Before long, the Spirit Core was delivered to Xia Li in a box.

  Xia Li immediately opened it to examine the contents.

  Though he'd been using a Spirit Core and had seen them in holographic images, those were just photos. This was his first time seeing one with his own eyes.

  The Spirit Core was a hollow sphere about the size of a ping-pong ball, shaped like an armillary sphere. Rings of varying sizes were nested inside one another to form the spherical structure.

  "You can inject spiritual energy to test-run it. If you're not satisfied, you can exchange it anytime."

  The attendant beside Xia Li indicated he could try it outside his body.

  Xia Li immediately fed a wisp of spiritual energy into it. Upon contact with the energy, the Spirit Core rapidly activated, its nested rings beginning to spin at high speed.

  Xia Li could feel a force.

  No—multiple forces!

  Gravity, attraction, repulsion, magnetism...

  Various physical "forces" constrained the spiritual energy within the sphere through the rings' intricate rotations.

  "This is my first time seeing a Spirit Core operating outside the body."

  Xia Li was amazed. He'd been something of a tech enthusiast in the past, fascinated by new technology. Unfortunately, new-era tech was completely beyond his comprehension.

  "The Spirit Core's predecessor was the Spirit Fusion Reactor, and the Spirit Fusion Reactor's predecessor was the Nuclear Fusion Reactor."

  "Around 2020 AD, the mainstream experimental reactors were the Tokamak device and the Stellarator. The Celestial Sphere Reactor appeared around 2080."

  "However, the Celestial Sphere Reactor was considered a failed nuclear fusion device at the time. No one expected that after the Spiritual Revival, it would be discovered to have unique properties for constraining spiritual energy."

  The attendant began explaining the Spirit Core's history and development. The Spirit Core wasn't something someone dreamed up on a whim—it was the culmination of humanity's technological heritage and accumulated knowledge.

  Even failed technology could become foundation and accumulation, one day suddenly becoming a shining star.

  From discovering nuclear energy to utilizing it, from fission to fusion, from thermal energy to spiritual energy, then miniaturizing it for human implantation to power the body.

  This was the crystallized effort of multiple generations, including Xia Li's own era.

  Those who developed the Celestial Sphere Reactor in 2080 probably never imagined that while it couldn't be used for nuclear fusion, it could be used for spiritual energy containment.

  "Beautiful, unique, strange... like nebulae, like the birth of galaxies and planets..."

  Xia Li watched the nebula-like vortex gradually forming at the Spirit Core's center, his mind drifting to space documentaries he'd once watched.

  "So, sir, are you confirming this model?"

  "Uh... confirmed!"

  Xia Li had gotten a bit lost watching the Spirit Core's operation.

  "Please follow me."

  The attendant led Xia Li to the mall's premium modification chamber.

  "Sir, since you've made a purchase at our mall, the modification implantation is free. However, I strongly recommend purchasing our modification services."

  The attendant started again—more upselling!

  "For just one spirit stone, you can enjoy our basic surface repair and beauty package."

  "I notice your prosthetic is a bit outdated? For another spirit stone, you can get prosthetic maintenance service to make it look brand new!"

  "Sir, if you'd allow me to access your Heaven Chip's body scan data, I can design a perfect body damage repair service for you, guaranteed to restore you to peak condition."

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  "Sir, since you're getting the Genesis Serum injection, the better your body's condition beforehand, the higher your chances of gaining self-cultivation talent."

  The attendant chattered on with her sales pitch. Xia Li was numb by now. Even at the final modification stage, there was this much drama. They really wouldn't stop until they'd squeezed him dry.

  "Fine, fine, add it all!"

  But Xia Li didn't refuse.

  Increasing the probability of gaining self-cultivation talent—that service was worth buying. Even if he didn't get the talent, at least he'd have gotten a full medical checkup.

  Then...

  Xia Li granted access to his body data. After connecting, the attendant quickly calculated the bill.

  "Which package would you like? We have Basic Repair, Advanced Repair, Deep Repair, and Perfect Repair."

  "First tell me about my body's condition."

  "Your heart is strained, with 89% cellular damage. Your lung health is below 40%. At your right arm prosthetic connection point, over 30% of nerves are necrotic."

  "Your..."

  The attendant reported Xia Li's body damage in detail. The results surprised him—his body was already riddled with problems?

  Sustained by spiritual energy, he really hadn't felt anything.

  Or perhaps...

  He'd long forgotten what being healthy felt like. He'd been sickly before, and after getting the Spirit Core implant, feeling better made him think he'd recovered.

  He'd worked in the mines. Pneumoconiosis was his inescapable fate. And he'd been frozen due to late-stage lung cancer!

  Though spiritual energy had healed some of his conditions, staying at the mine meant he'd never truly recover.

  That's how the Company had treated him—making someone with late-stage lung cancer dig in mines.

  And the prosthetic connection point was clearly done sloppily in a cheap modification chamber, just making the prosthetic functional without caring about nerve damage.

  "How much for Perfect Repair?"

  "Thirty-two spirit stones."

  The attendant quoted a significant figure, but fortunately Xia Li could still afford it.

  "Alright, Perfect Repair then."

  "Very good, sir. But may I ask—you clearly don't lack spirit stones, so why is your body in such poor condition?"

  "Got lost as a kid. Lived a hard life out there. Just recently reunited with family."

  Xia Li made up an excuse.

  "Then you've certainly turned your luck around, sir. Please enter the modification chamber. When you wake up, you'll meet a more perfect version of yourself."

  "Alright."

  Xia Li didn't waste words and lay down directly. Coming to the Upper District to shop had been the right choice.

  It wasn't that he didn't want to support his own people's business or go to Ke Xiao's place.

  But now that he had spirit stones, he really wanted to use brand-new equipment. Ke Xiao's place was all black market and secondhand goods, and her modification chamber didn't have damage repair functions.

  Closing his eyes.

  Modification begins!

  Xia Li dreamed again—the same dream as before, even a continuation of it.

  Under the sunlight, by the flower bed, his sister smiled at him, the puppy in her arms wagging its tail.

  "Big bro, what if you're frozen for so long that it exceeds my lifespan?"

  "What if I still want to see you again?"

  That was a few days before he joined the cryogenic experiment.

  "If I really can't wait for you, then I'll join the **** experiment. Maybe there's a slim chance."

  His sister's voice suddenly became blurry. What experiment?

  He'd forgotten.