Parallel World, Haicheng.
In a rented apartment, Su Yang lay sprawled on the cramped living-room sofa, unshaven, with his eyes closed as he rested.
That morning, he had just resigned from the advertising company where he had worked for two years.
He was twenty-four years old. He had entered an ordinary second-tier university in Haicheng after being admitted from a small city.
After graduating from college, he joined an ordinary advertising company in Haicheng.
And there he stayed for two years, working countless amounts of overtime.
The energetic, sunny, handsome young man he had once been had completely turned into a dull-eyed corporate drudge.
Every day, he traveled the same two routes and repeated the same things endlessly.
He had not originally planned to resign. After all, the overall job market was poor, and his own technical skills were nothing exceptional. Finding a similar job again would not be easy.
However, a month of insane overtime had left him physically and mentally exhausted.
For a property project he was responsible for, the model apartment had opened. For an entire month, he had worked from nine in the morning until three or four in the morning every day, including weekends.
After finally making it through that period, he had thought he could relax for a while. But his boss told him the project was about to officially launch.
Su Yang had submitted his resignation on the spot without even thinking. If opening a model apartment had kept him that busy, the launch would probably work him to death.
Between money and his life, he had chosen the latter without hesitation.
He was only twenty-four, after all. There was no need to throw his life away for a monthly salary of six thousand yuan.
After resigning and returning home, he began frantically sending out résumés. He had just sent dozens of them and was now lying tiredly on the sofa with his eyes closed.
Su Yang narrowed his eyes and took out a cigarette, holding it between his lips.
Just as his mind had gone blank, a mechanical voice rang out in his head.
Ding! Suitable candidate detected. The Enjoy Life System is beginning the binding process.
The hand that was about to light the cigarette suddenly trembled, and Su Yang abruptly sat up.
What was that sound?
System binding in progress... Binding successful.
Host: Su Yang Age: 24 Height: 180 cm Weight: 73 kg Looks: 84 Physique: 65 (Ordinary people: 60–70) Figure: 70 Charm: 70 Skills: None Bound Target: None Balance: 6,566 yuan
This system has no overly complicated functions. Its main purpose is to let you enjoy life.
The system rules are as follows.
One: The host only needs to do more things that let him enjoy life to receive random system rewards.
Two: The system possesses a basic information-scanning function and can scan anyone. After scanning, it can display the target's basic information and favorability. Note: Favorability is only effective for women with a looks score above 85.
The host may unilaterally bind women with a looks score above 85. After binding, every twenty-point increase in the target's favorability toward the host will grant the host an additional reward.
Three: The host may check in once every day. Each check-in rewards him with fifty thousand yuan. The first check-in grants an abundant first-check-in reward.
System introduction complete.
After listening to the system's long speech, Su Yang was completely dumbfounded.
Naturally, he knew what a system was. After all, he was something of a veteran webnovel reader and had been reading online novels since high school.
But he had only indulged in fantasies about such things while reading novels. He had never imagined that he would actually possess one.
At first, he thought he was hallucinating. However, the system's voice continued for a full minute.
Su Yang's bewildered expression gradually turned to shock, then excitement.
He tried calling out in his mind.
System?
Present.
Holy crap! This is for real?!
I have a system?
He swallowed hard and rose to his feet in disbelief.
For a moment, he was at a loss. He struggled to calm his excited heart.
The system's introduction still echoed in his mind.
Su Yang took a deep breath. To verify whether the system was real, he immediately called out in his mind.
System, can I check in now?
You may check in once every day.
Then I'll check in!
Ding! Congratulations, Host, on successfully completing your first check-in. Rewards: 10 million yuan in cash, one Porsche 911 Turbos, and the skill Body Management Master.
The cash has been transferred to the host's only bank card. The source of the funds is safe, legal, and compliant. The host may use it without worry. The vehicle has been parked beneath the host's residence. Its documents and registration are complete, and it may be driven safely.
Body Management Master skill introduction: This skill only shapes the body. It can bring the host's figure to a perfect state, but it cannot enhance the functions of his bodily organs.
As the system's voice faded, Su Yang had not even had time to celebrate when his entire body suddenly trembled violently. A dizzying sensation of the world spinning struck him.
Just as he was about to fall, he quickly reached out and grabbed the table beside him.
Five or six seconds later, the dizziness disappeared.
Su Yang regained consciousness and muttered, "Fuck, what happened? It felt like I almost died!"
As he spoke, he was looking down, and the changes in his hands immediately entered his view.
Su Yang raised his hands and examined them carefully. They were nearly a circle thicker than before, and he could clearly feel that his clothes had become tight.
Thinking of something, he dashed into the bathroom.
Standing before the mirror, Su Yang wore a blank expression.
The contours of his face had become much more defined than before, and his features were more sculpted.
His eyes were deep, his nose tall and straight, and even his skin had become extremely smooth. The acne marks, blackheads, and other blemishes on his face had all vanished.
He had already been fairly good-looking, but now he looked even more handsome, as if his appearance had been retouched in Photoshop.
