System Startup Failed

Zhou Bai, still in pajamas and slippers, sprinted down a long, pitch-black corridor. Behind him came heart-chilling roars.

Damn it! Zhou Bai's mind was a complete mess, wild thoughts flashing through his consciousness one after another.

What the hell is going on?!

I was sleeping peacefully at home, just got up to use the bathroom! How did I end up in this place for no reason at all? And run into some bizarre monster too?

He simply kicked off his slippers and ran barefoot. He was so nervous that he failed to notice his body growing younger and younger, gradually changing from a young man in his twenties into a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy.

As he ran slower and slower, his lungs burning as though they were about to catch fire, the roars behind him drew ever closer. Zhou Bai's gaze sharpened. The corridor ahead had reached its end, and an open iron door stood before him.

With no time to think, Zhou Bai charged through the doorway. What greeted his eyes was a tiny room of less than ten square meters, with no second exit in sight.

"Damn it!" Zhou Bai cursed. The increasingly close roars made his scalp tingle, and he hurriedly turned around, shut the iron door to the small room, and locked it. Only then did he feel the slightest trace of safety.

I wonder if this iron door can stop it...

But even if the iron door could hold the other side back, Zhou Bai could not stay forever in this empty little room.

Just as sweat poured down Zhou Bai's face and he kept frantically wondering what to do, a woman's voice rang out in his mind.

"Are you Zhou Bai?"

"Who?" Zhou Bai looked around, but he could not see anyone.

"Stop looking. You can't see me." The woman continued, "Do you want to live?"

Zhou Bai hesitated for a moment before immediately saying, "Yes!"

"Then take this. Remember, don't resist. Don't reject it."

As she spoke, a white point of light emerged from thin air and floated before Zhou Bai.

Just then, a thunderous boom came from behind him. Zhou Bai jumped in fright and turned to look. Staring at the iron door as it was repeatedly slammed into, warping out of shape bit by bit, he asked in panic, "What the hell is that thing?"

"Your cheat. With it, you might be able to beat the thing outside."

"A cheat?!" Countless scenes from novels, anime, and games flashed through Zhou Bai's mind. Hesitantly, he reached for the white point of light before him.

In an instant, a string of white characters drifted through his sea of consciousness.

Please wait...

Nine Calamities of Heaven and Man Auxiliary System is starting...

...

Please cultivate safely under the guidance of the Auxiliary System.

"Nine Calamities of Heaven and Man?" Zhou Bai said excitedly. "That name alone sounds badass. It has to be amazing, right?"

Startup failed. The system encountered an error (connection timed out).

For details, please see (click here).

Looking at the words drifting through his mind, Zhou Bai was speechless. "What a rip-off!"

"A system can have an error?!"

"And I can't click the details at all!!"

The woman's voice came again. Apparently unable to see what was happening in Zhou Bai's head, she asked in confusion, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"It says the system had an error! Startup failed!" Zhou Bai cried, "What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?" He turned toward the door and saw that it had already twisted grotesquely out of shape. A pale hand had even reached through a crack, feeling around along the wall and tearing off large chunks of plaster.

Pain shot through Zhou Bai's head. He spun around and dodged, yet still felt something repeatedly knocking against his skull.

"Don't dodge!" the woman said. "I'm the one knocking."

Zhou Bai said, "What are you doing?!"

"I'm seeing if I can fix you."

Zhou Bai said, "Do you think I'm an appliance? Isn't that way too careless?!"

The woman ignored him. Zhou Bai felt his head get violently knocked several more times.

System startup successful...

"Damn it!" With no time to complain about the system, Zhou Bai hurriedly examined the contents appearing in his mind, searching for a way to defeat his enemy.

Nine Calamities of Heaven and Man Auxiliary Cultivation System. Assists and guides cultivators in cultivating the Nine Calamities of Heaven and Man.

Current status:

Daoization Degree: 0%

Primordial Spirit Value: 0

Divine Map: Nine Calamities of Heaven and Man

Laziness Qi: 0

"What is all this stuff?!" Zhou Bai could not make heads or tails of the things appearing in his mind. Meanwhile, a large hole had already been torn through the iron door before him. A thick white arm stretched inside, and the entire door creaked and groaned as though it could be broken open at any moment.

The woman's voice sounded again. "What's wrong? What did you see? Is this thing useful?"

"Useful my ass!" Zhou Bai quickly told her what he had seen and asked in panic, "What do I do next?"

The woman said, "Daoization Degree is your realm, Primordial Spirit Value is your strength, and the Divine Map is your cultivation method. But what is this Laziness Qi? Wait, let me check the instruction manual..."

Zhou Bai stared at the iron door, which was about to collapse, and listened to the relentless roaring outside. Sweat covered his forehead as he said anxiously, "Are you kidding me? Who has time to read an instruction manual now?!"

The woman said, "There's no explanation for Laziness Qi here... Try focusing your mind on those words."

Zhou Bai tried concentrating on Laziness Qi. A string of information surfaced in his consciousness.

Laziness is human nature, but if everyone can turn laziness into treasure, it can protect our human race and drive us forward through ten thousand generations.

This is the first calamity of the Nine Calamities of Heaven and Man: laziness. Absorb Laziness Qi to increase cultivation.

Methods of obtaining Laziness Qi. Example 1: Lie down... Too lazy to say the rest.

Zhou Bai: "???"

The woman asked, "How is it? Is there a way?"

Zhou Bai told her what he had seen. The woman immediately said, "Then what are you waiting for?! Lie down, now! Remember to raise your Primordial Spirit Value first. That is strength. Daoization Degree is your realm; you can't use it for combat right now."

Though his face was full of doubt, Zhou Bai looked at the door before him, which was being struck over and over and was already on the verge of collapse. He obediently lay down anyway.

As soon as he lay on the ground, the number representing Laziness Qi in his consciousness began to rise.

Laziness Qi +1

Laziness Qi +1

Laziness Qi +1

On average, Zhou Bai gained one point of Laziness Qi every second. It soon reached 10 points.

As Laziness Qi increased, plus signs appeared beside the previously displayed Daoization Degree and Primordial Spirit Value.

Remembering what the woman had said, Zhou Bai focused his thoughts on the plus sign beside Primordial Spirit Value. Moments later, the value that had been 0 flickered and became 1, while Laziness Qi decreased by one point.

At the same time, Zhou Bai felt a thunderous boom erupt within his brain. An indescribable, mysterious, profound force spread out from his head, then withdrew again.

Zhou Bai let out a sharp cry and abruptly sat up.