2025-10-15 00:43:58> [ INITIAL SYSTEM ACCEPTANCE SUCCESSFUL]
[REWARD: $100,000,000,000 deposited to System-Linked Account]
[Bonus: +20% Agility for all future tasks assigned in Phase 1]
[NOTE: A system-activated withdrawal card is required to access the funds]
Carlos stood in awe, his arms limp at his sides and his eyes widened at the glowing red text floating midair before him.
“…What?” He exclaimed softly.
The air in the dark apartment seemed to pulse with invisible energy. His ragged breath echoed off the peeling walls as the holographic notification hovered like a ghost.
He looked down at himself—dirty, torn shirt, bruises on his knuckles and dirt on his pants.
“How... How can I have a hundred billion dollars?” He asked himself, turning to the quiet corner where the shrouded sheets covered his parents’ cold bodies still lay as the silence swallowed him while he clenched his fists.
“No.” He shook his head and stepped back.
“This isn’t real. This has to be some twisted hallucination. I’ve snapped. Lost it. I’m broke, framed, buried in shame, and you’re telling me I’m worth more than the Danes overnight?” His face evolved into a grin as he made a whizzling laughter, like a tired man starting to lose his senses.
“And besides, I have tons of withdrawal cards. But they are all expired. How do I go abou…”
With a faint glow, a silver card materialized midair. It gently hovered downward until it slid neatly into his palm.
> [System Withdrawal Card: Linked to any bank account]
He was too stunned to speak, staring at the cold, mentalic, smooth card. It shimmered like a gem from another world.
A few hours later, the earth was soft under the storm.
Rain poured hard from the sky like the heavens mourned too. Carlos stood under the downpour, drenched from head to toe, before two fresh mounds of dirt in a forgotten cemetery corner near the city’s outskirts.
No one else came. No flowers. No prayers. Just him, a shovel, and the ghosts of what should’ve been a better life.
He stared down at the graves’ crude wooden marker which read:
> DARIO RODRIGUEZ & BEATRICE RODRIGUEZ
Loving parents. Lost to a world that never gave them a chance.
Carlos fell to his knees, letting the rain slap against his face as he wept hard.
“I'm sorry. I failed you” he whispered, voice cracking, touching the muddy soil.
“But that ends today.”
He looked up at the stormy sky.
“I don’t care what this ‘system’ is. I don’t care if it’s real or just some twisted experiment on my brain.” His voice rose with fury. He stood slowly, eyes burning through the rain.
“But, I swear on your graves, I will make Robert Dane and Andrea wish they were never born. I will tear their world apart. Not just them… everyone who helped them. Watched. Laughed. Benefited.” He paused.
“Even if it kills me.”
Lightning flashed across the sky like a divine seal to his vow.
*************
The storm had died down by morning when Carlos arrived at the Star Bank HQ downtown—one of the most secure and high-profile banks in Coast Wesley.
He wore a donated hoodie from the cemetery gatekeeper and cheap jeans. The glass doors slid open as he noticed the modern, glassy interior buzzing with quiet efficiency.
He walked to the counter, trying to look casual.
“Hi. Uh... I need to check my account balance.”
The cashier, a well-dressed woman in her thirties with bored eyes, gestured to the screen.
“Card?” she asked. Carlos slid the silver card toward her.
She inserted it with a mechanical motion… then paused at the screen while it flashed and then froze.
“…Um, one moment,” she said.
Carlos watched her face tighten as the screen displayed a new set of digits in bold red.
She cleared her throat and leaned closer.
She turned the monitor slightly so he could see it and his stomach dropped.
ACCOUNT BALANCE: $100,000,000,000.00
He stared again at the zeros dancing before him. The cashier leaned in with a whisper.
“Sir... we’re going to need to verify this. Do you... work for the international monetary authority or some crypto billionaire?” She quizzed in awe but Carlos found it quite difficult to respond.
“Right.” She nodded stiffly.
“Uh… How much would you like to withdraw?”
He swallowed.
“Just... Two hundred thousand.” His words stunned her.
