The sky was clear, and the breeze was gentle.
In a waste recycling station in the south of the city, a “corpse” abandoned by someone lay quietly beside a pile of trash.
His chest had been completely pierced through, his blood nearly drained, and his skin was a sickly blue-white, the color of the dead.
All around, rusted iron sheets and discarded parts were piled up, and the air was thick with a strange mix of rot and motor oil.
In the midst of this dead silence, a shocking fluctuation of Spiritual Essence suddenly erupted from within his body.
A blazing white light surged out like a tide, swallowing his entire body.
The gruesome wound on his chest began to heal rapidly, the torn flesh reconnecting, and the bloodless skin gradually regained its vitality.
At the same time.
His hair started to fade bit by bit, from jet black to gray-white, and finally to pure white.
His originally somewhat lean body was also changing subtly. His shoulders narrowed, his waist tightened, and his limbs gradually became slender and elongated.
After a moment, the white light slowly dissipated.
A slender, delicate figure emerged from within.
Bai Fan opened his eyes.
The blinding sunlight made him squint instinctively.
Dust floated slowly in the pillar of light. In the distance, the iron sheets creaked as the wind blew.
“I’m still alive?”
He pushed himself up from the ground, his head feeling terribly foggy.
“Where is this?”
His memories felt like they had been torn apart and then barely pieced back together.
He remembered that he seemed to have died.
And then he seemed to have fallen into an extremely dark place.
There, he had met a blue-eyed girl.
The girl said she could save him.
And the price was…
Bai Fan frowned.
The content after that became blurry.
He only remembered that the girl had pinned him down on something like an operating table, stitching him up, and then suddenly revealing a very strange smile.
Then he woke up.
“Forget it.”
Bai Fan patted his head.
“Let’s see what’s going on first.”
He grabbed a nearby piece of scrap metal and stood up.
But just as he got halfway up, the jacket on his shoulders suddenly slipped off.
He quickly reached out and grabbed it.
In the movement, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a snow-white, rounded shoulder.
Bai Fan froze.
“Huh?”
He looked down at himself.
Something felt off. Had this jacket gotten bigger?
It used to fit perfectly, but now it hung loosely on him, the hem even reaching past his hips.
Frowning, Bai Fan continued looking down.
Below the pants legs, a slender, fair ankle was exposed, the skin so fine that pores were nearly invisible.
“Were my legs this white?”
He blinked.
Then he reached down and touched his own hand.
“When did my skin get this good?”
Just as he was puzzled, a strand of snow-white hair suddenly fell before his eyes, lightly brushing across his cheek.
It tickled a little.
Bai Fan instinctively pinched it and gave a gentle tug.
“Ow!”
A sharp pain shot through his scalp.
Holding his head, he winced and looked at the strand of white hair in his hand.
Then he slowly froze.
“Is this… my hair?”
Looser clothes, a slender body, snow-white hair.
An absurd thought suddenly rushed into his mind.
Bai Fan’s expression changed slightly. He quickly rummaged through his pockets.
A few seconds later.
He pulled out his phone and, with trembling fingers, opened the front camera.
The next moment, the whole world seemed to fall silent.
On the screen was reflected a strange but beautiful face. Snow-white hair cascaded onto her shoulders, skin as fair as porcelain, delicate features still carrying a trace of lingering confusion.
It was a girl. A very pretty girl.
And… she was making the exact same expressions as him.
Bai Fan stood frozen, finally recalling what had happened in Hell.
The last words the blue-eyed girl had said.
—The surgery was a success. You’ve become a girl now.
“Ugh… AAAAAHHHH—!!!”
A piercing scream instantly tore through the silence of the recycling station.
A few sparrows perched on the scrap iron racks were startled and fluttered into the air.
“Impossible!”
“What kind of joke is this?!”
“Is this some prank?!”
Bai Fan shook his head wildly, then raised his hand and slapped himself hard.
Slap! The sharp pain hit.
Tears almost burst from the impact.
On the phone screen, the snow-haired girl held her reddened cheek, her eyes slightly moist, her beautiful brows furrowed in a frown. She looked utterly wronged.
Bai Fan fell silent.
A few seconds later, she slowly crouched down, holding her head in her hands.
She began to question her existence.
“How did I end up like this…”
The memories gradually became clear.
Three days ago.
She had been dissecting Skeleton Beast corpses in the Gray Factory, selling materials through the Gray Channel to the Black Market to pay off debts.
That day, her creditor, Master Mo, suddenly showed up.
He told her about a big deal that could clear all her debts at once.
She was tempted, so she followed Master Mo to an abandoned church on the outskirts.
In the center of the church stood a bizarre Three-faced Idol.
Three faces, six eyes, as if they were simultaneously watching different directions, and as if they had been watching her all along.
Then Master Mo stabbed her through the chest from behind and offered her as a sacrifice to the Evil God.
“Master Mo…”
Bai Fan slowly clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Her teeth ground together audibly. The rage in her chest not only failed to subside but burned even hotter.
Just then, a silvery laugh suddenly rang out.
“Oh, don’t be angry now.”
“You just woke up. Your heart can’t take it.”
Bai Fan shuddered.
“Who’s there?!”
She jerked her head up and looked around. She recognized that voice. It was the blue-eyed girl.
“No need to look.”
The girl’s voice rang out lazily.
“My real body isn’t in this material world. I’m talking to you now through the contract inside you.”
“Contract?” Bai Fan was stunned.
“What contract?”
“Huh?” The voice suddenly drew out, thick with resentment.
“Earlier, you were crying, saying you’d sell your soul to survive. I worked so hard to drag you back from the gates of death.”
The voice was sighing, as if Bai Fan was a heartless ingrate.
No, an ungrateful girl.
“And now that you’re awake, you’ve forgotten the contract. Dear sister, you really break my heart.”
“Who’s your dear sister?!” A vein bulged on Bai Fan’s forehead. “And did you do this to me?!”
“Isn’t this good?” The girl’s tone was light. “You’re so pretty now.”
“Pretty my ass!”
“Oh.” The girl responded slowly. “Then I’ll send you back and turn you into your original self.”
Bai Fan choked.
“…”
After two seconds of silence.
She cleared her throat.
“Well… I guess it’s not that bad.”
A cheerful laugh seemed to come from the void.
Bai Fan took a deep breath and forced down her shame.
“Let’s talk business. What exactly do you want?”
The girl was silent for a moment, her voice turning serious for the first time.
“I need your help. Help me rebuild my body and return to the human world.”
“And you?” Bai Fan countered. “What can you give me?”
“Give you something?” The girl seemed amused. “Dear sister, I just saved your life. If you’re not going to pledge yourself to me, you’re actually asking for a reward?”
Bai Fan: “…”
“Alright, alright.” The blue-eyed girl finally dropped the joke, her tone taking on a hint of mystery. “In exchange, I can help you absorb Spiritual Matter and make you a true Sublimator!”
A bright white light flared up.
Bai Fan squinted instinctively.
The light slowly coalesced in the void, and a figure emerged from within the radiance.
A girl of almost unreal beauty. Snow-white hair cascaded down like frost blossoms frozen on a winter night.
Bai Fan’s gaze paused for a moment.
This was definitely the most beautiful girl she had ever seen.
Those icy blue eyes curved into crescent moons, and she smiled gently at Bai Fan.
“Isn’t it more sincere to communicate when I show my true form?”