《shift.》 Prologue: The Creation Of Shifters April, 2012. The lone, curly haired man offered his companion the diary, tapping on its weathered cover twice. "Read it," he whispered, voice hoarse and subdued (it was obvious that he hadn''t used his voice in years), "You''ll find the answers there." The hunched man looked to the other hesitantly, then back to the book, running his hand over the cover before cautiously cracking it open. T Shifters were a mistake. It had been an extensionpursuit for me, sequencing the human genome to the best of my abilities, and nine years ago, I had succeeded with my group of fellow scientists. However, they abandoned me after a horrific explosion in my laboratory- all our research was stolen, and my son, working for me then as an assistant, was permanently blinded. They blamed me for not taking better care of things, and another group of scientists procured our results and gained worldwide fame. I chose to seclude myself away from civilisation- discovering Poluo, a quiet island town with little bustle off the shore of Taiwan. With that, I threw myself headlong into further research and experimentation, attempting to fuse humanoid DNA with the stem cells of animals to restore my son''svisionand once again make him whole. This would prove to be my first mistake. As I perfected the serum- thusforth named ''Serum Z'' after myself, I made the decision to inject it into myself first, and at the start...nothing happened. Perhaps it was because there was nothing to regenerate, I had mused, until I began to transform and contort into a form unlike no other. It didn''t take long before my limbs thinned and tapered off into hooves, my neck growing longer and longer as my facial features stretched along a skull now too long to be human. Within seconds, I stood in my laboratory as a fully grown giraffe. Despite this, however, willing my transformation back to my human form was fluid, and caused me no pain whatsoever, and I was able to switch back and forth between forms.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. My studies proved further that Serum Z had evolved far beyond my wildest imaginations. While I could only transform back and forth between forms, I discovered that I could willingly pass on the gene causing this inside me by touching another through making first contact with my son, and they would also gain the ability to transform into a unique creature that was randomly assigned by their own genetic makeup. Furthermore, certain people could also obtain strange abilities that would only tangentially be related to their animal form. My analysis soon informed me that the shifted form (as I now coined) would replace any missing body parts or limbs in the original form, and would be the ''ideal form'' the person chose to be. It was difficult to put in words what happened next. When I published my research openly, in the hopes that this breakthrough would aid others, I was labelled an absolute monster for attempting to play god. I was hunted across the world by greedy megalomaniacs who saw this as a chance to create a super army, and once more retreated to the safety of Poluo, where I now knew that a bounty had been put on me for illegal genetic exploitation. By then, it was too late- the entirety of Poluo were all now the same as myself, having eagerly embraced what they saw as a gift to them to aid them in expanding and flourishing the town. Contact had also been made in other lands through them, which could cause even further mutations unique to that particular type of human. The final straw came when the boat I was travelling on to return to Poluo got bombed, and everyone on it passed away, including my dearest son. After my rescue and return to Poluo, I sought to leave everything behind. I knew that I couldn''t continue to show myself or endanger them even further, so I now decide to isolate myself in this cottage, away from all civilisation. Hopefully, nobody will ever findme again. It''s better that way. With a nod and bow, the moustached man offered the diary back to the other, suddenly understanding of the other''s plight. "My name is Seonwoo," introduced the moustached man, placing a hand over his chest as he stood, "You..." The curly-haired man''s face contorted in a mixture of self-deprecation and amusement. "I am Zhixian. They call me the father of all shifters." Chapter 0: Tracing Origins August, 2017 - Yonsei University, Seoul "...and so, Zhang Zhixian disappeared, and no one saw him again after the shipwreck off the coast of Taiwan," explained the lecturer, writing down her final thoughts on the whiteboard as she addressed the lecture theatre, "Would anyone in the class care to speculate why he escaped from the scrutiny of the scientific community when he did the world such a favour?" Murmurs rose amongst the crammed hall of students as answers were tossed out amongst them, raised hands one after another- that he was ashamed of his work, that people could''ve been hunting him down to hold him hostage, or that he was simply despondent after returning with such an important discovery to only get ostracised once again, and at last, one hand shot up belonging to someone in one of the front row seats. The woman stood up, brushing locks of her slightly-curled brown hair aside as her bicolored pupils (one blue and reflective, the other dark