The morning sun spilled over the campus of Zhonghai University of Business and Finance, gilding its red-brick buildings in golden light. Normally, a Monday morning was sleepy, but not today. Flyers plastered every bulletin board, groups of students huddled in excited chatter, and the buzz in the air was electric.
The Entrepreneurship Club had announced a campus-wide Innovation Challenge.
A one-week sprint.Teams of students were to pitch a startup idea, execute it, and showcase results at the end of seven days. The judging would be based on three points: feasibility, execution, and impact.
For a campus where half the students dreamed of startups and the other half idolized successful entrepreneurs, it was the perfect battlefield.
And it didn't take long for Alexander Rothschild to seize the spotlight.
The central quad was packed that afternoon. Alexander stood tall in his tailored navy blazer, his blonde hair gleaming under the sun, his confidence radiating like a spotlight. He wasn't just a foreign exchange student — he was the heir of the Rothschild banking dynasty, a man who grew up with wealth, power, and political ties in his veins.
He spread his arms theatrically, addressing the gathered crowd:
"Friends! The Innovation Challenge is a stage for visionaries. And what better way to test one's mettle than a fair duel?"
His gaze slid, sharp and deliberate, to where Liang Chen stood quietly among the students.
"I hereby challenge Liang Chen. The so-called genius of Twin Tower. Let's see if he can innovate beyond a restaurant menu."
A ripple of murmurs surged across the quad. Some gasped, others snickered. Xu Jian, standing nearby, smirked openly.
"Perfect," Xu Jian muttered to Wang Yichen. "Let Alexander crush him. That'll remind everyone Liang's nothing but a lucky restaurant owner."
All eyes turned to Liang.
He didn't posture. He didn't flinch. He simply met Alexander's gaze with calm, steady eyes.
"Very well," he said softly. "Let the results speak."
The crowd erupted — half with cheers, half with whispers of doubt.
As soon as the challenge began, the difference in approaches became stark.
Alexander's strategy was predictable but dazzling. He immediately leveraged his family's wealth and connections. Within hours, consultants from Europe and Silicon Valley appeared on campus, setting up makeshift offices. Sleek laptops, AR headsets, imported tech kits — his preparation looked more like a corporate product launch than a student challenge.
His idea?An AI-driven luxury networking platform — a space where the "elite" could connect seamlessly, complete with holographic avatars, predictive algorithms, and "bespoke digital experiences."
The words sounded fancy. The demo looked flashier still. But beneath the veneer, it was hollow — a solution without a problem.
Meanwhile, Liang returned quietly to his dorm.
Inside, he sat at his desk, laptop open. His mind wasn't on flashy ideas — it was on real problems.
"What are the real problems students here face?"
He opened the Virtual Business Empire app, but not to get answers. He only used it as a sandbox — a simulation ground where he could test his own hypotheses.
He thought about daily campus life:
The endless cafeteria queues where students wasted half their lunch break.
How printing or photocopying cost twice as much as it should, and required a long trek going outside the campus and to town market.
Freshmen who struggled in accounting or economics but couldn't afford expensive tutors.
Classmates who wanted to earn some extra money for daily expense but had no structured way to find part-time work.
One by one, Liang wrote them down, then simulated solutions inside the Virtual Business Empire.
When he created a model of a simple campus service platform, students in the simulation immediately adopted it. Food deliveries sped up. Tutors connected with students. Those offering services earned, those buying saved. The feedback loop was seamless.
It worked. Not because the system handed it to him — but because he understood the pulse of the people around him.
He named it: Campus Connect.
Once Liang had successfully tested his idea in the virtual simulation and confirmed it was viable, the Business Simulation System chimed with a reward.
Congratulations: Viable Business Model Executed in Simulation.
Reward Granted: Ownership of three clothing factories and twelve textile mills (assets forfeited by the Wang family).
Liang glanced at the notification. Factories, mills — a whole industrial backbone falling into his lap. He smilled and murmered to himself.
"This isn't the time," he murmured. "First, win the Innovation Challenge."
His eyes glimmered with quiet determination.
Liang reached out quietly to a handful of capable classmates. Unlike Alexander, he didn't throw money around; he motivated with vision.
Elena Petrov, the Russian exchange student, shocked everyone by joining him.
"Why him?" Alexander demanded when he heard.
Elena's reply was simple: "Because he understands problems, not just products."
