

[‘What in the hell am I doing?! This is my own hand, isn’t it? Why was I just now caressing it with such an expression of depraved enjoyment, like some kind of pervert?!’]

Even Liu Xingluo herself was utterly baffled by her recent actions. Could it be that the drastic transformation of her body had somehow altered her very thought processes?

She recalled similar plotlines from manga she had devoured in the past, where protagonists underwent gender changes that invariably led to corresponding shifts in their psychological makeup. However, even with such a transformation, it seemed illogical for the mental shift to occur so rapidly, unless some extraordinary, ‘miraculous’ trinket had accelerated the process.

‘Hmm? A miraculous trinket?’

The thought immediately drew Liu Xingluo’s eyes to the bracelet adorning her left wrist. While it remained uncertain whether this enigmatic piece of jewelry was indeed the catalyst for her bodily transformation, she knew from countless fictional narratives that such mysterious adornments often possessed unique, unforeseen powers.

‘Alas,’ she mused. ‘If I could only revert to my former self, perhaps this disconcerting influence on my thoughts would also dissipate. But can I truly change back?’

Typically, to reverse a physical transformation induced by an item, one would either locate a hidden switch on the object itself or simply remove it.

However, Liu Xingluo had already conducted a thorough search the previous day, finding no discernible switch or button on the bracelet. As for removing it, that proved even more impossible; despite exerting every ounce of her strength, Liu Xingluo had been unable to pry the bangle from her wrist. ‘Am I to remain in this form indefinitely?’ she wondered, a chill creeping through her.

As if sensing Liu Xingluo’s unspoken desire not to remain indefinitely in her current female guise, the amethyst embedded in the bracelet immediately pulsed with a brilliant light, transforming her back.

“Eh? My hand… it’s back? Oh, and my voice too! I’ve completely reverted!”

Once the radiant glow subsided, Liu Xingluo reopened his eyes, his gaze falling upon his hand, which had returned to its familiar form, the one that had been his constant companion for two decades. A wave of profound relief washed over him. It was fortunate he could revert; maintaining that female appearance would undoubtedly complicate his future life immensely. The sheer effort of altering his personal details on official documents alone would be an arduous ordeal. He had no desire to endure endless bureaucratic trips, a truly torturous prospect.

In any case, now that he had successfully reverted, his immediate priority was to call his sister and assure her of his safety.

Yet, just as Liu Xingluo’s hand delved into his pocket to retrieve his phone, a sudden, overwhelming wave of dizziness assailed him, robbing him of his equilibrium. He plummeted heavily to the ground.

More than just an inability to stand, even maintaining consciousness became an arduous battle. It felt as though he had sprinted the circumference of the Earth without pause—a hyperbolic claim, perhaps, but to Liu Xingluo, his body felt as though it had indeed endured such an impossible feat, expending an amount of energy far beyond its natural limits. He was instantly hollowed out, succumbing to unconsciousness.

Concurrently, Liu Ruyan, seized by a premonition that her younger brother might be in peril, had already begun frantically dialing Liu Xingluo’s number. Invariably, each attempt failed, met only by the robotic voice informing her, [“The number you have dialed is currently out of service area, please try again later.”]. This automated message only intensified Liu Ruyan’s mounting panic.

He was her beloved younger brother, her sole remaining kin. If he, too, were to be taken from her, how could she possibly navigate life alone?

In an age where Heteromorphic Beasts (TL Note: ‘Yìshēngshòu’ in Chinese, referring to mutated or alien creatures) could materialize at any moment, the specter of death loomed over everyone. Liu Ruyan was acutely aware that, one day, Liu Xingluo would inevitably be taken from her. Yet, this felt far too soon; she was utterly unprepared to confront the grim reality that their family of four had now dwindled to just herself.

‘No,’ she fiercely resolved. ‘It’s far too early to surrender. I’ll try calling Liu Xingluo again. Perhaps it will connect this time?’

Regardless, Liu Ruyan vowed that until the authorities located Liu Xingluo’s body and officially notified her, she would never relinquish hope! Her brother was a survivor; he had been stabbed just yesterday and still managed to pull through. How could he possibly succumb to such an easy death now?

With renewed determination, Liu Ruyan dialed Liu Xingluo’s number once more. To her astonishment, this time the call connected; there was no robotic message about being out of service.

Almost instantly, the call was answered. The moment the connection was established, Liu Ruyan, unable to contain her surging anxiety, barraged the other end with a torrent of questions.

“–Hello, Xiao Luo. Where in the world did you disappear to?! Every time I called, it said your number was out of service! Do you have any idea how frantic you’ve made your sister?!”

However, the voice that responded from the other end of the line was not her familiar brother’s, but that of a man she utterly failed to recognize.

“–I apologize. I am not your brother. If it’s convenient, might I trouble you to come and collect him? His condition appears to be less than ideal.”

“Eh?”

‘Condition less than ideal?’ What could that possibly mean? Had Liu Xingluo stumbled into yet another perilous situation? Could he have sustained grave injuries?!