Kryptonians: Man of Steel

Chapter 1551 Magical Girl Transformation!

Hot water suddenly rushed into her mouth and nose, triggering a violent, heart-wrenching cough.

"Cough cough cough... Waaah..."

She curled up in pain, one hand covering the back of her head where she had been hit, the other futilely wiping the water from her face, physiological tears mingling with the bathwater and flowing down her face in a disheveled manner.

Terror, like a cold, venomous snake, coiled around her heart, almost suffocating her.

She frantically slapped the water's surface, trying to dispel the terrifying illusion.

However, just as she was struggling in pain, her vision blurred by choking on water and the impact, the second interface, like a leech, ignored the physical barrier, ignored her tightly closed and opened eyes, ignored the swaying water, and floated again in front of her with unparalleled precision and stubbornness, one above the first interface, exuding an undeniable presence.

On the interface, the new text steadily emerges against a deep background:

This system uses the emotion of 'shame' as its sole driving energy source.

The process by which the host experiences shame is the process by which the system recharges.

[Energy can be used to enhance the host's bodily functions, unlock special abilities, and exchange for survival resources.]

[Tip: The stronger, purer, and wider the scope of the sense of shame, the higher the energy conversion efficiency!]

[The new player tutorial has been released. Host, please face your shame with a positive attitude and embrace the path to becoming stronger!]

The cold, logically clear, and emotionless words, like the harshest judgment, were imprinted word by word on Hiratsuka Shizuka's retina, which was in disarray due to shock and choking on water.

Shame...energy?
To take her extreme humiliation—the one where she felt like her soul had left her body and she wished she could die on the spot—as an "energy source"?
To use all the humiliation, embarrassment, and social humiliation she might encounter for the rest of her life as "fuel"?
Her pain, her breakdown, her desperate attempt to dig a hole and disappear completely into the abyss... was all for the so-called "strength" and "survival"... the "foundation"?
"..."

All the struggling strength in Hiratsuka Shizuka's body seemed to be drained away in an instant.

The violent coughing stopped abruptly. Like a puppet with its strings cut, she lay stiffly back in the bathtub, her body submerged in the now slightly cool water. Only her chest continued to heave uncontrollably, proving that the body was not completely dead.

The water gently enveloped her, but could no longer penetrate her with even a trace of warmth.

A chill, even more intense than when I fled the office, seeped into my very bones and quietly crept up my spine, like a living frost vine, slowly but irresistibly climbing upwards, inch by inch.

It froze her blood, stagnated her thoughts, and made even her heartbeat heavy and difficult. Her empty eyes stared through the shimmering water, her gaze fixed on the two surfaces floating in her field of vision, radiating an inhuman, eerie light.

They weren't screens; they were two gaping doors leading to an endless hell of humiliation, coldly declaring that her life had henceforth become fuel for an absurd drama. "What a joke..."

A hoarse, broken voice squeezed from deep in her throat, thick with moisture and trembling uncontrollably, "My life... is not your toy!"

A surge of desperate rage rushed to her head, burning her eyes. She slammed her fist into the water, splashing water everywhere, futilely trying to dispel the two ghostly realms.

Just as the anger reached its peak, a third, cold rectangle appeared silently in the center of the field of vision, like the most precise finishing blow, completely covering part of the first two interfaces and occupying absolute visual focus.

The background remains that deep, light-swallowing expanse, but this time the text that appears carries an almost cruel, theatrical "hint":
[New Player Guide Mission: Please immediately proceed to the location 572 meters south of your house, where a child is in danger! (Countdown: 03:59)]

[Current Shame Energy: 124 units (Options: 1. Minor enhancement of basic bodily functions; 2. Shout the command 'Magical Girl Transformation' to obtain a temporary super-enhanced transformation state with high energy consumption! Energy is limited, please choose carefully.)]

A child... in danger? More than 500 meters to the south? Countdown?!

The overwhelming amount of information struck Hiratsuka Shizuka's already chaotic nerves like another blow.

The anger that had just been ignited was abruptly halted by this sudden "task" and countdown. A feeling of utter absurdity, like icy seawater, instantly drowned the embers of anger.

124 units... That's all the "fuel" she's "charged" from the ordeal she just went through in the office and the current mess in the bathtub.
These 124 units offer such "exquisite" choices—either a meager, negligible "micro-enhancement"? Or... the option that almost made her explode at the mere sight of it?!
"Magical girl...transformation?!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka murmured these words repeatedly, each syllable sounding as if it were being ground out from between her teeth, carrying a heavy stench of blood and an extreme sense of absurdity.

She could almost picture herself shouting that incredibly embarrassing line into thin air—the image itself was the system's most blatant and malicious commentary on the rule that "the stronger the sense of shame and the wider its impact, the higher the energy conversion efficiency!"
My gaze unconsciously swept over the bright red, relentlessly flashing number in the lower right corner of the third screen: [03:42].

Time is passing. Somewhere, a child... may be experiencing real danger.

Shame... Energy... Toys... Children... Danger... Magical Girl Transformation...

These words collided and spun wildly in her chaotic mind, like a destructive storm.

A voice screamed: Run! Hide! Bury yourself under the covers and let this damned world and this cursed system go to hell! Another voice, faint yet sharp, pierced the barrier of fear and shame: What about the child? What will happen when the countdown reaches zero?

"what--!!!"

A suppressed roar, a mixture of boundless anger, humiliation, and a desperate madness, suddenly erupted from the depths of Hiratsuka Shizuka's throat! This roar was not for the purpose of transformation, but a desperate cry of despair as her soul was utterly trampled and she was driven to the edge of a cliff!
With that roar, a strange sensation instantly coursed through his entire body! It wasn't warmth, nor comfort, but a cold, slightly stinging "injection." It felt as if countless tiny ice needles were rapidly coursing through his veins, roughly stretching, tightening, and filling the muscle fibers wherever they passed!
(End of this chapter)