Suddenly, the screen didn't vanish.
Nolan blinked. The small, floating interface just hovered in front of him like a stubborn ghost. For a moment, nothing happened. Just silence. Static stillness. Only a timer blinking in a cold, digital font:
17:11
17:10
17:09
17:08
And so on…
"…Huh?"
Nolan squinted. "Where the hell is the search bar?"
No buttons. No interface icons. No floating keyboard. Not even a damn blinking cursor. Just the timer counting down and a translucent border that softly pulsed like a heartbeat.
"Alright, stop," Nolan said, waving his hand.
The timer froze. 16:57.
Instantly, the interface collapsed with a soft hiss, like air slipping from a tire. He checked his status window.
Mana Crystals: 1014
His eyes twitched.
"Are you fucking serious? Ten crystals—for that?"
He paced in a tight circle. "I thought this was going to be like holding a phone, y'know? Open up Google, browse a bit, maybe play a YouTube tutorial on advanced cultivation or something…"
