"Sometimes in life, you feel like you've glimpsed the gate of heaven opening up. I've waited seventeen years for this, and at my lowest moment, it finally opened."
Lin Li gazed at the back of his classmate and murmured thoughtfully.
"You've got a lion hidden in your eyes too?" Bai Bufan, his deskmate, turned his head, looking at Lin Li, who seemed to be acting crazy.
"Lu Mingli, could you maybe spare a quarter of your life to find me a girlfriend? Someone like Mai Jiude would be fine. If that's too much, I'll settle for nothing—no offense, purely to waste your lifespan."
"Bufan, there's a tragic barrier between us," Lin Li replied, looking at Bai Bufan with a serene, slightly pitying expression.
Bai Bufan rolled his eyes, clasping his hands together, "Oh, Grandmaster Treeman, keep on with your rants. I still have English vocabulary to memorize for tomorrow. I'm out."
"Foot fetishist. Gross." Lin Li shook his head in disdain.
Bai Bufan, already turned away, took three seconds to realize the insult was aimed at him. He whirled back, glaring.
"How is cramming for a test a foot fetish?! You owe this idiom an apology! Also, what's wrong with a foot fetish? You owe an apology to all players of Arknights, too! Lastly, you owe me an apology for wasting another minute of my life!"
"No apologies. I prefer Azur Lane."
"Fine, I'd love a long, drawn-out debate about our 'tastes,' but now's not the time, not during study hall. Tomorrow, after I've survived English class, you'll pay for your ignorance." Bai Bufan sneered and turned back to his English textbook.
Lin Li took a deep breath and calmed himself.
He wasn't actually spouting nonsense.
He had just activated his system, which was a heartfelt moment.
This really was happening to him. This was the kind of system that could lead him to the peak of his life, and after observing his classmates' reactions, it was clear he was the only one in the classroom who had activated it.
Lin Li was both nervous and excited. If it wasn't for the crowded classroom, he might not have been able to keep himself from celebrating.
After the playful banter with his deskmate, he felt calmer and started examining his system.
[Loading... 99%]
Still not done loading, but Lin Li waited eagerly, practically ready to dance.
Twenty minutes passed, and it hadn't moved.
He kept waiting, a mix of impatience and hopefulness.
Forty minutes later, still no change.
His patience thinned.
After an hour.
In full "enlightened sage mode," he now wore a serene, detached smile.
All is emptiness. Amen. No worldly desires.
Goddammit—
[Binding Complete.]
[Congratulations! You've successfully bound to the Ascension System. This system will guide and support your growth, assisting you as you gradually become supreme in this unfamiliar world!]
Bless your mother with good health.
Kidding—time to come back to the secular world.
Right, a bit of delay? That's no big deal!
It's like when something costs 33.9, and the discount brings it down to 32.9; it's not stingy. No, it just shows it's valuable.
Longer loading times mean it's packed with content, filled to the brim like some divine chef's magic touch.
No way it's buggy, right? Yeah, right.
The virtual display switched to a basic UI.
Simple: [Dashboard], [Shop], [Inventory], [Missions].
He tapped on [Dashboard].
[Name: Lin Li]
[Age: 17]
[Physique: None]
[Passive Skills: None]
[Active Skills: None]
[System Currency: None]
A straightforward introduction. Very straightforward.
Apparently, the system hadn't counted any of his usual skills, though Lin Li did have some. Or maybe they weren't recognized.
But this only made Lin Li more excited—if his normal abilities weren't counted, did this mean only superpowers would be recognized?
Didn't that mean the system would grant him superpowers?
Imagining the system's promise of "becoming supreme," Lin Li pictured himself as a superhero in the modern world.
To him, this was way better than those systems that just handed out money or power.
He tapped on [Shop].
[Unlock after accumulating 300 system currency.]
Seems like he couldn't open this door just yet, so he moved on to [Inventory].
As expected, it was empty, though he was slightly disappointed, as he'd hoped for some sort of "newbie gift pack."
No worries—having a system was already amazing, he comforted himself.
Seems like freeloading wasn't the system's main approach, so Lin Li focused on [Missions], hoping the system wouldn't set impossible tasks.
[Just entering the world of cultivation, even a mortal body should aim for lofty ambitions. Purge the world of demons, starting now!]
[Mission Triggered!]
[Mission 1: Exterminate ten Blood Crows that frequently appear around the village, preying on villagers.]
[Reward: Physique Improvement: Spiritual Absorption Rate +100%; System Currency x50.]
"..."
Lin Li clasped his hands under his nose, silent.
No, no, something's seriously off.
He patted Bai Bufan's shoulder and, once Bai Bufan looked back, asked earnestly:
"Bufan, I've got a friend who just downloaded a game. His first quest asks him to kill ten Blood Crows, but he has no idea where to find them. What should he do?"
