The digital clock in the West Wing changed digits with agonizing slowness.
23:59:58
Lin Hao sat in the center of the dark hall, the glass walls reflecting the distant city lights of a world that had no idea its lease was about to expire.
On the news, reruns of Chen Xiao's "breakthrough" were still playing. The world was still obsessing over the "Raging Lion" and his bleeding eyes, convinced that this was the pinnacle of human achievement.
Lin Hao smirked.
23:59:59
00:00
Day 18.
The vibration in his pocket was the only fanfare. He pulled out his phone. The System interface overlaid his vision, glowing with the golden light of compounding interest.
[Daily UP Generation: Active.] [Ascension Bonus: Applied (x2).] [You have received 6,553,600 UP.]
Six and a half million points.
It was a staggering sum. It was enough to buy a fleet of Spirit Ships. It was enough to arm a small nation with Mid-Grade artifacts.
But to Lin Hao, it was just the final brick in the wall.
He didn't celebrate. He didn't cheer. He executed the next step of the loop with the dispassionate efficiency of a banker.
He opened the [World Upgrade] tab.
[Daily Boost: Increase Global Reiki Density (0.018%)]? (Cost: 180 UP)
The cost was a joke. A rounding error.
"Confirm," he said.
[Deducting 180 UP.] [Ascension Bonus: ACTIVE. Your next daily UP gain will be 13,107,200 UP.]
He dismissed the notification. He didn't care about tomorrow's thirteen million. Not yet.
He cared about today's balance.
[Total Upgrade Points (UP): 13,006,130]
He stared at the number. Thirteen million.
He had done it. He had grinded, saved, and waited. He had endured the ceiling of the Level 9 limit while the world praised a flawed, leaking old man.
He scrolled down to the bottom of the World Upgrade list.
For days, the massive, rectangular button at the end had been greyed out, locked behind a red warning of [INSUFFICIENT FUNDS].
Tonight, the grey was gone.
The button pulsed with a deep, cosmic azure light. The text was crisp, white, and inviting.
[World Upgrade: Planar Ascension (Middle Spiritual Plane)] [Cost: 10,000,000 UP] [Status: READY]
Lin Hao stood up. He walked to the window, looking up at the night sky. The stars looked dim through the thin, polluted atmosphere of the Low Spiritual Plane.
He placed his thumb over the button.
His heart rate didn't spike. His hand didn't shake. He felt a profound, heavy sense of responsibility.
He wasn't just upgrading a sword or a dog. He was about to grab the entire planet by its tectonic plates and drag it up a flight of stairs.
"Sorry, Chen Xiao," Lin Hao whispered to the distant city. "Your reign as the 'Strongest' didn't even last three days."
He took a deep breath.
"System," he said. "Initiate Ascension."
He pressed the button.