The Hero’s Unexpected Transformation

The Hero…

More than a month had passed since Li Longkang, a seventeen-year-old boy, returned from the other world.

The summer sun was intensifying, hanging in the sky and scorching all living beings, signaling that summer vacation was almost upon them.

Yet, neither the summer break nor the sweltering heat had any bearing on Li Longkang, who was streaming live in his air-conditioned room.

“Brothers, yesterday, we just conquered the Grand Library…”

Even before the Goddess, that human trafficker, had snatched him away to the other world, he had rarely attended school.

For a truant delinquent, every day was, naturally, summer vacation.

His tight-fitting tank top accentuated his lean physique, muscles honed through countless brawls.

Coupled with the combat experience he’d amassed as the Hero in the other world, he…

He had, ironically, lost all interest in fighting.

Having endured bloody, life-or-death battles, mere street fights could no longer stimulate Li Longkang’s desensitized nerves; they evoked even less emotional fluctuation than playing games at home.

With the weather growing hotter by the day, he had even fewer reasons to venture outside.

Instead, he found himself eating fried chicken and cola in the comfort of his air-conditioned home, streaming games all day long.

His only social interaction seemed to be greeting his enthusiastic viewers in his chat.

“Thanks for the airplane, ‘this guy’! Next time, I’ll mute you again!”

Moreover, his emotional swings while gaming were indeed quite significant.

“Goddammit! When the game designer was a kid, did they have to crawl through the sewers to get into the bathroom, finish their business, and then open the toilet door from the inside?!”

Li Longkang’s heart rate was visibly soaring past one hundred and twenty.

However, in the immediate aftermath of his return from the other world that month, he had been quite busy—after all, his mother, his sole remaining family in this world, had disappeared.

A year in the other world equated to roughly a month on Earth.

During that month, while he was busy vanquishing the Demon Lord and saving the other world, his mother had also met with some unfortunate incident.

Li Longkang’s police report yielded no results.

Instead, he found himself interrogated about his whereabouts for the preceding month, as his mother, Li Changli, had evidently reported him missing during the initial days of his disappearance.

Naturally, Li Longkang had also filed a police report himself.

Despite his reputation as a delinquent who constantly got into fights, the overwhelming desire to find his mother took precedence.

He even divulged the truth about being sent to the other world by the Goddess to become the Hero.

The outcome, however, was painfully obvious: his earnest confession was dismissed as fabrication by the police, earning him a severe dressing-down.

Since then, Li Longkang had ceased to recount his experiences in the other world to anyone.

Yet, his mother’s disappearance remained shrouded in mystery; there were no travel records, not even an outgoing record on the day she vanished—a familiarity that unsettled Li Longkang.

Even if he wished to question that wretched Goddess about the situation, he hadn’t seen the whimsical deity since being sent back to Earth.

She offered no communication, even when he tried sending her money, making him fear she might vanish completely one day.

Having unlocked a bonfire as a new save point in the game, Li Longkang set down his controller, stretched languidly, and with a hint of weariness, glanced up at the clock on the living room wall.

It was almost one in the afternoon.

“Alright, I’m logging off to eat.

Whether I stream this afternoon depends on how I feel, so don’t wait for me.”

Eating was paramount; he didn’t rely on his stream’s fans for income.

After his mother’s disappearance, Li Longkang’s solitary life lacked much routine, yet he still made an effort to ensure three meals a day, primarily because he had received a substantial sum of money as compensation from the Goddess.

As the saying goes, there is no greater sorrow than dying with money left unspent.

If he couldn’t live to a ripe old age, wouldn’t it be an immense waste?

Consequently, Li Longkang had become more self-preserving and health-conscious than ever before.

As for streaming, it was merely a pastime.

It also served as a convenient cover for the source of that large, mysterious fund.

Such a sudden influx of money into his account, without a plausible income stream, could easily attract unwanted scrutiny.

Holding his phone, Li Longkang opened a delivery app.

As he pondered which ‘imperial chef’ to favor today, he stepped into the bathroom to relieve himself.

Without much deliberation, he quickly chose a fast-food restaurant and placed an order.

He then set his phone on the sink, stood before the toilet, and unfastened the elastic waistband of his shorts.

The moment Li Longkang pulled out his ‘little buddy’ and relaxed his muscles, he heard the crisp clang of metal hitting the floor.

Something, cushioned by his slipper, struck the sole of his foot, followed by a warm trickle that spread down his inner thigh, dampening his shorts.

“…Hm?”

Li Longkang’s brow furrowed.

This was, without a doubt, the sensation of wetting himself.

She looked down, only to see a golden baseball bat lying at her feet.

As she lowered her gaze, a wisp of golden hair brushed past her ear.

Her perspective felt much lower compared to the height of the basin, and beneath the tight tank top, her modest yet undeniably present curves were just discernible.

“Hmph…”

In that instant, Li Longkang’s brain completely crashed.

Yet, this body was not unfamiliar to her; after all, just over a month ago, she had bathed in blood and slaughtered in this very form in the other world…

As the Hero.

“That Goddess!!”

Li Longkang couldn’t help but curse vehemently.

When sending her back, the Goddess had sworn she would definitely reinstall the holy sword (TL Note: ‘Holy sword’ here is a euphemism for Li Longkang’s penis, which has transformed into a golden baseball bat, implying a gender change).

Had it fallen off again after only a month?

And of all times, during a bathroom break!

“Damn you… Goddess! Get out here!”

She yelled at the bathroom ceiling, but it clearly had no effect.

The more pressing issue was her soiled shorts.

She turned on the water heater, stripped off her pants, and stepped into the shower.

****

Li Longkang, carrying her holy sword, emerged from the bathroom, a faint blush on her face, having tidied herself up as best she could.

However, she was still wearing the same clothes she wore as a male.

Having no experience being a woman on Earth, her wardrobe, naturally, contained no feminine attire.

Her lower half was still clad in men’s boxer briefs, leaving her feeling exposed and insecure.

“…I guess I can order these ‘women’s things’ online?”

Just as she muttered this, the doorbell rang.

Her mother wouldn’t ring the doorbell upon returning, so had the takeout arrived so quickly?

Leaving the holy sword on her bedroom bed, Li Longkang tightened the elastic waistband of her shorts.

After a quick check to ensure she wasn’t indecently dressed, she walked towards the entrance…

Before opening the door, however, she peered through the peephole.

Outside stood two girls, one tall and one short, both dressed in the uniform of Tianyi High.

The shorter, dark-haired girl wore a red armband on her arm—Li Longkang had certainly had her share of encounters with disciplinary committee members sporting such armbands.

‘Hmph, these two girls must be from the student council, here to persuade me to return to school,’ she thought.

‘But now, with me being “separated from my chicken” (TL Note: ‘Ren ji fen li,’ literally ‘person-chicken separation,’ is a humorous and vulgar Chinese slang referring to a male losing his penis, often implying a gender change or castration. Here, it signifies Li Longkang’s transformation into a female), outsiders wouldn’t recognize me as the Li Longkang they knew, even if I opened the door…’

‘Then again,’ she mused, ‘if I were to open the door and tell them that the mother and son who used to live here have moved out, wouldn’t that be a foolproof way to get rid of the school’s emissaries once and for all?’

‘What a brilliant idea.’

Li Longkang tentatively pulled open the door.

Immediately, her nose bridge was met with a punch.

“???”