I'm 12 years old, Indian, and I died in a school bus accident after the driver suffered a sudden heart attack and crashed into a truck carrying gas. My only regret was that I wouldn't get to finish my favourite series, Swallowed Star. Life really is unfair.
Then I jolted awake and sat up in bed, sweating profusely and breathing heavily. Suddenly, a gentle, soothing voice and a pair of warm hands held my face.
"Luo, did you have that nightmare again? Calm down, I'm here with you. Nothing will happen to you. Here, drink this water and sleep. Everything will be alright," said a middle-aged woman, concern written all over her face.
The little boy came back to his senses when he heard her voice. She was sitting beside him, holding a glass of water. He dazedly took it and drank, and at that moment, all the memories of the body's previous owner rushed into his mind.
He felt dizzy and slowly lost consciousness, leaning onto the woman as she gently laid him on her lap. Leaning against the top bunk frame, she closed her eyes to rest.
In his sleep, all the memories of the previous owner flashed through his mind like a movie. At the end of it, he heard a voice coming from the kitchen.
"Luo, wake up. Freshen up. Breakfast is ready."
The boy slowly sat up and yawned.
I haven't properly introduced myself, have I? I'm Karthik, born in 2013, part of Generation Alpha. I never thought soul-transmigration was real. I always assumed it was something that only happened in the webnovels I read after finishing my homework.
The previous owner of this body had an Indian father and a Chinese mother. His father, who worked on a cargo ship, died in a fire accident at sea. His mother received huge compensation and used her savings to buy this apartment when he was five years old. This place became their safe haven, just the two of them against the world.
Karthik stepped out of bed and went into the bathroom. He picked up the toothbrush and toothpaste, looking at himself in the mirror. In his past life, he had brown skin and looked decent. Now, although he still retained some Indian features, he had fair skin inherited from his Chinese mother. He touched his face gently before brushing his teeth and finishing his bath.
Suddenly, a question hit him. "Is this still the same Earth?"
He rushed to his study table and opened his homework notebook in his birthday suit. "Oh, shit." He had never seen this language before, yet he understood every word as if it were his mother tongue. He shut the notebook, placed it back, and let out a heavy sigh.
"Looks like I'm in a different dimension of Earth," Karthik murmured, a thoughtful expression on his childish face.
After dressing in his school uniform, he walked towards the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, he called out in his childish voice, "Mother, what's for breakfast?"
"It's your favourite—baozi stuffed with pork and veggies," the woman replied warmly.
Excited to taste food in this new world, he ran into the kitchen. It looked just like a modern Chinese kitchen seen in real life or on TV. He pulled a chair closer with a small creak and instinctively reached out to grab a steamed bun.
Knock.
His mother tapped his head and scolded him playfully, "You picked up this dirty habit from your father. Use chopsticks, understand? Eating with your hands is a bad habit."
Karthik rolled his eyes and picked up the chopsticks. Surprisingly, they felt natural to him. He easily lifted a steamed bun and took a huge bite, his childish face blooming with pleasure.
"Yummy!" he exclaimed, finishing all six buns with a blissful smile.
"Chinese food is really tasty," Karthik thought while washing his mouth at the sink.
Suddenly, he heard commotion from outside—and the world went dark. The entire apartment building was isolated. Bodies were everywhere. His mother lay in front of him in a pool of blood. She looked back at him with longing and sorrow.
"I'm sorry, Luo… my child. Don't go out. It's dangerous. Let this apartment protect you in my place."
Tears streamed down her face as she felt herself turning into a monster. Using the last of her strength, she slit her own throat to prevent herself from harming the only family she had left.
The boy snapped out of his daze when his mother's blood splattered onto his face. Fear and nausea twisted inside him, and tears streamed down as he screamed helplessly.
A white powder coated his skin. Under a microscopic view, a shapeless virus entered his bloodstream, altering his DNA. He was mutating. Every cell in his body screamed in agony. The sensation of being torn apart made him twitch and shriek like a madman. He blacked out repeatedly—those five minutes felt like an eternity.
After an hour, covered in blood and with his uniform shredded, he took a deep breath and slowly stood up. His body still ached slightly. It took a few minutes to balance himself and get used to his transformed body.
He looked at his reflection in a broken mirror and froze. Staring back at him was a man around twenty-five years old, with a perfectly sculpted physique—six-pack abs, defined muscles, a lean frame. He looked like a Chinese martial arts star, almost Bruce Lee-level.
Taking a closer look, he exclaimed, "Bro, you're a handsome bastard." Dark eyes, slightly curly hair, sharp nose, sword-like eyebrows, slim cheeks, a perfect oval face—he looked like a fusion of Hollywood, Bollywood, and Chinawood star quality.
Ahem… don't mind him. The little brat is just bragging.
Then he suddenly heard a grotesque scream, and the hair on his skin stood up. Every sense in his body screamed of approaching danger. The creature had a human-shaped body but the appearance of an ape, sharp fangs jutting from its mouth, and eyes filled with madness as it stared at him.
Karthik looked at it and grimaced in frustration. "I just levelled up, and I already have to fight this damn first boss?"
"Damn you! I won't fight—I'm running!" Karthik screamed and bolted toward the stairs.