Chapter Thirty-Two: The First Person to Undergo Gender Transformation

“How dare you, fiend! I knew all along you weren’t human!”

Zhang San had never heard anyone speak in such a melodious voice, and so he was convinced that this must be some strange creature.

“Ahem, all right, enough of that. I’m a Blockman, no need to doubt it.”

“Now why don’t you open your eyes and see where you are!” The voice echoed in Zhang San’s mind once again.

“Uh, okay…” Zhang San hesitantly opened his eyes.

All around him was a sea of roiling, red-hot lava as far as his eyes could see. He was standing at the very center of this molten lake, directly beneath a slender stone pillar. Beneath the column lay a tiny island, just large enough for him to stand on—that was where he found himself.

Speechless, Zhang San could only stare. Watching the lava lake from the edge was nothing compared to the thrill of standing at its heart. The island was so small that if Zhang San made the slightest misstep, he would bid farewell to this blocky world.

“I only used a bit of power to teleport you here…” That clear, enticing voice sounded in his mind once more.

“If I truly were a monster, why wouldn’t I have simply dropped you into the lava and boiled you alive?” The voice retorted as Zhang San fell silent.

“Well, all right… Then how did you end up here?” Zhang San remained wary. In his eyes, it was impossible for anyone to appear so deep underground.

“Well… That’s because I’m just too powerful!” The voice sounded a bit embarrassed.

“I can tell you, I dug straight down from the surface!” The voice regained its composure.

“Well? Impressive, isn’t it? Don’t you want power like mine?”

“Of course, who wouldn’t want such power?” Zhang San, unfamiliar with novels, failed to sense anything amiss. He was still marveling that someone who could communicate telepathically and teleport him across a hundred blocks must truly possess real abilities.

If he could gain her power, wouldn’t he be able to protect the Block Kingdom?

“Hehehe…”

“Then, young man, why don’t you pick me up from behind you?”

“…Pick you up?” Zhang San glanced back and found a small, glowing orb radiating all the colors of the rainbow.

“Ah, is that…an experience orb?” Zhang San suddenly felt the situation was absurd.

“Are you…gone?” Only one thing could become an experience orb—a creature that had perished! It seemed the mysterious person who had spoken to him was no more.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?” The colorful experience orb floated in the air, circling Zhang San as though annoyed.

“Come, boy, inherit my will and become a magical girl!”

“All right… Become a magical girl? Girl?” Zhang San was utterly bewildered.

“Wait! If I inherit your power, why must I become a girl?” Zhang San instinctively backed away, but found himself surrounded by lava with no escape.

“Miss, perhaps you’d better send me back. I’m quite content where I am!” Zhang San pleaded.

“Boy, do you really think you have a choice left…” The orb’s voice turned haunting.

“The power I can muster is nearly spent. You’re at the center of a lava lake—without inheriting my strength, you have no way out. Your only fate is starvation or heatstroke…”

The orb paused, seeing Zhang San’s pallor, and continued to persuade him.

“There’s no free emeralds falling from the sky. Power comes at a price…”

“But the price isn’t heavy; it’s just a change of gender…”

“Don’t you want to become strong, to protect the Block Kingdom?”

“Don’t you want to safeguard those you care about?”

“Think of your king—what was his name, Mo Fangyuan? Don’t you want his trust, or perhaps something more?”

“With power, anything is possible…”

The orb’s words seduced Zhang San, weaving fantasies in his mind.

“How do you know about the Block Kingdom… Did you peek into my memories?” Zhang San was furious, yet his desire was undeniable.

Born and raised in the blocky world, he knew all too well the hardships of survival. When monsters attacked, people stood no chance—either they died or were eaten.

Now, with the chance for power before him, how could he not yearn for it?

“Come! Become a magical girl and gain not only power, but unrivaled beauty as well!”

“Who knows, you might even develop a special relationship with your king…”

The orb teased him mercilessly, as though it would not rest until he accepted its offer.

“Hmph… I need to think!” As a traditional man, Zhang San found the idea of becoming a girl hard to accept.

“Better be quick, or when heatstroke hits, don’t blame me…” Zhang San thought he saw an evil grin flicker across the orb’s glowing surface.

Three seconds later…

“All right… I accept…”

In the end, Zhang San caved—after all, it was power! The very essence of survival in the block world! Who could resist?

“But on one condition: tell me how you ended up as an experience orb!” Zhang San was deeply curious—how could someone so powerful end up like this?

“Uh… well… that…” At this, the orb seemed embarrassed.

“I suppose, maybe, possibly… I was on the surface, sensed a strong fire element below, and dug straight down following the lava lake…”

Zhang San nodded knowingly—so she’d been digging straight down and hit lava!

“What’s with the pillar then?” Zhang San eyed the unremarkable stone column, wondering if it hid some great secret—perhaps the treasure of kings.

“I couldn’t fly, so I built a pillar to stand on. But halfway down, I missed a block and slipped…”

There was no need for her to finish; Zhang San already knew the outcome. That pillar was so tall—falling from it would be fatal.

“All right, enough, let’s begin! Once you inherit my template, I can return to the sun… It’s been so long since I’ve seen sunlight…”

The experience orb had no wish to dwell on her inglorious past.

“Wait, no, don’t—!”

The orb paid no heed to Zhang San’s protests and plunged straight into his body.

“Aah… mmm, hah… ah, mmm…”

Zhang San felt his body enter a most peculiar state. There was pain, yet pleasure; he was aware of his existence, but had lost all control.

He seemed a mere bystander, quietly watching the changes overtaking him.

A cascade of rainbow light enveloped the once-ordinary bald villager. No one could have known what transformations the light wrought upon Zhang San’s body.

Gradually, the brilliant hues seemed to sense his innermost will, shifting from many colors to a single shade, finally settling into fiery red.

At the heart of the vast lava lake, a human-shaped flame appeared. If anyone had seen it, they might have mistaken it for a deity.

Slowly, the red flames faded away, revealing Zhang San’s rebirth.

He had become she…

Perhaps the ordeal was too much; Zhang San did not awaken after her transformation, but collapsed on the spot, unconscious.

Her iron armor had long since melted away in the flames, leaving behind only a flawless, rosy body that defied the imagination.

Where once was the symbol of strength—a bald head—now blossomed a radiant forest of golden and scarlet hair, as dazzling as the morning sun.

What’s more, her entire form seemed to have slimmed, her skin transformed from dusky yellow to crystal clear, without the slightest flaw.

Now, she possessed the kind of golden-ratio figure envied by all women—curvaceous and alluring…

From that moment, her “evolution” was complete.