Alex Chen jolted awake, cold sweat soaking his body as his breath came in ragged gasps.
"Am I… really dead? Is this the afterlife?"
He blinked rapidly, taking in his surroundings.
The first thought that crossed his mind—
"Ah… so this is hell."
Mountains of trash surrounded him—empty ramen cups, beer bottles, crumpled papers… and used condoms. The filth was piled so high it almost touched the ceiling.
And worst of all, he had been sleeping on it.
Strangely, there was no smell.
"Guess I'm already used to it…" he muttered, shaking his head.
But that made no sense.
Alex clearly remembered dying—being hit by a reckless driver, his body thrown like a ragdoll. The pain, the blood, the cold…
It was real.
Was it all just a dream?
He looked around again.
This wasn't his guard booth. No way. Alex had always been a clean freak—he would curse if someone left a wet tissue on his table. This place looked like a hoarder's nightmare.
"Tsk… even a dog wouldn't sleep in a dump like this."
He slowly sat up, expecting his old bones to scream in protest. His doctor used to lecture him nonstop about arthritis, osteoporosis, and everything else waiting to ruin his mornings.
"Ugh… ugh…"
Using a pile of trash for support, he pushed himself up out of habit.
Then—
Something was wrong.
No pain.
No stiffness.
No aching back.
He straightened up, carefully.
"Weird… my back doesn't hurt. My joints aren't stiff either. Huh. This hell isn't so bad after all."
Trying to stay optimistic, he walked toward what he assumed was the bathroom.
What greeted him was even worse.
Trash overflowed from the toilet. A horrible stench hit his nose like rotting food left out in summer.
"What kind of filthy bastard lived like this?! I'd rather die again than use that toilet!"
Gagging, he turned toward the mirror on the wall.
And froze.
"…What?"
Alex Chen had been old. Wrinkled. His face used to look like cracked dry land.
But the man in the mirror—
He was young.
Mid-twenties at most. Handsome. Bright brown hair. Light blue eyes. A fit body with lean, defined muscles, barely hidden beneath messy facial hair.
"No… no way…"
He touched his face.
The reflection did the same.
His hands weren't wrinkled.
His joints weren't swollen.
"Heaven and earth… I turned young again!"
His eyes lit up.
"Is this… is this really a second chance?!"
Just as emotions surged—
[Ding!]
A chime rang inside his head.
[The God of Wealth & Love has a message for you:]
[You only figured it out now, old man? Didn't the system tell you before you died?!]
"Huh?! Who's talking?!" Alex spun around. There was nothing but trash.
"A ghost?! A demon?! I knew my ancestors would come for me one day!"
[Idiot! Look in front of you! The screens! I'm right here!]
Alex blinked—and glowing system windows appeared in the air like floating chat bubbles.
"Oh… I see you. But why give someone like me a second chance?" His voice turned bitter.
[Why so gloomy? When you were alive, you already had everything—money, family, love.]
[But you screwed it all up! Your luck was trash! Your economy score was a 5!]
"Out of ten?"
[Out of a hundred! Moron!]
Alex winced. "Damn… that's awful."
[Anyway, I took pity on you. Your new name is Alex Zhao now. Remember it!]
[System, give him a quest. I feel bad seeing him naked like this. Though… not bad muscles.]
[The God of Wealth & Love winks at you! Life Luck +5!]
Alex instinctively covered himself. "Hey! You're a guy! Have some shame!"
The god ignored him.
[New Quest Available!]
[Cleanliness Is the First Step to a New Life!]
[Clean your room and yourself so you can start fresh!]
[Reward: $500 | Perk: Clean Dude (Cleaning Speed +10%) | 100 AP]
Alex Zhao's eyes went wide.
"Money? Just for cleaning?!"
He laughed. "Even if I had to scrub the ocean, I'd do it for five hundred bucks!"
Motivated, he searched the room for cleaning supplies.
Nothing.
"Of course… a dump like this wouldn't have anything useful."
Just then—
"Hmm? What's this?"
He picked up a crumpled ten-dollar bill from the floor and grinned.
"Well, at least fate isn't completely blind."
Since he couldn't find clothes, he had no choice but to go shirtless. With a sigh, he opened the door—
A wave of trash collapsed out into the hallway.
"Damn! I almost died again!"
Then—
About fifty meters away, a stunning woman in her mid-thirties hurried toward him.
Short, curly brown hair. Striking purple eyes. Elegant and mature, like a blooming jasmine flower.
She looked flustered.
And the system chimed.
[Ding!]
[Landlord's Wife – Meilin Jin is approaching!]
[You may enter her route!]
[Choose a path:]
• Pervert Sage
• Innocent Jasmine
"Huh? What the hell is 'Pervert Sage'?"
Before he could think—
[Ding!]
[Route selected: Pervert Sage!]
[New Quest: Booby Trap!]
[Objective: "Accidentally" touch Meilin's breasts.]
[Choose your method:]
Easy Mode – Classic Fall
(Pretend to trip and fall forward.)
Success Rate: 100%
Medium Mode – Bottle Slip
(Kick a bottle and slip naturally.)
Success Rate: 80%
Hard Mode – Triple Chain Accident
(Knock a bottle → step on it → grab her chest to "steady" yourself but fall together.)
Success Rate: 50%
[Higher difficulty = greater reward and greater punishment!]
Alex Zhao stared in horror.
"WHAT THE HELL?! This system is completely insane!"