Undertale, adalah sebuah game bergenre VRMMORPG yang sangat di gemari para gamers. Seorang pemain peringkat tinggi menerima kontrak dari developer game tersebut untuk membuat demonstrasi dari fungsi baru yang akan di luncurkan oleh developer game.

Sebagai pemimpin Guild Top Circle, Andika memiliki kewajiban untuk memimpin anggotanya untuk melaksanakan kontrak yang telah dia setujui dengan developer game.

Pada awalnya, semuanya berjalan dengan sempurna tanpa hambatan yang signifikan. Namun sebuah insiden yang tidak terduga terjadi ketika Andika akan menerima hadiah dari misi tersebut. Andika secara tiba-tiba dipindahkan ke dunia lain seorang diri, tanpa teman-temannya yang mengikutinya.

I always was a shy person, and I was frequently under the impression that everything that I have done was doomed to have failed. This feeling of inadequacy was deeply rooted in my heart and, as the dandelions one can find on the side of the road, similarly hard to get rid of.

These kinds of feelings would have kept a person hunched back in self-pity for a long time unless rotted out from the depths of one's mind. One had to explore the deepest part of their insecurities to be able to find the cause for this kind of feelings, but even then, after you would have gotten down and dirty and fought a long war to rid yourself from them, the self-doubts and judgements from others would just encourage new spouts to grow and the nightmare would start all over again.

I have tried not once, not twice, but numerous times to escape these crippling feelings, but I was unsuccessful. These weed like feelings had taken control of my life and have dictated the way I saw myself and others around me. It had left me feeling devoid of willpower and corrupted by the dark thoughts that I wasn't able to share with others, no matter how close to my heart one would become.

My life had been always affected by these thoughts and because of their influence, I was struggling to find a way and stay afloat in today's society.

I wasn't always like this, I was once an optimistic person, and people around me always said how my cheerful disposition made them smile, however this all changed once I grew up.

My family was never rich, and when my mother passed away when I was little, I was left in the care of my father who was mostly grieving on his own, trying to drown his problems in alcohol. In the end, he left me to be cared for by my elderly grandmother.

I couldn't complain much, but the absence of my parents, who were supposed to be my pillars of support, and the increasing judgemental society, I started to feel unwanted. And then the thought that I was not good enough for them, started to eat away at me. And that is how the feeling of being inept in everything I tried, followed me through my forming years.

As I passed my teenage years, I learned to lie in order to hide my shortcomings and to put up a font towards everyone. I was always the person who smiled the most, when I was nervous, when I was sad, when I was lost, every emotion I felt would be masked by a bright smile.

I once read that to be happy, all you needed was to smile brightly and believe it. I never could fully believe it, so it never worked for me.

I could no longer cry around people or show them when I was sad, my defense mechanism was so well put together that I would automatically plaster a smile on my face whenever someone even looked my way, no matter what I was really feeling inside.

And so the years have passed, and school was over in a blink of an eye.

I stumbled from job to job in search for something that I could say I was good at, a talent that everyone else seemed to have, except me. I worked for a while at a web design company doing content writing, adjusting keywords and researching them and even article writing. When that didn't work out I stayed for a while at home looking for jobs and working on small freelance projects. I was from a small town so a job in something I actually had experience with, were few and far between. I ended up working for various stores, such as clothing stores, a toys store and even an animal store.

My last experience at the animal store only drove me to never look for another job as a sales clerk again. I loved to be around animals and I was good at understanding their needs, I finally thought I found something that I was going to excel at, but I was proven wrong. My kind-hearted disposition along with my own convictions that I would mess up things made a good target for being taken advantage off.

From working two full weekends without a break to having to work a total of seventeen days in a row. Being accused of giving the wrong change and then made to cover the loss. And even being the only one to clean and mop up the shop after closing. I was being made into a joke by my colleagues and everyone knew it, even me.

Although they were all aware that this was not right, that did not stop them but instead made it seem like I was only making a big deal out of nothing. It was this kind of attitude that made me sick of working there. Before my trial period was even over, I had reached my breaking point. While I felt sorry for the animals I was leaving behind, I submitted my resignation.

Even on the day that I submitted my resignation, I was made to stay through the day although I was not obligated to by the contract, I did not want the animals there to be left unfeed because there were not enough employees around. Besides, I had some good times as well, such as exercising with the dogs, catching parrots and other exotic birds, and heck, even scooping out fish was pleasurable if the customers were patient since it was quite time-consuming.

After this experience, I had already reached the age of 28 and gained a new understanding of my situation. I would have to find a workplace where I felt comfortable, be it on a lower pay or out of the city, but I wanted to be somewhere where I would be appreciated. And so, I started looking once again for a job that included my favorite pastime, namely writing.

With the new idea in place, I knew I had to change to some degree, I would not be able to keep running away from every job just because it was hard, with this next job, I would surely hold my ground and learn to adapt. This effort would be something necessary for me to grow up and would help me become a functioning member of society.

Who would have known, that this new endeavor, would forever change my life...

Kate Ross is a slightly awkward young adult that has problems fitting into the norms of society. Her friends are all married and even with children while she is still struggling to find the right job. One day her luck changes when she is hired to work as a copywriter for a small company.
 
  Meeting new people and making new friends becomes easy when she joins the workforce, but when her care towards her boss becomes more than she could allow herself, her once quiet life becomes filled with struggles to keep her own feelings under control.
 
  Whether she falls prey to her feelings or she manages to fight against them, one thing is for sure, life is never as easy as it seems and it is up to her to face her own weaknesses or to stand up and fight for what she wants.