Most importantly, there was his body. Su Yang stared at his powerfully built reflection in shock.
"Holy shit! This—this—this!"
As he spoke, he yanked off his T-shirt, revealing a perfect physique before his eyes.
It was a body comparable to that of a top athlete. His chest muscles were firm and perfectly shaped, and six-pack abs protruded prominently.
The muscle lines on his arms were also clearly defined. His entire body looked extremely well-proportioned rather than bulky like a bodybuilder's.
His weight had not changed much. The excess fat had simply been transformed into muscle, as though he had developed it through years of training.
This was exactly what people meant by looking muscular undressed but slim when clothed.
"This... fucking... is me?"
Su Yang stared at his reflection in the mirror, confused and shocked, at a loss for what to do.
He had previously been an entirely ordinary-looking person, without even the slightest hint of muscle definition.
Yet in an instant, he had become someone who looked like a seasoned fitness enthusiast with at least five or six years of training.
He raised his hand and felt his body. The muscles felt completely real beneath his touch.
"Awesome. Even a professional athlete probably isn't much better than this, right? If I went swimming with this body, wouldn't all those young ladies fall head over heels?"
"System, oh system, can I call you Dad?"
After admiring himself in the mirror for a full two minutes, Su Yang finally returned to the living room, still reluctant to leave.
The enormous change to his body had completely convinced him that the system was real.
Back in the living room, a black Porsche car key that had appeared on the table at some point caught his eye.
He slapped his forehead. Only then did he remember that he had also just received 10 million yuan and a Porsche 911 Turbos with an on-the-road price of three million yuan.
The Porsche 911 Turbos had always been one of his dream cars.
A flat-six engine, 650 horsepower, 800 newton-meters of torque, and zero to one hundred kilometers per hour in 2.7 seconds.
Once this car hit the road, he could basically boast that it could leave 99 percent of other cars in the dust.
It was also one of the fastest internal-combustion cars currently available in China for under 10 million yuan, excluding electric and hybrid vehicles.
Naked, Su Yang snatched up the car key and examined it.
"Holy crap, it's a real key, not a lighter!"
"This first-check-in reward is way too awesome! It starts with a Turbos!"
"Right, there's also the money. Ten million! Holy shit, where's my phone? Where's my phone?"
As he spoke, he quickly found the phone on the sofa. The moment he unlocked it, he saw an unread text message.
He opened it and saw that a company called Haofang Assets had transferred an unspecified amount of yuan to his Chinese bank account ending in 6686. The balance displayed: an unspecified amount of yuan.
"Hiss!!!"
"Units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten... million!!"
Su Yang stared at the phone screen and counted several times. The more he counted, the more exaggerated his expression became.
This was 10 million yuan. If it had been before, with his six-thousand-yuan salary, he would have needed more than a hundred years to earn that much even without eating or drinking.
By then, the grass on his grave would have grown tall enough to cover it.
To the vast majority of ordinary people, 10 million yuan was an unreachable figure. Unless something unexpected happened, it would be difficult to earn that much in a lifetime.
Su Yang stared motionlessly at the phone, swallowed, and still felt uneasy. He opened his banking app to check.
The balance shown in the app was also an unspecified amount of yuan.
At that moment, he was nearly driven completely mad. He wanted to let out a roar to express his feelings, but then remembered how poor the soundproofing was in this old building and forcibly held it back.
The hand holding his phone began to tremble uncontrollably. He was so excited that his face flushed red.
After several minutes, his excited heart and trembling hand gradually calmed down.
He slowly rose to his feet and clenched both fists. "Heaven has finally opened its eyes! I, Su Yang... have finally turned my life around!"
Just then, his phone rang.
Su Yang picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number.
After swiping to answer, he heard a man's voice on the other end.
"Hello, may I ask if this is Mr. Su Yang?"
"Yes, that's me. Who is this?"
"This is Haicheng Juyuan Advertising Company. I saw the résumé you submitted to our company on Boss Zhipin. May I ask when it would be convenient for you to come in for an interview?"
Hearing this, Su Yang remembered that he had submitted dozens of résumés earlier.
Unfortunately, he was no longer the same person he had been a few minutes ago. What was a job? He would never work again in this lifetime. Not even a little.
"Sorry, I accidentally pressed it just now. That's all. Goodbye!"
After saying that, he decisively hung up.
Ten minutes earlier, he had been muddleheaded every day and lost about the future, submitting résumés to dozens of companies just to find a job.
If he had not obtained the system, he would definitely have rushed over for the interview the moment that call came in.
If he passed, he would have to work tirelessly every day like a corporate drudge.
But now, it was as if he had been reborn. He no longer needed to do anything he was unwilling to do.
Looking at the clear sky outside the window, Su Yang remembered how many times he had sat before the small living-room window and looked toward the future. Seeing it now, he felt as though a light boat had already passed beyond ten thousand mountains.
Although he had not achieved any of this through his own efforts, that was not important.
Wasn't being chosen by the system a skill in itself?
Knock, knock, knock—
Just as Su Yang was still immersed in that wonderful sensation, a sudden knock came from outside the door.
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