Zero to the Greatest and Richest

Chapter 6

In a hazy daze and numbing of pain, I felt hands gently lifting me, their touch a contrast to the hot asphalt. I felt the sticky sensation of blood matting my hair and tracing a warm path down my neck. They hoisted me into a taxi, the chaos of the scene blurring around me. As the vehicle hurtled towards the nearest hospital, I could only focus on the rhythmic thumping of my heart, echoing my disarray.

The taxi's journey ended abruptly, and I was met by a flurry of activity. Nurses, moving with practiced urgency, called for doctors while the world around me faded to black once more.

When I next opened my eyes, the sterile, antiseptic scent of the hospital room filled my nostrils. A splitting headache gripped me, as if my skull was being cleaved in two. Alone in the dimly lit room, I surveyed my surroundings, the stillness of the night enveloping me like a shroud.

Yet it was pain, an old acquaintance from my days as a soldier, that truly awakened me. It surged through me, a reminder of life's fragility and a prompt to reflect on my errors, to ensure they were not repeated.

Pain was a teacher, a guardian against mistake and regret.

Reflecting on my past, I recalled Roger's aggression, which never escalated to attempts on my life. However, since my return, the choices I made rippled outwards, creating a butterfly effect that now threatened my life. My actions were altering the course of the future, eroding my advantage of world information, which was supposed to be my strong point. I cannot do anything that can cause too much change to maintain my advantage. I need to stay on my original path.

And the Karma system, it supported me when I was doing something good according to their rules, but once I started to think about doing something to destroy the world or cause a lot of tragedy, the universe and the system would destroy me.

This system turned out to be a shackle on my life's freedom. The devil gave me a second chance, but the angel gave me a shackle for not overusing it.

I still needed to move around within their approved arena.

This realization weighed heavily on me. A towering tree might withstand the fiercest storms, but in its infancy, it is vulnerable to the simplest threats. I was like that young sapling, still taking root; anyone could kill me.

‘I can't be too arrogant and make a mistake.’

How in the past did I become the greatest general? It's because I never made the same mistake twice. I learned a hundred things from a single mistake, not one thing from a hundred mistakes.

As I lay in the hospital bed, a cascade of thoughts flooded my mind. I realized the need for cautious planning. Hiding myself, building strength until the right moment – the big city promised a cloak of anonymity, a place where I could act freely, unburdened by the familiarity of this small town where everyone knew each other.

My misstep had escalated tensions with Roger, driving him to attempt to end my life. And Universe supported him to kill me. I pondered over the toxic cycle of our relationship. If one refuses to back down, the conflict spirals endlessly into darkness. If I retaliated against Roger, it would only invite further trouble from his family. Yet, forgiveness seemed like a feeble response to his aggression.

Killing him, although within my capabilities, would only lead to my imprisonment, squandering the bright future I envisioned.

‘Dingg…’

[System Karma notification: In an emergency, you used your +980 good karma points to evade a deadly attack and narrowly missed a fatal outcome. If the good karma did not work, you would have already been dead. Your current good karma points are at 0.]

‘So I suppose to die…’

Well, let's sleep and see what happens tomorrow.

In the morning, my mother and father were angry with me. Then I received a slap and was scolded again for the $500 hospital bill. I didn't go to school for a week, which jeopardized my school score. Although with my new memories, getting first place is easy.

In a decisive move, accompanied by my mother, I went to the police station to file a complaint against Roger.

Two days after that, the police informed me that Roger had been relocated out of state by his family, making him inaccessible to me for the time being. His family was willing to cover the hospital fees and added $2000 as compensation for us to withdraw our report to the police because their son was still susceptible to killing and possibly facing 5 years in prison. They didn't want to harm their child's future.

In a way, this was a relief. It provided me with the opportunity to strategize and wait until I could move freely from city to city. Then, I would locate Roger and exact the revenge I believed was deserved. In the meantime, I understood that patience was my ally; revenge is indeed best served cold.

I got $500, and my parents took $1500. When you are still a child, you can only listen to your parents.

This turn of events, however, made me more cautious. I curtailed my activities drastically, avoiding anything that might draw unwanted attention or legal trouble. My focus shifted to blending in, to moving with the flow of everyday life.

But surely it was not as calm as I thought. Without Roger, I almost felt like the king of middle school, being in my final year at the only middle school, with everyone else being my peer and juniors. As for my romantic relationships, I still had fun with each of them, and some juniors were attracted to me; we did something fun together. If I dare to write it here, I might get into trouble, so I will just let you, the readers, imagine it.

Even though I interacted with some classmates, I was careful enough to remain within limits, never giving anyone grounds to take legal action against me or restrict my freedom. I never burned my bridges; I always kept a back door open.

‘Always avoid compromising a female's virginity, as it may cause trouble. However, other forms of intimacy of hole, if consensual, can be less problematic as they leave no trace. At least for now.’

Six months flew by, and during this time, I focused on improving my physical and mental strength. I devoted myself to clearing the health's relation quest from number 1 to 120. Each achievement in my health journey added to my strength, though the gains became incrementally smaller, and the challenges more demanding.

