Ling Ke had been suppressed in this gloomy place for over half a month.
This place, known as the Shackling Prison, was a penal facility for detaining major criminals located within the Xianzhou Luofu—one of the six colossal starships belonging to the Xianzhou Alliance.
Ling Ke had long since confirmed that he had inexplicably transmigrated into the vast universe of Honkai: Star Rail.
He knew all too well that even though the early main storyline of the game felt lighthearted—with the producers even joking that it was a space comedy—the hidden lore in the side quests and background flavor text proved this was by no means a truly beautiful place.
Once, when he was just a simple mobile gamer, he only cared about how elegant Kafka looked playing her invisible violin at Herta Space Station, or how Seele's clothes remained vibrant in the Belobog Underworld.
He never gave a second thought to how many researchers died during the Antimatter Legion's invasion triggered by the Stellaron Hunters, or how he subconsciously ignored that Jarilo-VI had only one surviving city of Preservation.
Now...
"How unlucky!"
Currently in the early stages of his imprisonment, Ling Ke stared blankly at the ceiling.
To be honest, he didn't have much of a grievance regarding his current situation.
After all, it was a physical transmigration.
Furthermore, he had landed directly in the Xianzhou Luofu and was immediately identified by the Cloud Knights as an illegal resident.
Being locked up as a stowaway... he couldn't exactly blame them for doing their job, could he?
But...
"Why the hell did I have to spawn in a Sanctus Medicus hideout while it was being raided?"
Yes.
If Ling Ke were just a simple stowaway, he would have been deported from the Luofu at worst.
But he had the misfortune of falling into a place he shouldn't have been, inexplicably becoming one of the captured members of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
Because of that, he was getting the same treatment as a Borisin Warhead.
During these days, Ling Ke had been waiting.
First, he was waiting for an interrogation so he could explain that he really wasn't one of those Abundance-worshipping fanatics seeking immortality. Well... coming from outside this universe after years of living like a corporate slave, he actually did crave immortality.
I mean... even if he might turn into a Mara-struck monster later, who wouldn't want to live for a few hundred more years?
That was beside the point.
In short, Ling Ke accepted the stowaway status as his own bad luck.
But he had no intention of being a scapegoat for crimes he didn't commit.
He would definitely defend himself.
He wanted long life, but he wasn't so obsessed that he would harm others to get it.
At least, not yet!
As for the other thing he was waiting for...
[Ding! Abstract Ability System loading complete.]
"It's here, it's finally here!"
As everyone knows, the Motherland is kind and powerful, always granting a classic gold finger to transmigrators far from home.
And this Abstract Ability System was Ling Ke's cheat.
However, the thing had been in an automatic loading phase for the past few days, and the progress bar had finally hit 100%.
At this moment, Ling Ke wanted to check exactly what kind of help this cheat could provide, when suddenly...
[Beep! Dimensional Chat Group invites you to join.]
Another completely different notification sounded in Ling Ke's head.
"What now?"
He froze for a second.
But then he smiled naturally.
After all, the dual-cheat trope of a system plus a chat group was something he'd read plenty of times in web novels.
Ling Ke's ability to adapt was quite strong.
Right now...
[Congratulations Host, you have obtained supreme authority over the Abstract Ability System.]
[From now on, based on your personal subjective time, you will automatically draw a random abstract ability every 24 hours.]
[Abstract abilities... are born from various famous memes you have encountered, so they can also be called: Meme Abilities.]
[Prompt: Since you have mastered the supreme authority of this system, you can choose to use all abstract abilities (meme abilities) yourself or temporarily rent them out. They can be recovered at any time and cannot be obstructed by any external means.]
[Beginner Gift Pack has been distributed. You have automatically completed your initial ten-pull.]
[Congratulations Host, you have obtained abstract abilities: Heaven-Rank Martial Skill: Ghost Possession, Seventeen Shots in Two Seconds, The Tri-Santy People, Xian-Er Brand Hand Warmer ×7.]
"..."
Ling Ke first checked the information regarding his personal system.
To be honest, seeing the text displayed on the semi-transparent rectangular virtual interface, his first reaction was speechless.
There were so many things to criticize that he didn't even know where to start.
Abstract abilities, supernatural powers shaped by famous memes... no matter how you looked at it, this was ridiculous!
"This cheat probably follows the Path of Aha."
However, despite the complaints, thinking about it seriously... being able to get a cheat for free was already pretty good.
In any case, the abilities were real and getting one draw every day meant he didn't have to pay any price at all. He just had to sit back and be fed... what was there to complain about?
If he acted like a spoiled brat, he might actually drive the system away.
Besides, Aha was plenty ridiculous, but his strength was still among the top of the Aeons.
If your fist is big enough, who cares if you're a gag character?
Not to mention, Star Rail itself was full of memes...
"Looking at it this way, it is actually a gold finger that fits the lore quite well."
Ling Ke muttered to himself.
He then proceeded to check the rewards he just got from the beginner ten-pull, even though the Dimensional Chat Group that appeared almost at the same time was still pinging incessantly.
Heaven-Rank Martial Skill: Ghost Possession: You can possess someone wearing a ring you gifted and forcibly take control of their body.
Seventeen Shots in Two Seconds: You can manifest an SKS semi-automatic rifle at any time that reloads seventeen bullets every two seconds, with infinite durability and zero chance of malfunction.
The Tribbie Three: You will possess three bodies, but correspondingly, your size will shrink to that of a child.
Xian-Er Brand Hand Warmer: You have obtained an explosive tag.
"Hoh~ Just as I thought!"
Since he had prepared himself mentally, Ling Ke subconsciously ignored the parts that made his face twitch and only saw the most substantial gains.
Look... possession, clones, an indestructible firearm with infinite ammo, and even the seven consumable explosive tags... these things could provide Ling Ke with immense help.
Seriously speaking, if Ling Ke was a complete ordinary person a moment ago, now... he was already a superhuman.
"Haha~ Not bad, not bad. Life is finally looking promising."
Right now, although he was technically facing a sentence, Ling Ke was in such a good mood that he had the leisure to look back at the gag info he had deliberately ignored.
Some of it was actually quite funny.
For example, for the abstract ability Heaven-Rank Martial Skill: Ghost Possession, if you expanded the detailed interface, you could see a note left by the system at the end:
[Shocking! The Flame Emperor who moved the Great Thousand World in later generations was actually possessed by a hundred-year-old man in his youth... Don't worry, this version doesn't require wearing a ring for three years to be drained into impotence, so naturally, there's no Dou Huang strength to play with Heavenly Flames.]
And another one: the consumable ability Xian-Er Brand Hand Warmer...
[Forget the murder of your parents with a laugh, so what if you betray your master? Of course you choose to forgive! After all, it blew you up when you were a kid!]
"Tsk tsk~"
He had to admit, after an initial observation, Ling Ke felt this system really suited his taste in various ways.
Perhaps he was a closet joker who liked the abstract.
But right now...
[Beep beep beep~]
In his mind, the other gold finger—the Dimensional Chat Group's notification—was still ringing.
"Alright, alright, let me see which familiar faces I'll meet in this group!"
With that, his thoughts moved, and he called up a second virtual interface that was distinct from the Abstract Ability System...