Third City Hospital of Lingyan City, Spirit Root Transplant Department.
The corridor was filled with a strange smell of disinfectant mixed with Spirit Energy Stabilizer, like an air freshener sprayed in a server room.
Mo Chen sat on the cold alloy bench, clutching the military-spec low-temperature preservation box in his hand, feeling like a soldier about to go into battle, holding the last high-explosive grenade in his arms.
His inner monologue: Who would have thought that the first "unboxing" of my life would be in a hospital. No review video, no cool lighting effects, just pure coolness.
A middle-aged doctor with a receding hairline, wearing a white coat, walked over and glanced at Mo Chen's registration slip.
"Mo Chen, right? Director Li is waiting for you in Operating Room No. 3, follow me."
Lying on the operating table with a cold metallic sheen, the shadowless rune light above was dazzling.
Director Li, wearing a pair of Spirit Energy Amplifying Glasses that looked very expensive, examined the segment of true spirit root in the box, making "tsk tsk" sounds.
"Good stuff, a subspecies of the 'Green Wood Longevity Root'. Although it's just a juvenile form, its activity is very high. Your father really spent a fortune this time."
Mo Chen: "..."
A fortune? It was probably made of blood and capital.
Every time he closed his eyes now, he could see his father, Mo Hongda, pressing that heavy seal on the loan contract at the Nine Tripod Treasure Pavilion.
Father's love is like a mountain, and father's debts are also like mountains.
"Don't be nervous, it's a minor surgery." Director Li skillfully operated various precision instruments that glowed with spiritual light, "It's just like replacing the CPU on your spirit network terminal. Pull out the old one, plug in the new one, and reboot."
Mo Chen really wanted to retort, does changing a CPU in your family require an autopsy?
A stream of anesthetic spiritual mist was sprayed on his face, and his consciousness rapidly sank into darkness.
After an unknown amount of time, when he woke up again, the world was different.
The stinging sensation that had been lingering in his dantian, occasionally flaring up like an electric shock from a low-quality power bank, was completely gone.
In its place was an unprecedented, warm and comfortable feeling, like flowing water.
He tried to circulate his cultivation technique.
Smooth.
Impossibly smooth!
The spiritual energy flowed through his meridians, no longer bumping like an old tricycle on a washboard road, but like riding on a Maglev High-Speed Train – stable, quiet, and efficient.
He could even clearly feel the sparse spiritual energy in the surrounding air obediently and actively converging towards him.
[Warning: Host's physical data has undergone major changes! Rescanning...]
[Scan complete!]
[Spirit Root: Green Wood Longevity Root]
[Spirit Root Rating: True Spirit Root]
Mo Chen lay on the hospital bed, feeling completely elevated.
So, this is the user experience of genuine software?
No ad pop-ups, no forced updates, no secretly downloading bloatware in the background.
This feeling is great!
His cheap old dad, although a bit down and less talkative, did something truly manly.
...
Returning to the stifling home, everything was as usual.
Liu Yiyi was looking at a water mirror, comparing two different shades of spiritual lipstick, ignoring him completely.
Mo Qingxuan had just emerged from her luxurious cultivation room, exuding a cold aura like an iceberg, and as she brushed past him, she couldn't even spare him a glance.
Mo Chen perfectly played his role as "impaired asset," hunched over, and drifted back to his storage room with unsteady steps.
Acting is a basic skill for transmigrators.
Mission objective: Disguise yourself as a nearly-abandoned Nokia, and absolutely do not let anyone discover that you have secretly upgraded to the latest Foldable Screen Flagship.
Closing the door, he shut out the outside world.
The future Electric Tricycle Mechanic sat down cross-legged and opened the book that had once tormented him, "Fundamentals of the Heavenly Dao."
This time, a miracle happened.
"The 'Dao marks' generated when spirits transition between different dimensions, their string vibration frequency and the Planck Constant..."
Looking at this stuff before was like looking at a bunch of garbled code.
Now, Mo Chen's mind automatically conjured a 3D dynamic diagram, clearly demonstrating the entire process of spirit transition.
What the heck?
It can be like this?
He flipped to the exercises in the back.
"Discuss the practical application of the 'Third Law of Thermodynamics for Multiversal Spiritual Energy Fusion' in the spiritual energy converter of the 'Windrunner-3' model's wind-riding rune board."
He had spent three days and three nights researching this problem, losing several strands of hair.
Now, with just a glance, his mind automatically listed the complete solution steps.
Isn't this just the principle of mixing cocktails?! Mixing spiritual energies of different attributes like liquors of different proof, in specific proportions and order, to avoid "getting too high" (spiritual energy conflicts), and finally obtaining a smooth and potent "energy drink"!
Why didn't Teacher Wang explain it like this in class?!
With the hardware upgraded, Mo Chen felt as if his brain had unblocked its meridians. Those previously incomprehensible formulas and theories now seemed... a bit simple?
