[Ding… System Binding…]
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[Congratulations, Host! The Strongest Family System has been bound!]
A cold yet neutral voice echoed in Arthur's mind, sending a shiver down his spine that had nothing to do with the temperature. The mechanical tone carried an undercurrent of power that made the hairs on his arms stand on end.
"Hmm! A system? Now that's something to be excited about!"
Arthur's lips curled into a genuine smile for the first time since waking in this strange new world. His fingers twitched with nervous energy as he processed this development.
The system's voice had an almost crystalline quality - sharp, clear, and utterly inhuman.
After all, his previous life had been a monotonous cycle of work with little to fill the void in his heart.
But there was one thing that brought him joy: reading online novels. They were his escape, filling the emptiness and adding a dash of entertainment to his otherwise dull existence.
He'd spent countless nights immersed in stories of cultivators ascending to godhood or gamers conquering virtual worlds. Now, impossibly, he found himself living one of those very stories.
So when he heard the system notification echoing in his mind, he wasn't shocked, instead, he felt a rush of excitement that made his pulse quicken.
This meant he had a chance to start anew in this unfamiliar body. The possibilities stretched before him like an endless road.
"System, are you there?" Arthur asked eagerly but cautiously within his thoughts, his mental voice trembling slightly.
The silence stretched for several heartbeats before the response came.
[Yes, Host. The Strongest Family System is at your service.]
The voice remained cold and neutral, yet Arthur could swear he detected the faintest hint of amusement beneath its mechanical tone.
"Yes!" Arthur clenched his fist so tightly his knuckles turned white, excitement dancing in his eyes like sparks from a fire.
His breath came in short, excited gasps as adrenaline coursed through his veins.
This was really happening. He wasn't dreaming. The proof echoed in his mind with crystalline clarity.
But then it hit him,something felt off about the system's name.
A creeping sense of unease slithered down his spine."System, what do you mean by 'Strongest Family System'?" he hurriedly questioned, his mental voice rising in pitch.
[You heard correctly. I am indeed the Strongest Family System.]
The voice responded with the same neutrality, though Arthur imagined a note of finality in its tone.
Arthur's lips twitched as disbelief washed over him like a bucket of ice water."I think there's been a mistake! You must mean something cooler, like 'Strongest Black Technology System' or something! Please check again!"
His fingers dug into the plush fabric of the rug beneath him as he waited.
His eyes gleamed with desperate hope as he awaited confirmation, but disappointment quickly followed like the inevitable crash after a sugar high.
[No, Host. The system is not mistaken. It is indeed called The Strongest Family System.]
Arthur slumped back in shock, speechless. The weight of this revelation pressed down on him like a physical force.
"I think you're bound to the wrong person," he muttered weakly, running a hand through his disheveled hair.
His mouth had gone dry, and he suddenly wished for a glass of water.
[Host, I suggest you delve into the foreign memories recently implanted in your mind.]
The system fell silent, leaving Arthur sitting in the sudden quiet of the lavish room.
The only sounds were his own rapid breathing and the distant hum of what might have been an air conditioning unit.
"Huh?! What do you mean?" He was taken aback by the suggestion, his heart hammering against his ribs.
The idea of exploring someone else's memories felt like trespassing in a stranger's home.
Yet, driven by curiosity and the system's prompting, he closed his eyes and tentatively reached for those foreign memories swirling within him.
The experience was like diving into an ice-cold lake. At first, there was shock - a disorienting rush of images, sounds, and emotions that weren't his own. Then, gradually, patterns began to emerge from the chaos.
About ten minutes later, his eyes fluttered open, lips quivering and pupils trembling with realization.
A sheen of sweat coated his forehead, and his hands shook slightly from the effort of processing so much information at once.
"Panterra… a parallel world… I'm in a new world… I traveled to another dimension?!" His voice cracked on the last word.
He struggled to comprehend everything. Initially, he had believed he'd simply transitioned into another body on Earth after death.
But now, he understood,his soul had traveled to an entirely different realm, a world vastly unlike Earth! The realization made his head spin.
He gripped the armrests of his chair until his fingers ached, grounding himself in the physical sensation.
Firstly, Panterra was ten times larger than Earth, meaning its surface area spanned approximately 510 billion square kilometers. The sheer scale was mind-boggling.
