Creating a Tech Empire - Chapter 1: Advanced Technology Shop

In the year 2002, in the Huaxia country, in the city of Jinzhou, at Tianan University.

Chen Fan stood on the dormitory balcony, feeling the stifling hot air. Under the blazing sun, he couldn’t help but wonder if the pounding headache he had been experiencing had slightly eased.

“Is this… Tianan University?”

Chen Fan muttered to himself in disbelief.

He had no idea why he was here. Even if he had overindulged in alcohol last night, it shouldn’t have led him from Jingzhou City to Tianan University in Jinzhou City.

Chen Fan was a project director at a multinational corporation. Last night, he had been drinking with clients until the early hours, mixing foreign and Chinese liquor. He had passed out and, when he opened his eyes again, he found himself in this strange place.

Ding-ling-ling!~ Just then, accompanied by lively music, there was a vibration in his pocket.

Chen Fan instinctively took out his phone. What was this?! It was a Motorola A388! A flip phone!

As Chen Fan looked at this antique phone in his hand, his thoughts raced. In light of the current situation, a bizarre idea began to take shape.

He flipped open the phone, pressed the answer key, and held it to his ear.

“Chen Fan! Wake up, will you? Today is the day our interns report to Shenglin Technology. In an hour, the company bus will arrive. Hurry up and get ready!”

A voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar came from the phone. Chen Fan’s brain worked quickly, and he couldn’t help but ask in disbelief.

“Are you… Li Chenggang?!”

“Of course, who else would it be? Stop drinking so much next time. It was just a woman wasn’t it? Was it worth risking your future due to that? Stop dilly-dallying and get down here. If you’re late on your first day of the internship, you’ll regret it!”

With that, the call was disconnected, followed by the beeping of the busy signal.

Chen Fan remained in the posture of answering the phone, standing there in a daze. The glaring sunlight, the sweltering air – nothing could calm the turmoil in his heart at this moment.

Was this what his junior from work called time travel?

He stared in disbelief at the flip phone, where the black-and-white screen displayed the current time.

July 22, 2002, Monday, 9:25 AM!

After confirming the time, he hurried back into the dormitory. The moment he stepped inside, a familiar smell of sweaty socks mixed with the scent of cigarettes, alcohol, and an unidentified foul odor assaulted his senses.

Looking at the Qingdao beer bottles strewn all over the floor, along with some Great Wall dry red wine bottles, and scattered melon seeds and peanut shells, occasionally accompanied by a pair of dirty socks, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu.

The mess is all around, there’s hardly a place to step…

Chen Fan gave a wry smile, and this scene somewhat eased his turbulent emotions.

July 22, 2002, was a significant day for Chen Fan, and the memories were deeply etched in his mind.

The previous Sunday, he had confessed to his longtime crush, Chen Nanli, and had been gently rejected by her. That same evening, he had drowned his sorrows with his roommates. Today, which was his first day stepping into adulthood, marked a turning point in his life.

Chen Fan was a junior student majoring in industrial engineering at Tianan University in Jinzhou City. He had joined as an apprentice in product design for his first internship because he had learned Pro/Engineer, a 3D software, during his time in Jingzhou City.

In 2002, the industrial sector in the country was still in its middle stage, so people who could use 3D software were relatively rare. Therefore, interns like Chen Fan, who had studied 3D software during their time at school, were highly sought after by relevant companies.

In his previous life before this rebirth, Chen Fan had entered the industrial sector on this very day and had spent a total of twenty years in the technical field. Later, during the development of a small product, he received significant market feedback, which led to his promotion to a technical management position.

In a way, Chen Fan’s life before rebirth had been quite uneventful, just an ordinary life. After working for more than ten years, he had met a woman who wasn’t stunningly beautiful but could give him peace of mind, and they had married.

His parents were in reasonably good health, both with their jobs, and life was comfortable. His sister also had a simple and happy family. Everything was so plain and uneventful, and though life could be somewhat dull and boring at times, it was valued for its authenticity.

Originally, he had thought he would work for another ten years, then retire gracefully, travel with his wife in his fifties, and enjoy his old age surrounded by children and grandchildren. That would have been enough for a lifetime.

