"Ugh! Why does my head feel so heavy?"
Arthur groaned as a wave of discomfort wrapped around his skull like a vise. Dizziness washed over him as he struggled to open his eyes, the world appearing blurry and distorted.
The moment he did, an intense light assaulted his senses, forcing him to shield his eyes with his hand.
After a few moments of adjustment, he dared to reopen them.
What greeted him was astonishing,a massive crystal chandelier glimmering above him in luxurious splendor.
"Hmm… That's odd. I don't remember having such an extravagant chandelier in my rundown apartment," Arthur muttered, confusion flashing across his face.
Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced through his head.
"Ahhhhhh!"
He clutched at it desperately as beads of sweat formed on his forehead. It felt as if someone had struck him with a baseball bat, an intense, tearing agony that left him rolling on the floor, drenched in perspiration.
"What on Earth is happening?" Arthur cursed, clutching his head as an overwhelming surge of foreign information flooded his mind.
It felt as if his skull was about to split apart from the sheer volume of data.
"Ughhhh!"
He groaned in agony, rolling on the floor, sweat pouring from him like a waterfall. Despite losing consciousness, his body continued to spasm and twitch, a testament to the pain he was enduring.
About ten minutes later, Arthur's eyes fluttered open again. "What was that all about?" he muttered weakly, attempting to sit up.
"Hisss!"
A sharp pain shot through him when he tried, leaving him feeling as fragile as glass, as though he had been hit by a freight train. His breath quickened; sweat broke out anew as confusion washed over him.
"Dammit! What is really happening?" Arthur whispered in disbelief.
He couldn't remember doing anything that would cause such excruciating pain.
Just last night, he had been in his apartment, working late into the night on some files for his manager.
But now? Why was he sprawled on the floor? And that luxurious chandelier hanging above him,since when did he own such a thing?
"Wait… wait, what is this?" Suddenly, he noticed the additional foreign memories in his brain, which surprised him.
Hurriedly closing his eyes, he sifted through them until realization dawned upon him. When he opened his eyes again, shock rendered him speechless; a blank look settled across his face.
"I… I… transmigrated?" The words slipped from his lips in disbelief before confusion morphed into astonishment. "Did I just travel through time and end up in this body? And did I just… die?"
The revelation struck him hard,not with overwhelming horror, but rather with surprise. He hadn't expected to die like that, slumped over his computer.
Just last night, Arthur had been glued to his screen, pushing through endless files for an important presentation due the next day.
But how had it come to this? As reality set in further, something else piqued his curiosity.
After several moments lost in thought, Arthur shook himself back to reality and managed a bittersweet smile. "Well, that's not something you see every day."
He took a deep breath and reflected on what this could mean for him.
"At least I didn't die completely. I got a second chance at life!" Arthur thought to himself.
Emotions welled up within him as memories of his past flooded back,memories tinged with sadness and loss.
In his previous life, Arthur had faced unimaginable hardship. At just sixteen, he lost both of his parents in a tragic train accident.
As their only child, he was thrust into a world of solitude, with relatives unwilling to take him in.
Left to navigate life on his own, he relied on government subsidies and the meager inheritance left behind by his parents.
His existence had been painfully ordinary, no remarkable talents or traits set him apart. From high school through university, every experience felt mundane and unremarkable.
When he was in university, the government stopped providing subsidies and benefits because he had turned eighteen.
Forced to fend for himself, he took on part-time jobs, working and studying simultaneously. Life wasn't easy on him at all.
He didn't even have the time to experience university life; all his time was spent either studying or working.
After graduation, Arthur faced rejection from forty different companies before finally landing a job at an average firm.
He became what many would call a "glorious corporate slave," waking up at 7:00 AM and clocking out at 9:00 PM, often working overtime just to keep up.
For five long years, Arthur's life revolved around work.
His social circle barely exceeded five fingers; weekends were spent alone rather than enjoying the company of friends or romantic partners,he didn't even have friends, much less anyone to hang out with.
His routine was monotonous: early mornings filled with roadside breakfasts before diving back into the grind of office life.
As if things couldn't get worse, pressure mounted when his department manager demanded he complete a report for the monthly presentation.
For seven consecutive days, Arthur worked tirelessly,mornings in the office followed by late-night sessions at home that stretched for hours.
Exhausted but determined, he pushed himself until his body finally gave out under the strain.
And just like that, he died.
But instead of fading away into nothingness, something extraordinary happened: he found himself transmigrated into a new body!
Thinking up to here, a mix of complex emotions filled his eyes.
Though he had died, he had also been given a new life.
He realized this could be the fresh start he had always dreamed of,a chance to escape the shackles of an ordinary life and embrace something extraordinary!
[Ding… System Binding…]
[10%...]
[20%...]
[40%...]
[60%...]
[80%...]
[100%...]
[Congratulations, Host! The Strongest Family System has been bound!]
A cold yet neutral voice echoed in Arthur's mind.
His mind immediately went blank as he fell into a daze. His eyes vacant and unfocused as the cold neutral voice kept ringing in his head.