“Only…?”
“Only.”
She processed the withdrawal with shaky hands.
A machine beside the counter printed out a receipt as a vault assistant arrived moments later with a sealed envelope of fresh bills.
Carlos held the cash and card feeling numb.
“It was real. All of it was real.” he thought to himself.
But just as he turned toward the exit, a group of armed looking men stormed in.
“GET DOWN!!!”
The double doors of the bank exploded inward with a burst of gunfire. Screams erupted while people dove for cover.
Five masked men in black trench coats and combat gear stormed the lobby, armed with rifles and semi-automatics.
“EVERYBODY ON THE GROUND!! NOW!” One of the robbers fired a warning shot into the ceiling as panic took over.
Carlos hit the ground instinctively, clutching the envelope and trying to stay hidden behind the nearest pillar.
Just then, the hologram reappeared.
> [WARNING: ROBBERY IN PROGRESS — ASSIGNMENT DETECTED]
[THREAT LEVEL: MODERATE]
[PERPETRATORS: STAIN MAFIA GROUP — OPERATED BY HUGHES STAIN]
[OBJECTIVE: Defuse threat, neutralize enemies, prevent casualties]
Carlos was stunned at the reveal, spotting the detailed information and an image of the man on the holo screen.
> [REWARD: +30 Bronze System Coins | Access to First Grade Skill Set | Upgrade to Stat Shop]
> [FAILURE PENALTY: FULL MEMORY WIPE OF ALL SYSTEM CONTENT & PROGRESS]
Carlos’s eyes widened.
“You can’t be serious,” he whispered under his breath.
> [This is your first combat trial.]
[Let the vengeance begin.]
“No. No no no no!” he hissed.
“You want me to take on armed robbers? This isn’t a movie. I’m not some secret agent!”
> [Mission refusal acknowledged. Countdown to memory wipe initiated: 10 minutes]
Carlos’s breath caught in his chest.
But the image of his dead parents and his betrayal flashed and that made him freeze as he closed his eyes to fully recall the memory of what was done to him.
Forget the faces of his parents? Forget the betrayal?
Never.
Never again.
He clenched his fists.
“...Task accepted.” He reaffirmed.
Hence, the leash of his newer enigma…..
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
“Doctor, she’s gone”
“The Emperor? Carlos?” Bruce's voice came through after a moment of getting stunned. “Yes! He came to my store. We spoke, sire, face to face. He’s cautious, quiet, but I could see the spark in his eyes. He knows the truth now, even if he hasn’t fully accepted it. I could feel it in him.” “Are you certain of what you just said?” Bruce’s tone turned sharp, though laced with awe. “You’re certain he’s the one?” “I saw the sign. The same aura the priestess once described—it resonated when I looked at him. There’s no mistaking it.” Bruce exhaled, an odd mix of reverence and urgency threading through his voice. “Do you know where he could be headed now?” “He is headed for the main airport in Coast Wesley City,” Griff replied without hesitation. “I suspect he’s off for a visit to someone peculiar. That must be where his trail leads next.” “Good,” Bruce muttered, almost to himself. “The heavens have aligned at last.” Griff smiled faintly, unaware that in his eagerness,
A piece of the truth
Griff turned to the staff again, his expression softening just slightly.“We move forward from this,” he said. “No fear, no division. Only excellence and integrity.”He then turned toward Lily with a gentling expression.“And as for the matter of management…”All eyes turned toward her instantly. Lily’s heart stopped.Griff continued,“I’ve taken the liberty of reviewing your record—your work ethic, your consistency, your innovation. It seems this store has lacked the very leadership you’ve displayed for years without title or recognition.”He took the work tag he had taken from John off the table. The polished metal gleamed with the bold writing:BRANCH MANAGER, APPLE PLAZA COAST WESLEYHe stepped forward, pinning it onto her chest himself.“Congratulations, Ms. Evans. You are now the official manager of this establishment.”Lily’s hands trembled. She bowed deeply, her voice quivering.“Thank you, sir. I—I don’t know what to say
“Sir please, I can explain”
He adjusted instantly, shifting from deep reverence to composed politeness. “Ah… forgive me,” Griff said smoothly, his voice now steady and professional. “You bear a striking resemblance to someone I once served. The Emperor himself, in fact. My mistake—it must be the light of the evening that confused my old eyes.” He said, robbing his eyes a little. Lily exhaled a shaky breath of relief, her tension slowly easing, though she still couldn’t comprehend why Griff had bowed at all. Carlos gave a polite nod, playing along perfectly. “It’s understandable, sir. No harm done.” Griff smiled faintly, clearing his throat, he continued with a shift in tone. “I would be on my way inside. My apologies once again.” He said politely as he proceeded to walk inside with his guards. But almost to the doorway, an idea dropped into Carlos’ mind on getting help on Lily’s behalf, suddenly stopping Griff from going further. Griff’s brows lifted when he noticed this. “Is there somethin
“My allegiance to the almighty emperor.”
