"Chairman, we already secured the business deal with the Romans Motors Company. They’ve agreed to become one of our subordinates."
A young man clad in neat, navy blue office suit reported to a middle-aged man who sat behind his office desk, his eyes closed. He had a thoughtful expression on his face as he listened to his personal secretary.
Even after the young man finished speaking, he didn’t say a word for a full minute.
Finally, he opened his mouth and spoke, his voice mature and authoritative.
"Is that so? And the Blackwoods?" He asked.
The secretary promptly answered, "They have only one company left."
"How long?"
The young man answered, his black eyes glinting. "Two months at most."
The middle-aged man nodded slowly, then opened his eyes. One of his eyes was completely white, the result of an injury that had left him partially blind. However, his eyes carried a gaze that weighed far more than what anyone could bear.
Even his secretary didn’t dare look at him for too long.
Victor sighed and thought in his heart, ’I have finally avenged you, Cynthia. Your family has paid the price for their actions.’
He used his remaining good eye to glance at Eric, his secretary, then said, "Prepare my car. I’m heading home in the next thirty minutes."
The young man nodded, then hurried out of the office.
Left alone, Victor stood up and glanced around.
His office was decorated with care and expensive furniture, even having some of the greatest technological devices. To anyone, merely his office was their dream.
To him, it was nothing but a hollow room. Without the presence of that woman, the world had lost its color to him.
He slowly walked towards the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office, taking a look at the city sprawled down below.
Technology had advanced greatly in the past few decades, and some crazy scientists had managed to make mind-blowing inventions like flying cars or AI bots that had diverse functions.
To say this era was the best era humanity had ever enjoyed wouldn’t be an exaggeration. And Victor was among the top echelon of the world, being the second-wealthiest man in the world.
He had everything... except the one thing he desired most.
’Cynthia...’
Closing his eyes, he stepped forward, wishing he could just pass through the glass windows and fall into the abyss below. He simply felt like disappearing from this world.
Shockingly, his body passed through the glass just like he wanted, and he found himself in the air, falling towards the ground.
Victor blinked in confusion.
’I... am falling?’
......
A young man sleeping comfortably in his bed was startled awake, clutching his chest in panic.
His eyes snapped open, filled with shock and confusion. Slowly, his heart cooled when he realized he was no longer falling.
’What...’
He looked around, noticing the room was dimly lit. He couldn’t understand how he was suddenly in a room.
Just a moment ago, he had strangely phased through the glass windows of his office, and he was falling to his death.
Why was he suddenly in someone else’s room?
Narrowing his eyes, he turned to the table at the bedside, seeing an old table lamp placed there. It had been many years since he last used one, but he still knew how to operate them.
Under his touch, the lamp brightened the room, and he got a clearer view of the room.
It was a shabby room. One that shouldn’t even be owned by a financially struggling human. The curtains were old and dirty, and the furnitures looked insanely old.
’Have I been kidnapped? Who could be responsible for this?’
He thought, standing from the bed to investigate. That was when he noticed something odd. His body felt... different.
He couldn’t feel the callouses on his hands, and his left eye was working perfectly.
’How is that possible?’
His eyes widened, and he hurried over to the mirror to take a look.
’No.’
What looked back at him wasn’t a reflection of Victor Caldwell. It was something different entirely. A young man probably in his mid-twenties.
’Ethan Hale... is my name,’ He thought, frowning. ’No, that’s wrong. I’m Victor Caldwell. The Chairman of the Caldwell Business Empire. Am I... possessing someone?’
He raised a hand and touched his own face. It was real. He was really in someone else’s body.
’What kind of phenomenon is this?’
He thought, going through his memories. That was when he realized something deeper was wrong.
’2029? That’s not right. Yesterday was my birthday. I turned fifty-nine. The date was 17th, October, 2079...’
Just as he was facing an identity crisis, he was suddenly forced to confront another fact. He was in the past—exactly fifty years ago.
’Today, is 18th, October, 2029.’
The moment he accepted it, many things made sense. No wonder this room looked too shabby. If it was indeed fifty years ago, that would explain the difference.
’I’m not in the same era as before.’
He thought, staring down at his own hands. He had really come to possess someone’s body from fifty years in the past, and he was aware of his current identity.
Ethan Hale—a young man with no job, a wife and a daughter, hobbies like drinking, gambling, and visiting brothels on a weekly basis with money borrowed from his wife. He was a completely pathetic husband.
A vast contrast to the man he was—Victor Caldwell.
He immediately felt a flicker of disgust towards this body, and he couldn’t understand why the original Ethan had been such a pathetic character.
It didn’t matter anymore, though. The young man was now gone—or perhaps, merged with him. This was his new identity.
’And right... a wife and a daughter, huh...?’
He turned around to look at the bed. On the other side was a beautiful young woman with snowy white hair. She wasn’t too beautiful, yet something about her gentle features attracted him.
’She reminds me of Cynthia,’ He realized.
Cradled in the young woman’s arms was a little girl around nine years old. The little girl also had her mother’s white hair, but her facial features resembled her father more.
Ethan watched them silently, his thoughts solemn. In his life as Victor Caldwell, this was what he always wanted—a family. Yet, he never had one.
Now, however, he had unexpectedly gained a family through means he couldn’t understand. Before he could think further, something lit up before his eyes.
[Installation Complete]
[Patriarch System now available for use.]
[Current Family Status: Broken.]
[Family Happiness: 7%]
[Patriarch Qualification: F-]
[Objective: Repair Your Family.]
[Welcome, Ethan, to your adventurous journey with the Patriarch System.]