hazel) scanned the crowd of students before she spoke, trying to reorganise her thoughts. "He faked his own death," she stated plainly with an air of finality, "Like some of you guys said, he was ashamed of what he did, so why wouldn''t he do that?" The students turned to each other, murmurs once again taking over the initial hush of the crowd. A few mutters of ''of course she thinks she''s right, she''s a shifter'' and ''only a shifter would think that they have the right to talk about their leader'' could be caught amidst the noise, and the lecturer raised her hand once more to silence everyone. "Your assignment of the week would be to delve into research of Zhang Zhixian, his work exploring the psychology of both humans and animals, as well as what led to his discovery and subsequent disappearance. I expect a thesis essay in APA format, along with an accompanying presentation of the question I posted you- what reason you feel he had disappeared and taken his research with him," the lecturer informed the group, and the chattering was soon replaced by the occasional grumbles rising from the crowd, "With that, class is dismissed." Everyone rose, jostling past each other to leave before at last, the girl from before packing her items as others pushed through her to leave and it didn''t take long for the theatre to thin out, leaving only her and the lecturer behind. The lecturer sighed, pinching her brows before beckoning her over, and she dutifully followed, bringing her bag with her. "I understand your enthusiasm in the subject, Minkwan," explained the lecturer and Minkwan nodded attentively, still smiling slightly at the acknowledgment, "But you can''t just speculate that major figures in shifter lore are ''still alive'' just because you''re one of them and feel they''re indestructible because they''re superhumans. Unless you come up with very conclusive evidence, I''d have to penalise you." Minkwan''s face fell as the lecturer left, her blubbers of ''but''s hanging in the subsequent silence as she finally trudged outside to her next venue, unable to refute the other''s claims. While she walked, Minkwan couldn''t help but notice her own shadow following her- one of a strange, rabbitlike creature that she recognised as her secondary form, and one of the rare things that set her apart from the other humans. People whispered amongst themselves and dodged her, afraid of coming to physical contact, and she too kept her head down, afraid of causing trouble. She soon ran into another, bouncing off the other with a grunt as she opened her mouth to curse before she looked up, face lighting up at the appearance of the older man. "What brings you here, uncle Gwangseob?" she asked as the man helped her up, and his noncommittal shrug answered nothing, "You don''t even go outside most times."If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The man clenched his jaw at the insinuation- unlike the others who were warmly bundled up due to the winter season, he only wore a woollen trenchcoat over a blue turtleneck and long khaki slacks, and people occasionally cast him weird, concerned looks while he gestured for Minkwan to sit with him on a bench far outside, away from others. "Needed help with something only you can help with," he stated in a monotone, staring staunchly forward as he spoke, "You''re the genius linguist here, not me." Gwangseob''s motions seemed stiff, almost mechanical, and it was apparent that the color of his eyes was the same blue, reflective shade of Minkwan''s left eye. Minkwan took a seat beside him and immediately puffed her cheeks out at the sarcastic compliment, huffing softly as she folded her arms. "Well, you''re the genuuuuuuuuis scientist between us. You don''t need my help," she complained, but seemed taken by the prospect of travel, "What are we going to do this time? More robots?" A scoff escaped Gwangseob, blinking twice at her brazenness at simply declaring this. "I didn''t build you a bionic eye for no reason," he sighed, rolling his eyes, "We''re going on a trip. Offshore Taiwan. I''m tracing a trail of Stuff for my own project. If we could rob the vault where it''s being stored, I''d be set on my next project and powering this-" He paused to gesture at his body, opening his palm to show the unnatural lining of his fingers, "-for life." This time, it was Minkwan''s turn to scowl. ''Stuff'' was the layman''s term for sloshonium, a powerful radioactive substance that was usually used to power the shifters'' neighborhoods and defense structures. Once laid down in a specific formation, contained sloshonium caches reacted with each other to create powerful forcefields that were impossible to breach by vehicles, and the shifters employed this to create stun guns and containment cells. Sloshonium was also the power source of the shifters'' main form of transportation- teleportation devices that they usually wore on their wrist as though they were smartwatches. By inputting the postal code of a specific place, a shifter could easily be teleported to the place with barely any cooldown depending on the distance (teleporting from country to country could power down the device for weeks), with only an occasional migraine and disorientation following the process. Due to the clutter of the consistent input, however, an overload could send one shifter to the inputted location of