A Sudden Transformation

“Are you an idiot? Who asked you to do extra work?!”

The teenager pulled his phone slightly away: “Those goods were problematic from the beginning.”

He had just graduated this year and was working at a procurement store. Recently, his supervisor had tasked him with procuring some goods and delivering them to retailers.

The order specified overseas original products, but in reality, a quarter of the items were counterfeit products from small domestic workshops.

He noted this discrepancy on the shipping list and prepared to send it to the retailer. However, before he could, his supervisor discovered it and halted the process.

“Why do you care so much? The goods aren’t being sold to you, and you don’t pay your salary, do you know that?”

“I know,” the teenager replied, “but doing things with integrity is important.”

He refused to engage in shady practices.

“Listen,” the supervisor said, suppressing his anger, “I know you graduated this year and are young with ambition. But you need to understand that this is business…”

“No, this is exploiting people.”

The supervisor nearly had a heart attack, taking a moment to recover: “Listen, the boss said if you don’t comply, you can leave tomorrow.”

The teenager knew his situation: his parents had passed away a few years ago, leaving barely enough money for him to finish college. Now, with his graduation, losing this job meant losing his place to live.

The teenager remained silent for a long time. When the supervisor assumed he would concede and began to offer some reassurance—

“Fine, then. Process my resignation and settle my pay.”

The supervisor nearly fainted.

“Good, come to the finance department tomorrow, and we’ll settle your internship pay.”

“Oh, and by the way, if you don’t do it, I’ll find someone else to follow the original order.”

“What a fool!”

The supervisor hung up the phone without giving him a chance to respond.

“Being fired is just fine, you’re the real fool.”

The teenager, unable to argue further, spoke to the empty air.

Though the internship pay was minimal, without company housing, the future rent would be challenging.

“Not doing shady business and getting fired, impressive indeed.”

His first job after graduation ended like this. Reflecting on the past few months, he felt a bit disoriented and didn’t notice the oncoming truck’s horn.

By the time he came to his senses, the truck was right in front of him.

“Ouch?”

Thud—!!

……………

His head ached, and he felt miserable, but he was still alive.

“I wasn’t just hit by a truck? How can I survive that?”

It was dark all around, and he couldn’t see anything. He seemed to be trapped in a narrow space, with his hands and feet constrained, barely able to move.

There was a lid over his head, so he struggled to push it open.

The delicate box moved, and after much effort, the lid was finally lifted.

A small, pale hand emerged, gripping the edge of the box.

“Who’s there?”

Mrs. Sanders woke up in the middle of the night, hearing noises from the warehouse. Upon opening the door, she saw a white-haired little girl climbing out of the box.

A delicate, doll-like little girl.

Mrs. Sanders was stunned.

This little girl was more than just doll-like; her long, moonlit-white hair was as soft as snow. Her slender, delicate limbs were like snow-white lotus roots, and her ruby-red eyes had a faint golden hue, making her both adorable and mysterious.

Despite wearing a faded, plain dress, her charm was undiminished.

Most importantly, she wasn’t just “like” a doll, but actually was…

“Good evening, ma’am. Could you please tell me where I am?” the white-haired girl rubbed her sore arm. “I think I’m injured… Wait, why are my hands so small?”

The teenager, now a girl, suddenly realized something was off. For instance, her hands were unexpectedly small and soft, like baby’s skin.

“My height has also decreased… Hey, what’s my voice?”

It was soft and childish.

Looking around, the surroundings didn’t seem modern. The woman across from her had a kind expression, but her clothing style was unusual, reminiscent of certain manga set in a different world.

The white-haired girl’s eyes widened in terror.

Had she been transported to a different world after being hit by a truck and reincarnated into a body in a precarious situation?

“Stay calm,” Mrs. Sanders spoke softly, “Ask any questions you have.”

“M-Ma’am, who am I, where am I, and what’s my gender?”

“You don’t need to be anxious. I have some good news and some bad news for you. So, be prepared.”

Mrs. Sanders swallowed hard: “Okay, tell me.”

After a moment of thought, Mrs. Sanders said: “First, you are a girl.”

The girl’s heart skipped a beat, her hand instinctively moving downward.

White clouds drifted aimlessly, and indeed, there was nothing there.

“So,” she looked at Mrs. Sanders with a glimmer of hope, “what’s the good news?”

Mrs. Sanders hesitated before saying: “That’s the good news.”

“…”

The girl opened her mouth soundlessly, her face crumpling in pain.

“Now for the bad news, you need to listen carefully.”

First, Mrs. Sanders introduced herself as a warehouse manager named Sanders, who worked for a merchant caravan. She then recounted the caravan’s mission.

Several months ago, due to some significant events, a former noble family in the capital faced liquidation. The family head had to sell off the family’s collection to avoid a worse fate.

The caravan was tasked with selling these items and traveled across the empire to find buyers who could offer fair prices.

The noble family had a vast collection of unusual items. Among these, there was one particularly extraordinary piece.

A human-like automaton, possibly the pinnacle of alchemy.

“Iordera, Iordera,” Mrs. Sanders picked up a box, pointing to the name engraved in crystal, “short for Iordera.”

The white-haired girl examined the word: “It’s a nice name, even if using just the first two letters’ pronunciation as a nickname is a bit odd.”

IO was pronounced from the first two letters, so calling it by that name was effectively skipping most of the name.

“But what does this have to do with me?”

“It does,” Mrs. Sanders looked at her with a complex expression, “because you are Iordera, Iordera.”

The white-haired girl, or Iordera, was taken aback.

“Wait, wait, wait, hold on. Are you saying I’m not human?” She laughed incredulously. “That’s impossible, it’s too absurd.”

Reincarnation is one thing, but not being human at all was too much to bear.

Mrs. Sanders patted the box in her hand: “It’s not absurd, I saw you climb out of this box.”

“That’s even more impossible. This box is only half my size.”

Iordera twisted her arm behind her neck: “Unless I can fold myself like this, how could I…”

Her soft voice trailed off abruptly.

Because she truly had folded herself.

****