Chapter 2: Transmigration, Chicken or Not
Chapter 2: Transmigration, Chicken or Not
What does it feel like to be reborn in another world? If you ask such a question, most people can only imagine and then give an answer based on their imagination.
But if you ask Arima Gendou, or rather He Gendou, who is sitting in the last row of the classroom, he can tell you clearly that the feeling is terrible!
If transmigration and rebirth were controlled by someone, Arima Gendou would have used his sandbag-sized fists to punch that person in the face three years ago.
There's no room for negotiation, he would have gone straight at them!!
Of course, this is just Arima Gendou's wishful thinking. With his previous out-of-shape body from being a homebody, he might not have been agile enough to be an effective fighter.
He Gendou, male, 22 years old, a sophomore in college, orphan, lived in an orphanage until he was eighteen. After graduating from high school, he joined the army as a volunteer soldier for two years. At twenty, he left the army and re-enrolled in college. Due to a friend's recommendation, he became an otaku, falling in love with various light novels and anime (the protagonist's world doesn't include the anime referenced in this book; otherwise, it would lose much of its fun).
Because of his otaku lifestyle, the good physique he had developed in the army was overtaken by fat. The allure of anime and light novels defeated his self-discipline from military training.
In just two years, he had become slightly chubby, although he still had strength, but he was no longer as agile as before.
He wasn't content with just reading and watching; he wanted to write novels himself. Light novels are not much different from web novels; they are straightforward in language and can be quite profound.
The biggest difference between light novels and web novels is that light novels are very compact; every sentence is significant and must be read carefully, as it might foreshadow future plot developments.
Arima Gendou also tried writing light novels but didn't get a chance to publish them, which meant his creativity and writing skills weren't up to par.
So, he turned to writing web novels, which had lower entry requirements. Although he didn't become very popular, he became a minor success.
Despite this, he could still support himself without needing social subsidies. He could live on his own in society.
The reason for his transmigration might have been because he went to the zoo with his classmates. While at the zoo, they encountered a situation where a little girl fell into the tiger enclosure.
The zoo's tiger habitat was a deep pit so people could see the tigers clearly. The pit was very deep, so the tigers couldn't climb out.
Logically, people shouldn't be able to get in either, but the fence where the little girl was suddenly came loose, and she stumbled and fell.
From that height, the little girl was knocked unconscious when she hit the ground. The tigers, attracted by the smell of blood from her wounds, surrounded the unconscious girl.
The girl was about ten years old, very cute, and her parents screamed in terror at the fence. Her father even tried to jump in to save his child.
Seeing this, Arima Gendou impulsively remembered his military training instructor's words, ran to the spot where the girl had fallen, pushed aside the couple, and jumped down.
When Arima Gendou landed, the tigers were startled but, seeing a human about 1.8 meters tall, they surrounded him again, baring their teeth menacingly.
Although Arima Gendou regretted jumping down, he didn't lose his mind. He knew that the zoo tigers were raised in captivity and lacked the ferocity of wild tigers, so he and the girl had a chance of survival.
He slowly picked up the girl, lifting her high. By this time, the staff had arrived with professional rescue tools. As long as Arima Gendou got on the tool, they could pull him up.
With a chance of rescue, he didn't hesitate. Holding the girl, he got on the tool and began to rise. Suddenly, a tiger went berserk and lunged at Arima Gendou in midair.
To protect the girl, Arima Gendou used his body to shield her from the tiger's attack.
Minutes later, the bloodied Arima Gendou was pulled up, clutching the girl tightly. He was rushed to the nearest hospital.
Only Arima Gendou had been bitten by the tiger; the girl was injured from the fall.
Lying in the hospital bed, with his arm stitched up and his legs similarly treated, he felt it was worth it upon learning that the girl was safe.
Exhausted from blood loss and his numerous injuries, he fell asleep before the girl's family could thank him.
When he woke up again, he found himself lying in the back seat of a car, held by a woman who was speaking in a language he didn't understand but found familiar.
Seeing his expression, the woman switched to awkward Mandarin, asking concernedly, " Gendou, are you okay?!"
"I'm fine, where is this?" As soon as he spoke, Arima Gendou realized his voice was now that of a child.
Had he transmigrated? And been reborn? He hoped he hadn't changed gender, as that would be a truly tragic twist!
A grown man turning into a girl? The thought of losing his manhood made him shiver.
The woman, thinking he was cold, held him tighter and murmured, "You've had a hard time, child! I shouldn't have hidden your mother's illness from you."
He didn't understand the woman's words, but he remembered his earlier question and touched his neck. Feeling his Adam's apple, he was relieved he was still a man.
He hadn't changed gender, just been reborn, which was a small mercy. He pinched himself, and the pain confirmed it was all real and not a dream.
Even without much thought, he knew he could never return. Going with the flow and staying calm were some of Arima Gendou's few good qualities!
But from what the woman had said earlier, he had become Japanese? Then why was he still speaking Mandarin? Although he didn't understand the first thing she said, he judged, based on years of watching anime and films, that she was speaking Japanese.
"Who are you? And who am I?" After a brief reflection, Arima Gendou asked these two questions.
There were no so-called memories of a previous life flooding his mind, only a subconscious feeling that he disliked the woman in front of him, but there were no related memories.
To better integrate into this world, Arima Gendou decided to 'lose his memory.' After all, brain-related problems were the hardest to explain. Even with examinations, nothing conclusive would come of it.
This was the approach with the least risk of being exposed.
As expected, the woman panicked, the driver panicked, and the other child in the car panicked too.
The car went straight to the hospital. Under the man's arrangements, Arima Gendou underwent a series of examinations, all of which showed normal results.