another shifter''s and thus, some shifters continued to use public transportation for fear of being transported to some far-flung place. It was taboo to consider even stealing sloshonium, for it was known to be highly unstable and thus well-guarded by the leaders of the shifters after several disasters harvesting and handling sloshonium by enterprising shifters. By all counts, it was simply too difficult, and it was too much to risk the wrath of the Grandmasters: the military leaders of Area 36, the main base of operations for all shifters in South Korea. Gwangseob, however, was not a man to play by the rules, having once actively worked against the shifters in an attempt to gain their power. An inventor and businessman by trade, the man was soon taken to the Grandmasters after his failed coup and swiftly punished, maimed and hurled into exile in an orphanage where he was surrounded by the shifters he so despised. When everyone had abandoned him when he had been reduced to a paralysed shell of his former self, Minkwan had been the only person to show him kindness, and Gwangseob was a man to return favours despite his apathy to all else. Even now, his consciousness piloted a robotic exoskeleton of another man, his physical body killed by shifters who were angered at his pardon, and to keep his current form going, he needed the sloshonium, which was a secret kept by most shifters away from the humans to prevent them from gaining the power to teleport. It was an understatement, however, to claim that Gwangseob had other plans for the sloshonium he so desired beyond his own needs, and Minkwan fingered the dogtag necklace around her neck before her eyes narrowed, realising what a trip to Taiwan could possibly mean for her thesis. "Dad is going to be so pissed," she finally commented, frowning slightly and furrowing her brows at the suggestion. Chewing her lip for a few moments, she exhaled and gave a nod, looking once more towards Gwangseob. "When are we leaving?" Chapter 1: Thats How It Is on This Bitch of an Earth August, 2017 - [redacted], South Korea Minkwan sighed as she rolled her suitcase into the dubiously small door of Gwangseob''s residence where he spent his exile- a single, ground floor room in a small orphanage. Inside, however, was surprisingly spacious, having been converted into a laboratory with tunnels leading everywhere, no doubt fashioned out by his personal army of robots. Putting away her suitcase, Minkwan sat demurely on the water bed placed on the far end of the room, watching Gwangseob''s personal assistant Hyunmin work away on the multiple touchscreens lining the other end of the place, each monitoring a different part of the country through moveable drones. Hyunmin too had once been a felon- the notorious hacker ''Phantom'', whom Gwangseob and Minkwan had found on the brink of death in a vegetative state after a failed suicide attempt. While Minkwan took pity on the broken, helpless frame of the once-brilliant mind, Gwangseob saw an opportunity to build himself an ally (literally), and with enough help, built Hyunmin a robotic body to replace his current one before uploading the man''s consciousness into it. Both men immediately clashed, each prideful and with unique skillsets to boot, but Hyunmin begrudgingly submitted to Gwangseob, knowing that despite being at his mercy, the other had still given him a new lease of life. Thus, Gwangseob gained an assistant: one who backtalked him and was snarky about every command given to him, but a helpful ally nonetheless. Minkwan pulled up an office chair and slid herself across, gaining speed quickly before finally bumping against the outstretched arm of Hyunmin''s. As always, he had instinctively reached out to catch her, so much so that he didn''t even look up from his work as he did. "I''m warming up the teleportation pad for you two," explained Hyunmin, his mouth not moving despite addressing Minkwan, "You know, the usual, just a bit further than you''re used to. If you throw up, just throw up on him. He''s not going to rust any time soon, anyway." Minkwan choked back a laugh, punching the other lightly on the shoulder as she took in all the screens with interest. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. "Did you ever find that guy you were looking for?" she piped up, and the bespectacled figure''s expression grew solemn. An awkward silence fell between them both until at last, Hyunmin informed her that the pad had been fully activated, and she gave a nod to the other before grinning. "I''m sure he''s looking for you too," she added cheerfully, hopping off her seat before grabbing her suitcase, pulling it towards the elevator leading down to the teleportation room and missing the solemn, vengeful expression Hyunmin had at the thought of finally locating whoever he wanted to see again. Pulling her suitcase towards the room, Minkwan waved her hand and the doors slid open, where Gwangseob waited next to the humming, circular structure that glowed with a faint purple tint. "Late," the man stated matter-of-factedly, and Minkwan pursed her lips, looking over the pad with determination. They had never teleported to another country before- and this would be her first time ever heading overseas (that wasn''t the school trip to Jeju Island every student had). Taking a deep breath, she balled her hands into fists before