"DO YOU ACCEPT ME, SYSTEM 0404, THE HAREM-BUILDING SYSTEM?"
A soft blue light pulses, its robotic voice ringing through the void.
A man in his twenties stands before it, eyes filled with desperate excitement.
"YES!" he shouts, practically vibrating with anticipation.
The blue glow surges, the binding sequence begins, fate itself twists—
DING!
> [SYSTEM SUCCESSFULLY BOUND TO…]
…DAPHNE HAN?
???
???
I shrug, running a hand through my hair. Behind me, the void echoes with distant screaming—the unfortunate soul I just pushed off the edge. Oops.
The blue light flickers erratically. The system stutters.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
I glance down at my nails, inspecting them with an air of casual indifference.
"Daphne Han," I say smoothly, as a surge of soft light engulfs me.
And just like that, I steal second chance at life, you snooze, you lose.
---
24 Hours Earlier
I wake up, stretching lazily as I slide out from between two absolutely gorgeous women sprawled across the hotel bed.
A model and an actress. One of them is snoring softly, the other's arm is draped dramatically over her face. Classy.
I yawn, dodging lacy lingerie, suspiciously shaped toys, and a suspiciously expensive bottle of champagne, making my way to the bathroom.
My name is Daphne Han.
I'm 35 years old, CEO of DH Enterprises, self-made billionaire, and a woman so petty that I pay news outlets in my hometown to run weekly stories about my success—just to piss off my misogynistic conservative family.
Oh, and I'm a lesbian. A very successful, very openly lesbian.
How did I get here? Well.
I was born into a minor conglomerate Asian family, one that unfortunately believed women were accessories rather than leaders. That was their first mistake.
At 21, I bribed a few relatives, stole some family heirlooms, and fled to the U.S. with one million dollars and an attitude problem.
By 26, I had turned that into my first million-dollar company.
By 30, I was richer than my entire family combined.
By 35, my net worth was in the billions, and I was featured on Forbes, Fortune, and occasionally some rather scandalous gossip blogs.
Every week, a journalist somewhere in Asia writes an article about how I dishonored my family. My grandmother allegedly fainted when news broke that I froze my eggs, got a hysterectomy, and made a public statement about how the idea of pregnancy made me want to set things on fire.
Oops.
I step into the five-star hotel's marble shower, letting the water wake me up.
I need a change.
The whole "playgirl billionaire with models in my bed" thing is fun, but honestly? I think I want a family. A wife, a kid, a ridiculous number of cats maybe a dog and bird too.
I've had my fun. Time for something more… stable.
I'll just need to find a woman who doesn't care about the tabloids, the scandals, and the fact that my exes occasionally try to throw drinks at me in public.
Finishing my shower, I step into my signature tailored pantsuit, adjust my cufflinks, and walk out of the hotel, ignoring the flashes of paparazzi cameras.
A black luxury car waits for me outside. I slide in, finally turning on my phone.
50+ missed messages.
Everyone knows Friday nights are for me, not business. They can wait.
As the car pulls up to DH Enterprises' headquarters, I feel the usual rush of satisfaction at the sight of my empire—a ten-story glass tower with my name plastered across it in giant letters.
It's obnoxious. I love it.
I step onto the first floor, power-walking past my employees who scramble out of my way, because they know better than to slow me down.
And then—
BOOM.
The world explodes.
Flames. Smoke. Screaming.
My last thought before everything goes black?
"Well, shit."
---
Breaking News: Massive Gas Explosion at DH Headquarters
Casualties: 600 Dead, 400 Injured
Billionaire CEO Daphne Han Confirmed Among the Deceased
"Known for her cutthroat business tactics, billionaire empire, and scandalous playgirl lifestyle, Han was also a major supporter of women's rights and LGBTQ+ charities.
Unapologetic in both business and personal life, Han leaves behind no known heirs.
In a final twist, her vast fortune has been left to charity, completely cutting out her estranged family."
(Reports claim her grandmother has fainted again.)
---
I open my eyes to find myself standing on a road.
It's not the shiny marble floor of my penthouse or the polished glass of my office.
No. This place is barren, crooked, and made of rough gravel and jagged rocks that dig into the soles of my bare feet.
This is not the kind of place a billionaire should be.
The sky is an endless gray, stretching far beyond what I can comprehend.
Ahead of me is a never-ending line of people, shuffling forward like mindless cattle. No voices, no whispers, just an eerie silence.
I glance behind me.
Nothing.
Just a few feet away from the gravel ground, the world drops off into complete blackness.
The Void.
A slow chill creeps up my spine.
I take a deep breath and step forward, falling into line with the others.
As I move, I notice something disturbing.
I recognize some of these people.
That guy over there? My head of finance.
That woman? One of my senior executives.
The kid near the back? An intern I barely remember hiring.
We all died in the same explosion.
Was it bad luck? Or was it planned?
Doesn't matter. I'm dead.
Not like I left anything unfinished. My will is airtight.
My empire will be dismantled into trusted charities.
My family is getting absolutely nothing.
They'll probably cry for the cameras, but behind closed doors, they're either celebrating or plotting how to steal whatever scraps they can.
The thought makes me roll my eyes.
I return my focus to the line, letting my feet mechanically follow the path—until something unusual happens.
A few feet ahead, more like six people in front of me, a blue light materializes out of nowhere, hovering beside a young man.
It's soft, glowing, and eerily calm in the bleakness of this place.
I narrow my eyes.
The guy it approaches? I recognize him.
A delivery boy.
Worked for a courier company that sent packages to my office building.
What the hell is happening?
As I watch, the blue light guides him away from the line, leading him toward a particularly large rock nearby.
Nobody reacts.
Not a single person turns their head or acknowledges this is happening.
They just keep walking.
I, however, hesitate.
And then I step out of line.
I keep my movements slow, deliberate, like a predator stalking prey.
As I inch closer, I listen in.
> Blue Light: "Do you accept me, System 0404, the Harem-Building System? You will reincarnate into new worlds, stabilize them, and build a powerful harem."
My eyebrows shoot up.
Excuse me?
The delivery boy's eyes widen with excitement. His posture straightens, his entire being vibrating with hope and desperation.
> Delivery Boy: "YES!"
…Huh.
A second chance at life.
And all he had to do was agree to some ridiculous power fantasy system?
I can work with this.
I have nothing to lose.
Either this is real, or I get to go out causing problems one last time.
The blue light flares as it begins to bind with him.
I move.
Fast.
At the very last second, I rush forward and shove him.
Hard.
Right off the edge of the road.
Straight into the Void.
Screaming.
Endless, fading, disappearing screaming.
The blue light flickers violently, stuttering like a glitched-out computer.
Then—
DING!
> [SYSTEM SUCCESSFULLY BOUND TO…]
…DAPHNE HAN?
???
???
I run a hand through my hair, casually adjusting my posture as if I didn't just shove a man into oblivion.
The blue light pulses aggressively.
Its robotic voice cracks with panic.
> System 0404: "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!?!"
I shrug.
Behind me, the void echoes faintly with the last remnants of the delivery boy's screams.
I tilt my head and offer the system a slow, cock
y smirk.
"Daphne Han," I say smoothly.
Then, before it can protest, a blinding light engulfs me.
And just like that, I hijack a harem-building system. I don't know what that is, I'm not building a harem, but I am alive once again and that's all that matters.