Chapter 25: Congratulations, you’re going to become a girl, meow!

By sheer willpower, Dongfang Cheng dragged his near-collapsing body through the crowds, stumbling back to his apartment.

The moment the door clicked shut, his taut nerves snapped like a cut string.

With a thud, he collapsed onto the cold floor, drained of every ounce of strength, unable to even lift a finger.

His ears buzzed, the ceiling warping into a spiraling, sinking vortex. Each breath felt like swallowing blades scraping his lungs. He could feel every bone groaning under unbearable strain, his organs twisted as if crushed by an invisible hand and shoved back haphazardly.

Eventually, even the searing pain blurred, his consciousness sinking into a deep sea, swallowed by endless darkness, losing all awareness.

[Status Self-Check…]

[Individual Transformation Degree: Low → Medium]

[▮▮ Learning Progress: Lagging]

[Learning Strategy Adjustment, Auto-Optimizing…]

[Core Tendency Adjustment: Cognitive Dissociation, Initiating…]

After an unknown time, Dongfang Cheng clawed his way back from the thick darkness.

Blinking weakly, he found himself still sprawled on the floor. Sunlight slipped through the curtain gaps, casting warm streaks across the room. Morning already? The next day?

Struggling to prop himself up, he felt an unprecedented weakness. His arms… had no strength?

He looked down, and his pupils shrank.

Who… is this?!

His arms were a full size thinner. The six-pack abs he’d prided himself on were gone, replaced by a smooth, slightly soft stomach. Stumbling to the wall, he checked his height against the marks he’d made—yesterday, he was 1.77 meters; now, even in shoes, he barely hit 1.6-something.

The muscles he’d worked so hard for were nearly gone. The only remnants were the slightly defined pecs on his chest.

Why were his pecs still there?

Curious, he pressed a hand to his chest. A strange, electric jolt shot up his spine.

“Eek—!”

His face paled, then flushed red in a second.

A terrifying, absurd guess crept into his mind. Trembling, he unbuckled his belt with a martyr’s resolve, glancing down.

“What the hell… it shrinks?!”

Fury and panic plunged his consciousness into the contract space.

“Meow?! You’re awake, meow? How’s your body? Feeling refreshed… YAAAH! C-C-Calm down, meow! Don’t choke me, I’m gonna die, meow!!”

The round-headed black cat was yanked up by a raging Dongfang Cheng, its limbs flailing.

“What’s going on?!” Dongfang Cheng growled through gritted teeth.

The cat, eyes rolling, barely squeaked, “Cough… let… let me go… I’ll explain, meow…”

He loosened his grip slightly, but his glare could kill.

“Huff… huff…” The cat panted, eyeing him warily. “I told you, these two weeks are critical for system adjustments. No transforming, or the side effects would be bad, meow! Forgot, huh?!”

“I was saving people!”

“You still transformed, meow!” The cat puffed up, paws on its hips. “And with such intense fighting! The system—no, I had to stabilize your near-collapsing body by draining your male traits as a cost for emergency repairs, meow! In other words—”

It paused, tail swishing, its expression gleeful. “Congrats, meow! Since you didn’t listen and stay put for two weeks, your body’s officially on the path to becoming a magical girl—basically, you’re turning into a girl, meow!”

“…Say that again?” Dongfang Cheng’s face darkened completely.

“Your choice, meow! You didn’t behave!” The cat cackled. “Who’d have thought—bwahaha, you—OW OW OW OW!!”

Its laughter was cut short by a heavy punch, the contract space erupting in chaos.

In the bathroom, warm water poured from the shower, washing over Dongfang Cheng’s body. Steam fogged the mirror.

He irritably wiped the mist, staring at his reflection.

His skin, under the steam, was startlingly fair and delicate, almost fragile, with no trace of the roughness from his training days. Water slid down like it was rolling over fine silk.

Leaning against the wall, he felt his normal life swirling down the drain.

“What is this mess?!” he groaned silently, clutching his face.

His waist was unnaturally slim, with subtle dimples at the sides when he turned. Nine out of ten would call this a woman’s body.

Slumped against the cold tiles, letting the warm water wash over this increasingly alien body, he felt shame and frustration tear at his “I’m a man” conviction.

But strangely, where the old him would’ve raged over losing a centimeter of height, pounding that dumb cat into silence, now…

“It’s fine, just a physical change, not obvious… no one will notice…”

A strange voice seemed to rise from another part of his soul, effortlessly soothing his brewing anger. It was like he was explaining to someone else—or convincing his crumbling self. His voice, in that self-talk, wasn’t as shaky as he’d expected.

Under that voice’s influence, his shame and rage diluted, overwritten. Even seeing his feminized body in the mirror, the instinctive male disgust and anger surfaced, only to be neutralized by that voice:

“It’s okay, no one can recognize you after transforming…”

“And I saved so many people with this body… it’s worth it…”

Then, his deal with Ashura popped into his mind.

“…This weekend, a date with that armored pervert. What should I wear… tch…”

Dongfang Cheng choked, sliding down the tiles to the bathroom floor. Just a week ago, “date” would’ve set him off; now, it only felt embarrassing and awkward—he was even subconsciously thinking about what to wear to avoid standing out.

“No, am I insane—ugh, my head hurts… better stop thinking.”

He stood, staring at the familiar yet foreign face in the mirror, muttering after a long pause:

“When we meet this weekend, I’m punching that jerk first to vent.”