exhaling slowly, casting her gaze towards Gwangseob before giving him a small nod. A ghost of a smile graced his features, and he offered his hand to her for comfort. They both stepped on, Minkwan dragging her suitcase to the platform- in a flash, both of them were gone. Chapter 2: We Probably Shouldnt August, 2017 - Poluo Town, Republic of China It took a few moments, Minkwan''s body being stretched and compressed in different angles through the teleportation system before both her feet finally hit solid ground. Resisting the urge to throw up, she tightened her grip on the handle of her suitcase and squinted. As the static in her left eye cleared, her surroundings came to focus- a dilapitated and visibly abandoned laboratory, with wires and tubes trailing from the ceiling into the teleportation pad she now stood on. Gwangseob popped into focus as well next to her, seeming visibly less shaken than her before gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Let''s start walking," he informed her, glancing around the room before easing her forward, "We don''t want detectives on our trail, do we?" Minkwan watched him smile- pleasant but false, one she was clearly aware of, and nodded, gently pulling her suitcase with her as they exited the old-looking room to the dirt road before them. Poluo Town was quiet, being that it was late at night when they had arrived. Gwangseob beckoned her to a creaky-looking inn not too far from their current location, and as they stealthily snuck in, Minkwan couldn''t help notice the black-haired man at the counter stir at their presence. "Whooooo?" he spoke, slurring visibly as he raised his head, squinting at them with bleary eyes as Minkwan immediately felt herself being pulled back behind Gwangseob. The older man smiled, launching into some pleasantries explaining his absence and then asking for a key to ''his room''. The tousled-haired man stretched, and Minkwan immediately noticed the jerky tics of the other, almost as though he was pulled by strings of a puppet, before he got up, placing both his hands on the table as he cast a gaze at them both. "Dun th''nk ''m stupid jus'' becus I sl''r a bit," he warned, still slurring visibly (Minkwan now was aware that he obviously had speech problems), "We''ve ''ad prob''ems with the ''che since one of th'' guards got sho'' dead. If you th''nk that we dun susp''ct you, sc''tist, you''ve got an''ther th''ng c''ming." Gwangseob frowned and Minkwan saw a blade shoot out from under his palm- there was a gleam of exchanged blows and she stiffened before stepping out, pointing her finger at the innkeeper who had stopped the blade with a long, fan-shaped fin from his own arm. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Gwangseob dislodged the blade, taking a step back as Minkwan held her stance, her finger still pointed at the other. "You''re a detective," she inferred, raising her thumb towards the other and keeping her gesture, "You should know what I''m capable of. You can take it, but don''t make me. Please." The man staggered ahead, watching the girl with an air of curiosity, and then, he grinned, seemingly placated by the gesture. Either that, or he was deferent for her, whichever made Minkwan feel better about this chaotic situation. "You r''lly take aft''r your fath''r," he commented softly, wagging a finger as he staggered back into his seat, "Let K''yul kn''w th''t his da''ther show''d up causin'' me gri''f." Minkwan swallowed hard, finally lowering her hand as she saw a key placed on the counter before them- she grabbed it with furtive thanks, following the number to the room as she gestured to Gwangseob to follow. There was only so much coercion she could do when it came to her abilities, really, and to hold one of the only three police officers in the state at gunpoint? What was she even thinking? She grumbled to herself as they entered the small room- a makeshift bed was put away on one side, and complex drawings were strewn everywhere, along the walls of the room as well as taking up much of the floor. Gwangseob sat on the ground, casually pulling out a permanent marker from an arm compartment and once again dotting the unoccupied portions of the ground with more calculations, and Minkwan flopped onto her new bed with a sigh. "What happens if they call dad?" she whined, and Gwangseob raised an eyebrow, "They''d know that I came with some scientist and dad''s gonna show up. He hates you so much, anyway...he wouldn''t give up that chance." Her complaints were punctuated with the light, tittering scoffs of incredulity from the scientist, who capped his marker after finishing a long series of analysing before returning his gaze to her. "Think of it this way- what can he do about it? If he teleports here on his own, he''s going to get trapped here," Gwangseob pointed out, shaking his head, "He can fret, but he won''t do anything else." With a sigh, Minkwan curled up on the side of her bed, exhausted from the day''s events. She felt a knot form in the pit of her stomach, and it was definitely some sort of bad sign. Chapter 3: Lets Take It Back August 2017: Poluo Town, Republic of China As Minkwan woke up to the first rays of sunlight peeking through the shut curtains, she gave a yawn and blinked at Gwangseob, who seemed hunched over a small device. "Huh--" she grunted out, before being swiftly silenced