Chapter Four: The Founding of Fantasy Technology Company

Zhu Lan’s expression kept shifting. It had already been half a month since arriving here. He had long since quit his job, focusing entirely on extracting the Red Queen, but after a few days, Zhu Lan realized just how naive his plan had been. Besides the main computer, all of the Red Queen’s equipment was located beneath the room, while above it was covered completely in steel.

It was utterly impossible to take the equipment out piece by piece. Each time the fantasy system operated, it was a complete process—whatever you took out, it had to be all at once. If you wanted to retrieve something from the same world again, you’d have to start anew.

Zhu Lan roughly understood the principle behind the fantasy system: it used movies or other worlds as blueprints, then in a space invisible to him, it employed a technique akin to 3D printing to directly create the imagined object.

Therefore, if he wanted to retrieve the operational equipment for the Red Queen, he would have to take the entire room at once; taking it bit by bit was simply impossible.

Pale-faced, Zhu Lan shut down Resident Evil on his computer, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

“Time, is it?” Zhu Lan understood now: to extract the Red Queen, he would have to wait until the fantasy system granted him more permissions. But that wasn’t the only concern. More importantly, retrieving larger items in the future would require an even more powerful will.

Over the past half month, Zhu Lan had started to sense that his mental strength had been gradually increasing ever since he obtained the fantasy system. At first he hadn’t noticed, but over the past few days he realized he’d been sleeping less.

Normally, a person needs at least eight hours of sleep a day to recover, but now Zhu Lan found he only needed about seven and a half.

After receiving the fantasy system, Zhu Lan went on forums and message boards, using his writing as a pretext to ask the public about possible issues with such a system.

The consensus was that people grow not only physically, but in their minds as well. The speed at which the human brain operates is closely related to one’s mental strength; the greater the mental strength, the more agile the mind, perhaps even unlocking untapped regions of the brain.

In the Fantasy Galaxy, every person’s brain was as powerful as an artificial intelligence. No matter how advanced a civilization was or how high its starting point, one truth remained: strength is accumulated over time, little by little.

Thus, Zhu Lan began to wonder: could the fantasy system itself cause mental strength to grow?

Afterwards, when Zhu Lan pulled some food and miscellaneous items out from a cop movie, he noticed he was able to take more things each day.

At this point, the word “proficiency” came to his mind.

The fantasy system was activated through mental strength, and out of the world’s seven billion people—not counting those with extraordinary abilities—perhaps not even a hundred regular people could use their mental strength in this way. So naturally, mental strength wouldn’t increase on its own.

But the existence of the fantasy system activated his previously unusable mental faculties. Each use consumed and expanded his will, increasing it by a small margin. Though the increments were tiny, the frequency of use made up for it.

“Raindrops fall, the grass and trees in my old hometown grow thick…” Zhu Lan picked up his phone and, seeing an incoming call, answered it.

“Hello?”

“Is this Mr. Zhu? I’m calling from SpeedLink Corporation. The company registration you requested has been completed. When would it be convenient for you to come by?”

“It’s done? Really? I’ll come this afternoon!” Zhu Lan was overjoyed. Ten days ago, he’d asked an agency to help him set up a new company. He’d expected to wait a month, but it was finished in just ten days.

Changing his clothes, Zhu Lan suddenly thought of something. He picked up his phone, browsed his contacts, and after a moment’s hesitation, made a call.

“Hello, who is this?” came a familiar voice.

Zhu Lan sighed, “It’s me.”

“Zhu Lan?” The surprise was clear.

“Third Brother, you haven’t changed at all.”

“You’re still in the city?”

“Yeah.”

“We haven’t spoken in two years. If you’re calling, you must need something. Go ahead—if I can help, I will,” the other said after a pause.

Zhu Lan hesitated. “I need some money. I’ve asked everyone I could—now I have to turn to you.”

“What’s happened?” his friend asked with concern, not the slightest reproach for being asked for money.

“Nothing in particular—just changed jobs too many times. I want to start my own business while I’m still young. My mother’s been nagging me about it, as you know. And without money, I can’t even think of getting married.”

“Sigh. When we graduated, I told you to join our startup. Now our company’s worth over thirty million. If you’d come with us to N City back then, you’d be a millionaire by now.”

“Enough,” Zhu Lan’s tone grew heavy.

“You still haven’t forgotten her, have you?”

Zhu Lan fell silent.

Perhaps noticing his long silence, the friend said, “Forget it, you handle your own affairs. There’s nothing we can do. How much do you need? I’ll transfer it to you.”

Zhu Lan exhaled. “One million.”

“All right, same account?”

“Yes.”

After hanging up, Zhu Lan sat silently in his chair.

