Zeng Haofeng stared at the glowing blue screen hovering in front of him, utterly frozen.
The sterile hospital room, the machines beeping around him, the unfamiliar body, it all faded into the background. For the first time since waking up, something felt right. Something felt… familiar.
This, at least, he understood.
A System.
The words on the panel continued to scroll with mechanical precision:
[Mortal Body Synchronization: 100% Complete]
[Error: Soul Signature Exceeds Host Parameters. Anomaly Detected.]
[Qi Energy Source: Not Found]
[Mana Energy Source: Not Found]
[Activating Emergency Protocol…]
[The Urban Cultivation System is now Online.]
Then a chime rang in his ears. It's not a sound from the outside world, but something that vibrated deep within his mind.
The interface shimmered again, and new text appeared:
[Welcome, Zeng Haofeng]
[Initializing Energy Framework: Nanite-Refined Soul Circuitry…]
[Calibrating Power Parameters… Estimated Output: 0.002%]
[You are currently in a Tier-0 body. Would you like to begin Urban Cultivation Mode?]
[Yes / No]
He blinked. Slowly. Then blinked again.
Urban… Cultivation?
Was that some kind of heresy?
Back in his original world, cultivation meant meditation atop mountains carved from spiritual jade, breathing in cosmic energy, dueling ancient beasts, and consuming immortal herbs older than time itself. It did not involve… hospitals, nanites, and Tier-0 readings.
Still, a System was a System.
He had worked with one before, long ago. A rudimentary one, designed by one of the ancient sword sects to help internalize Dao comprehension. But this… this felt more advanced. Cold, technological. As if the very fabric of this new world had been structured by invisible codes rather than divine law.
He hesitated for only a moment, then thought: Yes.
[Urban Cultivation Mode Initiated]
[Welcome to the Machine Age, Zeng Haofeng]
[Loading Starter Package…]
Another screen popped open beside the first.
[You have received:
– Skill: Basic Mech-Affinity (F)
– Skill: Street Adaptation (F)
– Blueprint: Scrap Drone v1.0
– Item: Cultivator's Smartphone (Bound)
– Passive: System HUD Enabled]
Immediately, something shifted within him. He felt itinside, but clearly it was not Qi, not the warm, glowing energy of the soul, but a strange electrical tingling through his veins.
His fingers twitched. His eyes sharpened slightly. Information began streaming into the corner of his vision like small runes constantly updating.
He had power again.
Not much. Barely a spark. But even the tiniest ember was enough to start a wildfire.
"Good…" he whispered hoarsely, a grin twitching at the edge of his lips. "This world still plays by rules. Different rules, perhaps. But rules all the same."
A knock came at the hospital room door, followed by a voice.
"Excuse me, Mr… uh, Zhang? The doctor will be with you shortly."
He didn't respond. He had no time for mortals with clipboards.
He looked at his hands again—thin, soft, but now overlaid with faint, shifting lines of blue light that only he could see. The System's HUD marked vital signs, structural weakness, and even points of spiritual stagnation in real-time.
A sharp chime pulled his attention back to the interface.
[Tutorial Mission: Escape the Hospital]
[Objective: Leave unnoticed and acquire external tech material (minimum 3 scrap components).]
[Reward: Skill Upgrade Option Unlocked + 50 System Credits]
[Time Limit: 30 Minutes]
[Accept Mission?]
He grinned.
"What kind of immortal cultivator declines a heavenly trial?"
Accept.
***
Ten minutes later, Zeng Haofeng was sneaking barefoot through the halls of the hospital in a stolen lab coat and ill-fitting slippers.
The System had mapped the security camera locations for him, highlighting guard rotations and blind spots. The 'Street Adaptation' skill gave him rudimentary knowledge of city behavior. How to move through crowds, what to avoid, and which buttons made those strange sliding doors open.
He tried to suppress a chuckle. Back in his old world, this would have been the part where he silently assassinated his way through a fortress filled with demonic cultivators.
Now, he was ducking behind a vending machine to avoid a nurse carrying a clipboard.
"Humiliating," he muttered. "But effective."
He slipped past the front desk and into the underground parking garage.
As soon as he stepped into the open, sunlight hit his skin. Warm. Familiar. A spark of Qi almost stirred in his chest, but it faded quickly.
And then he saw it.
A massive, metallic beast, roaring as it rolled down the road. Sleek body, glowing eyes. Not a spirit beast. Not a war chariot. Just… a car, sedan type.
To Zeng Haofeng, it may as well have been a heavenly artifact.
"I sense power," he whispered. "Steel bones. Spirit of flame. This must be the alpha beast of this realm."
He stepped into the road, raising both hands.
"CEASE, FIEND. YOU FACE THE UNFETTERED SWORD SAINT!"
The car hit him at 35 miles per hour.
***
He woke up in the hospital again.
Same bed. Same beeping machines. Same tired nurse staring at him with a look that said, Why me?
"I'm putting 'delusional episode' in your chart," she said.
Zeng Haofeng groaned.
Then… the System pinged.
[Congratulations. You have completed: "Die Like an Idiot – Tutorial Quest #0"]
[Reward: Mental Adaptation Protocol Installed.]
[You will no longer mistake automobiles for spirit beasts.]
"Fine," he muttered, rubbing his temples. "Lesson is earned not given."
But his grin returned.
This was no longer a curse. For him, this was a challenge.
A new world filled with its own Dao, its own rules, its own weapons.
And Zeng Haofeng would master it all.
Even if it meant starting at the very bottom.
Even if it meant wearing slippers.
Even if it meant building his new empire out of broken phones and trash cans.
He wasn't the kind to give up.
He was a cultivator that fight against all odds.
And now… he was going techno.
Even in this cold, chrome world of flickering screens and synthetic minds, Zeng Haofeng would find his path.
He would forge cultivation not from celestial flame but from electric wire and algorithmic precision.
Where others saw garbage heaps, he would see spirit mines.
Where others feared automation, he would refine it into weapon and will.
Let this world laugh.
Let it scorn.
He had risen from tribulation before. From lightless caves, blade-storms, soul poison and prevailed.
This was just a different battlefield.
One of asphalt and code of data and decay.
By the time they understood him… it would already be too late.