Edward Thompson assumed an eager posture to listen to the story, issuing a command in his mind. A faint screen appeared before his eyes—clear enough to read, yet not obstructing his vision.

“Name: Edward Thompson, English name: Leo Carter.

Age: 18 (August 1, 1981).

Height: 197 cm, wingspan: 211 cm.

Weight: 89 kg...

Activate mission: Participate in the school team tryouts and get selected.”

To hell with the basketball dream?

That was the first meme he thought of when the system appeared—a joke that would be popular for a while in the future.

He closed his eyes, but could still see the screen.

He silently repeated in his mind, ‘open system’, ‘close system’, playing around for quite a while, still feeling a bit uncertain.

So he pinched Liam Pike next to him...

“Ah...”

Everyone’s attention turned to Liam Pike. The professor seemed to squeeze out a sound through his teeth: “You, the Pike boy, did I say something wrong?”

Liam Pike didn’t have time to give Edward Thompson trouble and quickly replied, “No! Of course not! I was just so moved by the story that I couldn’t help making a sound.”

Others just thought the person at the podium was a regular teacher, but he knew this was a business tycoon, lecturing only as a hobby, just enjoying the clear yet naïve looks in college students’ eyes.

Seeing this rich kid back down, and knowing his grades were good, the professor didn’t press further and continued his story.

Liam Pike breathed a sigh of relief, then whispered angrily to Edward Thompson, “Why the hell did you pinch me?”

“I was a bit sleepy, afraid I’d doze off,” Edward Thompson replied, switching to an innocent look.

“Then pinch yourself!”

“I’m afraid it’ll hurt.”

Liam Pike nearly snapped the desk in half. If he could beat this bastard, he’d definitely challenge him to a fight!

Last year, when this bastard was still shorter than him, his fighting power was already off the charts. That famous one-against-seven battle was still vivid in his memory.

A year later, this guy had shot up and gained over 20 pounds. He could no longer gauge just how strong he was now.

Annoyed, he pulled out his phone and texted someone else—a service worker from his favorite nightclub, skilled in all sorts of tricks. Tonight, he was going to have some fun! So pissed!

Meanwhile, Edward Thompson turned his attention back to the system.

Now he was sure—the system had really arrived!

Four years! He’d waited a full four years!

Yes, he was a transmigrator.

Four years ago, one day, he woke up to find himself in the 1990s, turned into a 14-year-old kid, still named Edward Thompson.

After crossing over, he went to the bathroom and looked at the handsome face in the mirror, which could rival his looks from his previous life... He quickly accepted the fact that he’d transmigrated.

It’s worth mentioning that he woke up in a hospital, and the reason he was there was alcohol poisoning.

The memories left by his predecessor told him he’d been heartbroken, forced to break up with his little girlfriend due to parental and teacher interference, and drowned his sorrows in alcohol... The key point—after being sent to the hospital, he was admitted to pediatrics.

A black history he’d never want to mention again!

When he first transmigrated, he longed for the system to appear, and tried all sorts of ways to activate it—reciting Ultraman transformation spells, trying on all the rings at home to see if there was an old grandpa inside, running in thunderstorms, even chanting the spells from “Balala the Fairies”... All failed without exception.

After several attempts, he gave up and accepted reality.

In mid-90s China, there were many inconveniences, and at first, he wasn’t used to it.

But as time passed, he actually grew to like the slow-paced life where transportation was difficult... Mainly because his family was fairly well-off in this life.

In the early 80s, his parents had decisively left their iron rice bowl jobs to go into business after the market economy opened up. With both ability and luck, they now owned a factory. Though not large, the family was well-off enough for him to enjoy a leisurely life.

Later, after helping the neighbor professor’s granddaughter fix her computer a few times, the retired professor recommended him to study abroad at USC as thanks.

And that brought him to the present.

He’d originally planned to study hard at the right age, find a job or start a business in the future, seize some opportunities he remembered, make some money, and live a comfortable life... He never expected the system to suddenly appear!

As for playing basketball, he thought of that darkest era in Chinese and American basketball more than twenty years later—didn’t look promising... But then he realized, that was more than twenty years from now! Even if he really became a pro basketball player, he wouldn’t be playing by then.

The previously conflicted but now excited Edward Thompson perked up.

Sure, basketball would enter its darkest era in twenty years, but right now was a time of booming development. Let the people of twenty years later worry about twenty years later.

He could give it a try now!

He’d always liked playing basketball anyway. Almost every week, or at least every other Sunday, he’d go play pickup games in the park with Liam Pike, and even participated in last semester’s intramural tournament—though he’d rather not recall how that turned out.