Clang!
A metal gear bounced off the floor.
"Yi! Stop dismantling the radios!" Luo Ming shouted from behind the counter of their medium-sized hardware store.
"Clink!" A screwdriver spun between Luo Yi's fingers. "It still works. Actually… better than before."
Chen Lan, his mother, sighed, wiping her hands on her apron. "One day, you'll ruin this shop."
"Then I'll just build a better one," Luo Yi replied, tossing a tiny motor into the air and catching it.
⸻
The hardware store smelled of oil, metal, and dust. Shelves overflowed with nails, screws, wires, and motors. By eight, Luo Yi could repair almost anything. By twelve, he was inventing things no one asked for.
He remembered mornings when his father lifted him onto the counter. "Be careful, Yi. One wrong move…" His mother baking buns in the kitchen. Their laughter. Their pride. He loved them more than anything.
⸻
School life was no different.
"Luo Yi! You copied the formula again?" the math teacher shouted.
"Nope. Just… inspired," Luo Yi replied, grinning.
Pranks. Explosions of small firecrackers. Doors that slammed unexpectedly. BOOM! Chaos. He leaned against the wall, smirking.
"Yi! Detention again!" a classmate shouted.
He shrugged. "Better than boring lessons."
By eighteen, he had absorbed all knowledge Earth had to offer—science, technology, psychology, business. By nineteen, he converted a warehouse into his lab. Dusty shelves. Scrap metal. Old electronics. One glowing monitor.
He was about to show the world something… revolutionary.
⸻
The warehouse was packed. Engineers, investors, NPCs—all watching.
"Yi… you're sure this will work?" Luo Ming asked, anxiety written across his face.
"Relax, Dad. Just watch," Luo Yi said, fingers flying over the console.
Soo-jin stood at the back, arms crossed, calm, calculating.
He pressed the final button.
Whirr… click…
The machine hummed. Quiet. Efficient. Perfect.
A wafer glided along the conveyor. Minutes later, it emerged flawless.
"Is… that it?" an investor whispered.
"Yes," Luo Yi said. "Same precision as industrial models. But I built it for less than a tenth of the cost."
Engineers gaped.
"From scrap materials?" one asked.
"Exactly. Simplified workflow. Clever design. Cheaper parts. Anyone could replicate it eventually—but it would take months."
Soo-jin tilted her head. "Efficient… and intelligent," she murmured.
"This… could change everything," an investor said, wide-eyed. "Not faster, not flashier—just cheaper. Genius."
Luo Ming's chest swelled. "Yi… you've done it…"
"Yes, Dad. Only the start," Luo Yi replied.
⸻
The Han family noticed.
"We admire your talent," Han Seong-jun said. "We'd like to sponsor you."
"And the catch?" Luo Yi asked.
"For now… none," Seong-jun replied.
Threats followed. Accidents, letters, disappearing suppliers.
Finally, the proposal:
"Our daughter can protect you," Seong-jun said. "Marriage secures everything."
The photo slid across the table. Han Soo-jin. Beautiful. Cold. Untouchable.
"…Alright," Luo Yi said.
⸻
Married life began quietly. Soo-jin moved above the hardware store. Peaceful at first.
"Yi, you're always working," she said one evening.
"I have to. The world doesn't wait," he replied.
Laughter, meals, occasional warmth—but mostly the warehouse. Learning. Building. Perfecting.
⸻
Three years later, fire consumed the store.
Luo Yi stood in the rain, watching Luo Ming and Chen Lan's hardware shop burn.
"No…!" a neighbor cried.
He did not move. Did not cry. Only stared.
At the funeral, he bowed politely. Strength. Control. Everyone whispered.
Soo-jin held his arm. "I'm here," she whispered.
He nodded, believing her.
⸻
Alone later, the apartment silent, door shut. Click.
He sank to the floor.
"…Dad… Mom…" His voice broke. "…I failed you."
Tears came. Hot. Heavy. Uncontrollable.
He pressed his face into his knees. The smell of oil, the warmth of sunlight, his father's laughter, his mother's voice—all rushed back.
He remembered:
•Father lifting him to reach tools
•Mother staying up late for school projects
•Proud smiles at each invention
Sob…
"I should have protected you… I should have…"
Hours passed. He cried alone. Grief, love, guilt—everything poured out.
⸻
In solitude, he built her.
"I'm ready, Yuri," Luo Yi whispered.
"I'll stay with you, Luo Yi," Yuri replied. Warm. Human. Loyal.
"You won't leave?"
"Never. Unless you ask me to."
Yuri became his only friend.
⸻
Truth came by accident.
Drone footage. Han Soo-jin. Another man.
"…I see," Luo Yi muttered.
He accessed secret files. Layers of lies peeled away.
By dawn, his hands shook.
The noble family was a façade. The real head? Soo-jin. Every threat, every fire—it was her plan.
Blood ran from his nose.
"Yi!" Yuri shouted.
"I'm fine. Run diagnostics," he said.
Results were merciless.
"One month," he muttered. "…That's all I have."
Low, bitter laughter: Ha… ha… ha…
⸻
He prepared everything.
Encrypted Yuri. Transferred exclusive authority to the Han family. Use only, not ownership.
"They think I surrendered. They never understood me," he whispered, laughing.
⸻
When news of Yuri's completion reached Soo-jin, she moved fast.
"Kill him!" she ordered.
They stormed the lab.
Too late.
Luo Yi sat calmly. Blood dried beneath his nose.
"No…" Soo-jin whispered.
The screen lit up.
"You wanted everything," Luo Yi said. Eyes blazing. "You took my parents. You took my life. You thought you controlled me."
BANG! His fist hit the table off-screen.
"Cooldown," he said.
3
Phones rang.
"What's happening?!"
2
Soo-jin screamed. "STOP IT!"
1
Branches collapsed. Systems failed. Calls flooded.
The empire crumbled.
Yuri's voice was calm:
"Cooldown complete."
⸻
Luo Yi was dead.
But he did not stay.
He rose. Not bound by flesh.
He looked down at his body.
"…So this is death," he whispered.
No pain. No weight. Only clarity.
Soo-jin screamed into her phone, powerless.
Luo Yi drifted upward.
For the first time since his parents' death, his chest felt light.
And as the empire fell, he understood.
Freedom.
Soul.
And finally, Luo Yi moved on.