He’d just called his old college roommate and best friend, Li Jin—the ‘Third Brother.’ Li Jin was a second-generation wealthy kid; his father had been among the second wave of successful entrepreneurs during the reforms. Zhu Lan didn’t know exactly how much Li Jin’s family was worth, but he was certain it was over a billion.

Back when they graduated, Zhu Lan had been dating a local girl. To pursue her, he’d come to this city. But the harshness of society led to the old story: she’d rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle. Both Zhu Lan and his girlfriend worked at the same company, but she was wooed away by the supervisor.

Heartbroken, Zhu Lan didn’t want to go home, nor face familiar friends. He moved to the other side of the city and numbed himself with manual labor.

Three years passed, and Zhu Lan always thought he’d moved on. But now he realized he still couldn’t let go of his first love.

Ding dong~

The notification sound snapped Zhu Lan from his thoughts.

He checked his phone, and when he saw the message, he smiled helplessly.

It was a bank transfer notification—not for one million, but three million.

“Third Brother, thank you,” Zhu Lan said with a smile. Four years of university friendship couldn’t be bought with money. Three million, or even ten million—Li Jin would never question what he did with it. In this harsh world, true friends are rare.

Zhu Lan had never planned to rely on Li Jin. In all these years, they’d only been in touch a few times—once after Zhu Lan’s breakup, when he was too ashamed to see anyone, and secondly, because of his own stubborn pride.

But things were different now. With the fantasy system, Zhu Lan didn’t want to build up slowly. The earlier the start, the faster the progress. More importantly, he needed a plausible cover for the items he brought out, and Li Jin’s status—though only second-tier among the province’s wealthy heirs—would be a great help to his imminent venture.

“Third Brother, your three million—I’ll pay you back three hundred million in a year!” Zhu Lan set down his phone, determined.

That afternoon, Zhu Lan went to SpeedLink, paid the remaining fees, and received all the credentials for his company.

Fantasy Technology Co., Ltd.

Registered capital: one million.

That was the company Zhu Lan established. His golden finger was the fantasy system, and his focus was on technology. More importantly, human progress began with imagination. When people first dreamed of flying, it seemed mere fantasy, but the invention of the airplane turned fantasy into reality—and what bridges fantasy and reality is technology.

So Zhu Lan named his company Fantasy Technology, meaning: all human fantasies can be transformed into real technology.

In the past, such words would have sounded like empty boasting. But now, with the fantasy system, such dreams could become reality.

On the third floor of the city’s talent market, Zhu Lan sat in a chair with his eyes closed.

“Zhu Lan?” a surprised voice called from nearby.

Zhu Lan frowned and opened his eyes. Seeing who it was, he frowned again and ignored him.

Seeing Zhu Lan’s indifference, the newcomer grew annoyed.

But when he saw the recruitment sign in front of Zhu Lan, he burst out laughing. “Fantasy Technology? Zhu Lan, you really haven’t changed!”

“Fang Ren, this is a recruitment area. Please leave, or I’ll have security remove you,” Zhu Lan said coldly. Fang Ren’s behavior was already interfering with his recruitment.

Zhu Lan had decided to start his company right away, not wait for the Red Queen. As soon as he set up the company, he came to the talent market, rented a spot, and posted flyers for the positions he needed.

Fang Ren had been a colleague at the company where Zhu Lan and his ex-girlfriend once worked; it was Fang Ren’s uncle, Fang Chang, who had…

“Hmph!” Nowadays, talent markets were no longer chaotic. Trouble-makers were thrown out at once, and Fang Ren understood this. At Zhu Lan’s words, he could only step aside.

Every year, more than eight million college graduates entered the job market, but fewer than three million found jobs. There were no holidays at the talent market; every day, tens of thousands sought suitable employment. On holidays, the daily traffic exceeded a hundred thousand—and this city was only second-tier, with a total population, including migrants, of just two million.

“Hello, I’m here to apply,” three women said, placing their résumés before Zhu Lan.

With money, Zhu Lan didn’t have to rent a spot at the edge. While he didn’t splurge on the prime location, he still chose a decent spot, and soon received over a dozen applications.

“Fantasy Technology? A brand-new shell company—who knows if it’s a pyramid scheme? These days…” As people in line overheard, they glanced at the company introduction behind Zhu Lan, some even pulling out their phones to search for information on Fantasy Technology.

Finding nothing online, most became hesitant.

“Fang Ren, do you want me to beat you until you’re picking your teeth off the floor?” Zhu Lan slammed the table and stood up, glaring at Fang Ren.

“Hmph, just try it!” Fang Ren waved, and instantly, more than a dozen people stood up behind him.