John straightened his tie and gave a self-satisfied huff, brushing invisible lint from his suit.“Pathetic,” he muttered. They don’t belong in a place like this.”He motioned to the security guards to return to their posts. Then he turned to his assistant.“Make sure everything’s spotless. The owner’s coming in less than ten minutes. Griff Willows doesn’t tolerate incompetence.”He smirked, adjusting his cufflinks.“When the boss sees how well I’ve handled things, he’ll know he can count on me to keep this place in order.”But what John didn’t know, however, was that his moment of “order” had just set the stage for his downfall.*****************Carlos had just stopped by the fountain outside the entrance and in front of the very building, turning towards Lily.“Hey,” he said softly, brushing a tear from her cheek. “Don’t apologize for any of that. You didn’t deserve what happened in there.”She sniffled, shaking her head.
The expected deploy
He had caught the slight tremble in her hands, the way she clutched the hem of her blouse and avoided his gaze. There was something deeply wrong and she was clearly hiding it.When he asked what was going on, she had only forced another strained smile and whispered,“I’ll be fine, Mr. Carlos. It’s… nothing I can’t handle.”Carlos waited for her to say more, but when she turned away to attend to a pile of receipts with shaking fingers, he knew she wasn’t going to open up.His brow furrowed. Why’s she pretending everything’s fine when she’s clearly breaking inside?Without saying another word, he took a few steps back from the counter, scanning the reception area until he spotted one of her co-workers — a young woman with auburn hair and anxious eyes, standing near the far end of the counter, pretending to arrange display tablets.Carlos approached her quietly.“Hey, excuse me,” he began, his voice steady but firm. “You work here, right? You’re close with L
“Miss Andrea, your relationship has officially ended”
Carlos felt an unusual warmth course through him as he stepped out of the Apple Plaza store, the sleek paper bags swinging lightly from his fingers. For the first time in months, he felt… content. The silver gleam of his brand-new iPhone 17 Pro Max caught the afternoon light as he turned it in his hand. The smooth glass and metal design reflected his face — sharper, calmer, more assured than the man who once had nothing but resentment and grief for company. He slid into the back seat where Charles new cab is backed at the waiting area outside the store to unbox the device, syncing it effortlessly with the rest of his new gadgets. A small smile crept across his lips as he powered it on. The screen glowed brightly — his reflection merging with the device’s brilliance and for a brief second, he felt like he was looking at a new beginning. “Finally,” he murmured, swiping through the setup screen. “I can see you are happy with your new purchase sir.” Charles said, observing Carlos
You may also like
My Zombie Revenge System
Atom633424.5K viewsThe Successor System
Khay Phynom 59.6K viewsMASON WILLIAMS AND THE CELESTIAL SYSTEM
Bigsnowy 29.8K viewsBlood Wolf
MadRain162.4K viewsA Chance To Rise
Leena Mustafa 1.1K viewsThe Prince's Revenge: SYSTEM
GODBLESS E1.6K viewsThe Tycoon System
Addiction16.6K viewsRise To Ascension: The Poor Zillionaire
Alynn L Writes 206 views