     The job flyer caught my eye as it deliberately excluded robots.  Most menial jobs without work experience requirements were done by privately owned robots whose owners reaped the profits.  The more robots you owned, the more net worth you could earn.  A lot of people invested in robots, so they could double their income.  Few jobs were listed anymore for solely humans.
     I jotted down the time and place for the interview and headed home.  I planned to check it out if I had the time.  Three blocks away from home, I had a holo from my dad.  "I saw your show today.  How much longer do you have until it wraps up?"
     "Just a few more days, Dad." I changed the subject. "How's the new dog?"
     "Better than the last one.  Your mom hasn't tripped over this one yet." 
     "She's still in the hospital with her broken hip.  You need to train the dogs better or hire someone to train them," I reminded him for the umpteenth time.
     "Why aren't you home yet?  I'm hungry." He griped in response to my nagging.  "Can you pick up something fried?"
     "I was going to cook.  It's healthier."
     "You only live once.  If I'm going to die, I want to be happy.  Pick up some fried chicken."
     I hung up the phone and headed to the nearest transporter to place an order for fried chicken.  It was no use to argue with a crotchety old man.  Plus, I liked fried foods too.  After a few seconds, I had piping hot fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy as I strode the final blocks to my street.  "Dad, I'm home," I called.  "I brought the chicken."
     "In the squatter.  Put some chicken on a plate for Fred too."
     "We don't need to feed the dog until we finish eating."
     "He's my dog.  He's family.  He eats with us."
     "Fine then."   Off to the kitchen I went.  Robotic arms on a track attempted to take the food from me, but as the robots would not serve the dog a portion, I decided to manually get the plates ready.  The Helping Hand robots were awesome, except for the fact that they would not serve portions outside of nutritional guidelines or for more people than were present in the home.  I have spent countless hours trying to defeat the robots logic to obtain a snack before.  Some things are left better to manual control.  Portion sizes are one of them.  However, I never want to relive the nightmare of doing dishes by hand like that week I was grounded for sneaking to a party ever again.  It's a delicate balance.
     Dad, Fred, and I ate dinner while watching the holo5.  The holo5 was the newest version of visual home entertainment.  The 3d holograms were now able to incorporate smell, so they were closer to making the five senses of humans appear in your home viewing.  I think they chose the smells though, as food smells were enhanced, but body odor didn't seem to ever appear.  Taste wasn't something they could transmit digitally yet (at least not cost-effectively), but food companies were always on stand-by when certain shows came on for multiple orders to the transporters.
     As a commercial for pizza came on, the smell was overwhelming.  I looked at my chicken with resignation.  Once I smelled Italian food, I was done.  Fred looked at my hands offering him my leftovers and rolled over to show me his plump body.  He was full too.  I put away the leftovers and placed a blanket over my father who had fallen asleep in his recliner.  I pressed the button to make the recliner go into sleep mode, which inclined Dad to a better posture for sleeping.
     I took Fred for an evening stroll, equipped with the disintegrator in case of any "deposits" and then deposited him to Dad's lap for the rest of the evening.  I pulled my hair back and got ready to hook my digital tablet into a charger so I could assist with re-writing the script for the show's finale.  The audience had responded more favorably to a villain than expected, so we had to adjust his ending and give his story more screen time.  
     As a junior screenwriter on this project, I did a ton of work for very little recognition.  Once this was over, I hadn't been assigned to any other teams, so I would need to look for another opportunity myself.  My boss for this project was an ambitious lady named Justina.  She made it clear that I could not promote or follow another team without her permission as she wanted my talent, but didn't want me to advance and leave her team.  
     Considering most of the recent season episodes were content I had written and gotten no credit for, I was ready to move on.  Justina always responded to questions as it was a team effort pulled off under her leadership.  While she was happy to take the credit for a team effort, any criticisms did not adhere to the same principle.  Therefore, the only thing in my file was reprimands, not accomplishments.  It would be difficult to sign onto another team with this company, even if I could go around my current boss.  Freelance writing positions didn't pay much, so I would check out that job I had seen on the flyer earlier today.
     After far too little sleep, I kissed Dad on the cheek as I headed out for work and he headed to the kitchen for his 4th cup of coffee this morning. When I arrived at work, I handed one of the five Galaxy Grinds takeaways to my best friend at work, Shelly Tragalfar.  She was waiting for her mocha cappuccino when I walked in.  "Prepare for the worst," she whispered as we headed to the writer's area.  "Justina is on the warpath.  We made our client wait until 3 a.m. for the script for next week."
     "Seriously?" I asked.  "We got the notes from the director after five yesterday.  That's less than twelve hours on a project that should have taken days."
     "Yeah, the director was raving about the content being wonderful, so she couldn't ream us on that today."
     "Sometimes I think Justina exists just to make us feel inferior.  Every time, we deliver quality, yet we get written up for the most ridiculous things."
     "Yeah, I mean, she even put in a reprimand on you for delivering items only a few hours late when you rushed to the hospital to deal with your mom's broken hip.  What does she expect from us, supernatural foresight?"
     "Shelly, if I go for another job, I'm putting you down as a reference to counteract what she's put in my file.  I can't afford a litigator to have my file corrected."
     "You know it, CJ.  I have got your back.  Any prospects yet?"
     "I'm looking into this position they were advertising.  It said robots need not apply."
     "That's usually something creative.  Robots have difficulty with fields that require creativity after all," Shelly postulated.
     "They are still great with analyzing what people respond to regarding creativity.  They can definitely help in a brainstorming session for marketing departments and many of the best marketing agencies use them.  They can even write according to formulaic phrasing if given enough data.  All of the latest Patterson Enterprises novels have been written by robots.  That's how they are still crediting novels to that Patterson guy who's been dead for a hundred years now.  If a formula works, it works.  They say he and his robots have written thousands of blockbusters."
     "There's a reason few of those are fantasy or sci-fi.  It's harder to be predictable in a novel where creativity is the biggest selling point."
     "Some of those are just as predictable.  Ever since video games came out, fantasy adventures are basically just a few adventurers going on a quest to save the world from something over and over again."
     "Yeah, you might be right.  Look lively, Justina is heading this way."
     "Ladies, team briefing in ten minutes," Justina informed us.  "One of those for me, CJ?"
     "White chocolate mocha is in the red cup," I smiled.  "I heard the director loved the script."
     "The director absolutely loved the script.  He's thinking of pitching a spin-off featuring this villain if the audience continues to respond like they have been.  We did great work on this one ladies.  Going forward, you just need to work on timeliness a bit, CJ.  We've discussed this before.  I'd hate to have to put another reprimand in your file.  You were supposed to have the revised script to the director at midnight."
     "I didn't see that note in the file transfer while I was working on the project."
     "Right here," Justina pointed to her screen.
     "Doesn't that say midnight tonight?" I genuinely felt a bit perplexed at having missed a deadline.
     "Either way, you need to sharpen up.  It doesn't pay to deliver things close to the deadline.  Prepare more quickly next time.  You should just have multiple scripts on hand when you are working on an arc.  I used to do that when I was a junior writer."
     "I'll take that under advisement," I smiled thinly.  Luckily, Justina didn't seem to care that my smile wasn't genuine.  I anticipated a long day ahead.

CJ finished her writing gig on a hit television series as a junior writer.  Not having gotten added to any new projects, she interviews for a human only exploration mission to a newly discovered planet capable of supporting biological life, like Earthlings.  What she discovers there will change her life forever.  Are you up to taking this journey with CJ?

