Personal Customization

Chapter 1: Personal Customization

He sat down on a park bench by the river.

Jiang Hao took off his suit jacket, folded it neatly, and placed it on his briefcase to avoid getting it dirty. He loosened his tie and felt a lot more relaxed.

He twisted open his water bottle and took a gulp. Then, he opened his bread bag and ate, bite by bite, while watching the river flow slowly before him.

On a nearby bench, a young couple was sweetly embracing, chatting about which restaurant they would go to for dinner.

Jiang Hao felt a pang of envy. Ever since he left campus, love had also left him. Dating was a luxury for him now.

"Ding ding ding ding, ding ding."

His phone rang. Jiang Hao picked it up and saw it was his landlady, Aunt Cheng. He paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and pressed the answer button, saying with a smile, "Hello~~, Aunt Cheng, how are you?"

"Xiao Jiang, you must be on your lunch break. I have something to tell you," Aunt Cheng said politely.

"Oh, please go ahead."

"Your rent is due in half a month. I'll be coming by in a few days to collect it all at once. I'm calling to remind you," Aunt Cheng said kindly.

"Okay, I understand," Jiang Hao replied with a smile.

"Alright then, that's all. I'll hang up now." Aunt Cheng hung up the phone.

Jiang Hao let out a sigh of relief after hanging up. The smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by a hint of worry. Just two days ago, he had sent 3,000 yuan home. His father needed money for medical treatment, his family needed money for living expenses, and his younger siblings needed money for school. Now, he only had 800 yuan left for living expenses in his account.

He lived in a shared apartment, with only a single room of about ten square meters. The rent was 1,100 yuan per month, and it was paid quarterly, totaling 3,300 yuan. He couldn't afford this amount right now.

Did he have to move?

He finished the last bite of bread, which concluded his lunch. Just then, his phone rang again. Jiang Hao picked it up and saw it was his colleague, Xiao Yu, a young girl with glasses from the office.

"Xiao Yu, why are you calling me now?"

"Brother Jiang, are you out running errands?" Xiao Yu asked.

"Yes, what's up?"

Xiao Yu lowered her voice and said, "I have something to tell you, so you can be prepared. The manager just announced in the office that we'll be having a business review in a couple of days. The bottom three performers this month will be let go. Be careful."

Jiang Hao's expression flickered slightly. Had the day finally come? Xiao Yu on the other end of the line could sense Jiang Hao's low spirits. "Brother Jiang, I'll hang up now."

After hanging up, Jiang Hao pursed his lips, a wry smile appearing on his face. "It looks like I not only have to find a new place to live, but also a new job."

The employment pressure for university graduates nowadays was unimaginable. Jiang Hao had graduated with an economics major from an ordinary second-tier university. His classmates, those with connections, had entered banks or state-owned enterprises. Those with influential parents returned home to become bosses. As for him, with nothing, he could only grit his teeth and forge his own path in society.

He couldn't blame anyone else. It was his own fault for not studying harder back then and not getting into top universities like Tsinghua, Peking University, or even the 985 or 211 projects.

He was currently working as a salesman at an insurance company, commonly known as an insurance peddler. These companies hired the most people each year, but also eliminated them the fastest. He had initially thought that as long as he worked hard, he would surely achieve something.

Jiang Hao came from a rural village. He wasn't afraid of hardship or hard work, but reality had shown him that it wasn't that simple at all.

Insurance companies recruited a large number of salespeople every year, primarily to tap into the resources of these newcomers. They would train and brainwash them, paint a beautiful picture, and then encourage them to sell insurance to their relatives and friends.

Jiang Hao's family was in the countryside, and he had no connections in the city. He had no relatives or friends to sell to. Besides, even if he did, he didn't want to cheat his relatives and friends out of their money. He could only brace himself and try to develop new clients.

But developing new clients wasn't that easy. As soon as people heard he was selling insurance, their expressions would change immediately. Those with good attitudes would say they were busy, while those with bad attitudes would even call security to throw him out.

Now, it seemed even this job was not secure.

One year after graduation, he had truly achieved nothing!

The couple opposite them stood up, apparently having decided where to eat. They left hand in hand, their faces full of sweetness.

"Sigh, I can't even support myself, let alone dream of love."

He placed his hands on the back of the chair and closed his eyes, intending to rest for a few minutes. He murmured, "The weather is clear, the sun shines upon me. May heaven bless me. I hope to have some success this afternoon."

As Jiang Hao closed his eyes to rest, he was unaware that a beam of light, invisible to the naked eye, was passing through the spatial barrier, traversing the endless void of the universe, and penetrating the Earth's atmosphere.

"Arrived at Eighth Universe Space, located a suitable planet, commencing information collection."

"Information collection complete, searching for Collector."

"Suitable Collector found, commencing Collection System installation."

"Ding, Collection System installation complete. Do you accept this system and become a system Collector?"

In a daze, Jiang Hao felt a voice ring out in his mind. He jolted awake. "Who's talking to me!"

He opened his eyes and looked around, but saw no one. What was going on? I clearly heard someone speaking in my ear.

"Who is it!"

But after shouting for a long time, no one answered. Jiang Hao was confused and muttered to himself, "I clearly heard something about a Collector and a system. Could I be hallucinating from being half-asleep?"

But the moment he uttered the word "system," a transparent light screen suddenly appeared before Jiang Hao's eyes. Jiang Hao froze, his eyes widening in shock. "What is this?"

He looked around. There was no one nearby, yet the light screen moved with his gaze, never leaving him.

Jiang Hao was, after all, a young man and usually quite brave. He took a deep breath, preparing to see what this thing was.

As his eyes focused on the light screen, a surge of information poured into Jiang Hao's brain. After a while, Jiang Hao understood this so-called "Collection System."

This system came from another, higher-dimensional universe, known as the Second Universe World. The civilization in that universe had developed to an extremely high level, with technological capabilities beyond human imagination. They were now dedicated to the pursuit of spiritual realms and cultivated through experiencing different sensations to reach higher levels.

Even immortality!

The Second Universe civilization launched this system into countless planes. It uses this system to collect different substances and experiences from various planes. Jiang Hao was fortunate enough to become Earth's Collector in the Eighth Universe Space.

If he agreed, he would be Earth's sole Collector.

This system could be seen as a trading platform. After traversing space to reach Earth, the system gathered information about Earth, selected Earth's movie worlds as its resource bodies, and sent Earth's movies back to the Second Universe. If anyone watched these movies and wanted to purchase movie merchandise, they could place an order on this platform.

What Jiang Hao had to do was enter the movie worlds and help customers collect 'items' or 'experiences.' Once collected, the goods would be automatically sent to the customers. As the Collector, he would receive corresponding rewards after completing his tasks.

Jiang Hao was shocked. Was he about to become a delivery guy, or a cosmic version of one?

However, Jiang Hao felt it was more like a 'Personal Customization' service.