[Ding! Host has entered "Immersive Learning" state, "Bookworm Halo" effect x2!]
[Daily Mission: Complete 10 post-class exercises, completed! Reward: Minor Comprehension Enhancement x1!]
[Daily Mission: Memorize 20 key knowledge points, completed! Reward: Minor Memory Enhancement x1!]
Mo Chen was completely immersed in the ocean of knowledge, unable to extricate himself.
Learning, it turns out, can be this fun!
...
Lingyan City Public Cultivation Library, the usual spot.
Liu Ruyan looked at Mo Chen, her delicate eyebrows furrowed.
Today's Mo Chen was a little different.
Although he was still wearing the same washed-out school uniform and had the same expressionless face, she somehow felt that the air of "the whole world owes me money" that hung around him had faded a lot.
He seemed more relaxed.
"What's up, little brother, got paid?" the beautiful technician teased, "You look so pleased with yourself, like you just got a five-star review."
"No," Mo Chen opened his book without changing his expression, "I just realized that repairing electric tricycles is also serving the people, and the future is bright."
Liu Ruyan was amused by his serious pretense of talking nonsense, and gave him a charming sidelong glance.
She took out a test paper and pushed it in front of Mo Chen.
"Here, last year's simulation test from Jiutian Academy, Science Comprehensive. Give it a try."
Mo Chen took it and, with just a glance, realized the difficulty was more than one level higher than what he had done before.
But, he wasn't afraid anymore.
He picked up his pen and began to calculate, his brain working at high speed, formulas flowing freely from his fingertips.
Liu Ruyan originally just wanted to bring down this kid who had been getting a bit carried away recently, but as she watched him write as if divinely inspired, without even a frown, surprise gradually appeared in her captivating purple eyes.
Half an hour later, Mo Chen stopped writing.
Liu Ruyan took the test paper and became more and more shocked as she read.
The accuracy rate was as high as seventy percent!
This... did this guy send his brain for major repairs?
"You..." she was about to ask something when Mo Chen's spirit network terminal suddenly vibrated.
It was a message from Liu Ruyan.
[Yan Liu Hua Qiao]: Good news!
Mo Chen looked up at her in confusion, then back down at the screen.
[Yan Liu Hua Qiao]: Jiutian Academy's individual recruitment plan for this year is out!
Individual recruitment?
Mo Chen was stunned.
Isn't that a green channel for prodigies with special talents or outstanding contributions in certain fields? What does it have to do with someone like him who has nothing?
He clicked on the link Liu Ruyan had sent.
[Jiutian Academy 2077 Special Talent Individual Admissions Brochure]
He scanned it quickly, seeing all sorts of high-sounding majors.
"Ancient Mythological Creature Gene Replication and Research," "Hyperspace Folding Theory and Application," "Causality Weapon Ethics"...
None of them had anything to do with him.
That is, until he saw the very end of the list.
A inconspicuous major tucked away in a corner.
[Department of Theoretical Science - Department of Heavenly Dao Applied Engineering - Maintenance and Servicing of Civilian Rune-Powered Vehicles (Oriented Training and Cultivation)]
Mo Chen: "..."
He rubbed his eyes, confirming he wasn't mistaken.
That garbage major, known as "The End of Cultivation is Car Repair," that even Teacher Wang couldn't be bothered to mention, a major exclusive to vocational schools, was actually... on the Jiutian Academy's individual recruitment list?
What kind of dark humor is this?
"See?" Liu Ruyan's voice carried a hint of excitement, "This is a collaborative oriented training and cultivation project between Jiutian Academy and the parent company of 'Yufeng Jixong'. It's the first year they're piloting it."
"I heard it's to prepare for the upcoming era of 'Trang Domain Real-time Logistics 3.0' and to stockpile high-end maintenance and modification talents in advance."
Mo Chen's brain whirred.
"Yufeng Jixong"... his father's company.
High-end maintenance talents... his current major.
This... isn't this tailor-made for him?
"What are the requirements?" Mo Chen's voice was a little hoarse.
"The requirements are strange," Liu Ruyan pointed at the screen, "Cultivation level requires Foundation Establishment, and there's a major requirement. The written exam also includes an additional subject – 'Extreme Modification of Vehicle Structures and Rune Arrays.' "
Mo Chen could feel his heart pounding.
This wasn't individual recruitment, it was like a VIP service! Directly putting the opportunity into his mouth!
"How about it, little brother?" Liu Ruyan leaned closer, her warm breath fanning his earlobe, her voice laced with a seductive smile.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a step to heaven."
"Your genius sister is taking the common entrance exam, a road with thousands of soldiers crossing a single-plank bridge. But you, you can take this VIP channel."
"Do you dare to try?"
Mo Chen looked up at the beautiful, radiant face in front of him.
He thought of his father's tired face, his sister's condescending expression, and that cold home.
He took a deep breath, and an unprecedented light ignited in his formerly listless eyes.
Slowly, he gave her an OK gesture.