Back on Planet Golden Gate…
The round trip had taken him close to a month. The twenty-four spaceships that Han Xiao had taken returned to Base No. 1. The pillaging ships were smaller in size, and after modifying the messy coating on their exteriors, these were absorbed into the assault fleet.
The Crow Grade ship was on the same grade as a Violent Falcon Grade battleship, so it was stored in the hangar. After it was repaired, it could be put into use.
Including those spaceships, Han Xiao had close to a hundred spaceships under his fleet. It was divided into four divisions. One was the strategic core division that was made of the Fortress Grade flagship alone. The second was the battleship division formed by Violent Falcon Grade and Crow Grade ships, in charge of guarding and direct combat. The third was the assault fleet formed by the seized DarkStar assault ships and the galactic pirate pillaging ships, with speed superiority. The fourth was the rented carrier spaceship division used to transport manpower.
As for the BlackLight Stealth, it was for Han Xiao and Han Xiao only. Made by the Federation of Light, its grade and performance were way ahead of all other spaceships in the Black Star Army. Also, Risda was not willing to let too many people use his body.
Watching the last spaceship being parked in the hangar, Han Xiao had Phillip close its gate and locked Sykes and the other captives in the secret cell of Base No.1.
This cell had been built from an extremely strong alloy, covered with many automatic weapons such as cannons, nerve gas, sedative injectors, large vacuum gravity field, and many others. Inside the walls were many mini cameras monitored by Phillip at all times. The security was extremely tight to prevent the captives from escaping.
Because he had extracted the Super-Gene of those captives every day on the way back, they all were weak, including Sykes.
Since Calamity Grades were able to recover much faster, Sykes received special treatment. His production rate was more than five times that of the others.
Han Xiao had stored hundreds of Ability Potions that were categorized. Some were for his own use; some were sold in the faction store.
The interior of Base No.1 was filled with bridges like a beehive. As Han Xiao walked on the streets, players could be seen everywhere, getting used to the new Main City.
Many people looked at Han Xiao. He was a renowned NPC in the eyes of the players, and he was the leader of the faction. When the players saw him, they all felt a sense of closeness to him, and quite a number greeted him, to which Han Xiao nodded back in reply.
There were many issues in the faction waiting to be resolved. Han Xiao checked through Sylvia's homework then returned to his room. He took out a concentrated nutrition bar and started chewing while settling these issues.
The first issue was to clean up after the missions carried out by the many players.
Other than Planet Sunil, most of the players carrying out missions around the Garton Star System had completed and returned. This was the first large scale hiring event for Black Star Army, so Han Xiao took it quite seriously. He told Phillip to filter out the problematic records in it and browsed through them one by one.
Of course, not all players were doing well. Some of the players had a rather low mission completion percentage. Furthermore, there was even a small group of people that messed around and completely messed up the mission, sullying the name of the Black Star Army. For the former, Han Xiao told Phillip to send a sincere apology to the employer on behalf of the Black Star Army. As for the latter, the Credibility Rating of their mercenary profile was deducted, and the grade of the missions that they could accept was lowered.
Since Han Xiao wanted to expand the Black Star Army with the help of the players, he was prepared for the problems that came with it. The issues now were all small problems. The effect brought by the players was much more beneficial than detrimental.
The first large scale hire event stabilized the name brought by the Godora award ceremony.
When looking for mercenaries, the employers in the Garton Star System all chose the local Black Star Army as their first choice. The Mercenary Alliance recognized the Black Star Army's position in the Garton Star System as the top of the industry and provided them with a continuous supply of high-quality employment missions.
The result of this was that the business of the Garton Star System mercenary industry was practically monopolized by the Black Star Army. Although the population of a Star System was very high, not many people needed mercenaries. The freelance mercenaries in the Garton Star System suddenly started to notice that they could hardly find high-quality hires anymore. The list given to them by the Mercenary Alliance consisted of most low reward jobs.
The freelance mercenaries were very jealous of the business enjoyed by the Black Star Army. Many people had realized that if the Black Star Army continued to grow at this pace, the available jobs in the Garton Star System would all be finished sooner or later, and the new jobs would then be taken by the Black Star Army as well. Then, the freelance mercenaries could very likely end up with no job, which was a very horrible future to think about.
The rise of the Black Star Army could not be stopped. The freelance mercenaries had to choose one of three paths. First was to not care about future developments and continue doing what they were doing; second was to leave the Garton Star System and find jobs in another place; third was to request to join the Black Star Army.
Quite a few freelance mercenaries took the third path. The Black Star Army was increasing in size and had an extremely good name, and since Black Star Army was on its way to monopolize the entire mercenary industry of the Garton Star System, joining them did not seem like a bad choice after all. From the victims of the Black Star Army's rise, there could be some who benefitted from it and enjoyed the Black Star Army's businesses.
In Han Xiao's plan, there was a part of it that included increasing their name with the players in order to attract freelance mercenaries. After the players joined, their size exploded to hundreds of thousands of members. The facilities of their base were mostly complete, and they had ample funds, so he was not planning to control the Black Star Army's number of members. He told Phillip to filter the background of the freelance mercenaries that requested to join, who then deleted some that were clearly incompetent and were there just for the easy missions, leaving those who were skilled and had good records.
About 7,000 freelance mercenaries were left after the first selection.
However, this number was still not decided yet. Han Xiao told Phillip to send a notice to those mercenaries to come to Base No.1 for an interview fifteen days later. Some would be disqualified again, and only the ones who remained after that would be recruited by the Black Star Army.
Recruiting more freelance mercenaries was a very important step of the Black Star Army's expansion.
The second issue waiting to be resolved was also related to the players.
After the first independent hiring event, these players were more familiar with the galactic environment and mission flow. Many players shared the difficulties that they met during the hires on the forums.
Han Xiao paid attention to these problems. In his previous life, he had also experienced the stage of not being used to the new environment after first entering the universe, so he had expected this. He knew about most of the difficulties the players faced.
As early as one year before Version 2.0 started, a part of his machinery production line had been building support items, which were intended to help with the players' ability to carry out missions.
Now that there was finally a demand for this, Han Xiao planned to put these mechanical items into the faction store as well. The timing was perfect—the players were just done with their first hire, and most of them had to return to Base No.1. The sales were definitely going to rocket.
…
In the store area of Base No.1, many people were going in and out. This was the place with the highest player density.
Although they could shop online through Phillip, they could only see the physical item at the store, which was also the collection point.
Many players used their latest earnings to buy equipment.
At this time, the faction store suddenly refreshed. A number of new items were placed at the top of the list with a very visible 'NEW' sign in their top right corner.
"New items so soon?"
"Let's see what they are."
Every update to the store would attract attention from a large number of players, and this time was no exception.
Di di di…
The sound of communicators rang continuously in the crowd. Many people took out their communicators to take a look. It was Phillip's supporting program that announced the update of the store, which could be browsed through the pre-order list.
Very soon, players realized that the new items were surprisingly not combat equipment.
They looked at the introduction of the new items.
_____________________
[Mini Land Flattening Core]—Quickly changes the terrain of a small area into flat ground suitable for a temporary stronghold. The specific measurements are…
[Multi-functional Airdrop Bag]—Includes many machines needed for airdrop, suitable for various situations occurring during airdrop…
[Portable Mini Folded Fortress]—Can be expanded on unoccupied land, forming a temporary alloy fortress to be used as a stronghold, equipped with stronghold weapon slots and basic security functions…
[Automatic Guarding Cannon Turret]—Large caliber cannon, includes 1,000 Iron Core Shots, 300 Armor Piercing Shots. Provides firepower support…
[Patrolling Sentry]—Mini scouting robot, able to scout, patrol, and alert, can be used as a sentry for a stronghold…
[Interference Resistant Electromagnetic Bracelet]—Resists electromagnetic interference and data hacking to a certain extent…
[Portable Strong Electromagnetic Interference Device]—Interfere with the functions of the machines within a certain range…
[Nuclear Flying Backpack]—Provides long duration flying ability, includes self-destruction option…
[Force Resonator]—Adjustable vibration frequency, able to shatter metal and concrete buildings within a large distance…
[Worker Bee Armor]—Single Unit Mining Armor, used to gather minerals and fuel. Equipped with multi-functional digging tools and mineral firearms. High weight, suitable for handling ores…
_____________________
The players faced complex environments while carrying out the missions. The mission requirements varied, including but not limited to infiltration, pursuit, mining, scouting, assassination, combat, and others. Sudden developments often occurred.
Although these mercenaries added by Han Xiao were not equipment that heightened one's combat capability, they could allow one to adapt to many situations. These were tactical items that could efficiently increase the players' ability to deal with accidents, enhancing their performance as mercenaries.
The technology used in these machines was not advanced, but they were things the players needed very much. They were cheap, useful support items.
For machines such as the turret, they were something that Han Xiao had created long ago. He had been using the turrets, but only now did he sell them to the players in large quantities. He was not yet selling the more advanced electromagnetic turrets and energy turrets but gunpowder turrets. The average level of the players now was around seventy, so the gunpowder turrets were still quite useful.
Some Mechanic players at the time could also build some of these products, but in terms of quality, cost, and price, their products were grossly inferior compared to those on the Black Star Army store.
These functional items were just right for the new needs of the players.
"These seem very useful."
"I was just about to accept a job. These new items came right on time."
The players were pleasantly surprised.
Not only the players in Base No.1, but the players who were on Sunil or doing missions on other planets also received Phillip's notification. They were all very tempted.
Especially the 200,000 players in Planet Sunil. They were dealing with the Catastrophe, so they had to deal with the complicated wilderness situations and even clear out the underground Prophecy Stone Mine. The addition of [Worker Bee Armor] was absolutely perfect.
Stock was limited, and the players hastily bought what they needed. The prices of these new products were very low, so their demand was high. Within twenty minutes, the inventory was cleared out, and many who could not buy them pre-ordered the next batch.
The players were used to the special 'Growing Faction' attribute of the Black Star Army. They felt that the reason that these new items appeared was because the players of the Black Star Army had worked together to develop the faction. Looking at the new items of the faction store, many players felt a sense of achievement.
…
After adding these support items, Han Xiao observed the sales. Since they were functional items, their price was low and affordable. Nonetheless, the entire inventory was sold out within half an hour. His funds rose nonstop as the players' money flew into his personal account.
This sale had made him an astonishing total of 6,600,000 Enas!
Including Noriosse's investment and the income from the last sales, Han Xiao had a total of 44,000,000 Enas!
This was a lot of money.
"Funds are abundant. With this money, I can build my Mechanic Army any way I want." Han Xiao was very content.
With so much money, if he was the only one using it, it could last him a very long time. However, of course, these funds had to be used to operate the Black Star Army and support the Black Star Army's expansion.
The blueprint that Han Xiao had set for the Black Star Army's development was gigantic. He planned to use the Garton Star System as a foundation, choose dozens of important NPC resource planets, and keep building sub-bases. He would turn the Garton Star System into the Black Star Army's headquarters, controlling the mercenary business there tightly or even monopolizing it.
Then, he would expand the business to other Star Systems and build sub-bases in other Star Systems, expanding step by step. Many parts of this plan required a lot of money, such as adding a large number of spaceships, recruiting, building partnerships with more organizations, and so on.
The identity of a mercenary group was just a stepping stone; Han Xiao's real target was to develop enormous military power, like Bloodshed Land.
The funds required for this blueprint was a number that he could not calculate or imagine.
The only thing he knew was that the money that he had now was far, far from enough.
His mission was heavy, and the road was long.
"This won't be completed within a short time. The sales route is already built anyway, so profit will keep coming. There's no need for me to be too tight on spending."
Han Xiao smiled. He took out his communicator and ordered a large number of materials from the raw material provider that he had been working with.
Finally, he had some free time to strengthen all his combat equipment to the Calamity Grade standard!
"Let's hope something like the Purple Snake Space Pirates incident doesn't happen again…"


