How Hard can Losing Money even Be?

"2010...?"

Benny stared at the calendar, his brows knitting together in disbelief.

"If this is a prank... this is a bit too extreme," he muttered under his breath.

His memories of last night were frustratingly hazy. He vaguely recalled going out drinking with his friends and then nothing.

Everything after was just a blank void.

"Ugh..."

A dull headache throbbed behind his temples as he dragged himself toward the bathroom.

Each step felt heavy, like his body hadn’t fully caught up with his mind.

But the moment he stepped inside, he froze.

The bathroom... was exactly the same.

It was not just similar, not even close.

It was exactly as he remembered it.

Every scratch, every misplaced bottle, even the faint discoloration on the tiles... it was all there.

"Is this Neo’s doing...?" he murmured, narrowing his eyes. "If it’s him... yeah, he could pull something like this."

Still uneasy, Benny picked up the toothbrush and went through the motions.

The cold water splashing against his face helped a little, but not enough to steady the growing storm in his mind.

When he returned to his room, he sat down slowly on the bed, his gaze drifting to the pillow.

Almost instinctively, he reached underneath it.

His fingers brushed against something familiar.

He pulled it out.

"...No way."

It was a W.Cl. phone.

Not just any... but the exact model he used back in 2010.

His grip tightened slightly.

"...The exact model?"

A flicker of suspicion crossed his face as he powered it on. His eyes narrowed, scanning every detail like a detective picking apart a crime scene.

Then... He entered his password and it unlocked.

"The exact password...?"

A chill ran down his spine.

Now fully alert, Benny quickly navigated through the phone, opening the browser, checking the date, the interface, the sites—everything.

Each second confirmed what his mind refused to accept.

Until finally he came to terms with it.

He had gone back in time!

"...Huh..."

Silence.

"...What?"

A pause.

Then...

"WHAT?! WHOA!!"

He shot up from the bed, shouting in pure, unfiltered shock.

"I’M STUDYING—SHUT UP!!"

A scream came from next door, loud and irritated.

Benny blinked.

Then... slowly, a grin spread across his face.

That voice.

He recalled that exact tone and reaction.

Everything here wasn’t a prank or a dream... If was real!

A laugh bubbled up in his chest, barely contained.

"Twenty years back...!"

His heart started racing.

Who hasn’t thought about redoing their life?!

Anyone who says otherwise is either perfect, rich, is perfect and definitely doesn’t exist!

Excitement surged through him like electricity. All the regrets, missed chances, stupid mistakes... every single one of them could be erased!

No, not simply erased but rewritten!

Benny smirked, already imagining the possibilities, his mind spinning with plans of what he should do first.

But just then, a faint shimmer appeared in the air before him.

And a transparent screen materialized out of nowhere, hovering silently as lines of text began to form, one after another.

[ Binding of the Tycoon Investment System in progress... ]

Benny’s eyes widened, his mouth opened wider.

"...No way..."

[ Binding successful. ]

[ Owner: Benny ]

[ Please read through the instruction manual of the system. ]

For a moment, he just stared.

Then, his eyes lit up like the sun.

"...You’ve got to be kidding me."

A slow, incredulous laugh escaped him.

Just when he thought he’d already hit the jackpot...

He’d been handed another one.

[ Tycoon Investment System ]

System Funds: 500,000

Personal Wealth: 6,969

First business cycle: 30 days.

This was the system’s main menu.

At the bottom, a dialogue box flickered with shifting lines of text, clearly meant to relay information.

That must be the instruction manual.

[ Wealth Conversion Rules ]

• During designated periods, the system will allocate a fixed amount of System Funds to the owner.

• These funds are strictly reserved for business operations and must not be wasted or misused.

• At the end of each period, a settlement will be conducted.

• Based on the company’s profits or losses, a portion will be converted into the owner’s Personal Wealth, according to a predetermined ratio.

[ Special Notice ]

• To ensure full commitment to business growth, the owner is prohibited from drawing a personal salary from company accounts.

Benny’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he leaned closer to the screen.

"So... what’s the predetermined ratio?" he asked, unable to hide the anticipation in his voice.

For a moment, the system went completely dark.

A few seconds passed.

Then the screen flickered back to life, and two lines of text appeared.

[ In the event the company makes a profit: 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Conversion Rate — 100 : 1 (System Funds → Personal Wealth) ]

[ In the event the company incurs a loss:

Conversion Rate — 1 : 10 (System Funds → Personal Wealth) ]

"...Eh?"

Benny blinked.

"...What is this?"

He leaned in, squinting as if the numbers might rearrange themselves if he stared hard enough.

"Did they mess up the ratio... or am I reading this wrong?"

A grin spread across his face.

Because...

"How hard can losing money even be?"