Chapter 1

Philippines, Bulacan, San Jose Del Monte

In a modest apartment building, a young boy named Edward Morales sat in front of the television, his expression distant and lost in thought.

Edward was a 16-year-old high school student, currently in his fourth year. (Note: The Philippine educational system only extended up to the 10th grade until 2013, after which students typically transitioned to college.)

Looking at the calendar, just a short distance away, the surreal feeling persisted.

No matter how vigorously he pinched himself in disbelief or how desperately he wished for the situation to alter, the date on the calendar remained stubbornly fixed.

Had he truly traveled back in time?

MAY 10, 2010.

Edward felt puzzled by the strange situation he found himself in. The oddity of it all weighed on his mind as he tried to make sense of his time-travel predicament.

Recalling his past experiences and the stories he'd read about rebirth, Edward wasn't sure how to react.

Should he be excited?

Being an enthusiastic otaku, Edward had immersed himself in numerous stories where the main character traveled back in time, achieved remarkable feats, and even won the lottery.

In the past, he had also daydreamed about experiencing such a rebirth, but now that its his turn, he found himself dumbfounded.

It has been a month since he time-traveled, but so far, he has not even made a single penny.

This script is so wrong incorrect!

Shouldn't he possess a photographic memory as a result of the intricate merging of his mature soul across the dimensions of time and space, and so on, and so forth?

He pondered this, remembering how Chinese novels often expounded on such theories.

However, the reality didn't seem to match those fantastical tales.

'Why isn't it working on me'

'Am I a fake time-traveler?'

Thinking about this, Edward couldn't help but feel depressed.

Turning his attention to the notebook on his lap, Edward flipped through the pages and perused it.

Ever since he discovered that he had traveled through time, he hasn't been idle.

Every now and then, he recalls something from his previous time and space. To prevent forgetting, he diligently records it in his small notebook.

For example, the BTC cryptocurrency.

As far as he remembers, its value skyrocketed in 2021, reaching more than $60,000 USD per BTC.

Currently, it's only worth around $0.01 USD per BTC, which means that as long as he bought a few hundred, in ten years or so, he will be rich!

The only problem is that he doesn't even have a penny right now, let alone buying BTC. Just asking his mother for 50 PHP is already an ordeal.

Another thing that is written in the notebook is 'COVID-19', a global epidemic that wiped out millions of people and bankrupted countless industries along the way.

Edward still remembers how miserable his family was during the lockdown at that time, trapped inside their home, not knowing how to get food and water. If it weren't for the relief goods that were delivered from time to time, he doubted that they could have survived.

The third event is the launch date of TikTok.

TikTok's 2016 launch changed digital media. It became a global sensation, kicking off the "Era of Traffic," where viral content and social media influence dominated our online world. It reshaped how we interact with the internet, making going viral a standard.

As of 2022, the app had a daily user base of 1 billion and a valuation of 220 billion USD.

These are the major events that he remembers in the parallel time-space, events so memorable that they were impossible to forget.

Edward also tried to remember other things like famous songs, movies, shows, games, books, and big tech companies, but most of the details were fuzzy and unclear.

Feeling frustrated, he realized he couldn't remember everything as perfectly as the time travelers in stories.

He was a fake!

Sigh..

With a sigh, Edward closed the notebook and carefully stashed it deep inside his drawer. Even though he'd written it in English to keep it secret, he knew he had to be cautious; it was his secret weapon, after all.

Afterwards, he let out a sigh of relief and leaned back on the couch. He returned to watching the uninteresting game show on TV.

Edward found the game show dull despite its popularity in the present. His unique knowledge of future trends made the show's content feel outdated, making it hard for him to enjoy it while others did.

At 5:30, he switched off the TV and started making a simple dinner—rice, noodles, and scrambled eggs.

By 6:00, his mom returned from work, and his father, who worked as a truck driver, got home at 6:10.

Unlike his father, his mom worked as a seller in the market.

In some foreign countries, families like his might be considered at the lower end of society, but in the Philippines, they were already better off than many.

Unlike others who struggled to secure stable employment, his family was doing relatively well.

After sharing dinner with his parents, Edward switched on the TV again and noticed that it was already 6:40, with the program being news updates.

With little else to do, Edward continued to watch until he grew bored. However, just as he was on the verge of changing channels, a particular news story grabbed his attention.

"Famous international singer superstar Justin Bieber surprised his fans in a famous talk show, "Jimmy Kemmel Live! After watching a YouTube video of the said fans... "

The news report remained brief and concise, clearly a filler article intended to compensate for the program's content shortfall. Yet, despite its randomness, it managed to captivate the audience's attention effectively.

After all, Justin Bieber was very famous at this time, although not at his peak.

At least one out of every hundred young people had heard his name or his song 'Baby,' which was released in January this year.

However, it wasn't Justin Bieber or his song that piqued Edward's interest; it was the website briefly mentioned on the show: YouTube.

From what he remembered, YouTube had launched a Partner Program that enabled video creators to earn a portion of the Ad revenue.

As far as he remembered, Youtube launched a partner program, allowing video creators to pocket a share of the Ad revenue.

This.. could this be the opportunity he had been searching for?

While he might not remember every detail from the previous time-space, he had a wealth of knowledge about future trends and ideas. If he executed them well, there was a potential for substantial earnings.

END.