What do you do when you wake up and find yourself inside the very game that you love? 
What do you do when you realize you that you have not only become an NPC - you have even been thrown back in time to before the game even launched! 
What will happen when our protagonist's two realities coincide? 
Han Xiao was a professional power leveler before his transmigration. Using his past life's knowledge, Han Xiao sweeps through the universe as he prepares for the arrival of the players. This is definitely not your typical transmigration novel.

Days passed quickly and but progress was slow. Nishant was trying to understand techniques of writing better by reading as many books as he can. Book reports were being written without prompts from Rajat or any other senior member of the Lit club. Occasional writing assignments were given to Nishant, but those felt easy and did not bother him much. Shradha was helping him occasionally, but for free. When Nishant had offered money again, she laughed in his face and in between the laughter spree, she had confessed that it was just a prank. Things were not progressing well with Shradha. She was still struggling to save money for a laptop and just like she suspected, her father had refused to give her any money. "Why will you need laptop? Paying for your college itself is waste. I should have saved that money for your marriage instead of giving in to your stupid demands" these were the exact words Shradha's father had uttered. Despite of trying not to take these words into consideration, shradha was sad for few days. Sessions with Neeta were helpful, but money for laptop was still a problem. She had even thought of giving up on buying laptop and just accept her fate. But the sessions made her realize, she should give it a serious try before giving up. So shradha was looking out for a second part time job. 

One could say that Shradha and Nishant were friends now; acquaintance would be a better word to describe their relationship. They spoke occasionally in class about computer programs and coding. Shradha would ask him if she did not understand any of the academic topics or coding questions. But mostly their conversations outside the class were  about books. They suggested books to each other and occasionally discussed about their thoughts on the topics. By now they chatted few times, but mostly on instagram. Shradha had never given him a phone number and Nishant was not going to ask for one anyways. 

Semester  was almost coming to an end and lab exams were starting in couple of days. Shradha had some questions on the syllabus  and Nishant was helping her. They were sitting under a tree in the campus and discussing when shradha got a call. It was from one of the bars where she had applied for part time job. There would be almost 3 months of holidays  after the exams and Shradha wanted to earn as much as she could, during this time. Unfortunately they needed someone with prior experience. So they were calling to tell her that they rejected her application. Nishant could hear only half of the conversation, but Shradha's sad face told him that it wasn't  a good news. Upon asking, Shradha simply replied that she was not able to get any summer jobs.

 Nishant was puzzled for a minute. Even though he was from a middle class family he never had to take any part time jobs. Sure, having some extra money would be really good. But his parents had always told him not to worry about money at this age and concentrate  only on studies. According to his observations shradha was not from a rich family, but they were not poor either. So her sadness for not having a summer job was really puzzling for Nishant.  So he asked her directly why she needed a job now. Shradha gave him a smile upon hearing the question. "Because I need a laptop. I love gaming." 

"So just ask your parents to buy you one. Why would you struggle with all these low level jobs". 

"Because pretty boy, not all parents care about their kids. Correction,  daughters. " 
 
The look on Nishant's face told Shradha that he had not understood her words and sighing, she tried to explain. 

