"Kai! Kai!"
A man's roar thundered in his ears, so loud it sent a sharp, stinging pain through his skull.
Who's calling me? Kai thought groggily. The persistent shout dragged him from a deep, heavy slumber.
"Kai! Kai!"
He forced his eyes open, feeling a lingering, heavy lethargy clinging to his limbs like wet cement. Standing directly before him was a man with a thick, unkempt
beard that looked like it hadn't seen a razor in years.
Five meters away, dozens of teenagers—boys and girls around fifteen or sixteen years old—stood in a neat, trembling line. They were all dressed in identical grey uniforms, their eyes locked onto him. Some gazes were filled with pity; others
were dripping with pure, unadulterated contempt.
They seemed relieved. Relieved that they weren't the "Grade D trash" lying in the pod.
Kai blinked, staring back at them. Confusion warred with curiosity. When did I become the protagonist? Why are so many people staring at me?
He tried to push himself up, reaching out a hand for support. His fingers met something slick and cold—it wasn't the texture of a bed. He looked down. The smooth, curved surface, the shimmering silver reflection... he wasn't in his cozy, soft bed at home. He was lying inside some kind of high-tech container, like a cryogenic sleep pod.
"Kai, you scared the life out of us," the bearded man said, his voice softer now, but still strained. "A D-Grade Compatibility isn't your fault. Remember, genes do not decide everything!"
"Compatibility? Genes...?" Kai muttered, his voice raspy. "Where... Where am I? Why am I here?"
As Kai spoke to himself, his thoughts suddenly began to blur. The whispers of the students around him distorted, sounding like warped electronic static in his brain.
Then, an agonizing flood of memories surged into his mind—countless jagged fragments of a life that wasn't his, shattering and reassembling in his subconscious.
I... I've transmigrated?
Through the haze of memories, he understood everything. This body's owner was also named Kai, a third-year student at this academy. And today was graduation day. In this world's brutal tradition, every graduating class had to enter these Gene Pods to test their natural "Gene Compatibility."
This single test determined whether they had the opportunity to step onto the path of "Genetic Modification."
For Kai, it was a death sentence.
Students with high compatibility—Grade A or Grade B—would be courted by prestigious universities and revered by society. But Grade D? For someone like Kai, it meant a life sentence as a servant, doomed to the lowest level of society.
The original owner of this body, upon hearing the devastating result, had literally been scared to death. His weak Grade D heart had stopped beating from pure terror.
Damn... that's a pathetic way to go, Kai thought, sorting through the memories of the boy's bullied life. But since I've transmigrated into your place, I suppose it's my duty to help you rewrite this script.
"Kai, are you feeling alright?" the teacher asked, his tone warm and genuinely concerned.
"I'm fine, Teacher. Thank you for your concern," Kai said, pushing himself out of the pod and standing on shaky legs. His priority now was simple: get out of here and understand this new world.
"Oh look! Isn't that the class 'Coward'?" a mocking voice jeered. "His heart is so weak he fainted from fear, hahaha!"
From the crowd, a large, heavyset teenager stepped forward, his fat face contorted in a sneer.
Kai didn't need a second look. The boy's name was Marl. He was the class bully, a minor tyrant who delighted in tormenting those who couldn't fight back, like the original Kai.
Ignoring the insult, Kai began to walk straight toward the massive academy exit doors. The eyes of every student followed his lonely figure, including the infuriated Marl. Kai truly didn't want to get involved in this petty drama. He had far more important questions.
What is Genetic Modification? It was the first strange concept he had heard, and it was the key to understanding this new reality.
He kept his head down, his footsteps rapid and urgent, trying not to notice the stares. Just as he tried to slip past Marl, a heavy hand slammed onto his
shoulder. The grip was shockingly powerful, forcing Kai to grind to a halt.
"Let go of your fat pig hand," Kai said, his voice suddenly ice-cold.
The room went silent. Marl blinked, then his face split into a malicious grin. "Oh? Everyone, look! The 'Coward' actually has a temper today!"
"Yeah! Look, the Coward is angry!" several other students—both boys and girls—started to chant, fueled by the spectacle.
"Students, stop this at once!" the teacher pleaded from behind the crowd, but his voice was weak and useless against the hormonal tide of teenagers. He couldn't control them. Kai realized this with brutal clarity.
In this world, kindness without power is worthless, Kai thought. He couldn't walk away. Not now.
"I need to establish some respect," he muttered, locking eyes with Marl.
