Wills and a Golden Finger

(The race begins in Chapter 11. The earlier chapters are all about buying horses and background information, so feel free to skip ahead if you're not interested.)

Jianzhou Ranch was located on the outskirts of Mindu, about an hour and a half away by car.

Zhang Jun sat in the car, gazing out at the scenery, unable to stop himself from thinking of those bleak days after his father's death.

June 10 was when Zhang Jun had just finished the college entrance examinations. He had only enjoyed a few days of freedom from the oppressive life of high school before his father, Zhang An, died of cancer. Zhang Jun had been devastated. Even the funeral had only been completed with the help of his father's two childhood friends, Luo Fei and Liu Yong.

After his father's death, Zhang Jun, who had grown up in a single-parent household and been raised by his father since childhood, felt as if the sky had fallen. He drifted through each day in a daze and had even thought of following his father into death.

But before his father died, he held Zhang Jun's hand and told him to live well. In the end, Zhang Jun did not choose that path.

After the seven-day vigil and the funeral, Zhang Jun shut himself in his room. His two uncles, Luo Fei and Liu Yong, came to see him.

Only then did Zhang Jun learn from them that Zhang An had known about his cancer long ago. Afraid that Zhang Jun would be unable to handle the businesses in his hands after his death, Zhang An had contacted the two men early on and asked them to help dispose of the businesses, convert them into shares, and hand them over to Zhang Jun.

Zhang An had also left Zhang Jun a will in the form of a voice recorder. There were four copies: one at home, one filed with the court, and one each held by Luo Fei and Liu Yong.

Back then, hearing that familiar voice from the recorder, Zhang Jun burst into tears.

In the will, his father said that a person died three times. The first was the death of life: the heart stopped beating, breathing vanished, bodily functions ceased completely, and medicine declared the person dead.

The second was social disappearance. Through the funeral rite, family and friends declared the end of the deceased's social ties.

The third was the complete disappearance from memory. When the last person who remembered the deceased died or forgot them, every trace of their existence vanished, leaving no connection anywhere in the universe.

He hoped Zhang Jun could live well. Even if not for himself, then at least so that Zhang An's existence would not disappear completely.

From that day onward, Zhang Jun decided to live properly. His life was an extension of his father's life, and he did not want his father's existence to become something no one knew of anymore.

After sorting out his emotions, Zhang Jun inherited his father's estate with the help of Liu Yong, who was a lawyer—shares worth twenty million, with annual dividends of around 1.5 million.

There was also the right to choose any one horse from the ranch Luo Fei operated, which his father had arranged for him.

Zhang An had prepared this specifically. He feared his words alone might not pull Zhang Jun out of his grief, so he hoped a perceptive foal could take his place, keep Zhang Jun company, and heal him.

As time passed, the car drove through the ranch gates, and Zhang Jun was captivated by the sight before him.

The vast grassland glowed with soft green beneath the afternoon sun. Several groups of horses grazed and wandered leisurely in the distance. White fences stretched in winding lines, while red stables stood in neat rows. Everything was peaceful and orderly.

Screech~

As the brakes sounded, the three got out of the car. Luo Heng eagerly took Zhang Jun by the arm and pulled him forward.

"We're here! Our ranch may not be particularly large on a national scale, but it's absolutely among the top three in Fujian Province. More than ninety foals are born here every year."

After passing several rows of stables, an open grazing field spread out before them.

Around twenty horses were scattered across the grass. Some lowered their heads to graze, some played with each other, and several foals pressed close to their mothers, curiously watching the newcomers.

"Although you can't choose the two-year-olds that have already entered clubs, there are still more than two hundred horses left."

"Not counting horses over three years old, there are twenty two-year-olds. Some of the yearlings were sold at the yearling auction, leaving more than sixty. There are the most current-year foals—over ninety of them."

As Luo Heng introduced the place, Zhang Jun followed him through the Luo family's Jianzhou Ranch.

Luo Heng led Zhang Jun to a fenced grazing field. More than ten broodmares grazed there with their young foals, and six or seven similar grazing fields surrounded it.

Luo Heng pointed into the field. "This is Grazing Field Number One. The mares here are all the best in our ranch. For example, that chestnut mare over there with the white blaze on her forehead is Crimson Red Crane. She won two Grade Three races during her racing career, and all three of her offspring that have debuted have earned major prizes."

Zhang Jun followed Luo Heng's pointing hand. It was a chestnut mare with a black-tipped tail, accompanied by a foal of similar coloring.

The moment Zhang Jun's gaze fell upon the mare, a translucent pale-blue screen suddenly appeared before his eyes, accompanied by a voice.

"Ding~ The Horse Racing Tycoon System has finished awakening."

Zhang Jun blinked, but the screen did not disappear. It hovered before him like a floating display, clearly showing several lines of text:

[Horse Name: Crimson Red Crane

Sire: Jianzhou Flying General

Dam: Scarlet Meteor

Damsire: Falling Star

Sex/Age: Mare, Twelve

Coat Color: Chestnut

Speed: D

Power: ?

Stamina: ?

Burst: B

Competitive Spirit: ?

Mentality: ?

Intelligence: ?

Flexibility: ?

Health: A

Track Adaptability:

Running Style: ?

Distance: ?

Growth Type: ?.

Breeding Attributes:

Offspring: 6

Hereditary Traits: ?.]

Zhang Jun froze in place and instinctively looked toward the foal beside Crimson Red Crane:

[Horse Name: Crimson Red Crane 2022

Sire: Jianzhou Senior General

Dam: Crimson Red Crane

Damsire: Jianzhou Flying General

Sex/Age: Colt, Zero

Coat Color: Chestnut

Racing Attributes:

Speed: F+

...

Competitive Spirit: C

...

Breeding Attributes:

Offspring: ???

Hereditary Traits: Burst.]

It was not an illusion.

Zhang Jun forced himself to calm down.

Although he had focused on studying because of his father's wishes, he had still read some webnovels in his spare time. He had awakened a system.

But why now?

Why had it happened when he came to Jianzhou Ranch to choose a racehorse according to his father's will?

And the system's functions were related to horse racing.

He could not figure out why, but he was just an ordinary person with nothing worth coveting. This was probably a good thing. He should study the system's functions first.

Zhang Jun shifted his gaze toward the other mares and foals in the grazing field. The screen refreshed, displaying the attributes of each horse.

[Horse Name: Jianzhou County Lady

Sex/Age: Mare, Seven

Coat Color: Brown Bay

Racing Attributes:

Stamina: E

Intelligence: B

Track Adaptability: Turf ◎, Dirt △

Breeding Attributes:

Offspring: 7]

[Horse Name: Jian'an Scarlet Cherry

Sex/Age: Mare, Nine

Coat Color: Chestnut

Racing Attributes:

Power: B

Mentality: C+

Breeding Attributes:

Offspring: 6]

[Horse Name: Jian'an Yellow Maple 2022

Sex/Age: Colt, Zero

Coat Color: Palomino Chestnut

Racing Attributes:

Burst: B

Breeding Attributes:

Hereditary Traits: None.]

"What do you think? See any you like?"

Watching Zhang Jun inspect the horses one by one, Luo Fei smiled and asked.

"I'll keep looking. Didn't you say there were more than two hundred foals? I'll look through all of them first."

Zhang Jun shook his head, deciding to use this opportunity to better understand the system's functions.

"Sure. Your uncle still has some things to take care of, so let Ah Heng accompany you through the grazing fields one by one."

Luo Fei nodded and left first.