Arthur tried to imagine a planet where crossing a single continent might take days, even with advanced transportation. His stomach twisted at the thought.
Its population was also ten times larger, with an estimated 80 to 100 billion people.
The number was so large it lost meaning. How did society function with so many people? How did cities accommodate such masses? His mind reeled at the implications.
"Hissss!" Arthur inhaled sharply through clenched teeth, eyes widening in shock at the sheer scale of this world. A cold droplet of sweat trickled down his temple.
Panterra was an expansive land far beyond anything he'd known.
While both worlds shared similar technological levels (with Panterra being twenty to fifty years ahead of Earth), they differed drastically in other aspects.
The technology here seemed more refined, more seamlessly integrated into daily life. Where Earth had smartphones, Panterra had holograms.
Where Earth had electric cars, Panterra is already researching on magnetic levitation vehicles and have even achieve some results.
Unlike Earth's seven continents, Panterra boasted twelve, each larger and more diverse. The names rolled through his mind like a litany:
Aurelia
Zephyria
Verdania
Noctis
Solara
Aquarion
Eryndor
Frostara
Ignis
Lunara
Crystalia
Umbra
Each continent housed its own nations, cultures, and languages, with powerful governments ruling over them. The diversity was staggering.
On Earth, cultural differences between countries could be vast, but here, entire continents developed in complete isolation from one another for millennia.
Panterra also had world governments, such as the Panterra Council,a governing body composed of representatives from each continent, responsible for maintaining peace and coordinating global initiatives.
The political complexity made the United Nations look like a small-town council meeting.
Another key difference was culture and history. Panterra's past was divided into five distinct eras, each leaving an indelible mark on the world:
The Ancient Era (Pre-10,000 BCE) - A time of myth and legend, when the continents were still forming
Classical Era (10,000 BCE–500 CE) - The rise of early civilizations and first contact between continents
Medieval Era (500–1500 CE) - Age of exploration and continental wars
Industrial Revolution Era (1500–2000 CE) - Technological boom and establishment of global governance.
Modern Era (2000 CE–Present) - Current age of great ambitions.
Each era shaped Panterra into what it was today,a world of diverse festivals, arts, music, ethnic groups, and cuisines, making it far more unique than Earth.
The cultural tapestry was so rich and varied that Arthur doubted a single lifetime would be enough to experience even a fraction of it.
Arthur was currently in Aurelia, the third-largest continent on Panterra. The most powerful nation here was the Aurelian Federation, with its capital, Neo-Luminara, serving as the continent's technological and economic hub.
It was a city of elites, corporate giants, and political powerhouses,a far cry from Arthur's previous life.
Neo-Luminara's skyline stretched beyond the horizon, a forest of shimmering towers. The city never slept, its streets bathed in perpetual neon glow.
According to the memories, the original owner of this body was Arthur Osborn, a man who had drunk himself to death due to overwhelming stress.
His parents had died in a private aircraft accident six months prior, leaving him alone to manage their crumbling business empire.
The Osborn Group, once a powerhouse in the city, was *on the brink of bankruptcy, its stock prices plummeting after a failed product launch.
Arthur was speechless. "So we both died because of work… but in different ways." The irony wasn't lost on him.
In his past life, he had overworked himself to death for a company that would replace him within a week. In this one, the original Arthur had succumbed to despair when faced with impossible expectations.
[Ding!]
The system's voice interrupted his thoughts, sharper than before.
[Host, now that you understand your situation, it's time to begin your new journey.]
Arthur took a deep breath, his mind racing. The weight of his circumstances settled on his shoulders like a physical burden.
He was no longer just Arthur - he was Arthur Osborn, heir to a failing empire, in a world far more complex and dangerous than Earth.
But beneath the fear and uncertainty, a spark of excitement flickered to life.
"A second chance… in a world like this?"
A slow grin spread across his face, the first genuine expression since his transmigration.
"This… could be interesting."
The system's response came instantly, its tone carrying a hint of something almost like approval:
[Indeed, Host. Let us begin.]
The words hung in the air, pregnant with possibility.
Outside the window, the moon of Panterra cast their silvery light over a world waiting to be conquered.