The First Sequence: A Mortal’s Ascension

In 2388, human civilization has entered the interstellar age. The foundation of this era is a global network known as Ling-Net. Through a Ling-Core implanted in the body, anyone can digitize their consciousness, connect to Ling-Net, and use quantum algorithms to cultivate immortality through science, absorbing and transforming spiritual energy from the universe.

Ling-Net was created by the world’s largest tech giant, the Tianqiong Quantum Group. The group’s supreme ruler is its CEO, Ling Zhao, a cold, decisive man with a deep-rooted need for control. To him, cultivation is nothing more than a set of data to optimize and control, a tool for consolidating his business empire and absolute power.

Yet his impregnable technological dynasty develops its first crack with the appearance of an “anomaly.”

Her name is Mu Qingyi. She has no Ling-Core implanted in her and has never connected to Ling-Net, yet she possesses a terrifying power that cannot be quantified or analyzed. She is a “natural cultivator,” a being from the myths of ancient times. Her existence is the sole, and most fatal, “ghost code” in Ling Zhao’s perfect system.

To eliminate this threat, Ling Zhao captures Mu Qingyi and regards her as his most precious research specimen. But as he probes deeper into her, he touches upon a horrifying truth capable of overturning all human civilization: the Ling-Net he built with his own hands is not a ladder to eternal life, but a carefully designed “golden cage,” silently harvesting the potential of all humanity to sacrifice it to some unknown cosmic entity.