The last thing Li Wei remembered was the sound of metal screaming.
Brakes failed.
A flash of headlights.
Then—
Nothing.
When consciousness returned, it came without breath.
No heartbeat. No warmth.
Only… darkness.
Li Wei tried to inhale instinctively—
—but nothing happened.
No air filled his lungs.
Because he didn't have lungs.
A strange panic rose inside him. He tried to move his arms.
Nothing.
His legs?
Nothing.
His eyes—
…he couldn't even tell if they were open.
A cold, suffocating realization crept into his mind.
What… is this?
Time passed.
Or maybe it didn't.
Without a body, without senses, time had no meaning.
Then—
Thud.
A dull vibration echoed through him.
Li Wei froze.
He… felt that.
Not through skin. Not through nerves.
But through… something else.
Another sound followed.
Clatter. Voices.
"…just leave it here."
"Yeah, no one checks these old boxes anyway."
Boxes?
A strange thought surfaced.
…Wait.
Something shifted.
Hands—he couldn't see them, but he knew—lifted him.
His entire existence tilted.
Something inside him slid slightly.
Inside?
Inside… him?
Panic surged.
What do you mean inside me?
He tried to scream.
No sound came out.
Only silence.
Then, slowly… carefully…
Li Wei focused.
If he couldn't see… then he would feel.
And for the first time—
He noticed it.
A boundary.
Thin. Fragile. Rough.
Edges. Corners.
A hollow space.
And within that space…
…something small rolled gently.
A thought hit him like lightning.
No way…
No. No, that's impossible.
He tried to deny it.
Tried to reject the absurd conclusion forming in his mind.
But the more he "felt" his surroundings…
The clearer it became.
Flat surfaces.
Folded edges.
Hollow interior.
Lightweight structure.
"I…"
If he still had a face, it would have gone pale.
"…am a box?"
Silence answered him.
Minutes—or hours—passed in stunned disbelief.
Li Wei didn't move.
Didn't think.
Didn't even try to understand.
Because how could he?
A human from 2024…
Reincarnated as a cardboard box?
It sounded like a bad joke.
Then—
Something warm touched him.
Not outside.
Inside.
A faint sensation spread through his entire being.
It wasn't pain.
It wasn't pleasure.
It was… energy.
Weak. Faint. But real.
Li Wei's thoughts snapped back instantly.
What was that?
The small object inside him shifted again.
This time, he focused completely on it.
And slowly—
He could feel it.
Not just its shape.
But something deeper.
Something… alive.
Or once alive.
And then—
A voice.
Cold. mechanical. emotionless.
Echoed directly in his mind.
[Label System Initializing…]
Li Wei froze.
[Entity Identified: Object]
[Type: Cardboard Container]
"…Object?"
[Label Assigned: Paper Growth]
The words burned into his awareness.
Clear. undeniable.
[Primary Function: Absorption and Growth]
[Condition: Contact with life force]
Li Wei's thoughts trembled.
Absorption…? Growth…?
The faint energy inside him pulsed again.
Slightly stronger this time.
As if responding.
[First Absorption Detected]
A chill ran through his consciousness.
"…What did I just absorb?"
No answer came.
Only silence.
Then—
From somewhere outside—
A faint scratching sound.
Scratch. Scratch.
Something small.
Something alive.
It crept closer.
Unaware.
And for the first time since waking up—
Li Wei didn't feel fear.
He felt…
Hunger.