Lin Fang stood motionless, his hands clasped behind his back, bracing against the storm brewing before him.
Across the desk, Mr. Zhang, the sales director, leaned forward, his flushed face twisted with anger. His fist struck the desk, the sound reverberating through the room.
"Lin Fang! Flirting with Lian An? In this company? Have you lost your mind?" Zhang bellowed, spit flying with every word.
Behind him, Lian An stood with a faint, but venomous smile on her lips. Lin Fang's gaze flicked to her briefly, recalling the suffocating perfume and seduction from her advance in the copy room a few hours prior. He had dismissed her bluntly then, and now, here they were.
"You're fired!" Zhang barked. "Don't bother looking for work in this city—I'll make sure of that."
Lin Fang's jaw tightened, but his expression remained unreadable. Three years of sacrifices to reach his position meant nothing against bruised pride. Straightening his tie, he turned to leave, his footsteps steady.
At the door, he glanced back at Lian An. Her smirk wavered at the steel in his eyes. She expected defeat but saw calm resolve instead.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Zhang chuckled lewdly, slapping Lian An's back. "What do you think, baby? How dare he try to flirt with you?"
She leaned closer, feigning outrage. "I know, hubby. The audacity…"
...
Outside, Lian An spotted Lin Fang at the reception desk, signing his resignation notice. She stood, watching with cruel delight as he walked through the revolving doors. Catching up, she sidled up beside him.
"Well, Lin Fang," she purred, her voice dripping with malice. "How does it feel to lose your job because of me? Hehe, not so impressive now, are you?"
Her perfume clung to the air as she leaned in closer, her voice lowering to a mockingly sultry tone. "Your handsome face could've earned you some perks. But no—you had to act righteous. And look where it got you."
Lin Fang glanced at her, a disgusted smile tugging at his lips. "You think everyone's like you? Selling themselves for a promotion? Pathetic." His words cut sharp and cold. "Truly embarrassing."
Her smirk faltered, replaced by anger. "You're just a nobody now. Fired, blacklisted, worthless. Let's see how far your pride gets you."
Lin Fang stepped back, shaking his head slightly as if dismissing her entirely. "Farther than you'll ever go," he said evenly. "I might have lost a job, but at least I didn't lose myself. You wouldn't understand that, would you?"
His words struck hard, leaving her seething. Lin Fang walked away, his footsteps echoing into the night.
Behind him, Lian An stood rigid, her nails digging into her palms. "You'll regret this," she muttered darkly. "You'll regret everything."
—-
The worn mattress in Lin Fang's cramped apartment groaned under his weight as he sat cross-legged, phone in hand.
The dim glow of a lamppost filtered through his grimy windows, illuminating the cluttered room. It had been weeks since he was fired—weeks that felt like a slow descent into darkness.
He sighed, his eyes drifting toward the crumpled termination notice lying on his desk. Its edges were curled and worn from countless glances.
Fired.
Blacklisted.
Every door he knocked on had been slammed shut. His attempts to claw his way back only met rejections and cold indifference. His savings were vanishing, and the silence in his apartment grew heavier with each passing day.
On his phone screen, emergency broadcasts looped endlessly. Government officials warned of Dao Online, claiming it was a dangerous alien plot designed to infiltrate humanity.
Normally, Lin Fang would've dismissed it as absurd fearmongering. But Dao Online wasn't like anything else.
No company claimed ownership. Its advertisements had flooded every platform with mind-blowing promises.
"Awaken Your Potential.
Cultivate Without Limits.
Step Beyond Mortality."
No one understood how it worked, yet the game boasted one unbelievable claim.
Immortality.
Lin Fang snorted. "Immortality? What kind of nonsense is that?" he muttered, shaking his head. It sounded absurd, too good to be true. But deep down, a flicker of doubt stirred.
He wasn't like most people. Lin Fang knew the world wasn't as simple as it seemed. How could it be when he himself was living proof of the extraordinary? A transmigrator. The fragmented memories of another life—another world—still remained in his mind. Though incomplete, those memories had convinced him that the impossible wasn't so far-fetched.
Still, he hadn't taken the rumors about Dao Online seriously. Not until the ring arrived.
Lin Fang's gaze drifted to the black ring sitting on his desk. Its simple, otherworldly design caught the faint light, the dark stone at its center seeming to drink in the glow. He remembered the moment it appeared—a flash of light, and then it was there, tangible and real.
It had arrived the day after he passed the qualification test on Dao Online's website. At first, he thought it was some elaborate scam, but the sheer impossibility of the ring's sudden appearance gave him pause.
"How could this just show up out of nowhere?" he whispered, picking it up. He had turned it over in his hands countless times, searching for some clue, some explanation. None came. And that's when the flicker of belief began to take root.
"What do I have to lose?" Lin Fang murmured, exhaling a slow, heavy breath. His savings were nearly gone. He had no job, no prospects, and no one to rely on. The world outside had closed its doors to him. If Dao Online was even a fraction of what the rumors promised, it was worth the risk.
[Dao Online will commence global launch in 10 minutes. All registered players, prepare for initialization.]
The message flashed across his phone, the stark letters glowing brightly. Lin Fang stared at it, his thumb brushing the smooth surface of the ring. Earlier that day, he'd wandered aimlessly through the park, the crisp wind carrying whispers of change as autumn leaves swirled at his feet.
"If this is my only shot..." he murmured, slipping the ring onto his finger. A cool sensation surged up his arm, freezing him in place for a moment, his heart racing. "…then I'll take it."
[1 minute remaining.]
The notification blared. Lin Fang set his phone down, closing his eyes to steady his breathing. The world outside had given him nothing but hardship. Whatever lay ahead couldn't possibly be worse.
[Launch initiated. Commencing neural synchronization.]
The room dissolved. Reality unraveled into threads of light, twisting and reforming around him. Lin Fang's consciousness stretched and folded, suspended in an endless void of shifting patterns.
Neither warm nor cold, neither here nor there, he floated weightlessly.
Then, a calm, otherworldly voice broke through the stillness.
"Welcome to Dao Online. Your cultivation talent is now being evaluated. Please wait."
A spinning yin-yang symbol materialized beneath him, its colors flowing and intertwining like rivers of molten light. Beams of energy wrapped around his body, pulsing with purpose. Lin Fang watched, his pulse steady despite the surreal spectacle.
What kind of talent do I have? The thought surfaced unbidden, a flicker of doubt breaking his calm.
Time stretched, dragging seconds into what felt like hours, until the voice returned.
"Talent activation complete. Please review your attributes. Wishing you a long life and eternal prosperity on your path of cultivation."