When Yang Xu opened his eyes again, all he saw was an ancient wooden ceiling above him, patched with signs of age and weathering. The scent of aged wood mixed with faint herbal medicine wafted through the room.
"Eh? Where... Where am I?"
His voice was thin and raspy, much higher-pitched than he remembered. He sat up abruptly, only to see a pair of small, chubby hands in front of him. His gaze followed the lines of his body he was short, lean, and... ten years old?!
Just yesterday no, the same day he had been working on debugging a quantum loop code for a revolutionary super quantum computing module. Thirty-seven hours of continuous work, no sleep, no food until his head dropped onto the keyboard and everything went black.
Death by overwork. So very... Chinese.
But this? This was not heaven or hell. This looked like something straight out of a costume drama.
The door creaked open, revealing an old man in hemp clothes and a gentle beard. "Young Master! You've awakened?!"
"Who are you?" Yang Xu asked warily, scanning his surroundings for anything familiar. His PhD-trained brain was already running hypothesis simulations.
"I'm Old Zhang, the steward of the Yang household. You fainted from a fever yesterday. The physician said it was dangerous."
Old Zhang's voice trembled, but Yang Xu caught a subtle tone of sincere concern.
Yang Xu pressed his temples. "Okay... Yang household... I'm Yang Xu here too?"
He barely had time to think before a loud ding! rang in his head.
> [Urban Infrastructure and Technology System activated.]
> [Novice Protection Period: 10 years.]
> [Your territory is now hidden from all outsiders. No one can enter or exit without your permission.]
> [Main Objective: Build an urban technological utopia.]
> [Rewards: Technology Packs, Talent Recruitment, Immortality for direct descendants, and more.]
Yang Xu's eyes widened.
"Holy mother of Laozi... I really transmigrated, and I got a cheat? A system?!" He laughed like a madman for a second before quickly coughing, realizing he was still weak. "Wait, this isn't a novel. This is real!"
He glanced at the interface floating in front of him. Clear, futuristic UI design with familiar UX layouts.
> [Current Year: Second Year of Wude, Tang Dynasty]
> [Location: Xiangyang County, 50 miles from Chang'an]
> [System Booted: Awaiting User Directive]
His mind spun. The Wude era? Li Yuan had just established the Tang Dynasty. That means Li Shimin—later Emperor Taizong—was still a young tiger... which meant all the chaotic events of early Tang, including the Xuanwu Gate Incident, were still to come.
And here he was, an "innocent" ten-year-old noble's son with a powerful infrastructure system hidden in a remote county.
"I died once, and now I'm back in history. Heaven wants me to turn a muddy village into a modern city? Sounds fun... and dangerous."
He called up the system again.
> [Personal Data]
> Name: Yang Xu
> Age: 10
> Background: Son of a small village noble (cover identity)
> True Identity: Hidden son of Yang Guang (Emperor Yang of Sui), former PhD holder in Engineering and Political Administration
> Status: Protected for 10 years
> Authority Level: County Lord (Inherited)
> [Starter Package Available. Open?]
"Open it," Yang Xu said without hesitation.
Ding!
> Congratulations! You've received:
> - Basic Blueprint Pack: Sanitation System, Public Well, Grain Storage Facility
> - Talent Voucher x2 (Allows recruitment of 2 random talents)
> - Modern Education Outline (Basic Level)
> - Happiness Tracker unlocked
> - 50 System Coins
Yang Xu's fingers itched. He wanted to start building right now.
But... his ten-year-old body said otherwise. It demanded congee and maybe some meat buns.
"Old Zhang," he said with a smile as wide as the Yangtze River. "Prepare the fastest scribe and tell the town elders to gather tomorrow. Your young master is going to change the destiny of this land!"
Old Zhang blinked. "Eh?"