Little did he know that fate would give him a second chance, and he had returned to the age of 22!

『Primary Advanced Technology Shop initiated, matching host identity…』

Just then, a voice deep in his mind interrupted Chen Fan’s reminiscence.

This is… a system?!

The emotions he had just managed to calm down surged again.

To be honest, he was not unfamiliar with the concept of transmigration. Among office workers like him who didn’t read web novels in his previous life, he was in the minority. He himself was a seasoned bookworm.

Transmigration came with a system; that was common knowledge!

『Host identity successfully matched. Name: Chen Fan』

『Age: 22 years』

『Height: 175 centimeters』

『The Advanced Technology Shop was created due to the destruction of the alternate  Earth. To ensure that the technological civilization of the Earth is not wiped out, it has been passed down in the form of a shop』

『Host Chen Fan, your main responsibility is to promote the technological civilization of the Earth. If you fail to complete the tasks within the specified time, the system will reset everything and match a new host』

『The Primary Advanced Technology Shop currently only offers white-tier, lower-level technological civilization. If you have enough wealth points, you can purchase any item』

『The wealth points of the Advanced Technology Shop must be earned through your own efforts. Any gifted or found wealth does not count toward the shop’s wealth points』

『Any output of advanced technology must be explained to the world by the host. If the fact of the Advanced Technology Shop is revealed, it will also result in a reset, and the system will match a new host』

『First task of the Advanced Technology Shop: release any new product to the market』

『Task deadline: 100 days』

『Task reward 1: Choose any white-tier, lower-level technological product』

『Task reward 2: Receive 5 points from the Advanced Technology Shop』

『Note: Points from the Advanced Technology Shop can be used to exchange for shop VIP status or extend task deadlines』

『The basic introduction of the Advanced Technology Shop ends here. The remaining functions of the shop need to be developed and researched by the host』

Chen Fan saw the virtual system panel appear before him. It was the size of a palm, with simple content consisting of five options: tasks, shop, wealth points, points, and warehouse.

His focus was on the task option. The screen changed, and he entered it, where only the tasks and rewards mentioned by the system were displayed.

Using the same method, he entered the shop page once again. Inside, he saw a dazzling array of items, so many products that it made Chen Fan’s head spin.

In the software section: Upgraded SAP strategic software, embedded intelligent six-axis linkage system, comprehensive four-dimensional design software, intelligent driving system…

Chen Fan’s heart raced as he saw these options. He didn’t bother looking at the others, as they were all grayed out, indicating that they couldn’t be exchanged for.

The SAP upgraded strategic software might not be familiar to many people, but to give a simple example, think about the importance of electronic chips.

This software, however, is an essential tool for chip design and production. It can be said that the company that developed this software might not rank very high among the Fortune 500 companies, maybe even outside the top 400. However, around 80% of the Fortune 500 companies are customers of this software company.

It can be stated with confidence that SAP strategic software is the number one ERP software in the world!

To be blunt, if SAP were to stop supplying any country, the semiconductor companies in that country would be in serious trouble.

Because software is the soul of chips, and without software, chips cannot function properly.

Chen Fan only now realized what kind of changes the Advanced Technology Shop could bring to himself and the world!

Unfortunately, nearly 90% of the items in the shop were grayed out, and the prices were displayed as “???” labels.

The only items with visible prices were those Chen Fan was somewhat familiar with.

For example, Android systems, touchscreen phones, and other products that would gradually appear in the next ten years.

The required wealth points for purchase started at over a hundred thousand!

Chen Fan entered the wealth points page and confirmed that the wealth points displayed were zero.

With a sigh, he didn’t let disappointment overcome him. The journey had to be taken step by step. Finally, he confirmed the lottery page.

Upon entering, he noticed something unexpected. The number of lottery chances showed “1” with an annotation.

『Newbie reward, one free lottery chance. Lottery range: products displayed in the shop with wealth values』

Chen Fan didn’t think too much and silently thought about drawing the lottery. The lottery page flickered for a moment, and then a product package appeared.

『Plastic assembly toy, Titanic ship, made up of 2888 bricks, valued at 8888 wealth points!』