Jason stood still for a moment, letting the tidal wave of realization wash over him.
He had twenty-two years of information locked in his brain—wars, elections, inventions, billion-dollar trends, bankruptcies, scandals, and crashes. And most importantly, the winners. The companies, technologies, and ideas that would shape the 21st century.
And he was at the starting line again.
He crossed the room, opened the blinds, and blinked as morning light flooded in. Outside, the world was exactly as it had been in 2000—flip phones, dial-up internet, people still reading newspapers.
"I've got time, but not that much," he muttered. "First mover advantage."
Jason turned to the closet and flung it open. Inside were old sneakers, college hoodies, and a suit he wouldn't be caught dead wearing now. He pulled it on anyway. He needed to look just respectable enough for what came next.
He booted up his dusty Gateway PC, wincing at the screech of the dial-up modem. It didn't matter. It would be the last time he ever waited on a connection.
He opened Internet Explorer. It was like watching a caveman carve fire. Clunky, primitive—but familiar.
His hands moved fast. He knew what to do first: secure money.
The startup stocks of the future wouldn't wait forever. He couldn't exactly waltz into Goldman Sachs with a dream and no collateral. But he did know a surefire way to get some early capital.
eBay.
Not for buying.
For selling.
He had exactly one thing in this era that was worth a fortune to the right buyer: information.
He opened a Word document and began typing.
> "Rare sports bet predictions – Super Bowl XXXIV winner revealed before kickoff. 100% guaranteed."
"Place your bets now. Limited info. $50 per tip."
Not a fortune. But with a few days of accurate predictions, he could snowball small bets into big ones. By next month, he'd have enough cash to buy Apple stock at $1 a share. Or Amazon at $64.
The world was about to change.
Jason King was reborn, and this time, he wouldn't just survive the game—he'd rewrite the damn rules.