Chapter 0
An extinct worm named Mijeong unleashes a massive life pulse across the universe at the moment of its birth and parasitism.
"Aaargh."
There was a man here.
As if being suddenly attacked by a worm wasn't bad enough, the worm had eaten his brain.
"Ah, I'm fucked."
He was well-versed in all sorts of trivia, the sort of person with broad but shallow knowledge.
Though he refused to admit it to himself, he figured out the identity of the worm taking root in his brain.
After careful consideration, he concluded that he was fucked.
"Let's set aside how or why a living Mijeong exists. And why it chose me as its host."
If his knowledge was correct,
two powerful life pulses had spread throughout the universe,
and the Human Federation, having picked up the signal, would soon send a strike force.
For what?
"The point is, the military will be here soon."
To kill the worm lodged in his head.
And the easiest way to kill a parasite
was to burn the host along with it.
"There's no point running. If the host is a Federation citizen, then probably..."
"Human. There is a metal lump in your head."
"Oh, that's a brain chip. We're fucked, you bastard."
Talking to himself like that might have looked ridiculous to anyone watching, but it was his only way out.
"Brain chip?"
"Yeah, you idiot. The moment you parasitized me, a signal matching the one from my brain chip spread across the universe, and soon the military will come to kill me... or, more accurately, you."
The brain chip's signal had already spread across the universe, so there was no point running.
But if this worm really was the Mijeong he knew...
"I've got a lot I want to ask, but... you wouldn't want to die right after coming back to life after 150 years, would you?"
"Of course not."
"Then get rid of the brain chip right now and change my appearance. Make me look like someone nobody would recognize."
If this really was the Mijeong that could alter reality based on possibility, then maybe...
He could fool the strike force and become a Federation citizen once more,
and live safely on some far-flung frontier colony world.
"There's no power in this world without a price. The life forms 170 years ago didn't know that."
With a strange sensation of his head shrinking, he collapsed to the ground.
Then he realized that something was wrong with his body.
"What is this...?"
It was different.
His voice was far too thin.
When he lowered his head, he saw arms and legs much shorter than he remembered.
Then darkness fell over him, like a curtain drawn across a window.
"???"
Only after flailing his short arms and managing to brush it away did he realize it was someone's hair.
When he pulled on it, it hurt.
"No..."
Could it be...?
"Perfect."
"No need to thank me. So, can I live now?"
"I'm perfectly fucked."
I should've just been shot and died.
I grasped at straws to stay alive, and ended up becoming a little girl.