Chapter 1

"Where am I?"

Suddenly, Fang Yun, who had passed out on the bed after coming home late from overtime work the previous night, lifted his head. Looking at the unfamiliar yet somewhat familiar classroom before him, his still somewhat drowsy mind instantly froze.

The sunlight outside the window was particularly bright, shining through the clean windows into the classroom.

A female teacher in her early thirties was writing something on the blackboard with her back to the class, while the students below were whispering to each other, taking advantage of the teacher's inattention. No one noticed Fang Yun, who was dazed in the corner of the last row.

"Ding—The all-purpose auxiliary system has been bound. Please check it as soon as possible."

Stunned, Fang Yun suddenly heard a cold electronic voice in his mind, and the content of the message made him completely speechless.

"System? Am I... reborn?"

Fang Yun wasn't stupid. As a veteran of online literature for over a decade, the combination of the voice in his mind and the scene before him instantly made him realize he might have hit the jackpot.

After a moment of shock, he quickly came to his senses. Without caring about the exact year or month, he hurriedly thought, "System."

"Hello, host. Is there anything I can help you with?"

As he thought, the electronic voice from before sounded in his mind again.

"What exactly is this all-purpose auxiliary system for?"

As soon as it appeared, Fang Yun immediately asked in his mind.

"Answering the host, the all-purpose auxiliary system can help the host become a game god in this world. The host just needs to enter the most popular game to activate and view the details."

The most popular game?

Noticing these key words, Fang Yun couldn't help but frown.

He had been awake for less than ten minutes, and not only did he not know the most popular game, he didn't even know what year or month it was.

The system told him that if he wanted to know more details, he needed to enter the most popular game. So what he needed to do now was quickly figure out the current time and the most popular game.

Looking around, as the sealed memories in his mind gradually became clear, he finally remembered.

This seemed to be his high school, and the woman on the podium was most likely Liu Siwei, the Chinese teacher whom the students privately called "She-Demon."

Liu Siwei had been their Chinese teacher since their first year of high school, but in their third year, she was transferred to be the head teacher of another class.

So at least one thing was certain: the current time was either the first or second year of high school.

In his first year, Fang Yun was still a top student, but later, due to his addiction to games, his grades plummeted, and he fell from a star in the teachers' eyes to a despised outcast.

As a poor student, Fang Yun was initially seated next to the podium, but later, because he gave up and slept all day, he was moved to the corner of the last row by the thoroughly disappointed head teacher, which was during the first semester of his second year.

Although the sun was shining outside, the thick clothing of the students in front and the bare trees outside the window indicated that it was the dead of winter, and the winter break was not far off.

After some consideration, Fang Yun could at least determine that he was in the second semester of his second year, around December 2004 or January 2005.

If there was one game that was the most popular during this time, it was undoubtedly "Dream of the West," which had instantly ignited the gaming world upon its release!

Strictly speaking, there were many other popular games during this time, not to mention "World of Warcraft," which was about to start its domestic beta test in a few months. However, due to the high hardware requirements and entry barriers of "World of Warcraft" and similar 3D games, their popularity could not compare to "Dream of the West."

Having determined the approximate time, Fang Yun began to think about his next steps.

It was around 2005, and the most popular online game was "Dream of the West." With the help of the all-purpose auxiliary system in his mind, reaching the pinnacle of life seemed just around the corner?

In fact, in his previous life, the game "Dream of the West" was the very reason he fell from a model student to a poor student.

If he hadn't woken up and caught up in his third year, he might not have even graduated, let alone successfully taken the college entrance exam, entered university, and secured a relatively stable job.

But the past is the past. Now that he had a chance to start over, he wouldn't let the tragedy repeat itself.

"Quiet!"

Just as he was contemplating rushing to an internet cafe after school to log into "Dream of the West" and check the system details, Liu Siwei's stern voice from the podium interrupted his thoughts.

As the whispers in the classroom instantly stopped, the beautiful Chinese teacher Liu Siwei relaxed her stern expression, turned sideways, and pointed to the blackboard, saying, "I've written the start date for the next semester and the winter break precautions on the blackboard. Make sure to read them carefully and remember them, okay?"

Following the teacher's words, Fang Yun looked up at the blackboard and saw the first line clearly stating "Classes resume on February 28, 2005."

"So... today is the last day of the first semester of my second year?"

Combining Liu Siwei's words, Fang Yun immediately understood the situation and felt excited, eager to rush to the internet cafe as soon as class was over.

Fang Yun was an orphan and didn't know who his parents were until his rebirth.

He also had a very low presence in the orphanage, which was why no one cared when he fell from a model student to a gaming addict for over a year.

As an invisible person to most, Fang Yun's income after becoming a gaming addict was entirely dependent on "Dream of the West." In other words, he was one of the early internet game grinders.

Poking his pockets, he pulled out a few crumpled bills of various denominations. Lowering his head, he began to count his current savings.

The few bills were quickly counted, and the total of 81 yuan made him sigh, thinking, "Although I've been reborn and received a golden finger, I'm still a poor guy for now."

However, having something was better than nothing. As a reborn person, with the help of the all-purpose auxiliary system, he didn't believe he could do worse than in his previous life. And as the starting point of his new life, he had to enter the game "Dream of the West"!