Restarting your life starts with filling out your college application.

Stepping into this newly opened internet cafe, a refreshing breeze immediately enveloped my entire body.

A high-powered air conditioner was running diligently in the corner, emitting a low and continuous hum, instantly dispelling the heat outside.

Chen Zhiyuan looked around.

The internet cafe wasn't large, with about twenty brand-new, gleaming computers arranged neatly. The walls were painted snow-white, and the floor was covered with light-colored tiles, giving it the appearance of a newly opened establishment.

Although it has just opened and is not yet well-known, the place is already packed.

People sat in front of each computer, with others standing in twos and threes behind them watching. The air was filled with the smells of smoke, sweat, and excited cheers—noisy yet vibrant.

Business is surprisingly good!

No wonder everyone says that running an internet cafe is a highly profitable business these days.

After getting a number from the front desk, Chen Zhiyuan, like everyone else, randomly picked a computer and stood behind it watching the guy play games to pass the time.

After scanning around, most of the screens showed gunfight scenes from games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, or Half-Life.

The guy in front of him was playing StarCraft. Chen Zhiyuan only watched for a few minutes before shaking his head inwardly—one word: bad!

Jin Liang, standing nearby, watched with great interest, occasionally joining in the cheers of those around him: "Dude, that was a brilliant move!"

After waiting for about twenty or thirty minutes, it was finally their turn.

At that time, internet access was quite expensive, costing four yuan per hour. Many people would only play for one or two hours, and some would even only play for half an hour to satisfy their cravings.

The two empty machines were not next to each other; there were two seats between them.

Jin Liang plopped down, immediately and expertly turned on the computer, his face beaming with anticipation: "Zhiyuan, hurry, hurry, let's get into StarCraft! Let's have some fun first!"

Coincidentally, someone immediately leaned over and shouted, "Hey bro, you guys play StarCraft too? Two vs two, wanna join?"

Jin Liang glanced at Chen Zhiyuan subconsciously, a hint of hesitation in his eyes—his skill level was average, and he was afraid of holding him back.

Chen Zhiyuan understood, nodded slightly, and looked relaxed, as if to say: Just playing around, winning or losing doesn't matter.

"Sure, then it'll be two against two," Chen Zhiyuan replied loudly.

The game was quickly set up. Chen Zhiyuan chose the Zerg race.

I used to play this game a lot when I was young in my previous life, but after so many years, I felt a little rusty when I first started playing, and my operation was a bit sluggish.

The first game was a warm-up.

Even so, relying on his solid basic skills and tactical awareness, he still managed to narrowly defeat his opponent with Jin Liang. Although the process was somewhat bumpy, they finally won.

In the second game, Chen Zhiyuan still chose the Zerg race.

This time, he felt completely different—his fingers seemed to be imbued with memory, his mouse movements were precise and smooth, and he could use keyboard shortcuts effortlessly, almost without having to look down.

Operations, troop buildup, harassment, frontal advance... a series of operations executed flawlessly.

By the third game, Chen Zhiyuan had unknowingly been surrounded by a large number of people.

Watching his dazzling maneuvers and unpredictable tactics, onlookers occasionally gasped in admiration.

"Holy crap, this guy is definitely a pro!"

"This is the first time I've seen someone play this well! Look, he doesn't even need to look at the keyboard!"

"That hand speed... my eyes can barely keep up!"

"..."

After the third game, the two opponents quit immediately—the skill gap was too large, and another match would only result in one side being utterly crushed.

Jin Liang had a great time.

Although it was basically one against two by Chen Zhiyuan, and he could only shout "666" a few times from the sidelines, winning three games in a row still made him extremely happy.

After playing at the internet cafe for an hour, the two logged off and left.

After all, four yuan an hour was not cheap for students at that time.

Over the course of an hour, Chen Zhiyuan made a new discovery: his hand-eye coordination was astonishingly good, his reaction speed and operational precision far exceeded his expectations, and he had a vague feeling that this was not yet the limit.

Could it be... that this is also a "benefit" brought about by rebirth?

Although there is no system to rely on, memory, learning ability, and even physical function have been optimized to some extent.

I wonder what other aspects are yet to be explored.

If one truly possesses multiple "talents" and the ability to foresee the future, their life is bound to be extraordinary.

Stepping out of the internet cafe, the heatwave was still intense, and the warmth of the setting sun had not yet dissipated.

But the heat did not dampen Jin Liang's spirits at all; he remained immersed in the enjoyment of the game he had just played.

"Zhiyuan, I never knew you were so good at StarCraft! Did you practice secretly a lot before?"

Chen Zhiyuan shrugged, his tone relaxed: "No, I've only played it a few times. I think this game... anyone can play it."

That was a perfect display of swagger, I'd give it full marks.

Jin Liang rolled his eyes and laughed, "Listen to this, is he even speaking human language?"

Chen Zhiyuan laughed heartily.

The two walked slowly towards home along the shade of the trees by the roadside.

The summer evening breeze rustled through the leaves, bringing a touch of coolness.

They chatted casually, bursting into laughter from time to time, their shadows stretching long in the dappled light.

For the next few days, Chen Zhiyuan mostly stayed at home, practicing calligraphy, reading books, and occasionally going to the internet cafe with Jin Liang to play a few games.

After practicing calligraphy with a fountain pen for a few days, he found that he was making rapid progress.

The characters he writes are upright and graceful, and there is a subtle sense of vigor and strength in his strokes, which makes him confident that he is not much worse than those so-called masters of hard-pen calligraphy.

She has an exceptionally good memory and a strong comprehension ability. She can remember almost everything in the books she has read, and she can also figure out the deeper meaning and form her own insights.

The idea of ​​making money has been swirling in my mind a lot these past few days.

But after thinking it over, he realized that almost all the ways to make big money in his memory required initial capital. He couldn't make bricks without straw, which left him feeling helpless.

After finishing breakfast that day, Chen Zhiyuan watched TV for a while, then looked at the bright sunshine outside the window, and finally gave up the idea of ​​going out—at least there was a fan at home, but outside was simply a giant furnace.

His gaze swept across the coffee table in the living room, where a copy of the "Jiangnan Daily" lay open. He didn't usually read newspapers, but out of boredom, he picked it up casually.

The front page was full of current affairs news, which he quickly skimmed over. He turned to the second page, but wasn't interested in it either.

Until the third edition, a whole page of rich literary atmosphere came to the fore – it published essays, short stories, prose, and even a few poems.

What caught Chen Zhiyuan's eye was a serialized novel, which occupied a considerable amount of space and was about three thousand words long.

It looks like it's being serialized daily; I wonder how long it's been going on.

He calmed down and read through the three thousand words.

To be fair, the author has some writing skill, but that's about it.

Chen Zhiyuan, in later generations, had read at least several thousand, if not ten thousand, online novels, and his horizons had long been spoiled.

By his standards, this serialized novel was only mediocre, even somewhat bland.

If a novel of this caliber can be published in the Jiangnan Daily... then perhaps I can too?

This thought was like a pebble thrown into a lake, making a soft "thump" and rippling outwards.

I've been thinking about how to make money these past few days... Is writing novels one way to do it?

It requires almost no capital; all you need is time, energy, and the ability to write a decent story.

The royalties are usually quite substantial, much better than setting up a stall or doing summer jobs.

Chen Zhiyuan even considered setting up a stall or working a summer job, but then he thought, as a reborn person, would it be a bit disgraceful for the identity of a "reborn person" to do such things?

That's why it hasn't been put into action yet, remaining only at the "thinking" stage.

Since that's the case... then let's write a novel!