"We regret to inform you that your company's assets have been seized. You are under investigation for fraud, embezzlement, and"
The voice blurred into static as Kai Zheng stared out the shattered window of his top-floor office. Once the CEO of TitanCore Holdings, the man everyone called the Young Overlord of Finance, he now sat like a ghost among broken glass and ruined dreams.
Rain battered the skyscraper windows. Sirens wailed in the distance. Red and blue lights painted the marble floors with shame.
They took everything.
His company. His reputation. His money.
But worst of all
"She gave the evidence herself, Kai. We're just following protocol," said the suited investigator, placing a folder on the table.
Kai didn't look at it. He didn't need to.
Inside were photos.
Screenshots.
Recordings.
All handed over by her.
Li Na.
The woman he saved from the slums. The woman he made his secretary, his partner, his lover.
The woman he planned to propose to.
He chuckled. Not bitterly just emptily.
The same woman now stood outside the building, wrapped in another man's arms. His cousin, Damien, the true mastermind behind the fall.
"Kai Zheng was always just a pawn. A puppet with a pretty face. He didn't deserve any of it."
Damien's voice echoed from the media screens as they broadcast the news.
Kai staggered back, blood trickling from his lip. A metallic taste mixed with humiliation and rage.
They used him. Discarded him.
And now, they would own the empire he built with his own hands.
He reached into his drawer, feeling the cold barrel of the pistol he kept for "emergencies."
This is it, huh?
No revenge. No second chance. Just a ruined name, a shattered heart, and the last headline of a disgraced billionaire.
He closed his eyes.
And pulled the trigger.
[SYSTEM BOOTING…]
[Detected: High emotional trauma + unjust fate]
[Initiating Temporal Protocol: "Overlord Restart"]
[Rewinding timeline… Year: 2015… Location: East Lin City, District 9]
[Welcome, Kai Zheng. Do you wish to rewrite your future?]
---
Chapter 1 – Rebooted
"Kai! Wake up! You'll be late for your shift at the delivery center!"
He gasped, sitting up in a cramped bed. Sweat clung to his skin.
The smell of instant noodles.
A ceiling fan creaking above him.
The cheap apartment he'd lived in ten years ago.
He shot up, rushing to the cracked mirror on the wall.
No beard. No suit. No scar. Just… him.
Twenty-year-old Kai Zheng. Poor. Unknown. Forgotten.
Then came the voice again. Calm. Mechanical.
[System activated.]
[Welcome to the Billionaire System, Host: Kai Zheng.]
[Objective: Build your empire. Crush your enemies. Reclaim your throne.]
[Rewards are given for manipulation, acquisition, and domination.]
Kai stared at the screen that hovered in front of his vision visible only to him.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
They thought they buried him.
They didn't know he was a seed.
---
The First Move
Kai Zheng sat in the small apartment, the flickering lightbulb above him humming like a countdown to war. He hadn't moved for ten minutes. He was still staring at the translucent blue screen hovering before him.
[System Directive: Dominate the financial world before your enemies rise again.]
[Tutorial Quest Activated: Invest in a High-Growth Target Before Anyone Else.]
Reward: Future Market Analysis Skill + 10,000 Credit Points
High-growth target…
His eyes narrowed. He knew exactly where to begin.
In this year 2015 a garage startup called GenIQ Technologies was about to release a primitive version of a machine-learning chip that would later be used by every major corporation across the globe. They'd be bought out for pennies… only to skyrocket a year later.
And the owner?
A weak-willed genius named Toby Ren, who would eventually commit suicide after corporate theft and betrayal courtesy of Damien.
Not this time.
Kai dug into the drawer of his old desk and pulled out a crumpled business card his own, from his failed freelance days. Useless before. A weapon now.
He reached for his beat-up phone and searched Toby's old email address. It still existed.
[To: toby.ren@geniqmail.com]
Subject: Private Investor Interested in Seed Funding
I have an offer. Meet me at Red Brick Café, 10 a.m. tomorrow. Bring your prototype.
Click. Sent.
The system chimed.
[New Objective: Secure Exclusive Rights to GenIQ Tech – Reward: Passive Income Multiplier Skill Unlocked]
The Next Day — Red Brick Café
Toby arrived right on time, nervous, clutching a dusty backpack to his chest like it held treasure. Which, in a way, it did.
"Are… are you the investor?" he asked, looking around as if expecting a scam.
Kai smiled, dressed in a borrowed suit that barely fit. Confidence was the real currency.
"I'm Kai Zheng. I'm here to change your life."
Toby blinked.
"I have… I have competitors, you know. Others have approached me, but"
"No, they haven't," Kai said sharply. "You're not even on their radar yet. But in six months, you'll be on the front page of every tech journal. And then they'll come. But by then, your patent will already be stolen and your name forgotten."
Toby froze. "How do you know that?"
Kai leaned forward, eyes cold.
"Because I've seen the future, Toby. And I'm offering to rewrite yours."
He placed a single check on the table.
¥500,000. Nearly all of Kai's starting capital from system rewards and scraped-together savings.
"Exclusive rights. 15% of future profits. You remain CEO."
Toby gawked. "Why… why would you offer this much?"
"Because I don't bet. I invest. And I never lose."
The system chimed softly again.
[Quest Complete: Future Investment Secured]
Reward: Market Insight Skill (Lv.1) Unlocked
Skill Description: Gain glimpses of upcoming shifts in tech, stock, crypto, and real estate trends.]
Kai's smile widened.
The empire starts now.