Chapter 1

"Yang Yun! Is this the report you wrote?" A portly old man, clutching a stack of documents, stood in front of Yang Yun, his face contorted with anger as he slammed the papers down on the desk.

Yang Yun rubbed his temples, feeling exhausted. He had worked late into the night to finish the report, and he was still feeling groggy. He could only nod nervously at the editor-in-chief.

Seeing his listless and yawning state, the editor-in-chief’s anger reached its peak, and his roar could be heard throughout the entire editorial department.

"What kind of garbage is this?"

"I asked you to write a summary report on the gaming industry last year, and you come up with this piece of junk?"

"You condensed hundreds of megabytes of data into just a few pages?"

"Empty words! Fake! Grandiose! Hollow!"

"Stupid! Incompetent! A parasite on society!"

"And you call yourself a computer science graduate! What kind of stuff is this? Is this the best you can do? You’re a disgrace!"

"..."

This was a gaming magazine, officially named "Electronic Game Base." It was originally a subsidiary of CNET China, but the entire CNET group was acquired by the American CBS two years ago, making it even more famous and arrogant. The pressure on the editorial department, especially the high-ranking officials, increased as the gaming magazine division faced the possibility of being cut.

Yang Yun’s face grew increasingly grim. He was just an intern, without even a formal position, and being made to take the blame for this was simply too much.

A week ago, the editor-in-chief, with ulterior motives, had assigned him this thankless task. Yang Yun had diligently collected information from various sources and worked hard to produce a 30-page report, covering the current state of the gaming industry in 2013 and its future prospects. He had worked overtime for seven days straight, sleeping only five hours a night, staring at the computer until his eyes watered, and humbly seeking guidance from his seniors and assistance from his peers, all to write a good report and earn a permanent position.

But now, his hard work was easily dismissed, and he was met with the editor-in-chief’s furious outburst!

If the work was wrong or poor, couldn’t you just speak to me properly?

Assigning such an important task to a new intern who hadn’t even figured out the process—was it because you thought I was easy to bully?

And those veteran colleagues, all watching me fall into the trap without lifting a finger to help?

I damn well hate the office politics!

The entire office was tense, everyone on edge, and some of the more experienced colleagues looked at him with pity, mocking him as the editor-in-chief’s saliva splattered on his face, watching the unfortunate new intern be crushed by the office politics.

Yang Yun’s eyes were bloodshot; he had had enough of this despicable editor-in-chief! He had been insulted for 89 days during his two months and 28 days of internship.

He earned a meager salary, worked like a 007 agent, and had to endure endless insults like a trash can.

Why?

He couldn’t take it anymore!

Yang Yun clenched his fists and stood up abruptly, roaring at the fat editor-in-chief like a scene from the movie "Wanted": "Shut up!"

Then, he grabbed the keyboard from the desk and, taking advantage of the old man’s momentary shock, swung it at his face. The keyboard keys flew everywhere, and the editor-in-chief spun around twice, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, wailing in pain.

The thunderous blow left everyone in shock, and after venting his anger, Yang Yun stormed out of the office. He had had enough!

...

Yang Yun, drunk, returned to his rented apartment, his mind in a haze.

The magazine had just called, threatening to sue him until he was bankrupt.

The landlord was coming to collect rent, and he had no money to pay.

His neighbor from the northeast had paid his water, electricity, and internet bills for two months.

10086’s bill collection messages kept coming one after another.

He still owed 3000 yuan on his credit card.

His girlfriend had accidentally burned a hole in her clothes with a cigarette butt yesterday.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became!

Yang Yun rubbed his temples and bent down to turn on his computer, hoping to find some confidence in the virtual world of games.

But when he logged into World of Warcraft, he was prompted that his time was up and needed to recharge. When he opened League of Legends, he encountered several incompetent teammates, and his anger grew. In his frustration, he accidentally kicked the computer case, causing the screen to go black and the computer to fail to restart.

Damn!

He growled softly, clutching his head, his vision blurred. He was a failure...

After downing two bottles of Erguotou, Yang Yun fell onto his bed, closing his eyes, wanting to escape this depressing world and forget all the unpleasantness.

...

...

When Yang Yun came to, he realized the world had truly changed.

It took him three hours to confirm it: he had been reborn! And he had been reborn in 1989, in a small factory in the capital city!

The body he now inhabited was also named Yang Yun, 21 years old, with no family, no status, and no connections. He was a temporary worker at the 938 State-Owned Factory’s Fourth Branch, handling various electronic components, carrying heavy motherboards, and lifting boxes of capacitors, earning a meager salary of a few dozen yuan a month. Like the other young people around him, he spent his days working aimlessly and his nights drinking, smoking, and chatting, living a mechanical, numb, and hopeless life.

Escaping one hell only to fall into another! This was Yang Yun’s first thought.

Without a prominent background, money, power, or connections, and with only a few even worse friends, his starting point was too low. It was a waste of the opportunity to be reborn! Why not be reborn into a wealthy family or as a rich second generation? Instead, he was still a poor otaku, with bad luck!

After calming down, Yang Yun carefully considered what he needed to do.

At least he had a second chance at life; he couldn’t let this rebirth be in vain!

He had to make something of himself!

As a seasoned otaku who had spent four years playing games in college and later worked at a gaming magazine, he had no capital, no technical skills, and no business acumen. He knew nothing about the stock market and would be severely punished if he tried to make predictions. He had no survival skills in the real world; all he knew was how to play games...

That’s it! Yang Yun became excited. He was very familiar with games! From the big boss learning machine at home when he was a child, to the Super Nintendo and PlayStation in the billiard room, and various arcade games, GameBoys, computer games, and mobile games, he knew them all inside and out!

Moreover, before his rebirth, he had just completed a report on the gaming industry, studying a lot of historical data on the development of the Chinese gaming industry. He remembered that 1989 was the year when cartridge game consoles were about to become popular in China!

At that time, the Nintendo Famicom had not yet invaded China on a large scale, and its high price made it a toy for only a few families. The hundreds of yuan per cartridge hindered its development in China.

The next few years would be the rapid development period for domestic cartridge game consoles, led by the legendary big boss learning machine, which reached a production value of 1 billion yuan by 1994!

Yang Yun would never forget the advertisement he heard as a child. Every time the machine was turned on, the voice of Donald Duck would say to every child, "Ah, the big boss is endless fun!"

It was a game that made children in the 1980s and 1990s go crazy, deeply etched in their memories, and a part of everyone’s childhood!

Yang Yun tried to calm himself down and carefully planned his future path.

Technically, the core technology of game consoles was the 6502 CPU chip, which used assembly instructions. Knowing Basic language, data structures, and having a 6502 operation platform, he had enough knowledge.

In this regard, Yang Yun was confident. He was a computer science graduate, and he knew this technology. In this era, people who understood computers were rare, and he would be in high demand wherever he went!

As for creativity, Yang Yun was not worried at all. Who knew better than he did which games were popular and which were garbage? For at least the next twenty years, he would be the world’s best game designer!

So, Yang Yun made a decision: to go to Zhongshan City in Guangdong Province and join the big boss company. He would enter the big boss factory, design and develop the big boss game console, and seize the opportunity of the company’s rapid development to rise to the top!

PS: This story is purely fictional, intended for entertainment and to express frustration, with no intention to belittle. A tribute to the companies that have created various classic games!

PPS: Blizzard, hurry up and release Warcraft 4! I still love playing 1v1 against the simple AI... I’ve already beaten the simple AI in The Frozen Throne to the point where it’s no longer a challenge. I can crush it in half an hour, no challenge at all!