Arthur Ashford sat on the edge of the fountain at Union Square, one hand pressed against his forehead, the other clenched tightly around the leather strap of his briefcase.
The sun was just beginning to rise, painting streaks of gold over the cold, grey buildings of downtown Manhattan. Commuters passed him by, unaware that the man in the $6,000 tailored suit and Italian shoes had just suffered a complete physical collapse.
Thirty minutes ago, he had been en route to the biggest meeting of his career—an acquisition that would have cemented his rise as one of the youngest investment strategists in Wall Street history. But his body gave out. His pulse slowed. He felt cold. He thought he was dying.
But he didn't.
When Arthur opened his eyes, he was no longer on the pavement. Instead, a transparent digital interface hovered in front of him. The air was still, the world around him frozen in place.
RICH EMPIRE SYSTEM ACTIVATED
Welcome, Arthur Ashford.
You are now bound to the Rich Empire System.
Your current net worth: $2,207,984.56
[Enter]
The surreal interface shimmered with gold and black accents. The words "Enter" pulsed softly, like a heartbeat.
Arthur blinked. Twice.
He wasn't hallucinating.
Cautiously, he tapped the interface with a trembling finger. It responded instantly.
Name: Arthur Edmund Ashford Age: 25
Attributes: Strength: 60 Intelligence (IQ): 142 Charisma: 85 Attractiveness: 90 Luck: 45 Endurance: 68 Stress Resistance: 77 Creativity: 91 Ambition: 95 Determination: 98 Empathy: 42 Leadership: 89
Below the stats was another section titled SKILLS.
Financial Acumen: Level 6
Stock Market Prediction: Level 4
Business Strategy: Level 5
Persuasion: Level 3
Situational Analysis: Level 6
Microeconomic Manipulation: Level 3
Then came something stranger.
Net Worth Tracker Enabled. All assets, equities, and bank accounts linked.
Special Passive Skill Unlocked: "Auto-Investment Interest" — $1 credited every second into Bank Account disguised as investment return.
Arthur gaped at the screen as he opened his phone's banking app. A new account had appeared — R.E.S. Holdings.
Every second, the balance ticked upward by exactly one dollar.
He checked his pulse again.
Still alive.
Still real.
Then the next screen appeared:
Mission 1: Resign from current job. Begin your own business.
Reward: ROI Vision (See real-time profit/loss projection on any business decision or investment.)
Arthur sat for a full minute. Then he smiled.
"So be it."
The Resignation
Arthur didn't return to the meeting. Instead, he walked straight into his office, typed out a two-line resignation letter, printed it, signed it, and handed it to his stunned secretary.
"Are you sure, Mr. Ashford?" she asked. "You're walking away from a seven-figure bonus."
He smiled politely. "I'm walking toward something bigger."
She frowned. "What's bigger than a corner office at Baxter Holdings?"
Arthur tapped his watch and turned away. "An empire."
Phase One: The Investment Surge
The next six months were a blur.
Arthur rented a luxury loft in Tribeca and transformed it into his base of operations. He spent sixteen hours a day analyzing stocks, real estate, emerging markets, and futures. With the ROI Vision, every opportunity came with floating projections of return, color-coded in real time.
He began with renewable energy stocks, biotech, undervalued logistics chains, and AI startups. Using the system's insight and his own instincts, he outmaneuvered every major firm silently.
With the Cash Rebate unlocked later, every reinvestment he made paid back double. It was cheating the system, but the system belonged to him now.
In just over nine months, his $2.2 million turned into $107 million.
Rank Up Achieved: Knight → Baron
New Feature Unlocked: Business Construction System – Launch instant system-managed businesses using capital.
The Café Empire
Arthur opened his first café in SoHo.
He designed everything using the Business Construction System: interior, menu, pricing model, digital ordering, delivery bots, even janitorial drones.
Construction finished in 12 hours.
By the next morning, it opened.
Two weeks later, Arthur had 56 cafés across New York, Boston, and D.C.
Each cost $10,000 to launch and brought in $15,000 monthly profits — pure profit.
He recruited Bella, a golden-haired waitress with a forgotten management degree from Columbia. He orchestrated a blind date through a manipulated app and subtly made her fall for his vision.
In three months, she was managing all 56 cafés and training AI managers.
Concubine Assigned: Bella (Potential Rank – Empress)
Current Rank: Dame
Status: Loyal (System Bound by Unbreakable Vow)
Diversification
Arthur reinvested the profits into other business models:
Salons, Flower Shops, and Food Delivery Chains in Tier-2 cities
Rental Services, Tattoo Studios, Eco-Stores, and Tech Repair in Tier-3 and Tier-4 cities
Gyms, Studios, and Consulting Firms in international capitals
Each business had autonomous operations and system-governed P&L dashboards.
Bella was joined by Roxy, Nora, and Candy, each managing different sectors.
Arthur grew from Baron to Viscount to Earl within a year.
His net worth crossed $1 billion.
Revenge and Redemption
But Arthur hadn't forgotten the past.
The bankers who laughed at him? He bought out their firms.
The woman who left him when he was poor? He made her husband bankrupt — then offered her a job.
His arrogant cousins in London? He turned their trust fund into junk bonds and bought their estate.
Every act of humiliation had been logged. And repaid — with interest.
But he also repaid loyalty.
Every woman who followed him? He nurtured their growth, honored their dreams, and elevated them.
Bella became a Countess.
Eva, Carmen, and Vivian became Viscountesses, running the digital world, translation networks, and global politics respectively.
Nora took over the world's underworld. Jessie, a sexy and brutal cop, began training elite forces loyal only to Ashford.
Toward the Throne
But it all began here.
At a bench.
With a digital whisper.
"Build your empire."
And Arthur Ashford did.