1: Chapter 1: Black Stockings or the System?

"You little brat,"

"if you hand over that file,"

"we'll call these debts even,"

"did you hear me?"

"Don't play dead with me!"

"Get out here right now!"

"We can talk this through!"

A cacophony of shouting drifted in from outside.

Bai Jingqing felt a splitting headache,

as if he had just been struck by something very heavy.

He forced his eyes open with great effort,

and immediately felt an intense wave of nausea in his gut.

A foul stench permeated the air around him.

He scrambled out of bed,

instinctively crawling toward the sink next to the bathroom,

and began to retch violently, clutching the basin.

"Blegh... Hurk... Blegh..."

After he finished vomiting,

feeling as though his stomach had been completely emptied,

Bai Jingqing finally felt a bit better.

He looked up,

staring at his reflection in the mirror.

He was emaciated,

his complexion haggard,

and his eyes were heavily bloodshot.

He turned on the tap to rinse his mouth,

then splashed some water on his face,

which helped him calm down slightly.

"Brat, did you hear me?"

"Open the door right now!"

"We can talk things over!"

"Don't force my hand!"

The shouting outside continued unabated.

Bai Jingqing found it irritating.

Making such a racket so early in the morning—

who the hell was it?

He surveyed his surroundings.

"Holy shit, where is this?"

He was momentarily stunned.

He was in a house he didn't recognize.

The furniture was extremely sparse,

and the place was cluttered with various boxes

that looked like they contained machine parts.

Looking further to the side,

he even saw an old CRT monitor.

"What era is this?"

"Do people still use computers like that?"

He was puzzled.

He stood up to walk around,

but the intense discomfort persisted.

After a few minutes of adjusting,

he forced himself to walk out of the room.

Leaving the room,

he realized he seemed to be in a mobile phone shop.

Glass counters lined the space,

filled with all sorts of mobile phones.

"Damn, my head hurts!"

Bai Jingqing couldn't help but rub his temples,

which were throbbing painfully,

as if a flood of information was churning in his mind.

"What's happening to me?"

While muttering to himself,

Bai Jingqing tried to remember.

His last memory was being slightly tipsy in a bar,

having just picked up a girl,

and was about to reach out to touch her smooth black silk stockings...

But why was everything after that a blank?

How did he wake up here?

I didn't do something atrocious last night, did I?

That would be a huge loss.

He truly had no memory of what happened next!

How could he forget such a wonderful experience?

Bai Jingqing slapped his head,

but still couldn't recall a single thing.

"You brat!"

"Open the door for me right now!"

"Do you hear me?"

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Just then,

a series of loud thuds came from the front door,

accompanied by a man's shouting.

Bai Jingqing was startled.

He had been hearing someone making a noise,

but he hadn't realized they were looking for him!

Just as he was about to walk over and open the shop's rolling shutter,

he suddenly froze.

"Why are there so many extra memories in my head?"

"Did I... transmigrate?"

Then, amidst the throbbing pain in his brain,

a flood of memories appeared out of thin air.

He really had transmigrated!

He discovered that the original owner of this body was also named Bai Jingqing.

But this Bai Jingqing's life was quite miserable.

His parents had started with a mobile phone shop,

and eventually built their own technology company.

They grew the business step by step,

catching the wave of the booming mobile market,

and their career flourished.

But just as they were looking to expand further,

they were unexpectedly betrayed by a classmate they were collaborating with!

And the betrayal was devastating;

their tech company was forced into bankruptcy.

Unable to accept the destruction of their life's work,

and even less able to bear the pain of betrayal by an old friend,

they eventually committed suicide by jumping off a building.

The tech company and all assets were seized by the bank as collateral for debts,

leaving him with nothing but this small, dilapidated phone shop

that could still barely operate.

However, bank officials had already visited several times.

If the debt wasn't repaid soon,

this shop would likely be confiscated as well.

Enduring the agony of losing his parents

and the daily pressure of debt collection,

the original owner became profoundly depressed.

Finally losing the will to live,

he chose to end his life.

Looking at the bottle of Dichlorvos sitting on the counter,

Bai Jingqing understood instantly.

The original owner had committed suicide by drinking Dichlorvos!

By some twist of fate, he had transmigrated into this body!

"Damn it!"

"I was just about to appreciate that girl's stockings!"

"Why did I have to transmigrate at a time like this?"

However, just as he had arrived,

he had felt a surge of nausea.

When he ran to the sink to vomit earlier,

he must have expelled everything the original owner had swallowed.

According to the original owner's memories,

the current level of technology was roughly equivalent to the year 2015 on his former world, Blue Star.

Many things in this world were different from Blue Star,

but the technological progress was largely the same.

For instance, the mobile phones currently on the market

were just transitioning from keypad feature phones to touchscreens.

The mobile market was on the verge of a major revolution and leap forward.

It was no wonder the original owner's parents committed suicide.

They had been full of passion for the future,

only to be betrayed by an old classmate

and cast into the abyss.

That feeling must have been unbearable.

Meanwhile,

the man outside was still shouting,

telling him to open the door

and demanding some kind of file.

Without even thinking, he knew

this must be the parents' old classmate.

"Kid, I know you're in there."

"I know you can hear me."

"Open the door right now,"

"and we can talk things through."

"For the sake of my past friendship with your parents,"

"I'll give you a way out."

"This is my final warning!"

Bai Jingqing felt his head throbbing.

He felt extremely unwell at the moment,

his whole body aching.

He didn't know if it was due to the recent transmigration

or because the original owner's health had deteriorated

from all the stress.

"This is a fucking disastrous start!"

"Brother, if we've swapped identities,"

"then are you currently in the bar having a heated chat with that girl,"

"while I have to miserably shoulder all this for you...?"

Bai Jingqing wanted to cry but had no tears.

[Congratulations to the host for activating the mobile phone profiteer system.]

Just then,

a mechanical voice rang out in his mind,

sending a surge of excitement through Bai Jingqing.

"Holy shit! The transmigrator's standard equipment!"

"The system is here!"

Bai Jingqing's frown instantly transformed into a beaming smile.

"Brother, if my transmigration means we swapped places,"

"then I hope while you're touching that girl's stockings,"

"you don't forget that there's someone else bearing all this pain for you,"

"enduring this immense pressure in your stead."

"But since I'm here now,"

"I certainly won't let things slide."

"I will avenge you."

"Rest easy, brother!"