Michael couldn’t believe what the SYSTEM’s screen was pouring into his ears just now! After both of them chose the PATH they wanted, wasn’t it supposed to be adopted immediately without uttering this nonsense?!
Why was the System now claiming that the current choice was issued by "MALES ONLY," and that there were remaining VOTES?! Wasn’t this a strange absurdity that no logical mind could accept?!
Elliot screamed at the screen in utter fury: "Yes, you cursed System! There are only two of us in this damn room! Where are we supposed to get FOUR VOTES from?! Should I bring your mother to vote with us while we’re at it?!"
The text line on the screen contracted, revealing the System’s response:
[This System does not appreciate your vulgar language at all... SHUT YOUR MOUTH!]
At that exact second... Elliot’s lips snapped shut, sticking together completely as if sealed with superglue! Elliot tried to protest and speak, but nothing came out of his throat except muffled grunts, while he screamed with all his might inside the TELEPATHIC LINK with Michael:
(You bastard System, son of a bitch... I swear to God I’ll curse your entire bloodline!)
Elliot began raising his hand in blind rage, flipping off the floating blue System screen right in front of him with his middle finger!
A short sentence appeared coldly on the screen: [Huh... TROUBLEMAKER!]
Suddenly... Elliot collapsed to the floor, his limbs instantly contracting as if he had turned into a STONE STATUE! His ability to transmit thoughts telepathically ceased instantly, rendered completely unable to make any movement, frozen in that hilarious yet tragic posture!
Michael’s tension spiked dramatically seeing Elliot suffer this direct SUPPRESSION right before his eyes... He swallowed hard and shut his mouth immediately, preferring to wait for the System’s explanation rather than acting rashly and facing the same dark fate as his friend.
The System’s voice echoed again:
[Alright... This atmosphere seems much better for EXPLANATION! In fact, you need three approval votes out of four total votes... The two recorded votes belong to the MALE VERSIONS only! The FEMALE VERSIONS must vote as well!]
Michael protested, trying to understand: "But that makes no sense at all! She and I are the SAME PERSON, and she and he are the same person, right?!"
The System replied with evasive mockery: [I have nothing to do with this philosophical analysis! If you and her are the same person, then all you have to do is transform into your FEMALE VERSION, select the same path immediately, and it ends peacefully!]
Michael nodded helplessly. He believed deep down that this delay was merely an intentional TRAP set by the System to stall them from adopting the right path... Michael smiled internally; he thought he saw through the System’s silly games and wouldn’t be fooled by them.
Even though he hated the idea of turning into a female with every fiber of his being, he decided to overlook his pride this time to complete the VOTE and bypass the crisis. He was terrified of looking into the mirror only to see, instead of his hard chest muscles, two heavy, large breasts forming on his body... That concept alone was a nightmare tormenting him!
Michael gathered whatever courage he had left, summoned the skill in his mind, and issued a direct command to the System inside his body to transform him completely into a FEMALE!
The transformation this time wasn’t horrific or disgusting like the previous ones... Instead, it began elegant and smooth, millions of times better!
The skin of this demonic body became milk-white... His arm muscles flexibly shrank, and his skin stretched to become far softer and smoother. His prominent jaw retracted inward, and the DEMONIC HORNS atop his head adjusted into a breathtakingly gorgeous, flowing curve, as if he had transformed into a supreme SUCCUBUS DEMON whose beauty reigned over the world unchallenged!
Then... his flat chest grew, shaping into two rounder, fuller breasts... He immediately felt their heavy weight pressing against his ribs, though they seemed to be just a few millimeters smaller compared to Elliot’s female version!
Even though Michael underwent violent biological and physiological changes between the two forms, the moment the body fully settled into the female form... he felt his mood and mindset subtly SHIFT!
He didn’t feel the expected intense strangeness; instead, he felt a unsettling HARMONY... as if he had been female his whole life!
Wonder crept into Michael’s mind, but he quickly brushed it aside and focused on the goal.
The smiling System notification popped up: [Host is kindly requested to choose the PATH now...]
Things were crystal clear in Michael’s mind a few seconds prior regarding what to choose... Yet strangely and miraculously... as FEMALE MICHAEL, he felt that something deep down had changed, as if this new decision was his true desire all along!
Female Michael opened her beautiful lips and said coldly:
"I choose... the PATH OF CELIBACY!"
At that exact moment... Elliot’s frozen pupils widened, his fast-moving eyes staring at Michael in absolute shock and disbelief! He could not process this treacherous BREACH OF AGREEMENT!
Michael’s female version continued in a soft, defensive tone: "I’m sorry, Elliot... but I am the one who will be negatively affected by this path if we choose it! By doing so, we completely bury our FEMALE SELVES and will never transform into them... What happens when the System forces us to transform into females in the future?! I will be the one whose body is violated and exploited!"
Elliot—watching the scene with frozen eyes—noticed this dangerous phenomenon... The center of the "I" in his friend had shifted from the "Male I" to the "Female I"! The one speaking right now wasn’t his normal friend, but his female version, possessing an independent entity and desire! Because Elliot knew with absolute certainty that his friend Michael could never utter these words if he were in his male form!
It was obvious that if they remained purely male, they would gain the power and the path for free without any losses... Yet Michael changed his mind! No... it wasn’t Michael who changed his mind, but a different female "I" with a distinct hormonal and psychological makeup!
Elliot understood the entire game in a split second because he had gone through the same GENDER SWAP before, but the major problem was that he hadn’t noticed this psychological gap previously! When Elliot was female, he thought with the mindset and hormones of the "Female I"... and now, frozen in his male body, he was thinking with the "Male I"!
Biology class was Elliot’s favorite class to ditch at school... yet fate had reminded him of a basic fact: HORMONES and neurotransmitters in females are completely different from those in males!
And if this meant one terrifying thing... it was that the cursed System knew from the very beginning that this PERSONALITY CONFLICT would erupt the moment they transformed!