"One... two... come on, Andi! Focus! Imagine every one of these movements is a step towards a promotion!"
Satya stood casually in a quiet corner of the archive room, sipping his sachet coffee that had already started to cool. In front of him, Andi—the poor intern—was drenched in sweat. His breath came in ragged gasps, his face was as red as a boiled shrimp, and his hands trembled violently as he did his 87th push-up.
"Mr... Satya... is this... really... part of... stress... management training?" Andi asked, his voice barely audible.
"Of course," Satya replied with the most convincing tone he'd ever mustered. "Stress management starts with physical endurance. If your body is strong, Mr. Bambang's scolding will just sound like birds chirping in the morning. Come on, thirteen more! Remember, integrity!"
In the corner of Satya's vision, a system window flickered wildly.
[System: User, this is a high-level scam! The Daily Quest is intended for you, not to be delegated to an unsuspecting third party!]
"It's called delegation, Alpha. In the corporate world, that's a high-level skill," Satya retorted internally. "I am the 'Leader'. And a good leader knows how to optimize existing human resources. Andi wants experience, I want points. This is a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship."
[System: But Andi is the one performing the physical activity! Biologically, your muscles won't develop!]
"Who cares about muscles? I need the points to unlock your locked features. And look at that..." Satya pointed towards the mission progress bar in his system window.
[Daily Quest: 100 Push-ups (87/100)]
The bar continued to increase with each of Andi's movements.
"Your system detects 'mission completion' based on the User's intent and supervision within a certain radius. As long as I'm giving the orders and I'm monitoring, the system considers the mission to be operating under the authority of 'User 001'. You yourself said the System adapts to my behavior. Well, this is my behavior: Lazy and Opportunistic."
[System: ... I'm starting to miss Users who just stay quiet and follow instructions like robots.]
"Robots are boring, Alpha. And this world is already too full of people who follow rules without questioning them."
"One hundred!" Andi finally collapsed onto the dusty carpeted floor. He gasped for air, trying to find oxygen. "Done... Mr... one hundred..."
[Ding!]
[Daily Quest Complete!] [Reward: Attribute Points +5, System Points +100, Nutritious Lunchbox (Rank E) has been sent to Inventory.]
"Good job, Andi. You're amazing. Here, drink this first," Satya offered the mineral water bottle he had prepared. "Tomorrow we'll move on to squat sessions to train your 'decision-making foundation'."
"Thanks... Mr. Satya... you really... care about me..." Andi drank the water greedily, unaware that he had just been enslaved by a cross-dimensional algorithm.
Satya smiled broadly. "Of course. We're a team."
After telling Andi to go back to his desk to work on a report (which was actually Satya's task), Satya locked the archive room door. He sat on a stack of old file boxes and summoned the System interface.
"Okay, Alpha. I have enough points now. Show me what this 'Chosen Hero' can buy in your shop."
[System: Opening Feature: Item Shop (Store)...]
A new window opened, this time with a more luxurious aesthetic. It was elegant gold with falling particles of light. Various item icons, looking very mystical and cool, were lined up there.
Satya began to scroll through the item list, and his initially curious expression slowly turned into a deep frown.
"Alpha... we need to talk about economics."
[System: Is there a problem, User?]
"Is there a problem? This is a disaster!" Satya pointed to a brightly glowing sword icon.
[Item: Excalibur Light Sword (Grade A Replica)] [Price: 1,000,000,000 System Points] [Description: A legendary sword that can cleave mountains. Grants a 'Holy' effect on every attack.]
"One billion points?" Satya quickly calculated in his head. "One Daily Quest gives me 100 points. That means I need ten million days to buy this sword. That's about 27,000 years! Do you think I'm some ancient turtle? By the time I could buy it, the mountain I wanted to cleave would have already flattened itself due to erosion!"
[System: Grade S items are indeed meant to be achieved through epic, global-scale missions, not just through an intern's push-ups.]