"My dad thinks he is already wasting enough money on me by sending me to engineering  college. If I had studied some other degree in some random college, he could have gotten rid of me in just 3 years instead of 4 years and also could've saved more money for my marriage and dowry. Despite knowing that, he will not give me a single rupee, I asked him to buy me a laptop. Result was an hour of constant ranting from daddy dearest and 1 hour lecture from mom about knowing my limits and what not. So pretty boy, I have to earn money by doing the LOW LEVEL  jobs. "

Nishant was shocked to hear this. Living in a patriarchal  society,  he knew there were people who looked down on daughters. But he never expected shradha to be treated that way. He always thought that she was this spoiled girl who obviously had support from her parents. Otherwise why would someone will  be so stubborn,  headstrong and adventurous. He had also heard that one time, Shradha was involved in some dispute which resulted in warning from principal. Someone had mentioned that Shradha's  mother was also present while talking to the principal. So listening  to her now, he had more questions. 

"But still, you could find some other way to earn  money. You can probably work as freelance editor or something like that. These days a lot of options are there for online jobs. "

Shradha laughed listening to his suggestion.  

"How do you expect me to earn money online without a laptop? " 

She was right. He had not thought about that. He was thinking of other ways when shradha continued speaking. 

"And we should never look down on jobs. Work is work; no job is low or high. I have been working as receptionist all these years and these jobs help me earn money and also I get practical experience. So I don't mind working; in fact I prefer working outside than staying at home during vacation. I will have to learn cooking, do household chores if I stay at home. So its win-win situation  for me. "

****Ongoing re-write****


‘Agar Tum Saath Ho’ means ‘If you are with me’ in Hindi. These simple words could explain how shradha felt about Nishant. He was her sole source of energy; He was the only person who could sense her emotional distress and calm her down easily. He was her best friend, her guide, and also whoever she wanted him to be. To Nishant, Shradha was like a breath of fresh air. She always pushed him beyond his comfort level and helped him rediscover himself. She was his strength and also his weakness. 

Shradha was the girl who was considered as ‘bad influence’, while Nishant was the ‘good guy’, who was role model to many students and even parents. They had nothing in common except for the fact that both of them were lonely and maybe a little broken. 

Nishant and Shradha came together by coincidence. Their relationship started with simple friendship, which slowly grew into strong bond. He could show his silliness only in front of her while she could afford to show her real self only to him. Despite constant opposition from their family, Shradha and Nishant had continued to be ‘best friends’ and nothing else. 
They were each others ‘first’ in many things and even when the whole world could see how they were already in relationship, Nishant and Shradha could not see the obvious.
When they finally realized they have been in love the whole time, all it took was changing the status on social media.

****

Henry finally decided what car he will buy. It was Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 black color, and it's cost just for $30,000. Henry choose this car as mainly it looks quite good but not attract attention as this car is fairly common at this time as even his father has one.
After decided, Henry then goes to Chevrolet dealer to buy the car. After 2 hours of the various document and stuff, Henry finally gets the car. Henry then circles Palo Alto as his home is near the famous Silicon Valley.
Henry feels quite fortunate as his home near Silicon Valley, to get there you just need 10 min drive. This will save trouble later if he wants to recruit talent here.
Henry circle Palo Alto and the Silicon Valley for 2 hours to familiarize as in the future he will have a lot of activities here. Henry deciding to stop as now is time for lunch and drove to a nearby restaurant.
Henry sits in the windows side as that is his favorite spot. Henry then orders a steak and a juice to fill his stomach. The restaurant quite crowded as this is a time for lunch. At this time Henry then spotted someone familiar, but he not quite sure.
That person then approached Henry as all the seat are full and just Henry opposite seat not occupied. It was a man with long hair and quite a messy beard.
"Hello sir, is your seat occupied, as you see now all the seat is full ?" He asked with a polite tone.
"Sure, get yourself occupied." Henry answered as he still thinks who this man is.
The man then sits down and begin to order.
"May I know your name? I seem has seen you somewhere." Henry asked as he is really curious, someone he familiar must be an acquaintance from the future or Henry know him.
"My name is Steven Paul Jobs, but people usually call me Steve." The man introduced himself
When Henry heard that, he shocks as he didn't expect to meet Steve Jobs here. At this time Steve Jobs still has his hair and about the same age as Henry as Jobs is 1 year older than him.
Henry quickly calm his mind as he introduced himself, "Nice to meet you Steve, my name is Henry William, but you can just call me Henry."
They then chatted for a while until Jobs food arrived. After Jobs finish his food, they chatted again about their lifestyle and hobby. Henry then learned Jobs now is in Reed College and looking for a part-time job.
Henry did not expect this meeting as now is still too early. After they chatted for 30 minutes, they parted way as Jobs has other business to do. Henry then pays Jobs food as they make a friend. Henry feels this is still too early to pull Jobs into his company as his preparation is not enough and Jobs still need to mature.
If Henry pulls Jobs too early, it will only counterproductive as now Steve Jobs he knows in the future has not yet mature. So Henry just makes a good impression to Jobs to make things easier later.
---
Henry goes home and parks his car in the garage. His garage quite big as it can hold 2 car, 1 his father, and another his car.
As Henry enters the home, Margaret is sitting in the living room while reading a newspaper. His father Jacob usually home late at night as his job as a professor at Stanford is quite busy.
Henry then greeted his mom, "Hey mom, what are you reading ?"
"Your book now became a bestseller in the US, many media want to interview you." Margaret replied with a smile as she feels proud her son have this achievement.
"Of course, that's because my work is good. Oh yeah mom, I have a new book here, I already completed it last night." Henry feels proud but then he thinks now is the right time to launch the 'Da Vinci Code'. Henry plans to use 'Devotion of Suspect X' heat to hype the release of his new book so the book is selling faster and hotter.
"What book is it honey?" Margaret curious as now she knows her son is a genius at writing, maybe his new book can bring her surprise.
"Wait a minute, I gonna change my clothes and bring the book"
Henry then goes upstairs to change his clothes and bring the 'Da Vinci Code in his drawer.
Henry holds the book and gives it to Margaret. Margaret then read the book for 5 minutes as Henry wait patiently.
After Margaret read the book, her tone somewhat weird, "Are you sure you want to publish this book?"
"Of course."
"Do you know what are you writing? this can be considered as blasphemy!!!" Margaret tone somewhat high as William family is Christian, even though they just barely faith in it, but they still respect the religion.
"Of course I know what I'm writing. But listen to my explanation mom, all of this based on the historical research and various material that I researched. So the content is 99% according to historical material and about the content the book itself, I don't know much as I just fictionalize the rest of it." Henry explained to Margaret as he knows the content of the 'Da Vinci Code' is controversial and has condemnt many Christian in the future.
But he determined to publish it as the 'Da Vinci Code' is the bestseller of 5 years and sold for a total copy of more than 80 million in 2009. This book is determined the fund he needed for the company establishment.
Margaret was then silent for a while. Henry knows she is thinking now, so he just waits patiently.
After about 10 minutes of struggling in her mind, Margaret then says "This is the last time I helped you honey, if you want to publish this type book again in the future, I will not help you." Margaret then agrees as who makes Henry her son, so she decided to help him.
"Yes, this is the last time I write this type of book, I promise mom. And can you negotiate with the publisher about the royalties, it's best if you can help the royalties reach the highest." Henry promises as he knows writing book is just a way for him amass the money need for company.
In the future, there are a countless way to make more money than writing a book so he thinks this may the last book he released, maybe he will release a book later if he has time.
"Well, let mom call my friend and discuss this with her." Margaret then walks away from the living room and prepared to call her friend.


