Wang Lei stared into the sky from the damp alleyway that had become his home. A cold gust of wind blew through the streets, tugging at his tattered jacket. The once-vibrant city around him had turned to shadows, a hollow reminder of everything he had lost.

He clenched his fist, his breath a misty cloud in the frigid air. Life had been merciless. Losing his parents at a young age had been the start, but fate seemed determined to strip him of everything. Growing up in orphanages, ignored and unwanted, he had learned early that no one was coming to save him. By the time he was a teenager, he was working construction, toiling in the sun by day, sleeping in alleyways by night. Then the accident happened.

His leg—his hope of standing on his own two feet—was taken from him.

Wang Lei's face was expressionless as always, even as pain and despair gnawed at his heart. He was motionless, staring at the city skyline, when the sky erupted in a blaze of light. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of shooting stars rained down from the heavens, casting a soft glow over the slums.

"Wishes, huh?" he muttered bitterly. In his world, wishes didn't exist. But then...

Ding!

A strange, mechanical sound echoed in his head, causing him to flinch. His cold, empty gaze flickered for the first time in years. Words appeared in front of his eyes, hovering in midair:

[Cosmic System Activated.]

[Mission: Survive.]

His heart skipped a beat. The words hung in the air, impossible yet real. Was he going mad? But then came the next message:

[Reward: Regain your lost leg.]

For a long moment, Wang Lei was silent, the wind howling around him as if urging him to answer. He stared at the message, his mind numb. His leg... his life... was this real?

But Wang Lei was not like the heroes from stories. He wasn't noble, kind, or selfless. Life had beaten those things out of him long ago. He was only interested in one thing: survival.

And if this "Cosmic System" could offer him even a glimmer of hope... he would take it.

He smirked, cold and emotionless, before finally speaking...