"Have him ask the nearby NPCs," Bai Bufan replied with a shrug.
"Hmm..."
Gotta hand it to him, this buddy of his had the same thought.
"My friend just tried that, but the NPCs seem clueless." Lin Li's face once again took on a detached, enlightened look.
"Then it's probably one of those annoying games that force you to explore the map. Hope it's not too big for your friend." Bai Bufan waved it off.
Shouldn't be too big; just 5.1 billion square kilometers, not including the outer-space DLC.
Lin Li refocused on his system.
Actually, there was a hint. The quest mentioned the Blood Crows appear "around the village."
Lin Li was at school, a county-level high school, nothing to do with any village.
"..."
He couldn't keep lying to himself.
His gaze fell on "Just entering the world of cultivation" and the line in the system's initial message about "in this unfamiliar world."
Looking outside, the classroom was on the second floor, and the view was as ordinary as ever, no signs of spiritual revival.
This was just his ordinary world.
"Ha—" Lin Li took a deep breath.
Could it be…
Did he miss a crucial step in this "transmigration" thing?
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed likely.
In this day and age, what kind of creature would dare frequently attack humans? Anything that bold would've been taken down long ago.
But…
If he hadn't transmigrated, there was no way to complete this quest, which meant he couldn't unlock the shop or claim rewards…
Then what use was this system?
Wait. At least when he got older, he could check his name and age whenever he wanted.
His kids would never have to worry about Grandpa forgetting his name! What a genius!
Instantly… nope, still felt crappy.
Lin Li clicked through every option, but there was no "transmigration" button.
"System bro?"
"Customer support?"
"Technical help?"
"..."
"Dad?"
"If you don't respond, I'll send Earth's coordinates to the Trisolarans!"
Lin Li tried everything, but he had to face it—this system wasn't sentient.
What kind of outdated, low-tech system doesn't even have an AI?
Maybe the earlier loading delay really was a bug?
Silence. Painful silence.
"Bufan, do you know any roads nearby with a lot of heavy trucks?" Lin Li turned mechanically.
Transmigration might still be possible.
"How would I know? Why?" Bai Bufan asked, confused.
"I want to film a video where I hide in some bushes, wait for a truck to come, then jump out and scare it. No one's doing that kind of content online. I think it'll go viral." Lin Li chuckled bitterly.
"..."
"Are you talking about getting 'fired' as in 'cremated'?" Bai Bufan gave him a thumbs-up, chuckling as he studied his friend's face. "What's up with you? You look constipated."
"I'm done," Lin Li admitted.
"There's no problem that calculus can't solve. Go home and seek some derivatives tonight; everything will work out." Bai Bufan comforted him in a half-hearted way, guessing that whatever was troubling Lin Li, it was probably nothing serious.
It must be one of those things guys go through every month.
"You wouldn't understand. I'm so close to reaching the pinnacle of life, but I'm just one truck away from making it happen," Lin Li sighed.
The system was right in front of him, but he couldn't use it.
"No, I think I understand. I've been crushed before too, and it was recently." Bai Bufan's expression turned melancholy as a low, gloomy aura emanated from him. "Last weekend,
I finally found a film I was dying to watch. Right when it hit the climax, my internet froze. The screen was stuck on the male lead's eyeless face.
I bet everything, went all in, but couldn't hold out. I lost it.
Damn! Damn! Damn!!
Just thinking about it now makes me angry! That smug, self-important jerk—I'll never forgive him!"
Mindful of study hall, Bai Bufan merely tapped his fist on the desk, but his expression was twisted.
"..."
It must be said—Bai Bufan was a natural at comforting people, and Lin Li suddenly felt a bit better.
Sigh, in the end, he only lost something he'd just gained; rounding up, he'd merely been jerked around for a couple of hours.
Lin Li wasn't actually going to take a truck bet to transmigrate. That would be stupid.
But the emotional rollercoaster made it impossible for him to concentrate on studying again, so he decided to sit still, clear his mind, and wait for the bell to ring.
Maybe things would seem better after a nap.
But then, an annoying mosquito buzzed up, landing on Lin Li's hand.
The classroom was on the second floor, and it was summer, so mosquitoes were common.
I'm already miserable, and now you're here to suck my blood?
Couldn't you go bother Bai Bufan instead?
If this were earlier, he might have invited all the mosquitoes to join him in celebration, with him picking up the tab. But now? He couldn't stand it!
Keeping his left hand still, he raised his right as if to scratch his head, then struck with lightning speed—
Smack!
The mosquito's body lay in his palm, with barely any bloodstains since it hadn't managed to bite him.
Lin Li was about to ask his classmate for a tissue, but he froze.
[Blood Crow defeated (1/10).]
Eh?!?!