by the older man offering her a earbud to listen in. It was a radio, a staple in Poluo Town where their main form of entertainment was a lone, shifter-run radio station known as ''Channel S'': a name that Minkwan recognised as the same as the shifter-run media company in Korea. It seemed as though they were affiliated, but from the looks of it, the radio station had been here longer. While the male voice explained something in a language Minkwan didn''t understand, Gwangseob slid her a copy of The Banana- the state''s newspaper, named for the sheer amount of banana plantations around the island. She opened her mouth, about to protest that she couldn''t read it until her eyes fell on the familiar face on the cover and felt her fingers freeze over it. There on the headline was the haunting expression of a Korean man that looked no older than her, with several images of what appeared to be some sort of gory crime scene accompanying an extensive report of some sort of the incident. "Was that what--" Minkwan began slowly and cautiously, gesturing to the door, "--he was talking about?" Gwangseob nodded slowly, clenching his jaw before tearing the earbud out of his ear. "Someone got to the vault of Stuff before us. Shot one of the guards dead, then stole a crate of it before hightailing it. They had technology we''ve never seen before- advanced stuff. Stuff I used to make," he explained, and from the dark expression upon his features, Minkwan knew not to ask further. Too many people had coveted his work for their own, and needless to say, this would eventually be traced back when the Area got involved. Trying to lighten the mood, Minkwan quickly forced a smile. "A-At least you''re currently dead in all records!" she responded cheerily, but the attempt fell flat when Gwangseob stood, opening the curtain to allow them a full view of the town. She scrambled to her feet, following his trail and gazing over the place: lined with small, grey-looking shophouses and a strangely lavish mansion tucked away at the far end of their current vantage point. Gwangseob pointed out the general location of the military vault that had been looted, which was close to the beach that lined the right side of the small town. Straight ahead, Minkwan noticed the large white cottage that sat on a hill slightly further away from the mansion and with a squint, she tried to zoom in with her bionic eye- the feedback, however, soon gave her a headache, and she crouched down nigh immediately, feeling nauseous. Gwangseob did not move from his position noticing this, only really moving to help her to the bed after realising she hadn''t rejoined him. "The cottage--" choked out Minkwan when she was once again laid down, blinking furiously in an attempt to clear the static from her eye and brain, "There''s some sort of scrambly thing that prevents me from zooming into it." Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Gwangseob tapped his finger on his chin, focusing on the cottage as well to test her theory- before the unthinkable happened. Minkwan watched in horror as the man was forcefully smashed against the wall of the far end of the room, slumping down and seemingly shut off. "Oh god, oh god," Minkwan exclaimed, fighting her migraine to try to get to him before noticing the light in Gwangseob''s eyes return, along with a scowl. "There''s a field preventing people from pinpointing the specific location of that cottage," he deduced, and before Minkwan could inform him that it was more than obvious, he began to pace around the room, already coming up with plausible theories of why the cottage was shrouded compared to the other parts of the village. The vault was forgotten in favor of this new mystery: why was this cottage so well-guarded, to the point where people weren''t even able to look at it? This irked Minkwan more than it should: she loved a good mystery when it came up, but the words of the innkeeper echoed in her mind, words of caution against her itch of just bursting outside to chase down the cottage''s lead. It still bothered her, how easily it had been to know of their relationship when they looked barely alike. Let Kiyeol know that his daughter showed up causing him grief. How did they even know her father''s name? Minkwan had never asked about whether he had come to Poluo, or anything along those lines- the most she had gotten was vague, snarky responses involving a high-ranking operative in the Area that had dragged him into their affairs. It made no sense, all things considered. Why was she so afraid of her father finding out, anyway? For all she knew, the cottage could be a lead for her thesis and that was what she was here for, not whatever the situation had now devolved into. With that, she dived into the bathroom, freshening herself up and deciding that she would go hunt down the cottage herself. The gunman who had robbed the vault could wait, and Gwangseob would effectively handle things on his own. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she took a deep breath, seemingly trying to will herself to not be affected by this. "They''re just confused," she told herself, before she returned outside, running down the stairs and into the great beyond of Poluo. There was no time to waste, after all, if the cottage was truly this shrouded. If anything, she couldn''t pass up a potential lead to Zhixian.