Henry William, reborn to 1973 due to unknown reason.

On this golden year, the opportunity is everywhere. 

The Internet, Black Monday, Japanese Real Estate Bubble, Soviet disintegration,..... he will participate in all of them.

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos,..... all of them will be working under his company.

Watch Henry as he builds a super business empire covering all walk of life and his consortium surpassing the Rothschilds, Rockefeller, Morgan.......
-----------------------------------------------

This story happens at an alternate universe, so if there are similarities to the reality, it's just a mere coincidence.

Discord - https://discord.gg/w3N7T6f

After the intense running (Marraton) the four of them fell that they use all there stamina in running and preventing each other so they just sit in a round table to relax.

Mr.Doodle who just faint awake and he learns that this people is the highest rank in the marine so he serve them tea.

Garp can't help but to ask "Is your injured already heal kid?"

Xin smile and said "Yes Grandpa Garp i'm already fine"

Garp fell relief "Good but don't use your full ability again it will cost you more and maybe death"

Xin nod "Yes"

Aokiji and Kizaru heard Garp said and they know that this kid is the one he sparr last time, they can't help but to amaze to this kid he was small but he already has a power rival to an Admiral they want to know how he do that but its not good to ask something sensitive.

Xin blink his eye and look at them and said"Why did you guys come here?"

Sengoku "caught"

Aokiji and Kizaru turn their heads on the other side

It was so embarrassing to tell that the cause of the commotion is to just a taste his cooking

But Garp is different he was shameless true his bone

"Bwahahaha we are here to ask you to cook for us another bach of dessert that you just made"

Xin stare them then he slowly nod "Ok i will get ingredient"

He ran in the storage room and collect a necessary ingredient 

When he was about to pick some egg he heard Garp loud voice "hey kid can you make a bigger version of it?"

Xin answer "Sure" then he picked lots of eeg,bucket of milk,a whole roll of cheese and a dozen of lemon and a bag of sugar.

He placed it in the kitchen table then he find a bigger container to mix it separately.

Then he mixes 200 pieces of egg,8 bucket of fresh milk,4 bucket of sweetened milk,half a bag of sugar in a huge container.

He mixes it for about ten minutes then add some lemon zest and place accident.

After that he goes in the storage room again to get huge metal bucket for steaming process, he found a three fit tall metal bucket.

Then he placed the remaining sugar in to it then he melt it with fire,after the sugar caramelize he transfer the milk mixture to the metal bucket and he cover it with aluminum foil.

He placed it in the steamer to cook for about a half hour or until its inside is already cooked.

…..

After he was done he let the freach cook custard pudding to cool down and then he cerve it in huge plater.

Xin pick it and place it in the middle of the table.

Garp and others can see a 3 feet tall giggling custard pudding with lots of sugar syrup on top.

Even Mr.Doodle cant help to gulp in what he sees.

Sengoku said "I think my blood sugar will going to high after this"

Garp laugh and said "Bwahahahaha this is what you call mountain pudding .. I can't wait to try it"

Kizaru can't wait and pick a plate and start to eat

When others see him eating they get their own plate and serve their self.

...

After they eat Kizaru And Aokiji left content

Sengoku and Garp wait for them to leave so that they can discuss what they need to do with this kid.

Xin feels that they have important to say so he waited for them to speak.

After a while Sengoku said to him

"Xin kid i will be honest tell you that your grandma Tsuru don't want you to enter in marine and get a high rank from it"

Xin stare Crane Admiral and he sees him nod

Sengoku continue "But he still want you to be part of marine even if you don't get a proper rank .. so tell me, do you have any idea that can help us solve this problem .. because even me dont know what department should i place you after you finish your training here"

Xin thought first then said "Fleet Admiral Sengoku ...

Before he finished speaking he stop by sengoku

"You don't need to be formal in front of me just call me grandpa like you call oldman Garp"

Xin nod"Ok  ….. Then Grandpa Sengoku why don't we just make an Adventure department?"

Sengoku and Garp bot said "Adventure Department?"

Sengoku said "Can you elaborate what is the use of that department?"

Xin know the use of that department based on what he read in manga

"This is a department, and we use the term loosely, that enrolls adventurers and gives them access to jobs. Jobs generally range from "find my cat" to "destroy some organisation", and are posted by random locals who can't, apparently, do anything for themselves. It's very likely that jobs will be ranked by difficulty, with precise but vague credentials required for more dangerous jobs.

"Jobs generally are posted on a bulletin board (which may be an encrypted dataserver or a cork slab, depending on the setting), where certified adventurers sign up for them. "Certified Adventurers" is basically a euphemism for "freelance mercenaries" or, in more cynical terms, "bounty hunters".

"We can make this so that people who cant to hire a worker and people who want to be hired can easily access in job they need to be done or hire job that they want,and of course this freelancer is bound by the law of marine by developing this kind of organization we can prevent more people to become pirates"

Garp nod his head "Yes people become pirates because of the poverty .. if we they can get an easy job and earn money for their family then they will not going to commit crime"

Sengoku nod "And by using the adventure system we can have their information so even they commit crime we can easily catch them"

Vice Admiral Crane "So Xin you want to become the head of that department?"

Xin shake his head and said "No i dont want such tedious work i want to become a high rank adventurer"

Suddenly Garp laugh "Bwahahaha i remember that my grandson Luffy wants to become a pirate to find Roger treasure One Piece, I can let him become adventurer so that i can prevent him to become pirate someday!

Sengoku face becomes red and he points his finger to him "Garp teach your Grandson properly so that he doesn't become a pirate …. Maybe you can bring him here so that we can train them with Xin"

Vice Admiral Crane nod

The quest to find hope, dream and true love


Accompany Xin to find an answer to his question and find the path to become a god


Cover not mine I will make cover later

Grammar sometimes sucks but bear with it.


