Lin Mo had always been the kind of person who could walk into a crowded room and leave without anyone noticing.
Not that he wanted fame or attention. He never asked for much—just a quiet life, a stable job after graduation, and maybe enough savings to rent a slightly better apartment someday. At 22, he was in his final year of university, juggling classes with a part-time job as a food delivery rider. It wasn't glamorous, but it was honest work. Simple. Predictable. Safe.
That was the life he wanted. The life he was good at.
If there was one thing Lin Mo excelled at, it was being ordinary.
It should've been a normal night.
The sky had been overcast earlier, the kind of dull gray that hinted at rain but never quite delivered. He had just finished delivering a late-night order—noodles, of all things—and was cycling back through the damp, dimly lit streets near campus. The air smelled faintly of wet asphalt and distant lightning.
Then came the boom.
Not the distant rumble of thunder he'd heard earlier, but a sudden, earsplitting crack that seemed to explode right above him. A blinding flash of light. His vision narrowed, his body tensing instinctively as the bike beneath him wobbled dangerously.
And then… darkness.
When Lin Mo opened his eyes again, he was lying in bed.
For a moment, he thought he'd simply collapsed from exhaustion—or maybe the storm had spooked him more than he realized. He blinked a few times, the ceiling familiar above him, the soft hum of the ceiling fan mixing with the faint sound of rain against the window.
His room. His bed.
He was home.
Lin Mo sat up slowly, rubbing his temples. "Did I just… pass out?" he muttered to himself.
That was when he heard it.
🔊 [Beep—]
[Ability Management System online.]
His heart skipped.
Lin Mo froze mid-motion, his eyes darting around the dimly lit room. He was alone. No one else was there. No strange devices. No people wearing lab coats or VR headsets.
Just him. And that voice.
"…What the hell?" he whispered.
🔊 [Host identity confirmed: Lin Mo. Age: 22. Potential Rating: E- (Extremely Low). General Assessment: Below average. Statistically insignificant. Garbage-tier candidate.]
Lin Mo blinked. "...Excuse me?"
🔊 [Correction: Not 'you' personally. Just the current host. Don't take it personally. I've processed data from far more promising specimens. You're not one of them.]
"I… what?" Lin Mo sat upright, his voice rising slightly in confusion—and something else. Irritation. "What is this? Some kind of dream? Hallucination?"
🔊 [Negative. This is not a dream. This is the Ability Management System. And you, Lin Mo, are its newly registered—and currently very disappointing—user.]
Lin Mo swung his legs over the side of the bed, heart pounding now, his mind racing. He rubbed his temples hard, trying to shake the fog, trying to find some logical explanation. Maybe he really had hit his head. Maybe the storm—no, this didn't make any sense.
And yet…
In front of him, suspended in the air like a translucent screen, an interface flickered to life.
Clean. Digital. Coldly efficient.
It displayed several lines of text:
🔹 [Ability Management System]
🔹 [Current Points: 0]
🔹 [Available Abilities: None]
🔹 [System Evaluation: E- (Worthless)]
🔹 [Quest Log: None]
🔹 [Shop: Locked (Requires Points)]
Lin Mo stared at the floating words, his mouth slightly open. He blinked. Then blinked again.
"…Seriously?" he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
🔊 [Oh, absolutely. Welcome to your new reality. Most people get their superpowers through fate, trauma, or some tragic backstory. You? You got me. Congrats.]
🔊 [Don't bother looking for a tutorial. There isn't one. Don't expect help. You won't get it. This isn't a game. This is your life now.]
Lin Mo let out a slow breath, running a hand through his messy hair. He felt like he was caught in some bizarre fever dream. But the cold, mechanical voice in his head didn't waver. Neither did the interface hovering in front of him.
This wasn't a dream.
This was real.
And he was… worthless?
🔊 [Your current status is as follows: no abilities, no points, no potential. You're unregistered, untrained, and statistically irrelevant in any conflict involving enhanced individuals. Enjoy the view while it lasts.]
Lin Mo groaned, slumping back against his pillows, staring at the ceiling. "This can't be happening," he muttered. "This has to be… some kind of stress reaction. Or maybe I hit my head harder than I thought."
🔊 [Unlikely. Your cranial scans are intact. Barely. But your performance so far? Underwhelming. To say the least.]
He turned his head slightly, as if he could somehow locate the source of the voice. "Are you… always this rude?"
🔊 [Only when I'm dealing with subpar candidates. Consider it honesty. You're welcome.]
Lin Mo took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He'd always prided himself on keeping a level head. Panicking wouldn't help. Not now.
He looked back at the floating interface, then back at the empty room around him.
Okay. So… he had a system. Somehow. It was rude. It was brutally honest. And it thought he was useless.
But it was also real.
And if there was one thing Lin Mo had always been decent at, it was adapting. Surviving. Pushing forward even when things didn't make sense.
🔊 [Well? Don't just sit there. You wanted a change. This is it. Welcome to the real world, rookie. Most people around you have powers you can't even imagine. You? You've got nothing. But that can change. If you're willing to work for it.]
Lin Mo clenched his jaw, his gaze sharpening just slightly.
"…Fine."
🔊 [Hah. Took you long enough. About time you stopped whining. Let's see what you're made of.]
🎯 Chapter 1 – End