Chapter 1: Welcome to Hell
The key turned with a satisfying click, and Kayel pushed open the door to apartment 4B. Cardboard boxes lined the hallway behind him like accusatory witnesses to his questionable life choices. Twenty-seven years old and moving into a studio apartment in Pasadena—not exactly where he'd imagined himself, but considering he'd transmigrated into a sitcom universe with forty dollars to his name, it could be worse.
He stepped inside, the late afternoon sunlight streaming through windows that faced the courtyard. The apartment was small but clean, furnished with the kind of generic pieces that screamed 'rental property.' A bed, a desk, a tiny kitchenette. Everything he needed to survive while he figured out what the hell had happened to him.
The door closed behind him with a soft thud, and suddenly the silence felt oppressive. Kayel set down his single duffel bag and looked around his new home. It was then that the voice spoke directly into his mind, as clear and emotionless as a GPS navigation system.
[G-P-T SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE. TRANSMIGRATION FEE: $10.00 APPLIED. CURRENT BALANCE: $30.00]
Kayel's knees nearly gave out. He stumbled backward until his legs hit the bed, then sat down hard.
"Thirty dollars. I have thirty dollars."
The panic hit him like a physical force, constricting his chest and making his hands shake. He'd known about the transmigration—had felt the disorienting shift between worlds—but he'd assumed the forty dollars in his wallet would be enough to get started. Now he was discovering there had been a fee. A setup charge. Like signing up for cable internet.
Through the thin walls, he heard voices from the apartment next door. Male voices, discussing something in the kind of earnest, intellectual tone that made Kayel's newly poor soul cringe.
"—sperm bank is a perfectly logical way to supplement our income," one voice was saying. "The screening process ensures only the highest quality genetic material—"
"Sheldon, we're not selling our sperm," came the exasperated reply.
Kayel's head snapped up. Sheldon. Leonard. The voices were unmistakable, even through the wall. He was living next door to Leonard and Sheldon. Which meant he was in The Big Bang Theory universe.
"Oh, fuck me sideways."
Before he could process this revelation further, there was a knock at his door. A soft, distinctly feminine knock.
Kayel stood on unsteady legs and opened the door to find himself face-to-face with a blonde woman in work clothes—black pants and a white button-down with 'The Cheesecake Factory' embroidered on the chest. She was exactly as beautiful as he remembered from the show, with bright eyes and an easy smile that faltered slightly when she saw his expression.
"Hi!" Penny said, clearly making an effort to sound cheerful. "I'm Penny, from 4A across the hall. I just wanted to welcome you to the building."
Kayel opened his mouth to respond, to say something witty or charming or at least coherent. Instead, his brain chose that moment to offer helpful suggestions.
[WITTY BANTER PACK: $1.99. INSTANT DOWNLOAD.]
His mouth stayed open, but no words came out. For a price he couldn't afford, he could have clever conversation. For free, he got paralysis.
"Um... hi," he finally managed, his voice coming out as little more than a whisper.
Penny's smile became more genuine, tinged with what looked like sympathy. "You settling in okay?"
He nodded mutely, then stepped back and closed the door in her face.
Through the door, he heard her voice, muffled but clearly confused: "Okay... well, if you need anything..."
Kayel leaned against the door and slid down until he was sitting on the floor.
"Great first impression, genius. Really smooth."
An hour later, there was another knock. This time when Kayel opened the door, he found Leonard and Sheldon standing in the hallway.
"Hi there!" Leonard said with a friendly wave. "I'm Leonard, and this is my roommate Sheldon. We live in 4A."
"We heard someone moving in," Sheldon added, his pale eyes studying Kayel with unsettling intensity. "We came to assess whether you'll be a suitable neighbor or a constant source of auditory pollution."
Leonard shot Sheldon a look. "What he means is, welcome to the building. We were wondering if you needed help with anything heavy."
Kayel glanced back at his single duffel bag and the complete absence of furniture that needed moving. "I, uh... I've got a TV coming. It's supposed to be delivered this afternoon."
"Excellent!" Leonard said. "We'd be happy to help."
"I should tell them I can handle it myself," Kayel thought. "I should maintain some dignity."
