July 1st, 2014.
Jingyang, Sichuan.
Inside a residential building in Community 102.
Wu Yun sat on his bed, looking at the familiar yet strange surroundings, unable to process what was happening.
Just a moment ago, he had been squatting in a stall in the school bathroom. How had he ended up in a different place in the blink of an eye?
If he remembered correctly, this was the house he had lived in for over twenty years. But hadn't he sold this house?
But why on earth would he suddenly be reborn from 2022? Wu Yun grabbed the smartphone beside him and checked the time: "July 1st, 2014!"
Wu Yun rubbed his face, then got up to check if he was wearing pants.
He found that he was in a completely different set of clothes.
A slim-fit white t-shirt bought online, a pair of black counterfeit Nike shorts, and under the bed, the same familiar flip-flops and old floor tiles.
This was how he often dressed back in high school—though, of course, he never dared to wear the flip-flops to school.
Wu Yun was certain now. He had been reborn! And it was right after he had finished his college entrance exams.
Wu Yun felt a sense of relief. At least he hadn't been reborn before the exams; he had pretty much returned all his high school knowledge back to his teachers by now.
He had read about rebirth plots in plenty of novels, but for it to actually happen to him was both shocking and exhilarating.
Wu Yun was what you might call a semi-orphan.
When he was a few months old, Wu Yun had been adopted by a lonely, childless couple in their sixties—the people who would become his grandpa and grandma.
His grandparents raised him. Shortly after he started high school, his grandma, not yet eighty, fell ill and passed away first.
After she was gone, his grandpa grew melancholic and passed away as well less than a year later.
This was a huge blow to Wu Yun, who was still in high school at the time. He didn't start to recover until he met his high school Lover, who helped guide him through his grief.
Fortunately, his grandparents' passing left Wu Yun with five or six hundred thousand in savings and the house he was currently living in, which saved him from financial struggles later on.
Before his rebirth, Wu Yun had been an elementary school PE teacher. He had just bought a house and was discussing marriage with a female colleague from his school when he was reborn.
Wu Yun felt a little frustrated. 'If I'd known I was going to be reborn, I would have memorized the timelines for all the best stocks, or at least the winning numbers for a few lottery drawings,' he thought. 'Then I'd have a way to get rich quick.'
As a PE teacher before his rebirth, the only thing he knew for sure was that housing prices would go up, making it a guaranteed profit if he bought now. And while he knew about virtual currencies like Bitcoin, he had no idea where to even buy them.
'In stories, other reborn protagonists have all these business plans and strategies. Why is my head just a complete mess?' he lamented. 'Am I just supposed to spend this life buying a few houses ahead of time and calling it a day?'
Just as Wu Yun was feeling down, a sound echoed in his mind:
"BEEP! Tycoon System rebooting..."
Having already been reborn, Wu Yun wasn't the least bit frightened by the sound of a system activating.
He silently chanted in his mind, 'Open system.'
"Welcome, Host, to the Tycoon System. This system offers a high degree of freedom. Your development path is entirely up to you. The system will not interfere with your decisions unless they violate system rules. Note: You are the one and only Host for this system. Please do not unbind."
"Now initiating the beginner's guide!"
A virtual screen flickered to life before Wu Yun's eyes. It displayed a character, a perfect avatar of himself, with a long list of stats next to it:
Character: Wu Yun
Gender: Male
Age: 18 (Born January 1, 1996)
Base Stats:
Height: 178cm
Weight: 70kg
Strength: 60 (Average adult male: 50)
Stamina: 65 (Average adult male: 50)
Speed: 60 (Average adult male: 50)
Physique: 60 (Average adult male: 50)
Intelligence: 60 (Average adult male: 50)
Appearance: 75 (50-59: Plain, 60-69: Decent, 70-79: Handsome/Pretty, 80-89: Class Hunk/Beauty, Department Hunk/Beauty, 90-99: Department Hunk/Beauty, Campus Hunk/Beauty, 100: Use your imagination). Note: Appearance is related to looks, clothing, and style. A fluctuation of ±3 points is normal. PS: The rating is based on the Host's aesthetic judgment.
Figure: 80
Physical Condition Score: 92 (Healthy)
Skills:
Car Driving: Proficient (Beginner -> Novice -> Proficient -> Expert -> Master -> Godlike!)
Basketball: Proficient
Fitness: Proficient
Free Fighting: Proficient
Cooking: Proficient
Expand other low-level skills?
Overall Evaluation: A slightly above-average young man. Also, a virgin.
Character Level: 1
Basic System Reward: Earn 0.01 Huaxia Coin passively per second (calculated from 00:00 on July 1, 2014).
Level-Up EXP: (0/10,000). Note: System EXP is gained by the Host spending money. One Huaxia Coin equals one point of EXP.
Other permissions: Level insufficient.
Wu Yun quickly scanned his stats and information, getting a general understanding of the system. He realized that he had brought his skills from his previous life with him, since at this point in time, he hadn't even gotten his driver's license yet.
What caught Wu Yun's attention most was the basic system reward: earn 0.01 Huaxia Coin passively per second.
Wu Yun quickly grabbed his phone, opened the calculator app, and started tapping away.
"Hahaha! That's 864 Huaxia Coin a day, which is 25,920 a month! That's almost half a year's salary for a teacher!"
Wu Yun waited with his phone for five minutes, then tested the withdrawal function.
A moment later, his phone vibrated, and a notification popped up.
"[Huaxia Industrial Bank] July 1, 2014, 8:30 AM. A deposit of 3.00 Huaxia Coin has been made to your account ending in 416. Current balance: 25,335.00 Huaxia Coin."
This was the bank card Wu Yun used for daily expenses; his other funds were all in fixed-term deposits.
"System, is the source of these funds safe?"
"Rest assured, Host. All funds you withdraw are your own legal, post-tax income. There is no risk of the account being frozen."
Wu Yun leaped up from the bed in excitement, pumping his fist in the air. Being reborn was already a blessing from Lady Luck, let alone also getting this Tycoon System.
'I'm practically a VIP player who paid to win at birth!'
Even if the Tycoon System had no other functions, the basic reward alone, gradually increasing with levels, would be enough to keep Wu Yun comfortable for life.
He pushed open the door to his grandparents' bedroom. It was a little dim inside.
Wu Yun looked at the old double bed and the two memorial portraits hanging on the wall, and couldn't help but murmur, "Grandpa, Grandma! Thank you for watching over me!"
After tidying up the room a bit, Wu Yun closed his grandparents' door.
Wu Yun suddenly felt a pang of hunger and realized he hadn't eaten breakfast yet.
'Time to splurge!' Wu Yun decided to go out for breakfast. Ever since his grandparents passed away, he had been very frugal, always cooking for himself and never eating out.
He quickly washed his face in the bathroom, his heart still buzzing with excitement as he slipped on his flip-flops and opened the door. The joy on his face was impossible to hide—and why should he? Something this good was meant to be celebrated.
Humming a tune, Wu Yun leisurely made his way downstairs, and soon, he was out of the building's main entrance, having come from the third floor.
This old residential community had been built in the '90s; Wu Yun had been living here for as long as he could remember. The surrounding amenities were decent, with a newly built plaza and residential buildings nearby. Aside from the community itself being a bit old, everything else was fine, which was why the house had been sellable before his rebirth.
Leaving the community, Wu Yun navigated with ease to a familiar fast-food noodle shop and ordered at the counter, "Give me a large bowl of the signature beef noodles, and add two fried eggs!~"