"Hong Kong… Citibank, Jardine Matheson, the Governor…"
"I've actually time-traveled to Hong Kong in 1978."
"My name is Lin Haoran, a direct descendant of the Lin family!"
After his memories completely merged, Lin Haoran opened his eyes.
He was in a simple bedroom. A boxy color television sat on a desk opposite the bed, and a movie poster for Way of the Dragon hung on the wall, giving the room a distinctly vintage feel.
Lin Haoran weakly got out of bed and walked to the desk, picking up a hand mirror.
In it, he saw a youthful face—handsome features, deep-set eyes, and a natural air of confidence. Yet, the pallor on his face betrayed his exhaustion and weakness.
Putting down the mirror, he turned to the window, looking down from above.
This was Wah Fung Cement Factory in Yuen Long, Hong Kong—a coastal plant complete with its own dock. And now, he was the sole owner of it.
However, the factory was eerily quiet. Few workers were around.
Who would've thought this vast cement plant—spanning tens of thousands of square meters—would be tied to the fate of a wealthy family's heir?
Lin Haoran was the youngest son of Lin Wanan, chairman of Wan'an Group, a publicly listed conglomerate in Hong Kong.
At 63, Lin Wanan's health was declining. He'd begun to consider choosing a successor for the group—a major player in real estate, hotels, construction, and manufacturing, worth over a billion dollars.
He had two daughters (both married) and two sons. Given the traditional preference for male heirs in wealthy Hong Kong families, the choice would clearly be between the sons.
The eldest son, Lin Haoning, 35, already had extensive management experience.
The younger son, Lin Haoran—24—had just graduated from London Business School a year prior.
Logically, Haoning was the obvious choice. His track record was strong, while Haoran had zero business experience.
But Lin Wanan couldn't bear to be unfair. To appease his conscience, he gave each son a subsidiary company, along with full ownership, and told them: after one year, whoever earns more gets the group.
Haoning got a fan manufacturing plant. Haoran received Wah Fung Cement.
Both were comparable in value and monthly revenue.
But in truth, Lin Wanan already knew the likely outcome—Haoran didn't stand a chance. The contest was just to ease his own guilt.
Sure enough, two months had already passed. The fan plant was thriving under Haoning, with orders rising steadily.
In contrast, Wah Fung Cement had seen a sharp decline under Haoran. Long-term clients were vanishing, and profits plummeted.
Determined to turn things around, Haoran had even moved out of his luxurious villa to live at the factory. But business didn't improve. Orders kept falling.
Yesterday, trying to clear his head, he went fishing at sea with a few men. A sudden storm hit. Huge waves swept him overboard.
Thankfully, his men were strong swimmers. They rescued him, but he caught a fever from the cold and passed out.
No one knew—when he awoke, Lin Haoran's soul had already changed.
"Knock knock knock." Someone rapped on the door.
"Come in," Haoran replied, coming to his senses.
"Young Master, I brought your medicine."
In walked a man in his twenties—one of the trusted aides his father had assigned to him. His name was Lin Si, responsible for helping manage the factory and ensuring Haoran's safety.
"I'll just leave the medicine here. Please don't forget to take it, sir. If anything happened to you, Master Lin would never forgive us." Lin Si spoke obsequiously.
But Haoran wasn't even listening.
Hovering over Lin Si's head was a strange black bracket… with a progress bar inside.
[Loyalty: 11/100]
Was he hallucinating? He rubbed his eyes—but the bar was still there.
This must be his cheat skill—the golden finger granted by the time-travel.
Out of 100, Lin Si's loyalty was only 11. That was shockingly low.
This was one of his trusted aides?
Haoran stared at the man who always seemed so respectful and loyal. The revelation stunned him.
Without that loyalty bar, he never would've guessed that this man—who bowed and scraped to him—was actually a hidden traitor.
At face value, Lin Si's behavior warranted a loyalty of 100!
"Young Master? Young Master?"
Seeing Haoran staring at him in silence, Lin Si grew uneasy and called out.
"Leave the medicine. Go get Lin Yi, Lin Er, and Lin San and bring them here," Haoran said calmly, pulling his gaze away.
"Yes, sir!" Lin Si breathed a sigh of relief and left quickly. Haoran's stare had chilled him to the bone.
Once alone, Haoran began analyzing this strange new power.
This loyalty bar would clearly become a powerful tool on his road to conquering Hong Kong.
A loyalty of 11 was no better than a brand-new intern—someone with no real connection or loyalty to the company.
But Lin Si wasn't new. He'd been with the Lin family for years, personally assigned by his father.
And Haoran knew—his father wouldn't sabotage him. Which meant only one thing...
He needed to check the others.
Five minutes later, all four aides stood in his room.
"Young Master, did you call for us?"
They all seemed respectful. But now, loyalty bars hovered over each of their heads:
Lin Yi: 15/100
Lin Er: 9/100
Lin San: 12/100
Haoran had held onto a shred of hope that only Lin Si was disloyal. But no—all four of them were traitors.
Lin Yi, the most "loyal" one, had a mere 15. How dare they call themselves "trusted aides"?
"Did you all previously work under my elder brother?" Haoran suddenly asked.
"Yes, sir," Lin Yi replied honestly. "We started working with the Eldest Young Master about four years ago."
Of course. Four years ago, Haoran had still been studying in the UK.
It was clear now—they were originally Haoning's men. And since Haoran was the underdog in this inheritance battle, it made sense they'd side with the brother who had the upper hand.
They'd probably sabotaged the cement business while feeding information to Haoning, who then used his connections to steal clients.
No wonder the business was failing despite Haoran's efforts.
"So that's your game, big brother…"
If Haoning had competed fairly, Haoran wouldn't have minded losing. With his modern knowledge and this cheat power, building success elsewhere would've been easy.
But since Haoning chose underhanded methods?
Haoran wouldn't let this go.
"The inheritance of Wan'an Group… I, Lin Haoran, will fight for it with everything I've got."
"Young Master?" Lin Yi asked, puzzled by the silence.
"It's nothing. I just wanted you all to take a walk around the factory with me," Haoran said as he stepped out. "Lin Yi, you're in charge of orders, right? Have they dropped again lately?"
"Yes, sir. Last month was okay, but this month we've been cutting production. Old clients keep leaving, and we haven't gotten many new ones. Just yesterday, a longtime real estate client in Kwai Chung switched to a supplier in Tuen Mun."
Lin Yi knew exactly why, but he couldn't tell the truth.