Slipping behind the wheel of a sleek Pagani Huayra, Julian adjusted his seat.
"Master Vance, please take these," Butler Chen said, stepping up to the window and offering a designer pair of sunglasses. "I noticed online that gentlemen your age often enjoy wearing them while driving, so I had a few pairs prepared for you."
"Thanks, Butler Chen." Julian took the sunglasses with a grin.
Fortunately, the original body owner had obtained his driver’s license early on, allowing Julian to take full advantage of the high-performance hypercar without delay.
Roaring out of Rose Manor, Julian navigated the high-end vehicle straight into the city’s financial district, pulling up to a premier securities firm.
He stepped inside to secure a dedicated account manager. A senior broker named Claire walked out to meet him, her eyes sweeping over his casual attire with an immediate frown.
How much capital could a kid like this possibly have to invest? What a complete waste of my morning.
Claire crossed her arms, her tone laced with arrogance. "Are you the one looking to place trades through a manager?"
"That’s right," Julian replied calmly.
"Look, kid," Claire scoffed dismissively. "With whatever pocket change you’re carrying, just use the automated app. I’m far too busy managing institutional portfolios to bother with small-time retail accounts."
Julian let out a dry, quiet laugh. No matter which world he transmigrated to, snobbish corporate gatekeepers remained universal.
"Of course, if you only have a few thousand dollars, there’s a junior manager here with terrible monthly quotas," Claire added mockingly. "You can go bug him—he’s desperate enough to take anything."
Just as an earnest young manager walked past, Claire raised her voice. "Manager Wang! There’s a student here who wants to learn how the stock market works!"
Manager Wang stepped over, offering Julian a polite, respectful bow. "Good morning, sir. Are you looking to execute some stock purchases today?"
"I am," Julian nodded.
Claire smirked from the side. "Treat him well, Manager Wang. Maybe you’ll earn a whole two-dollar commission off his trades."
Ignoring her sarcasm completely, Manager Wang unlocked his tablet and offered it to Julian. "Mr. Vance, here are a few solid blue-chip funds I researched today with strong dividend histories. Please take a look, or let me know if you have specific tickers in mind."
Julian didn’t bother glancing at the tablet. "I want to place an all-in order on BrightStar Media."
Claire burst into loud, hysterical laughter. "All-in on BrightStar Media?! That trash company is hitting the daily lower limit! That’s hilarious!"
Julian’s expression remained completely unfazed.
Manager Wang’s eyebrows knitted in genuine concern. "Mr. Vance, BrightStar Media’s financial disclosures are a complete disaster. It’s facing an imminent delisting warning and locked at the daily lower limit. It’s projected to drop another twenty percent by tomorrow morning. Buying now means instant losses. Are you entirely certain?"
"I’m certain. Execute the buy," Julian said evenly, sliding a sleek black card across the desk. "There is thirty million dollars available. Put every cent into BrightStar Media shares."
"Wh-What? Thirty million?!" Manager Wang froze, staring at the card in utter shock.
Claire’s smug smile instantly vanished, her eyes widening in horror. Thirty million dollars?! How could a young student have that kind of liquidity?!
"I-It’s a scam! It must be fake!" Claire stammered, shaking her head in denial. "He’s just pretending to be rich! The card will be declined!"
Manager Wang quickly ran the card through the high-priority terminal. Moments later, the trading system displayed a string of verified zeros that filled the entire monitor screen.
Net asset balance: $30,000,000.
Claire’s face turned ash-grey. It was real.
If she hadn’t turned him away with such arrogance, the massive trading commission—tens of thousands of dollars a day—would have been hers! Bitter regret pooled in her throat.
Even so, he’s a complete idiot! Claire tried to cope internally. Throwing thirty million into a delisting stock... he’ll be ruined by next week!
"We don’t need to touch the portfolio after this," Julian told Manager Wang smoothly. "I’ll drop back by when it’s time to liquidate."
"Understood, Mr. Vance," Manager Wang replied with utmost deference. "I will handle the execution precisely as instructed."
Miscalculation
Standing nearby in the VIP lobby, a young investor named Sean watched Julian’s retreating figure with wide eyes, clutching his own trading card tightly.
Sean was in desperate financial straits. He had invested two million dollars of his family’s fund into the market, only to watch it bleed down to eight hundred thousand. If he couldn’t recoup those massive losses within two weeks, his relatives would strip him of his inheritance rights forever.
Did that guy just drop thirty million dollars on BrightStar Media without hesitation? Does he know an insider secret about an upcoming corporate bailout?
Sean gritted his teeth, marching up to Manager Wang’s desk. "Manager Wang! Help me put 1.3 million shares into BrightStar Media right now!"
Manager Wang stared at him in disbelief. Another one?! Has the whole world gone insane today?
"Are you absolutely sure, Mr. Sean?"
"I’m positive!" Sean nodded fiercely. He was playing his last card—if he lost, he would accept his fate.
Meanwhile, Julian drove his Pagani Huayra over to a localized lottery shop nearby.
While the first-prize multi-million jackpot was already secured from his earlier ticket purchases, the system’s memory database also contained the exact winning numbers for the third-prize tier of this week’s secondary draw.
A third-prize payout was around five hundred thousand dollars. While it paled in comparison to tens of millions, free money was free money—no sane person would turn down half a million dollars for a quick stop.
"Ah, young man! Welcome back!" The lottery shop owner greeted Julian with enthusiastic warmth. After Julian had purchased multiple high-tier ticket stacks at his shop earlier, the owner remembered his handsome face distinctly.
"Mr. Vance, that new hairstyle suits you exceptionally well," the vendor praised cheerfully. When someone has real money and tailored clothes, they look like a movie star.
"Thank you," Julian nodded politely, placing a slip of written numbers on the glass counter. "Give me seven multi-draw sets of this sequence, please."
"Right away!"
Just as the vendor began printing the tickets, the front door slammed open. The main protagonist Ethan Mercer rushed inside, looking disheveled and frantic.
"Boss! Redeem this ticket immediately!" Ethan slapped a printed lottery ticket onto the glass counter.
"Alright, sir, give me one second," the vendor said patiently, scanning the bar code under the optical reader. He looked at the monitor, frowned, and shook his head. "Customer, this ticket isn’t a winning ticket."
"What?! How is that possible?!" Ethan’s face contorted in anger, his fists slamming onto the counter. "I picked the exact first-prize jackpot numbers! Are you trying to scam me out of my millions?! Hand over my payout!"
The vendor calmly turned the digital display toward him. "Sir, look for yourself. These are the official verified winning numbers broadcast during last night’s live draw."
Ethan leaned in, his eyes wildly scanning the numbers on the screen.
The sequence on the monitor was completely, entirely different from his ticket.
"No... No! How can this be?!" Ethan backed away, clutching his head in absolute horror and disbelief. "I remember it perfectly! In my previous life, these were the exact winning numbers for this draw! Why didn’t they hit?!"
Standing a few feet away, Julian held his freshly printed tickets, his eyes narrowing as he caught Ethan’s panicked mutters.
His previous life?
Julian’s lips curled into an amused, dangerous smirk. Ethan Mercer... you’re a reborn regressor?