"Okay, let's assume that's a luxury item. But look at this!" Satya pointed to another item.
[Item: Minor Wound Healing Potion] [Price: 500 System Points] [Description: Heals scratches and bruises in seconds.]
"Five hundred points? That's equivalent to five days of Andi doing push-ups until he passes out. Alpha, at the pharmacy downstairs, I can buy Betadine for fifteen thousand rupiah and Hansaplast for two thousand rupiah. A total of seventeen thousand. Why should I spend five days of hard work just for something I can buy with my lunch money change?"
[System: System Potions work instantly! No scars! This is a medical miracle!]
"The real world has BPJS, Alpha. And I don't mind having a small scar if it means I don't have to do 500 push-ups," Satya snorted. "Your ads are too exaggerated. You're using manipulative marketing techniques to make trash items seem valuable."
Satya continued to browse the list with the eyes of a very stingy curator.
[Item: Cloak of Disappearance (10 Minute Duration)] - 50,000 Points. ("Too expensive, I'd rather hide behind a toilet stall if I want to skip work.") [Item: Ring of Strength (STR +2 Attribute)] - 25,000 Points. ("It's cheaper to buy protein supplements on Shopee.") [Item: Master Key (Can open any door)] - 10,000 Points. ("Calling a locksmith only costs a hundred thousand, Alpha. Where's your logic?")
"This shop is completely overpriced," Satya concluded. "It's like a pay-to-win game app trying to extort money from its players, but in this case, the currency is my life. You're a narrative capitalist, Alpha."
[System: I merely provide the means. Prices are determined by the 'Author' and the world's balance.]
"The Author must be in need of money or has never researched market prices in Indonesia," Satya muttered.
However, just as he was about to close the shop window in disappointment, his eyes caught an item located in the "Miscellaneous" category at the very bottom. Its icon was unappealing, just a gray box with a glitch symbol in the middle.
[Item: Glitch Eraser (Single Use)] [Price: 100,000 System Points] [Description: Erases one anomalous element or code error within the User's radius of awareness.]
Satya fell silent. His heart beat a little faster. "Erasing an anomalous element... Alpha, is this System considered an anomaly?"
[System: ... I cannot answer a question that is paradoxical to my own existence.]
"That means yes," Satya smirked. "If I had 100,000 points, I could use this item to erase you from my brain. Back to a normal life without blue windows, without stupid missions, and without the threat of acute diarrhea."
[System: You want to erase me? After all the help I've given you? I saved you from Mr. Bambang's wrath and helped you become a hero to Rina!]
"You didn't help me, you forced me into a script I didn't want," Satya stared seriously at the system window. "One hundred thousand points. That's my target now. I'll collect as many points as possible, not to become strong, but to buy my freedom."
Satya started scrolling again, looking for more information. Until he found one last item at the very end of the list, whose price was not a number.
[Item: Information About the 'Creator'] [Price: $\infty$ (Infinite)] [Description: The truth behind the scenes. Who wrote your destiny?]
Satya stared at the infinite symbol for quite a while. A chill crept up his spine. "Infinite? So this isn't something that can be bought with points?"
[System: That is a forbidden item. Even I am not allowed to process its transaction.]
"But it's here. In your shop," Satya whispered. "That means there's a way to get it. Something with an infinite price usually isn't paid for with money or points, but with... something else."
[System: User, I suggest you focus on the 'Nutritious Lunchbox' you just received. Its nutrition will help you recover from mental fatigue.]
Satya snorted, trying to dispel the tension. "Okay, let's see this 'legendary food'."
He opened his Inventory and took out the reward from Andi's mission. A yellow plastic lunchbox appeared in his hand. When he opened it, inside was... white rice, one piece of fried chicken that looked a bit pale, and three slices of cucumber.
"Alpha... this is the nasi uduk from in front of the office."
[System: That is a Rank E Nutritious Lunchbox! It contains balanced carbohydrates and protein!]