In the next instant, Kai moved. He grabbed Marl's arm just below the elbow, stepping in deep, preparing to execute a classic shoulder throw. He wanted to slam this 160-pound bully onto the hard floor.
He had the technique from his previous life, but he had miscalculated one critical factor.
He didn't know if this body was simply too weak, or if Marl's modified weight was simply too heavy, but as Kai tried to lift him, his legs buckled. He couldn't budge the fat bully an inch. He was just a Grade D trash trying to move a mountain.
Marl didn't even flinch. A sadistic grin crossed his face as he reversed the grip, locking Kai's arm behind his back and slamming him down. Marl's knee landed squarely on Kai's back, pinning him to the cold floor.
"You really thought you could move me?" Marl sneered, his breath hot on Kai's neck. "Grade D trash... your pathetic 'strength' isn't even enough to give me an itch."
"Marl! Stop it! Right now!" the teacher shouted, trying to push through the wall of students, but he was stuck.
Damn it! Is this still a middle school student? Such crazy strength! Kai struggled to breathe, his face pressed against the icy metal. No... it's not him. It's me. This body is too weak!
Darkness began to creep into the edges of his vision. He was suffocating.
Is this it? Scared to death once, and now suffocated by a bully?
Just as his consciousness began to fade, a single sound rang through his soul. It was a cold, indifferent, and utterly precise mechanical voice. It was the sweetest sound he had ever heard.
[System Initialization... 100%]
The voice was devoid of any human emotion, echoing in his mind with absolute authority.
A sudden instinct told him to look up. In his blurred vision, a translucent, paper-thin screen flickered into existence, floating in the air where only he could see it.
[Host: Kai]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 16]
[Alert: Host's consciousness is nearing a state of collapse. Emergency Gift Pack detected. Do you wish to sign in?]
Two buttons appeared before his eyes: [YES] and [NO].
Kai didn't hesitate for even a millisecond. He knew that with his current physical state, he was no match for Marl. He didn't know what this "System" was, but it was his only lifeline.
Yes! Sign in! he screamed in his mind.
[Reward Dispatched: The Host's physical strength genes will be temporarily reinforced. Duration: 1 Hour.]
Kai didn't hesitate for even a millisecond. He knew that with his current physical state, he was no match for Marl. He didn't know what this "System" was, but it was his only lifeline.
Yes! Sign in! he screamed in his mind.
[Reward Dispatched: The Host's physical strength genes will be temporarily reinforced. Duration: 1 Hour.]
Instantly, Kai felt an explosive surge of energy erupt within his marrow. His blood began to boil. His body felt like a furnace, a violent, raging fire stoking every muscle fiber.
With a low growl, Kai slammed his left hand against the floor. With a violent flick of his right arm, he shattered Marl's grip. The sudden, overwhelming force sent the 160-pound bully staggering backward, his eyes widening in shock as he nearly tumbled to the ground.
"What the hell? How do you have this much strength?" Marl barked, his face turning a shade of purple from humiliation and confusion.
"You aren't worthy of knowing," Kai said, his voice low and raspy.
Kai lowered his center of gravity, loading his legs like coiled springs. The moment he launched himself upward, the reinforced floor beneath his feet actually
cracked under the pressure. He moved like a blur of wind, closing the distance in a heartbeat.
Marl was still reeling, his balance not yet recovered. He didn't even see the punch coming. Kai's fist drove straight into the bully's abdomen.
BOOM!
A dull thud echoed through the hall. Marl, all 160 pounds of him, was launched backward like a cannonball. He crashed into a Gene Induction Pod with a deafening metallic screech.
Kai didn't stop to watch the fallout. He turned and walked toward the exit. As he passed the heavy reinforced door, he swung his fist with everything he had, slamming it into the concrete wall beside the frame.
CRACK!
A fist-shaped indentation, three centimeters deep, appeared in the solid wall.
"Anyone else wants to cross me? This is your future," Kai threw the words over his shoulder, his voice cold and final.
The room fell into a terrified silence. The students who had been laughing moments ago were now trembling. No one would ever look down on the student named Kai again.
As the dust settled, the Gene Pod Marl had crashed into sparked and hissed, its internal wiring exposed and ruined.
"Oh... my god!" the teacher cried out, his hands trembling as he looked at the wreckage. "That... that pod cost over a million credits! It's completely destroyed!"
But even worse was Marl. The bully was currently embedded in the dented metal of the pod, eyes rolled back, completely unconscious.