Chapter 1: A Step Into the Past
"Bai Feng, wake up!"
"Hey, Bai Feng! Wake up! The sun is already hitting your backside!"
As he heard a voice persistently shaking him awake, Bai Feng finally roused from where he had been sleeping face-down on a desk. With groggy, half-closed eyes, he muttered, "What happened? Where am I?"
Looking around, Bai Feng realized he was surrounded by piles of paperwork and had fallen asleep in front of a computer. Dazed, he stared at his own two hands and whispered, "This... how is this possible?"
"I was just fighting in the final Great Cataclysm... How did I end up here?"
Bai Feng murmured to himself, still unable to comprehend the situation. Just then, he felt a hand patting his shoulder.
"Hey, Bai Feng! What are you mumbling about? It's broad daylight! Come on, let's go grab some breakfast. We have to start work soon. Don't go complaining later that you're starving, alright?"
At that moment, Bai Feng's mind seemed to grind to a halt. The surrounding noise and reality felt as if they had vanished.
'Am I... back at my workplace from five years ago?'
Five years ago...
It had been so long. This was the period just one month before the launch of Demon God World. It was the most difficult time of Bai Feng's life. For the thirty-year-old Bai Feng, it felt like an eternity since he had entered the workforce with a simple degree. But everything was about to change next month. A game called God and Demon World would emerge—a game played with a neural-link helmet that directly connected to the brain. After just two months, the global gaming market would undergo a massive transformation. The currency value within every VR game would stabilize at a direct 1:1 ratio with real-world currency. Previously, the global gaming market was valued at less than ten billion, but from the moment that game launched, its market value surged at an incredible pace.
Eventually, the gaming market reached a terrifying seventeen trillion—a 170-fold increase. How frightening was a 170-fold jump? That was a value achieved in just two months. Furthermore, the secrets hidden behind that game were even more terrifying.
Seeing Bai Feng lost in thought while staring at his hands, the person beside him patted his shoulder again.
"Bai Feng! Bai Feng! What's wrong with you? Let's go!"
"Alright... alright."
Bai Feng replied, stood up abruptly, and followed his friend toward the office exit. Although he was around thirty, Bai Feng looked like a young man, dressed fully in a Western suit with a handsome face. With a slight dark purple highlight in his front hair, he had the look of a man who was popular with the ladies. The man beside him was his childhood friend, Zhu Guo Han.
Zhu Guo Han was on the chubbier side, but his face wasn't bad-looking. They had been working together for nearly five years. Zhu Guo Han had become the head of the accounting team, while Bai Feng was the assistant head. Their salaries weren't bad either; those in the accounting department earned well. Even a regular accountant could earn ten thousand a month. As supervisors, Zhu Guo Han and Bai Feng earned twenty thousand and eighteen thousand respectively.
As he walked, Bai Feng thought to himself: 'I can't waste time here anymore. Now that I know I've returned to the past, I must start preparing for next month.'
In his previous life, Bai Feng had been just an ordinary player when he first started Demon God World. He wasn't superior to anyone. However, through his patience and steady gameplay, he gained some fame as a stable Heroic Cultivator among the masses after two years. After four years of playing, he reached the Soul Splitting Stage and managed to push his Cloud Sword Spirit Sect to the rank of a high-tier power in the gaming world. But something happened that neither the players nor the people in the real world expected, just as Bai Feng had broken through to a new level.
While lost in thought, the two arrived in front of a restaurant. Zhu Guo Han found an empty table and led Bai Feng to sit. A waiter soon arrived.
"What would you like to order, gentlemen?"
"Give us one serving of Sweet and Sour Pork, one Beef Stew, one Fried Ribs, and two bowls of white rice."
"Certainly."
After the waiter left, Zhu Guo Han looked at Bai Feng. "Bai Feng, what is up with you today? You don't seem like yourself at all."
"It's nothing. I was just tired from the past few days and got a bit lost in thought," Bai Feng replied, shaking his head.
Zhu Guo Han leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed. "Well, if it's nothing, then fine. By the way, how is your project coming along? Everything okay?"
"It's fine. I think I finished it last night."
"Good."
After some back-and-forth conversation, Bai Feng seemed to adjust back to reality. He tapped his fingers on the table and spoke up.
"By the way... Zhu Guo Han, do you want to try becoming rich?"
"Huh? What did you say?"
"I asked if you want to try becoming rich."
"Bai Feng, are you being serious? Don't mess with me. In these tough times, who wouldn't want to be rich?"
Bai Feng stared intensely at Zhu Guo Han and said, "I'm serious. Do you want to be rich? I'm saying this because I can actually make it happen."
Zhu Guo Han's eyes narrowed with interest. "Are you for real, Bai Feng? I'm interested. What are we going to do?"
"Do you trust me, Zhu Guo Han?"
"Yeah. Right now, the only people I trust most in my life are my mother, my sister, and you. If I don't trust you guys, who am I supposed to trust?"
"Alright then. I'm going to buy some shares within the next few days. Are you going to join me? I can't tell you the details yet, but I guarantee you'll be thanking me when the results come out."
"Bai Feng, is this a sure thing? I'm not afraid of spending money, but giving it away like this feels a bit strange."
Bai Feng raised an eyebrow. "So, are you in or not? Just don't come crying to me once I'm rich."
Zhu Guo Han gritted his teeth and asked, "Fine. How much do you need?"
"I want all of your savings. But don't worry—if we don't see a profit within the next three months, I'll sell my house to pay you back. How's that?"
Without asking any more questions, Zhu Guo Han nodded. "Fine. I trust you. This is all the savings I have for now..."
[To be continued...]