Ye Xiao, a 20-year-old high school graduate, leads a solitary life with parents who are almost never around due to constant travel. After the gaokao, his parents return home and his mother complains about his lack of a girlfriend, prompting a discussion about the Ye family rules—vague restrictions that have sabotaged every potential relationship his entire life. His father then reveals that Ye Xiao’s grandfather, along with his maternal grandparents, are still alive but reside in another world. Before any further explanation is given, his father delivers a cryptic line: “I, in any setting, am a big shot.” Shortly after this conversation, Ye Xiao enters a space-time tunnel and arrives in the world of the movie Machine Hero. At night, under a starry sky, he witnesses two robots—K1 and K88—engaged in a brutal fight. A stray energy blast from K88’s hand cannon hits him, nearly killing him. As his consciousness fades, a powerful survival instinct triggers a storm in his brain, and his body disappears into the tunnel again. After an unknown period of dizziness, he finds himself floating in a dark void dotted with light spots. Reaching toward one, he is sucked in and materializes in a dark, garbage-strewn alley in Hong Kong, year 2000. Still disoriented and hungry, he hides as three men enter the alley to conduct a transaction. He overhears the seller, a gang leader called Da Fei, negotiating a price increase for “flour” with his subordinate Dan Pi and a jittery buyer. Recognizing “flour” as narcotics, Ye Xiao burns with hatred for drug dealers and users. Without hesitation, he attacks. His arm spontaneously transforms into a sharp long blade, then into a handgun. He kills Da Fei and Dan Pi instantly. The third man, a trembling addict, begs for a hit, but Ye Xiao shoots him dead. He takes the cash from the bodies, kicks the packet of white powder into the sewer, and leaves. Exhausted, he finds a noodle stall and eats several bowls, then checks into a hotel that requires no ID. While cleaning up, he realizes he can understand Cantonese and see clearly in the dark. The next morning, he tests his abilities in the bathroom mirror. By concentrating, his flesh-and-blood body transforms into the metal form of K88: a humanoid combat robot with red eyes, a red character “Heaven” on its forehead, and a red sphere on its chest. He can shift between this robot mode and his human form at will, and his robot body is equipped with various weapons and flight capabilities. He is excited, having always dreamed of piloting a mecha. Checking out of the hotel, he wanders the streets of Hong Kong, marveling at its prosperity, but soon runs out of money. He goes to a beach, lounges under an umbrella, and thinks about the contrast between his pale upper body and tanned legs. His mind drifts back to the conversation with his parents the day before the crossing. He recalls how his mother fumed about the Ye family rules, his father calmly stated that the grandparents were not dead but in another world, and then his father said, “I, in any setting, am a big shot.” Ye Xiao had been confused, but now, standing in this new world with a shape-shifting robot body, those words seem to hold deeper meaning. The story follows Ye Xiao’s sudden arrival in Hong Kong, his killing of drug dealers, his discovery of his transformation ability, and his grappling with the fragmented clues about his family’s connection to other worlds. His immediate situation is that he is broke and alone in a foreign city, armed with the power of K88, haunted by his father’s prophecy that he will become a major force no matter which world he ends up in. The narrative ends with Ye Xiao still on the beach, having just begun to explore both the possibilities and dangers of his new existence, with no further development or resolution provided.
