Chapter 1: The Transformers
"Guys, don't come any closer! If you do, I'll jump!"
Ryan stood on the rooftop of the Chemistry Building the tallest structure on campus. In front of him was a group of men in suits and dark sunglasses professional bodyguards from the Haotian Group, the company that had funded the construction of the building itself.
"Ryan, you were so bold when dealing with our young lady, huh? Why so cowardly now? Ah, you—"
The man in black who spoke didn't even finish his sentence before being kicked from behind. He had accidentally said something disrespectful about the young lady the only daughter of the Haotian Group's chairman and paid for it immediately.
Of course, that wasn't the real issue. Since that fateful night a night that was both unbearable and, for Ryan, perhaps a little too pleasurable the young lady's belly had begun to swell. That was how things had come to this point.
The men in black claimed they were going to "bring Ryan back" a college senior just days from graduation to "deal with him." To outsiders, it might have sounded like nonsense, but who would've thought that this one student, after a "simple difference in values," would end up causing a rooftop scandal at the Chemistry Building?
What the hell!
Ryan had only planned to pretend to struggle, just to avoid more embarrassment in front of that woman. But fate had other plans. The same man in black who'd been kicked earlier suddenly lost his balance and lunged toward Ryan. His colleagues tried to grab him by the waist, but in the chaos—
Ryan fell.
Or rather, he should have died. But he didn't. Instead, something strange caught him mid-air a gigantic mechanical arm. No matter how much he struggled, it was useless. He soon realized that his hands, feet, and even his entire body had turned transparent like something straight out of a sci-fi movie.
The enormous mechanical arm was holding what appeared to be his soul. From its joints, a mysterious white light was shining and it was that same light that had captured Ryan's essence.
"Who… who are you?! What do you want?! Help! Somebody help me!"
Anyone would have been terrified in his place. But no matter how much he shouted, no answer came. The arm seemed like a lifeless machine on an assembly line carrying out its task without emotion. It continued dragging him forward until an enormous white sphere appeared ahead, surrounded by arcs of static electricity.
What the hell is this? What are you trying to do?!
A horrible premonition rose in Ryan's chest. The white sphere looked like the open mouth of a demon, waiting to swallow his soul whole.
Could this be… an alien invasion?
Just as he thought that, a distant scream echoed through the void growing louder and louder until it was right beside him.
What? Someone else is here?! Where—?
He turned his head about 45 degrees toward the sound… and froze in terror.
All around him floated more glowing spheres, each one with its own mechanical arm just like the one holding him. The owner of the voice soon appeared: a burly, bearded man struggling helplessly. His mechanical arm moved faster than Ryan's, pinning him flat against the surface of the orb.
Then Ryan heard it the most horrifying sound he'd ever heard in his life.
The final, despairing scream of a dying human being.
"AHHHHH!"
And not just one scream a chorus of them. Dozens, hundreds, filling the void like the cries of the damned described in sacred texts.
"No!"
"Ahhh—"
Each glowing sphere released a terrifying suction. Once a human soul was caught, it was slowly drawn in like a child slurping up jelly until the poor soul became one with the orb itself.
What the hell is this? Are aliens really this terrifying?! Let me go!
Ryan thrashed like a fish caught in a net, but it was useless. No one could hear him; no one would help.
Damn it! How pathetic can this get? I just… got the campus beauty pregnant! Didn't I promise to take responsibility?!
Despair swallowed him. He shut his eyes tight, praying that when the orb finally consumed him, it wouldn't hurt too much.
But could something like this ever be painless?
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Just as he had lost all hope, a deafening explosion echoed around him. The space before him shook violently even the mechanical arm that held him trembled as if under attack.
Could it be… the Earth Defense Force? Were they here to rescue the captured humans?
Ryan's imagination was running wild. But even though the arm quivered, it didn't stop its work it kept pushing him toward the glowing sphere of death.
BOOM!
Then perhaps by divine will another explosion thundered overhead. A massive steel beam crashed down from above, smashing through the mechanical arm holding him. The entire structure shook again, and the orb of white light fell from its position directly toward Ryan's head.
Oh come on, seriously?!
Darkness swallowed his vision. He blacked out.
What Ryan didn't know was that the orb of light didn't devour him as cruelly as it had the others. Instead, a small opening appeared at its core, from which countless mechanical tendrils emerged. One by one, they pierced his ethereal body, flooding his soul with streams of visible data.
After several minutes, the tendrils dragged Ryan fully into the orb.
"Beep! Transformers System initializing recovery protocol. Host confirmed: Earthling. Energy compatibility with the Transformers Spark: 100%. Beginning restoration and replacement program. Uploading host memory data progress: 1%... 2%..."
And just like that, poor Ryan became… an inexplicable alien being.
(End of Chapter)
This is one of the stories that I have enjoyed translating the most. I hope you like it.