Zhang Shi dragged his feet off the e-bike and parked it in the darkest corner of the alley. Guangzhou night air stuck to his skin like cheap glue. Twenty-five years. Twenty-five fucking years of hauling boxes, dodging traffic, kissing the boss's ass for crumbs.
Today the boss had smirked. "What, you want a raise? You get free slop and a bed that doesn't leak. Be grateful, old man."
Zhang Shi hadn't said anything. Just turned around, delivered the last parcel like it was his funeral, and walked.
He lit a cigarette. First drag hit like regret.
Phone out. Dialed mom.
"Shi? What now?"
"I quit. I'm done."
Long silence. Then the familiar sigh.
"And do what? Come home and eat my rice for free? If you hadn't dropped out, you'd be wearing a white coat, driving a BMW, married with a kid on the way. Your classmates are living real lives. You? Still nothing."
"I just wanna come home, Mom."
"Home? You think I have room for a grown failure? Stay at a friend's place. Cool off."
Click.
He stared at the black screen. No friends left. No girl ever looked twice. Forty-two and still hadn't touched a woman. Not once.
"Ahhhh…"
The sigh came out long and ugly.
"So this is my life. Trash."
He flicked ash. Something glowed at the top of the wheeled bin next to him. Blue light pulsing through garbage bags.
He squinted. "People really dump whatever now?"
Stepped closer. Pushed aside a soggy noodle box. An old game console sat there. Screen still on. No cracks. Looked ancient but… alive.
He picked it up. Thumbed the power button.
Screen exploded white.
World spun like a bad trip. Stomach flipped. He puked right there on the concrete.
Then gravity yanked him sideways.
He screamed.
No sound.
Next thing he knew—WHAM. Groin met tree branch. Pain like lightning. He tumbled through leaves, snapped twigs, crashed ass-first into damp forest dirt.
"OWWWW FUCK!"
He rolled over, clutching himself. Looked up.
Stars. Too many. Too close.
A white-robed woman floated past on a giant crane. She glanced down, nose wrinkled like she smelled something rotten, then flew off.
Zhang Shi blinked. "What the actual hell…"
Trees towered. Mist curled around floating peaks in the distance. A river glowed blue somewhere to his left.
He patted his chest. Still breathing. Still real.
A chime rang inside his skull.
[Welcome, Player.]
He froze. "Who said that?"
[Please choose your player name.]
Glowing blue text floated right in his face. No screen. Just… there.
He laughed. Short. Crazy.
"Dream. Gotta be a dream."
Pinched his thigh. Hurt like hell.
More text.
[Character creation in progress…]
[Name selected: Flaming Fool.]
"Huh? Flaming what now?"
Soft flute music started playing. Gentle. Ancient. Kinda mocking.
[Location: Outer Forest – Jade River Sect Territory]
[First Mission: Scout the surrounding area. Become familiar with your environment.]
Golden words scrolled like a cheesy loading screen.
"Today you step on grass. Tomorrow, mountains and rivers."
Zhang Shi stared.
"That's straight out of those cultivation novels I read on lunch break… wait."
He looked down. Delivery uniform gone. Now wearing plain gray guard robes. Thin. Scratchy.
He touched his head. Still balding.
Then heat exploded in his veins. Qi—actual qi rushed through channels that never existed before. Burning. Chaotic. Like someone poured lava in his blood.
"Arghhh! What the fuck is this?!"
[Meridians: Chaotic and turbulent. Stabilize immediately to avoid Qi Deviation.]
He staggered, grabbed a tree.
"I'm… inside one of those stories? For real?"
Cut to Guangzhou.
Lee slouched in his gaming chair, RGB lights flashing across his face. Controller in hand. Grinning like a maniac.
"Yo Chulan! I booted up that weird immersive game you sent. Bro… it's actually sick."
Speakerphone crackled. Chulan's voice high-pitched with panic-excitement.
"Wait—Purge of Souls? You're playing it already?!"
"Yeah man. Thought it'd be trash. Seventeen-year-old high-school kid making a full-dive cultivation game? I laughed my ass off that day. Sorry bro."
"But fuck! The graphics are insane. The starter character though? Lame as hell. Looks like a depressed delivery guy who's never seen pussy 😂😂"
Chulan inhaled sharply. "Wait. You can control him? Like… he's resisting?"
Lee frowned. "Yeah. Feels like he's fighting the inputs. Is that a feature or did you fuck up the code?"
A long pause.
Then Chulan whispered, "Holy shit. It worked. Grandpa's manual… the spells… I dumped the console in the trash this morning cause nothing happened when I tried. But you—on your setup—it's live!"
Lee burst out laughing. "You're telling me your grandpa's dusty cultivation book actually did something? You idiot 😂"
"Shut up! Four years! Forty-one grand! And those spells! I'm gonna be rich, Lee. Rich! Everyone who laughed—Ruyi, that asshole teacher Charles—they're gonna choke when they see me rolling up in a Lambo!"
Lee snorted. "Okay genius. First things first—this avatar is ugly af. How do I fix him?"
"Menu → Select → Design tab. But uh… it's paid."
Lee groaned. "You son of a bitch. Of course there's a catch."
"I spent everything, man. This is my life project."
"Yeah yeah. Relax." Lee tapped his dad's card details. "Just bought the Jade River Sect guard skin. And… red long hair, lemon-green eyes, scar across the left eye from brow to cheek. Boom. Pretty boy murderhobo mode activated."
Chulan cackled. "You sick bastard 😂 This game was made for degenerates like you."
Lee smirked. "I'm glad I never ditched your nerd ass. Looks like it paid off."
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Just talking to the Flaming Fool."
"Flaming Fool? Cool name. I'm heading over. One hour."
"Bet."
Back in the forest.
Zhang Shi felt his scalp tingle. Hair exploded outward—crimson, long, silky. A fresh scar carved down his left eye. Stung like hell.
He touched it. "My face! What just—"
A voice boomed in his head. Casual. Smug. Like some kid on voice chat.
"Yo Flaming Fool. Chill. You're my avatar now. We're climbing to the top of this xianxia bullshit. Jade beauties. Forbidden scrolls. Sects burning when I get bored. You down or what?"
Zhang Shi opened his mouth. Closed it.
No home. No mom who cared. No future.
He exhaled.
"…Fine. Whatever. Let's see how fucked this gets."
The flute music swelled again. Mocking. Promising.