Like vote to support me thx guys.

http://bit.ly/XinXin10

https://www.p@treon.com/user?u=26285974

Laura and Tynan settled into an easy routine after a while and just like that, two weeks flew by. The dirt princess was slowly but surely levelling up her housekeeping skills but she was unable to complete the new task the system assigned her. She wasn't able to improve Tynan's financial system and that was becoming a little bit of a nuisance.
"Why wouldn't the system level up already? Surely it wouldn't take much longer to get Internet Consultant to level 2, right? I'm already level 10 with cleaning, level 3 with cooking and level 7 with comforting!"
The system addressed Laura's complaints with patience.
[The ratio of xp to level up purchased skills from shared xp in trainable skills is 5:1. Replying, a total of 30 levels must be achieved in trainable skills to level up purchased skills once. Shared xp function works collectively, purchased skills will be levelled up at the same time.]
Laura read the explanation twice and threw her hands up in frustration. Thirty collective levels? It was getting harder and harder to level up because of how little there was to do at the apartment or at the shop. She could only help out so much when it came to cooking and because Tynan was doing well, she didn't need to comfort him much. Cleaning was just about the only skill she could still level up at a reasonable pace but thinking about needing another ten more levels to level the Internet Consultant skill made her head hurt. How long would that take?
Moreover, she wasn't getting any results about herself. She might be able to find information about Renald Dillon but there was no mention about the accident with her. Perhaps there was also a filter in search results when she used the Internet Consultant skill. The only thing that the system has been encouraging her to do during her free time was to learn new cooking recipes. Seeing as the search of recipes were related to the cooking skill, Laura could bypass the search cooldown time. In the end, she spent a lot of time watching videos of how to cook and the system was generous enough to include Hell's Kitchen into the things that she could watch.
After tossing ideas in her head about what she could do, the e-ghost gave up and sat down to look for a way to improve Tynan's financial situation. She had been sending out revised C.V.s but nobody replied. Laura also didn't want to apply for any job that will only make Tynan overly tired to do any programming at the end of the day.
Hence, she was now looking at alternatives. If he couldn't leave his current job for a better one, what about some income supplement like taking on gigs or freelance assignments? Surely, Tynan wouldn't mind shelving his project for a while to earn a few hundred dollars over the weekend, right?
With that in mind, there was only one problem. Laura didn't know anything about what Tynan could do. She found a website that had many freelance jobs but she didn't know the python from the javascript. All she knew was that Tynan knew how to code and he was decent at it. Most of the freelance jobs paid well but Laura didn't know if Tynan would be up to the task. Hence, she decided to ask him about it later when he got off work.
Over dinner that day, Tynan sat in front of his laptop with Laura to look through the freelance jobs that  she discovered. While freelancing didn't sound like a bad idea, Tynan had no confidence in taking any of that assignment.
"If these people are willing to pay very high, I'm sure it's not going to be something a fresh graduate like me can handle. They're looking for pros and there will be a lot of backend debugging to do. I might not be able to handle it," he explained.
Laura nodded. "There's also a time frame issue. You work irregular hours and can get called in at any notice. Some of these jobs allow you two months but some other jobs want two days. I don't know what to apply for. There are a lot of requirements as well and every job requires a different thing. I guess this isn't easy, huh? If only there was a way to put up your skills and advertise it for people to approach you instead."
"Most freelancers have contacts," Tynan explained. "Even if I could create a website, if there is no traffic, there wouldn't be customers."
"You can create websites?" Laura asked in surprise. She thought that Tynan was only a game developer and didn't think that the programmer knew more than that.
Not surprised by Laura's lack of knowledge about the field he worked in, the programmer talked a little more about what he could do and what was out of his scope. Laura's mind started to spin ideas about what she could possibly do to help Tynan. At the same time, she searched the web about a place for freelancers to gather and post their skills for the hirers to choose from. The Internet Consultant didn't fail her and Laura shoved her screen to the front.
"What about this?" she asked. "Do you think you can create an account and set it up? Leave the management to me. I'll inform you when there's a new query of a serious buyer."
Tynan studied the page. Laura found a website to match freelancers to customers. Fivver was actually a rather popular app start-up that was gaining an edge in this industry and he nodded.
"I can do this, it isn't too difficult to create an account," he installed the app and logged in to his new account from his laptop. Laura looked at his work and wondered if this would be the start of Tynan's luck.
"I've created the account," he said. "But what should I put up for my services? As it is now, I'm just a fresh graduate with nothing to brag about."
Laura blinked. She remembered that when she first started her debut as a dirt biker, she had the same anxieties. The race track was small and she was a rookie who didn't have a proper mentor. The only thing she knew how to do was get up when she fell and try not to crash her bike. However, she was glad that her parents supported her and signed her up for it. That experience changed her life forever.
"Let's start with something simple. You said you could do a website. How long would that take? A weekend?"
Tynan nodded. "Sometimes less, depending on what the customer wants me to do. Simple business websites can be created with a drag and drop site builder. All I have to do is hook up their domain name to the site and reroute it and it'll work."
Laura wrote that down. Under the tiers of the jobs, she decided to search for other competitors who were doing the same thing and priced it slightly lower than the market rate.
"I think we will start small and sell the same package that everyone else here does. This way, we can attract clients and ask them to leave us reviews so that you can build your account's reputation. Once you have a reputation, we can increase the fees a little."
Tynan was amazed by Laura's business sense and let her take over with the setting up of pricing and banners. He only helped to input the technical details when Laura asked for it and watched as the e-ghost transformed that new account into something that looked appealing. He no longer sounded or looked like an amateur who was new to the application. Laura knew just how to put him out there.
Satisfied, there was only one more thing to do.
"You need to go for a haircut," she said and Tynan cringed. He wasn't looking forward to it.

Being a poor part-timer, Tynan could only afford a rip-off version of the i-phone called the G-phone. Never in his wildest dreams would he think of getting married to his phone - to be more precise, the thing living in his phone.

She claims to be the E-Ghost residing in the G-phone who surpasses AI like Cortana simply because she possesses intellect of her own. Meet Laura, the ghost that lives in a cell phone. Part spirit and part technology, she makes the perfect life companion Tynan could ever ask for.

Their problem? The G-phone is on a one year warranty. While they are busy overcoming their dimensional love barrier, G-phone calls. They want to take the phone back.

Can Tynan and Laura 'live' happily ever after?

***

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A place where time does not exist existed. Wait no, let me correct that.
A place where time is insignificant existed. Now, that's better.

You may not believe it, but how can I not?  I am living- I mean, staying here and I have one job.

To write.

Everyone here has one job, a job unique to us. Work that we will perform until we leave this place.

Before we entered this place, we were given choices - to do a job here or go to where our souls belong. I chose the former because I felt it was the right choice.

Maybe, I was anticipating that I can finally have my dream job, which is writing, or it was just curiosity. Whatever it may be, it was enough to make me choose to do a job.

Luckily, being a writer was still on the list of available jobs. Editing, which no one chose since the beginning, would've been my second choice.

Writing was my passion, but I never got to do it. I don't even know if I had talent in it since I died too early. Be a doctor or an engineer, then live your life - that's how I was supposed to live.

But after becoming a doctor, I got here. I never got to live my life. Anyway, enough drama.

Unlike the living dimension, talent doesn't matter here. Choose a job, and you'll be able to do it without hiccups.


Want to read without being bored? Here, you can memorize anything you read.

Was your body way too stiff for a simple dance move? In here, just a movement of your hand would be elegant like a ballerina.

You have one job that you can do to your heart's content. But then, you must be wondering, how can we leave?

I honestly don't know. Aside from our jobs, we can't do anything else. Even talking is not allowed - another person already has that job.


Well, I don't care. All I want is to write, write, and write. That's everything for me.

Everything was perfect until the day when the dimension was fully packed came.

"We have an announcement, ladies and gentlemen: All the jobs are taken, and we will temporarily close the dimension. I repeat, All the jobs are taken..."


