The biggest problem with returning to the past…was money.
Not billions.
Not millions.
Arjun checked his pocket.
Three coins.
Total: ₹12
He leaned back on the classroom bench.
An empire always begins with capital.
Last life, he spent years convincing investors.
This life?
He already knew where the money was hiding.
After School
Instead of going home, Arjun walked straight to the old market road.
Shops. Rickshaws. Heat. Noise.
And there — exactly where memory said it would be —
A dusty cyber café.
"Speed Net — Internet ₹15 per hour"
He stepped inside.
The owner looked up.
"Homework? Facebook?"
Arjun shook his head.
"Stock market."
The man laughed loudly.
"You don't even have a moustache yet."
Arjun placed his coins on the table.
"20 minutes."
The owner shrugged and started the timer.
The First Trade
The computer hummed like a tractor.
Slow internet. CRT monitor. Ancient keyboard.
But Arjun's eyes were calm.
He opened the trading website he remembered his father once used.
He knew the password.
He remembered everything.
The balance appeared:
₹2,184
His father's forgotten investment account.
Never touched.
Never noticed.
Until now.
Arjun's fingers moved confidently.
Search.
One company.
A tiny renewable energy supplier no one cared about.
Within two years it would win a government contract…
…and jump 42×.
He bought everything.
All in.
No hesitation.
The café owner walked behind him.
"Kid… gambling?"
Arjun stood up.
"No."
He looked at the screen one last time.
"I just bought my first company."
The man blinked.
"You bought… shares."
Arjun smiled faintly.
"Today shares. Tomorrow board seats."
Night
At dinner his mother complained about electricity bills.
His father sighed about salary delays.
Arjun quietly ate his food.
He wasn't impatient.
Because he knew the exact date.
18 September 2010
The stock would rise 11% in one day.
Not news.
Not rumor.
Inevitable future.
He went to bed early.
But instead of sleeping…
He wrote a list.
The Kill List
Not revenge.
Preparation.
The friend who would leak his algorithms
The mentor who would steal his patent
The CFO who would kill him
He stared at the last name for a long time.
Then closed the notebook.
"Not yet."
First — power.
Then — justice.
Outside, the world was quiet.
Inside a small room, a 16-year-old boy calculated how to legally control corporations before he could vote.
And somewhere in the future…
Three men unknowingly just lost.