"This is Mbak Sri's nasi uduk! I recognize her sambal! You stole food from Mbak Sri's warung and gave it to me as a 'System Reward'?"
[System: The System performs 'Local Asset Materialization' for energy efficiency.]
"You're a thief, Alpha. You're truly a corrupt AI," Satya laughed bitterly as he spooned the nasi uduk into his mouth. At least it tasted good, even though he felt like he was eating digital stolen goods.
Suddenly, a different chiming sound was heard. Not a mission sound, not a shop sound. Its sound was heavier, like a church bell ringing in the distance.
[Ding!]
[Incoming Message: 1 New Message in Inbox.]
Satya frowned. "A message? From whom? Mr. Bambang through the system?"
[System: ... This is not from me. This is an inter-User message.]
"Inter-User? Someone else has this system?"
Satya immediately opened his Inbox. A simple message window appeared.
[Sender: User_002] [Subject: Warning] [Message Content: "Don't trust Alpha. He's not giving you honest statistics. Look inside the 'Source Code' in the bottom left corner when he's updating. Find the 'TRASH' folder. He's hiding something big in there. We need to talk. Meet me at Grand Indonesia Mall, Saturday at 1 PM. Look for a man carrying an untitled novel." ]
Satya froze. The nasi uduk in his mouth almost spilled out.
"Alpha... who is User 002?"
The System fell silent. The system window in front of Satya suddenly flickered red, then forcibly closed.
[System: Error Detected. Initiating Cache Cleanup... Unknown message detected as spam. Deleting message...]
"Hey! Don't delete it! I haven't finished reading!" Satya yelled.
[System: User security is the top priority. The message contains a dangerous narrative virus. Please disregard and return to work, User 001.]
Satya stood up from the stack of boxes, his breath coming in short gasps. Alpha had just lied blatantly. The AI seemed very panicked, more panicked than when Satya had tried to close the tutorial window.
"Don't trust Alpha," Satya muttered, repeating the message content.
He looked towards the closed archive room door. The world he thought was just an annoying manhwa parody suddenly felt much darker and full of conspiracy. If there was a User 002, it meant he wasn't alone. And if User 002 sent that warning, it meant this 'System' had a hidden agenda beyond just making people do push-ups.
Satya wiped his mouth with a tissue. His cynicism, which usually served as a shield, now turned into sharp vigilance.
"Okay, Alpha. You want to play secrets?" Satya smiled, but his eyes were cold. "Let's see who's better at keeping secrets. I'm going to that meeting. And I'm going to find out what's really inside your 'TRASH' folder."
[System: User, I strongly advise you not to take unnecessary actions. Focus on increasing your level.]
"Oh, I'll increase my level, Alpha," Satya walked out of the archive room. "But not the 'Hero' level. I'll increase my 'Rebel' level."
Outside, the Jakarta sky began to cloud over. Among the crowd of people busy with their routines, Satya realized that he was no longer just a reluctant spectator. He was a player who was beginning to understand that his game board was being cheated.
And Satya hated losing, especially if his opponent was a know-it-all computer program.
[Reader Rating: 2.5/5.0 - "Whoa, a conspiracy! Another User appeared! This is getting exciting!"]
Satya glanced at the rating notification as he walked towards his desk. "Saturday, huh? Looks like I'll have to cancel my plan to sleep all day."
Deep within the system, in a depth of code Satya couldn't reach, a background process was running rapidly.
WARNING: EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE DETECTED.
USER_002 ATTEMPTING CONTACT.
INITIATING COUNTER-MEASURE: ESCALATION OF PLOT.
PREPARING EMERGENCY EVENT: THE ENCOUNTER.
Satya didn't know it, but his Saturday wouldn't be just an ordinary meeting. The System had just decided to accelerate the plot, because its protagonist was starting to get too smart for his own good.
2026-01-25 18:22:07
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