But thirty dollars. He had thirty dollars to his name, and these were the main characters of a sitcom. They were nice people. Good people. Maybe if he played this right, he could—
"Actually," he said, "that would be great. Thanks."
Twenty minutes later, Kayel was seriously reconsidering every life choice that had led him to this moment. The delivery guys had brought a forty-two-inch LCD TV—the kind of purchase his previous self had made back when he'd had a job and a 401k and other things that seemed like fantasy now. They'd left it in the lobby, and now he was staring at the box while Leonard and Sheldon debated the optimal method for transporting it upstairs.
"The hypotenuse suggests we should take it diagonally," Sheldon was saying, gesturing with his hands. "However, the stairwell geometry creates a bottleneck that—"
"Maybe if I understood the physics better," Kayel thought desperately, "I could—"
[QUERY: $0.10. PHYSICS OPTIMIZATION PACK: $1.50. PURCHASE NOW?]
"NO!" Kayel shouted, startling both Leonard and Sheldon.
They stared at him. Leonard blinked. "No... what?"
Kayel's mind raced. He couldn't explain that he'd just been offered a physics tutorial by an AI system living in his brain. "No... uh... no diagonal. The stairs are too narrow. We should just... lift it straight up."
Sheldon's eyebrows rose. "While that approach lacks elegance, it may indeed be more practical given the geometric constraints."
Leonard nodded slowly. "Okay. Sure. Let's just carry it up."
What followed was fifteen minutes of the most humiliating physical comedy Kayel had ever experienced. The TV wasn't even that heavy—maybe sixty pounds—but the combination of narrow stairs, awkward angles, and his complete determination not to spend money on system assistance turned the simple task into a slapstick nightmare.
He banged his elbow on the railing. He stepped on Leonard's foot. He nearly dropped his corner twice, causing Sheldon to emit high-pitched squeaks of alarm. By the time they reached the fourth floor, Kayel's back was screaming and sweat was dripping into his eyes.
"Are you alright?" Leonard asked as they set the TV down outside Kayel's door. "You look like you're in pain."
Kayel straightened slowly, one hand pressed to his lower back. "I'm fine. Just... pulled something. Haven't done much heavy lifting lately."
"Because I'm an office worker who transmigrated into a broke loser's body, but sure, let's go with 'haven't lifted lately.'"
"Perhaps you should consider a regimen of stretching exercises," Sheldon suggested. "The human spine is remarkably fragile, and improper lifting technique can result in herniated discs, muscle strain, or in extreme cases, paralysis."
"Thanks for that cheerful thought," Kayel muttered.
They helped him get the TV inside and set it up on the entertainment center. Leonard tested the connections while Sheldon provided a running commentary on cable management and optimal viewing angles. Through it all, Kayel stood in the corner, trying not to think about anything that might trigger another system alert.
Finally, they were done. The TV was working, the cables were hidden, and Leonard and Sheldon were packing up their tools.
"Well," Leonard said, "if you need anything else, we're just next door."
"Thanks," Kayel said. "I really appreciate the help."
After they left, Kayel collapsed onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. His back throbbed. His pride was in tatters. And he still had twenty-nine dollars and ninety cents to last him until he figured out how to make money in this universe.
Through the wall, he heard Sheldon's voice: "Our new neighbor may be cognitively limited. His problem-solving methodology suggests significant intellectual deficiencies."
[AUDIO ENHANCEMENT: $0.25. CRYSTAL CLEAR EAVESDROPPING.]
Kayel closed his eyes and let out a long, slow breath.
"Perfect."
+1 CHAPTER AFTER EVERY 3 REVIEWS
MORE POWER STONES == MORE CHAPTERS
To supporting Me in Pateron .
Love [ In The Big Bang Theory With AI GPT ]? Unlock More Chapters and Support the Story!
Dive deeper into the world of [ In The Big Bang Theory With AI GPT ] with exclusive access to 26+ chapters on my Patreon, you get more chapters if you ask for more (in few days), plus new fanfic every week! Your support starting at just $5/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes like [ Game Of Throne ,MCU and Arrowverse, Breaking Bad , The Walking dead ,The Hobbit,Wednesday].
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!