In the 28th century AD, Earth's ecosystem teeters on the brink of collapse. Humanity's habitable space has shrunk to the sprawling megacity “City of the Firmament,” controlled by the mega-corporation “Everlasting Life Group,” and the surrounding wasteland. Armed with monopolies on biotechnology and energy matrix technology, Everlasting Life Group develops “Spiritual Ascension,” a technologically advanced cultivation system that allows the wealthy to prolong their lives and wield extraordinary powers, turning them into “new immortals.” The masses at the bottom, known as “Dustfolk,” are excluded and left to live in resource-starved lower districts.
The protagonist, Li Fan, is a young scavenger struggling to survive in the “Sinking Zone.” By chance, he obtains a strange program called the “Myriad Paths BUG Compensation System.” It claims to assist with cultivation, but its missions are baffling and its rewards never match the description, making it a real pain in the neck.
Fueled by his stubborn determination and survival smarts, Li Fan embarks on the path of cultivation under the System's “guidance.” He assembles equipment from discarded parts, searches the wasteland for resources, and forms alliances with low-level cultivators or makes them his enemies. His rise threatens Everlasting Life Group's interests and draws the ire of the “immortals.” Li Fan must face powerful foes, outwit the BUG System, uncover the dark secrets behind technological cultivation and the System's origins, and ultimately ignite a revolt among the underclass, challenging entrenched class divisions and Everlasting Life Group's rule.
