Rain fell quietly over the city.
Neon lights reflected across the wet streets, stretching long and distorted across the asphalt like shattered mirrors. Cars rushed past in blurred streaks, their headlights cutting through the evening haze.
Inside a quiet hospital room on the tenth floor, a heart monitor emitted a slow, fading rhythm.
Beep…
Beep…
Beep…
Lin Tian lay on the bed, pale and motionless.
At twenty-eight years old, he had built several companies from nothing. For years he had barely slept—working day and night, chasing success, trying to outrun poverty, trying to prove that a nobody could rise in this cruel city.
But tonight, all that effort meant nothing.
The doctor glanced at the monitor.
The nurse lowered her eyes.
The sound of the machine stretched into a long, hollow tone.
Beeeeeeeeee—
And then, silence.
Outside the hospital window, the rain continued to fall.
Darkness.
For a long time, there was nothing.
No sound.
No sensation.
Just endless black.
Then suddenly—
Ding.
A strange mechanical sound echoed in the void.
Lin Tian felt his consciousness flicker.
Another sound followed.
Ding.
System initialization in progress…
His mind trembled.
System?
Before he could think further, countless fragments of light appeared in the darkness, forming lines of glowing symbols that surrounded him like stars.
World Builder System activating.
Host detected.
Identity verification complete.
Lin Tian's thoughts exploded with confusion.
What is happening?
Then—
A violent surge of memories flooded his mind.
Childhood.
School.
College.
Work.
Failure.
Struggle.
Endless nights of exhaustion.
And finally—
The hospital room.
His death.
Lin Tian's mind froze.
Wait…
Didn't I just die?
Another notification sounded.
Ding.
Host consciousness stabilized.
Rebirth process complete.
Before Lin Tian could react—
The darkness shattered.
Sunlight.
Warm, bright sunlight.
Lin Tian suddenly inhaled sharply.
"—!"
He shot upright in bed.
The world rushed back into focus.
A simple dormitory room.
White walls.
Two desks.
Four bunk beds.
A slightly crooked ceiling fan spinning slowly.
Outside the window, birds chirped in the distance.
Lin Tian stared blankly.
"…What?"
His voice sounded younger.
Much younger.
He looked down at his hands.
They were not the hands of a tired twenty-eight-year-old entrepreneur.
They were the hands of a twenty-year-old college student.
Lin Tian's breathing became uneven.
"This…"
His eyes slowly moved across the dorm room.
Posters on the wall.
A pile of textbooks.
A cheap laptop.
And a calendar hanging beside the door.
The date was circled in red.
September 12th.
Lin Tian's pupils shrank.
"…Impossible."
He stumbled out of bed and grabbed the calendar.
The year printed at the top made his mind explode.
2016.
This was eight years ago.
"I…"
Lin Tian's voice trembled.
"I'm back?"
Memories surged again.
This was his college dormitory at Shanghai University.
At this time, he was still just a poor student from a small town, struggling to pay tuition, dreaming about building a future in the big city.
A future that had ended in a hospital bed.
Lin Tian slowly sat down.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
Rebirth…
The word sounded unreal.
Yet everything around him felt painfully real.
Just then—
Ding.
A bright holographic screen suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.
Lin Tian jumped.
"What the—"
The floating interface shimmered in midair.
WORLD BUILDER SYSTEM
Host: Lin Tian
Age: 20
Level: Lv.1
Current Identity: University Student
Initial Mission Available.
Lin Tian blinked repeatedly.
The screen didn't disappear.
"…I'm hallucinating."
He rubbed his eyes.
The screen remained.
Ding.
The interface expanded.
Welcome, Host.
The World Builder System has chosen you as its operator.
Your mission is simple:
Build the foundation of a future global civilization.
Lin Tian stared.
"…You're joking."
The system continued.
Initial Mission Generated
Identity: Taxi Driver (Temporary Identity)
Mission Objective:
Complete 25 five-star rides within 7 days.
Reward:
Shanghai Commercial Land Plot
Estimated Value: 450,000,000 RMB
Lin Tian froze.
"…Four hundred… fifty million?"
He stared at the glowing number.
His brain struggled to process it.
Four hundred fifty million yuan.
That was more money than he had ever imagined while growing up in his small rural hometown.
"Is this some kind of prank?"
No one answered.
The dormitory door suddenly opened.
A tall young man stepped inside carrying a bag of instant noodles.
"Hey, Lin Tian."
The man glanced at him.
"You're awake already?"
Lin Tian looked up.
He immediately recognized the familiar face.
Zhang Hao.
His college roommate.
Eight years ago, Zhang Hao had been his closest friend in university.
Later he had become a small software developer, working endless overtime in a tiny office.
Seeing him again after death felt surreal.
Lin Tian's throat tightened.
"…Zhang Hao?"
Zhang Hao frowned.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Lin Tian quickly shook his head.
"Nothing."
Zhang Hao dropped onto the chair and stretched lazily.
"Classes start in an hour."
He glanced at Lin Tian suspiciously.
"You look like you've seen a ghost."
Lin Tian forced a smile.
"Just a weird dream."
Zhang Hao laughed.
"Better hurry then. Professor Liu already hates you for skipping his lectures."
Lin Tian didn't respond.
His attention returned to the floating system interface still hovering in front of him.
Mission Countdown Started
Time Remaining: 6 Days 23 Hours
Taxi driver…
Lin Tian leaned back slowly.
In his previous life, he had spent years building companies from scratch.
He knew how brutal the real world was.
Success was not easy.
Yet now—
The system offered a land plot worth 450 million simply for driving a taxi.
Lin Tian rubbed his chin.
"…If this is real…"
Zhang Hao interrupted him.
"Are you talking to yourself again?"
Lin Tian looked up.
"Zhang Hao."
"Yeah?"
"Do you still have that old driver's license?"
Zhang Hao blinked.
"…Why?"
Lin Tian smiled faintly.
"I'm thinking about making some money."
Zhang Hao burst out laughing.
"You? Making money?"
Lin Tian didn't argue.
Instead he quietly stood up and walked toward the window.
Outside, the morning sun was rising over the skyline of Shanghai.
In the distance, towering skyscrapers glowed under the golden light.
Eight years later, he had spent everything trying to survive in this city.
Now—
He had returned.
Lin Tian's eyes sharpened.
If I really have another chance…
Behind him, the system interface flickered once more.
First Mission Activated
Identity Assigned: Taxi Driver
Lin Tian smiled slightly.
"Let's see what this system can really do."
Far away across the massive city, millions of people began their day, unaware that the quiet young man standing in a university dormitory was about to change the future of the world.