The rain pelted down in bitter sheets, slicing through the neon glow of a city that never slept. Amid the chaos of screeching hover-cars, flickering billboards, and rusted alleyways, a man in his late twenties staggered to his knees, drenched and trembling.
Jason Yue.
Once the heir of Yue Conglomerate—the most powerful financial empire in the Eastern Federation—he was now nothing but a discarded ghost. The once-elite young master now wore a tattered suit, soaked with grime and betrayal.
Blood trickled down the side of his face.
He stared at the holo-message projected above his trembling wristband. It replayed again, over and over.
"Jason Yue has been officially expelled from Yue Conglomerate. His assets have been seized under Protocol 17. Charges of corporate fraud are under investigation."
He didn't respond. He couldn't.
The world around him blurred. Not from the rain, but from the final punch life delivered.
His younger half-brother, Nathan Yue, the golden boy who once called him "gege," had orchestrated everything—the betrayal, the setup, the ruin.
"I built everything!" Jason whispered hoarsely, pounding his fists on the wet concrete. "The partnerships… the markets… the fusion-tech expansion... I bled for this empire!"
The only response he got was a puddle rippling with rain and rats.
His mind spiraled. He thought about Elena, the woman he'd loved—now Nathan's fiancée. He thought of the friends who vanished, the family that turned on him. Of his mother's grave, long abandoned by the Yue clan.
Lightning flashed.
He looked up to see a black hover-limo zip past the alley entrance. Behind its tinted windows, Jason glimpsed the silhouette of Nathan, sipping champagne.
Mocking.
A red notification blinked on his wristband.
Credit balance: 0.00. Outstanding debts: 4.28 million Yuanic.
Jason staggered to his feet, leaning on the graffiti-stained wall. "Is this... it?"
As if answering him, the world shifted.
A soundless ripple vibrated through the alley. The rain froze mid-air. Time itself halted.
Then came the voice—mechanical, ancient, and yet intimately familiar.
"Initializing Rebirth Protocol. Host recognized: Jason Yue. Identity matched: [Candidate ID #0x0001—The Failed Son]."
Jason gasped. "W-What the hell?"
"Welcome to the Multiversal Billionaire System. Recompilation of your life... initializing."
A searing pain engulfed his head. Not physical, but metaphysical—as if someone was injecting code directly into his soul.
"Host has died in 129 parallel timelines. Host has been betrayed in 64. Host has never succeeded in a single iteration."
Jason collapsed, screaming silently in a frozen world.
"Initializing Quantum Rebirth. Timeline anchor locked: Earth-M99. Host's consciousness will be transferred to starting point: Day of First Betrayal."
His vision flickered.
"Would you like to activate your Starting Bonus?"
Jason choked on his breath. "What… kind of bonus?"
"Choice 1: Supreme Banking Algorithm—Manipulate markets across timelines."
"Choice 2: Billionaire Item Shop—Purchase any object, tech, or weapon across infinite worlds."
"Choice 3: System Evolution Core—Grow your System into a sentient AI god."
He blinked. "I get to choose?"
"Choose wisely. Once chosen, cannot be reversed."
Jason paused.
If this was real—if this wasn't just the final flicker of a dying mind—then he couldn't afford to think small. This wasn't just about revenge anymore. This was about rewriting fate. If he could evolve the System… he could go beyond riches.
"I choose... System Evolution Core."
"Confirmed."
"Downloading Evolution Core... Level 0 Unlocked. Awakening hidden protocols. Good luck, Jason Yue."
The voice faded. Time snapped back.
The rain crashed down.
But Jason was gone.
He awoke in a silk bed.
Warm sunlight streamed through the ceiling-high windows of a luxury penthouse overlooking Quantum Bay. His room—his room—was exactly as he remembered it four years ago.
The same jade bonsai on the desk. The same AR holo-pad blinking with morning alerts. The same photo of his mother smiling beside a young Jason.
He sat up, heart hammering.
"I'm… back?"
He reached for the mirror.
Staring back at him was a younger version—clean, sharp-jawed, eyes still filled with hope and hunger.
A prompt blinked in his mind:
[System Evolution Core - Level 0]
Status: Dormant
Tasks Available: 3
Timeline Anchor: Earth-M99
Countdown to Betrayal: 48 hours.
Jason sucked in a breath.
He had two days before Nathan would stab him in the back, before Elena's betrayal, before everything fell apart.
But this time, he had a system.
"System," he whispered. "Show me Tasks."
[Daily Task: Earn your first 10,000 credits within 24 hours.]
Reward: Skill Card – Memory Dive (access past-life knowledge).
[Side Task: Visit Yue Conglomerate Tower and confront CFO Lin.]
Reward: Hidden Memory Fragment.
[Evolution Task: Discover System Terminal Location.]
Reward: Unlock System AI Core.
Jason grinned. This was no hallucination.
This was war.
He dressed quickly, choosing a tailored suit—navy blue, power-woven with synth-fiber. He checked the mirror, adjusted the tie.
But as he reached for the door, his phone buzzed.
A message.
Elena: "Hey babe, lunch today? My treat. Love you 💖"
Jason stared at it for a long moment.
Not today, snake.
He smirked and stepped into the elevator.
As the floors ticked down, Jason Yue—the loser of countless lives—looked into the glass wall and met his own eyes.
"I'm not here to play nice," he murmured.
The System pulsed.
And the game began.