By the way, that was Wei, the guy who had the announcer job. I told you, even talking was a job.


Back to the main point, closing the dimension? I couldn't care less about the others who just came here for fun, but how about those who wanted to be here like me? Will they wait for eternity until the dimension opens up again, or will they automatically go to either of the two places?


Well, I only have one way to answer that. I'll need to write about this.

We all live, we all die. But have you ever wondered what really happens after we die?

I thought my end would be either at those two places but a dimension where time does not exist, existed.

In here, we all have one job. One can clean anything, another can teach anything. And mine?

Well, I can write anything. Even things I never knew in my whole lifetime, I can write about it.

I never knew what love is. I never knew what it feels to be loved or to love.

Will a pen really be enough to know? Should I write about the thing called "love"?

Is love that shallow?

I don't think so.

~~

Join 'Writer' and the fam as they uncover their life's biggest secret. This is a bit of a 'slice of life' genre (I think?) although the setting is on the afterlife.

Anyway, hoping for your support! (*ehem* PowerStones *ehem*)

With that understanding lodged in his head, Yuning strolled out of the bathroom and walked down the hall that would take him back to his bedroom. 

Now that his curiosity was sated and his head felt more stable, Yuning was finally able to see what he missed when he was exploring around, and that was the inadequacy of the apartment that he would now be living in.

As he glanced about as he walked, he saw peeling wallpaper, cracks on the ceiling, and heard the creaking of the floorboards. Yuning knew that even though the previous owner tried hard to make this place livable, nothing could change how appalling this place really was. 

Yuning didn't want to act ostentatious, but he really wasn't used to being in this sort of environment. 

He had lived an opulent lifestyle all his life, with a luxurious house, car, and had all his wants and needs taken care of by staff hired by his parents. 

Having to live in such a small dingy apartment while also being required to take care of himself and a little kid, being thrown into this situation felt a bit disconcerting. But he had to persevere; because if he didn't, he won't have a life to worry about.

Yuning knew that adapting to this kind of environment wouldn't be easy, especially for a rich kid who had been smothered in luxury for so long, but he understood that he needed to do so. 

'I can do this. All the great ones started from the bottom; if they can do it, so can I,' Yuning thought to himself as he tried to accept his new surroundings while making his way to the bedroom.

In what seemed like no time he had reached the room, and as he walked inside the room, he couldn't help but make comparisons to where he used to live.

'It used to take me 20 minutes to transverse through my family's mansion to reach my room, now it takes less than a minute.'

 With lips pressed firmly together, Yuning walked into the dreadfully small room. Wanting to brood, but knowing that there was no time to do, he took a deep breath and wondered where he should start.  

After staring blankly for a few moments, he looked over towards the holographic clock. The clock projected a screen that displayed the current time in his city, the weather, and clothing that would be suitable to wear outside.  

As he looked at it, he was shocked to realize that almost two hours had passed since his instant sister had left for school, and his wanderings had begun. 

With the knowledge that he only had five hours left before the school day ended, he knew that he needed to get a move on it.  

Walking over to the tiny metal desk he noticed previously when he was examining the room, Yuning pulled back the grey chair before sitting down and grabbing the blue Perfetti book that was placed off to the side neatly. 

Yuning had seen it previously while searching the room; at first, when he saw it, he thought it was a journal of some kind, but he knew exactly what it was when he picked it up. It was one of those reusable notebooks that had been popular in his time.

It was sort of comforting to see technology, even an advanced version of it, that he knew about before he transmigrated, besides basic appliances. Although it was strange to know that back in the year 2025, they cost around $300-$400, but it was only $5 nowadays.  

Shaking his head at the thought, Yuning seized a pen from a nearby pencil holder and opened the notebook up. Now that head felt clear, and his other set of memories weren't cluttering up his mind, he was ready to figure out a game plan.

'Alright, Yuning, it's time to think. You need to make yourself a survival plan.' he thought to himself as he wrote 'Things I Need To Do' in capital letters on the top of the notebook page. 

While tapping the pen to his cheek, Yuning began to think about what he needed to do first. Suddenly the memory of his double's shopping spree came to mind, and he knew what he needed to do. 

He needed to check how much he had in the bank. What he understood from the memories he gained, the previous owner had gotten $10,000 from his work as a speechwriter.

However, the original soul of this body spent over $3000 yesterday on him and his sister. So Yuning didn't know exactly how much was left.

Luckily the previous owner had already paid the rent and utility bills, so he wouldn't have to worry about that for another month. But he would still need to buy food and other necessities.

'It seems a month's worth of food is usually $400- $500 when buying no-brand and damaged products,' Yuning concluded to himself as he searched through his memories.

Besides worrying about money, the next thing he needed to do was make an appointment to go see the doctor. Because his other self was preparing to die, he didn't bother going to the doctor's to get a check-up so he could get a refill for his medicine.

He only had two weeks worth of medicine left from what he saw when he examined the room. So he needed to make that appointment soon. 

'I will also need a job since the previous owner quit his.'

This would be the hardest to accomplish out of all of the things he listed. Because unlike in 2025, the people in the year 2525 needed to be certified in the specific field they want a career in. 

Even if it's just an employee at a fast-food chain, they needed one.  

Depending on the type of profession, it could take  3 months to 15 years to get certified, and the cost would be even higher.  Yuning's double had lucked out when his friend got him that job as a speechwriter.

Even though it was just a freelance job, there would have been no way he could have gotten on his own.  

The previous owner was a great wordsmith, from what Yuning could tell, and really wished that the skill was transferred to him. Sadly it wasn't, but he could tell that his vocabulary did improve immensely. 

However, having a good vocabulary and being a wordsmith were two different things. If he had gotten that knowledge, he could have begged that friend to help him get that job back. 

Although the pay wasn't a lot, he could have done freelance while getting certified. The previous owner thought about doing it as well, but it took five months to get accredited, and it was $660 per class. 

Even though his double didn't think he could manage it, Yuning believed that the plan would have been feasible. He could have even asked his friend to find him a big job after he was certified.  

Letting out a sigh at the stupidness of the other soul, Yuning thought about what he could do to make money fast. He didn't have many choices since being able to talk would probably be the prominent feature to have in most jobs.  

And although he had many skills, the one he could see as being a moneymaker would be his ability to draw.  He didn't know about nowadays, but drawing and designing was a great way to make money back in his time. 

Yuning knew from the memories he had that manhua was still prevalent in this time, but it was way more interactive than they were before. The readers no longer just read the story; they could choose how the manhua ended.

It was similar to those 'Choose Your Adventure' books, but instead of one author writing multiple endings, numerous authors were writing them. 

The most famous one of these manhua types were called 'Niú hé Gōngniú.' It had over one hundred authors working on it to date. 

 With the popularity of this genre, the growing need for manhua artists was huge. But Yuning knew that he would first need to research what it would take for him to become one.  

Yuning couldn't help but feel relief now that he had some sort of plan. Although it may not turn out how he expected it to, it still felt good to have. 

With a satisfied smile on his face, Yuning got up from the desk and went off to find his phone. He wanted to check off the first two itineraries before worrying about the last.

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