The digital clock on the wall of the bunker ticked silently.
23:59:55
Lin Hao sat on the floor, surrounded by the dismantled pieces of a high-caliber sniper rifle he had been tinkering with. But his eyes were glued to the air in front of him.
He was no longer sweating the seconds. He was watching a tidal wave approach.
00:00:00
Day 17.
The notification didn't "ping." It roared.
[Daily UP Generation: Active.] [Ascension Bonus: Applied (x2).] [You have received 3,276,800 UP.]
Three million, two hundred thousand.
It wasn't a paycheck. It was a lottery win, every single night.
[Total Upgrade Points (UP): 6,452,880]
Lin Hao stared at the number. Six and a half million.
He was more than halfway to the Planar Ascension. The "Ten Million Wall" that had seemed insurmountable just twenty-four hours ago was now crumbling before the sheer, brute force of exponential math.
"One more day," he whispered. "Just one more doubling, and I clear the 10 million mark with spare change."
He immediately opened the World Upgrade tab to perform the ritual.
According to his pattern, the cost for the next doubling, a 0.017% density increase, would be around 170 UP.
[Daily Boost: Increase Global Reiki Density (0.017%)]? (Cost: 170 UP)
He hovered his finger over the button.
Then, he paused.
He looked at his balance: 6,452,880 UP.
Why was he following the pattern? Why was he incrementally increasing the investment by 10 or 20 points?
He was rich. He was absurdly, violently rich.
"Why wait for tomorrow to get 6.5 million?" Lin Hao asked the empty room. "If I invest 10,000 UP right now... the multiplier should give me billions tomorrow."
He was done waiting. He wanted the Ascension now.
He navigated to the custom input field for the Daily Boost.
[Custom Investment Amount: 10,000 UP]
He grinned. This was how he broke the game. This was how he became a god overnight.
"Confirm."
BZ-Z-ZT.
The screen flashed gray.
[ERROR: INVESTMENT REJECTED.] [Daily World Investment Cap Reached.]
Lin Hao blinked. "What?"
A new text box appeared, explaining the rules he had never bumped into because he had always been poor.
[The World Core is a fragile construct. Sudden, massive infusions of Upgrade Energy will destabilize the planetary crust and cause immediate tectonic collapse.] [Maximum Safe Daily Investment: 170 UP.] [Next Investment Window: 23 Hours, 59 Minutes.]
Lin Hao slumped back against the concrete wall.
"You're kidding me."
He was time-gated.
The System wasn't stopping him because he was poor. It was stopping him because the Earth was too weak to handle his money. He couldn't just dump points into the core; he had to spoon-feed it.
He was forced to follow the schedule.
[Daily Boost: Increase Global Reiki Density (0.017%)]? (Cost: 170 UP)
He pressed it with a sigh of resignation.
[Deducting 170 UP. 6,452,710 UP Remaining.] [Ascension Bonus: ACTIVE. Your next daily UP gain will be 6,553,600 UP.]
He watched the confirmation fade.
He had 6.4 million points. He needed 10 million.
He couldn't speed it up. He had to wait exactly twenty-four hours for the final payout.
"Fine," Lin Hao said, picking up the barrel of the sniper rifle. "If I can't rush the timeline, I might as well enjoy the waiting room."
He looked at the weapon parts scattered on the floor.
"Let's see what six million points can build."