At the end I achieved the top rank in my school. This accomplishment, however, went unnoticed by my parents. They seemed more concerned about me starting work and earning money. Despite their indifference, I remained adamant about my plans to study in the big city, seeing it as a stepping stone to a future where I had the freedom and opportunity to fully realize my potential.

Health’s Quest # 150 (the last)

Run 100 miles

Push up 1000

Sit up 1000

In 24 hours.

My status

Health: 98/100 max

Strength: 98/100 max

Agility: 98/100 max

Intelligence: 98/100 max

Handsome: 98/100 max]

On the last day of middle school, two weeks before heading to the big city, I didn't meet anybody. I bought a backpack filled with emergency food and the cheapest tent I could find. I lied to my parents, telling them I was going hiking with friends, but in reality, I set off alone to complete Quest #150. I ventured into the mountains, seeking to enjoy the solitude under the night sky.

On the first day, I tried to run, covering only 75 miles, slowly increasing my distance each day. I vomited frequently. It was exhausting, but I was determined to change my life for the better. I was willing to do anything to avoid ending up like a dog or a thief.

I wanted to achieve something that would make my family proud or, at the very least, make me proud.

Day by day, I kept pushing myself to improve. I vomited, my muscles were stressed, my entire body cried out for rest. My mind was filled with screams of regret, but I could only move forward, one step at a time, for a better future.

My harem point and popularity point increase over the top as Roger's gone. People are starting to know me, and I become more handsome by the day. But I don't want to touch their thousand points as I will need them in the future.

As for my karma points, I increased them through daily prayers and doing small acts of kindness here and there. It has now reached +50,000, which can be exchanged for another $500.

This is my hard-earned collection from six months of hard work. It could serve as my initial capital for money making.

I'm aware of the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and 1998, but I don't have internet access and many resources to benefit from it since I'm in a small city with limited options.

But once I arrive in the big city, I can do many things to increase my income and start my money-making business. I plan to invest in Nokia stock, anticipating the booming mobile phone market. I remember it multiplied more than tenfold during 1998-2000, along with many other stocks. I need to gather every single penny I have.

After putting in a lot of effort and sweating profusely, I keep running until I hear the system ring, indicating that I've reached 100 miles of running. Then I switch to doing push-ups, and when I get tired, I switch to sit-ups. After two weeks of self-torture, I finally hear what I've been waiting for.

[Quest #150 achieved. Reward +2 to all stats:

Health: 100/100 max

Strength: 100/100 max

Agility: 100/100 max

Intelligence: 100/100 max

Handsomeness: 100/100 max]

[You have completed the health system, and now you will enter the cultivation system. You can begin to cultivate yourself and learn many techniques. Now, all your stats will transform into the Cultivation system, which is divided into four parts: Heart cultivation, Soul cultivation, Spirit cultivation, and Body cultivation.]

[Heart Cultivation System

Quest #1

Open Heart Meditation for 30 minutes.]

‘Fuck, what the hell of this bullshit? Does the karma system desperately want to make me into a good guy?’

***

Time was passing quickly.

I then relocated to the bustling big city. My new residence was a cramped space on the second floor of a wooden house originally designated for storage. The same small room that's only 2mx3m in size, without a bedroom, just an empty space. A small window was the only thing helping me cope with the hot temperature.

This place was where I spent a lot of time alone, masturbate in solitude wasting all my potential sperm. This time, I hoped to replace my loneliness with the company of a lovely woman. I also want to have my own big place.

Anyway, for now, this would be my place until next year. I hoped I could earn money quickly. To cut down on transportation costs, I invested in a second-hand bicycle for getting to school.

On the first day of school, I entered my high school class, grade 10 room A from A-Z room. It was a special class filled with the wealthiest, smartest, and most accomplished peers from the big city. This was the place where I aimed to become a legend.

‘No more loser.’

There were about 40 people in my class, and half of them were destined to become successful individuals, leading international billionaire and CEO lifestyles, thanks to their wealthy parents. The school I attended was the best in this big city, where influential and affluent families enrolled their children.

There was a time when I was just a small country boy who had gained entry to this class solely because of my intelligence. I didn't fully comprehend the significance of it all then.

Now, it is different. I knew what it meant to me; it was like a big tree offering me a place or a serving of soft rice to eat. All I had to do was to seduce any random girl in this class, and I believed I would become cozy enough to have my entire life protected by my parents-in-law's wealth.

The power of rich parents in law is amazing!

However, I had left those thoughts behind, as now, my aim was to dominate and become the best among them, to be their leader.

To make love with each girl on here…

Suddenly, I remembered that among the smartest and the wealthiest, there were some people like me who were destined to be losers. In another classroom, three years from now, I would meet a guy named Hendrik. I needed to find him because his uncle was involved with the mafia and ran gambling operations, including sports betting on soccer and basketball.

I knew all the games, and it seemed like the easiest way to earn money, right?

Gambling.