Together, they built Campus Connect. Elena handled the app's sleek design and marketing appeal. Liang structured the business model, pricing, and execution. His small team coded late into the night, but instead of being drained, they were energized — Liang's clarity was contagious.
By Day 3, a beta version launched quietly in two dorms. Students could post requests: "Need calculus tutor for two hours." "Who can print 20 pages by tonight?" "Looking for cheap home-cooked meals."
And others responded. Payments flowed through the app, fair and transparent. Students earned money, others saved costs, time , and effort. Everyone benifited together.
By Day 6, the app had spread across campus. It wasn't just a demo anymore. It was working.
The main auditorium was packed to bursting. Professors, students, and even media representatives filled the seats. It was the final day of Innovation Challenge, the judgement day.
Alexander went first.
His presentation was dazzling — holographic projections, AI-generated pitches, sleek visuals. The audience gasped at the spectacle. Xu Jian and Wang Yichen clapped furiously, eyes gleaming with vindictive joy.
Alexander bowed slightly. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the future of networking."
But a murmur passed among the professors.
"Who is this for?" one whispered."How do students benefit?" another frowned."It looks good… but what problem does it solve?"
Alexander ignored the doubt, soaking in the applause.
Then it was Liang's turn.
He walked up with no entourage, no consultants, no theatrics. Just Elena at his side, laptop in hand.
He began simply:
"Every student here has faced the same problems: long cafeteria lines, expensive printing, struggling to find a tutor, or needing help with errands. We lose time, we waste money, and we struggle alone."
He tapped the laptop. The screen displayed the Campus Connect interface.
"This is Campus Connect. A platform by students, for students."
He demonstrated live:
A freshman posted a request for tutoring in economics. Within seconds, a senior accepted.
A student ordered printing, and another across the hall confirmed delivery.
A girl advertised homemade dumplings, and two buyers signed up on the spot.
The audience leaned forward, eyes widening. This wasn't theory. This was real.
One professor asked, "But are the students being exploited for cheap labor?"
Liang smiled faintly. "No. Every service is paid at fair rates, set by the provider. Students earn money, gain experience, and build networks. Others save time and cost. Everyone benefits."
He invited three students onto stage — real users of Campus Connect. They shared their experiences. One earned enough tutoring to cover books. Another saved hours by finding help with errands. The third praised the safety and ID verification.
The room buzzed with approval. Alexander paled. Xu Jian scowled.
Alexander, red-faced, stepped forward. "This is nothing! A glorified errand app! Do you really think this compares to cutting-edge AI innovation?"
Liang's gaze was steady. That gaze was enough. It reminded Alexander of Liang's statement, and his humilation.
"Build something yourself first. Without family money, without imported consultants, without borrowed resources. Then, we'll talk about innovation."
The words echoed in his mind like thunder. Alexander could imagine the crowd smirking at him, dismissing him as an arrogant rich boy who just flaunts his parents money. He could imagine Elena looking down at him.
Flustered, Alexander barked to his team: "Run the live demo!"
His AI networking app loaded on the screen. For a moment, the visuals glimmered. Then — error messages popped up. Screens froze. The imported consultants scrambled, sweating, trying to fix it.
The hall erupted in laughter.
"Is this your cutting-edge future?" someone jeered.
Alexander's face turned scarlet.
The judges conferred quickly. The head professor stood.
"Liang Chen's Campus Connect solves real problems, executed flawlessly, and has already shown measurable impact. This is true entrepreneurship."
He turned to Liang. "Congratulations. You win the Innovation Challenge."
Applause thundered. Students rose to their feet.
Elena leaned close, her voice a soft whisper only Liang heard:
"You're not just building businesses, Liang. You're building futures."
Alexander glared, fists clenched, humiliation etched on his face.
"This isn't over," he hissed to himself.
Liang glanced at him once, then looked away, calm as a mountain.
Because in his heart, he knew: This was just the beginning.
As the applause echoed through the auditorium, Liang's system chimed softly in his mind.
Congratulations: Creating Campus Connect. Winning Innovation Challenge.
Reward Granted:
• Web & App Development Lv. 2
• Programming Foundations Lv. 1
• Data Analysis Lv. 1
• Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Understanding Lv. 1
• Operations Management Lv. 2• Production & Logistics Lv. 1
Liang absorbed the skills quietly, his eyes flickering with determination. The auditorium may have only seen him as a student who won an innovation contest, but in truth, he had just armed himself with the knowledge to build both digital empires and industrial backbones.
For now, he smiled faintly, nodding at the cheers of his classmates.