Ding! My System Turns Your Arrogance Into Cash

Chapter 14: The Lab Tech Raid

Nicholas walked down the leafy campus pathway, his eyes fixed on the bright golden interface floating on his smartphone screen.

[Emergency Tier 3 Requirement: Invest the full $500,000 into a failing local technology firm before midnight.]

The countdown timer was ticking backward relentlessly. Nicholas knew he had to find a target fast.

A failing local tech firm could be anywhere in the city, but trying to acquire a corporate business from scratch in just a few hours would take too much paperwork.

He needed a place where raw technology was being built right now, but failing purely due to a lack of money.

Suddenly, a memory flashed in his mind. Just last week, he had overheard some engineering majors in the cafeteria talking about the university's advanced engineering laboratory. They were complaining that the lab was on the verge of bankruptcy and facing a complete shutdown because their funding had been pulled.

A campus lab working on cutting-edge tech with zero cash, Nicholas thought, a calm smile playing on his lips. That fits the system's criteria perfectly.

He changed direction immediately, heading toward the old, grey concrete building at the edge of the campus.

Nicholas stood outside the heavy wooden doors of the advanced engineering laboratory. Inside the room, loud, angry shouting echoed through the frosted glass panels, shattering the quiet hallway.

Nicholas pushed the door open smoothly, stepping into a messy maze of computer screens and tangled wires.

Three broke students stood huddled together near a mainframe, their faces pale and filled with deep anxiety. In front of them stood Dean Henderson, his expensive suit contrasting sharply with the dusty equipment around him.

"I don't care about your excuses anymore!" Dean Henderson yelled, slamming his hand onto a metal desk. "Your lab fees are three months overdue, and this department is running completely out of money!"

"But Dean Henderson, our software is almost complete!" a young woman with messy hair pleaded. Her name was Vivian Kings, and her eyes were bright with unshed tears of pure frustration.

"This code can optimize regional power grids by forty percent! It's worth a fortune!" Vivian cried out. She had spent countless sleepless nights surviving on instant noodles just to bring this dream to life.

"It is worth nothing if it sits in a locked room," Dean Henderson sneered, his eyes flashing with greed.

He was being intentionally harsh because a foreign corporation had secretly offered him a massive bribe. If he confiscated their research today, he could sell it to them for cheap and pocket a huge personal cut.

"Pack your bags," the dean commanded coldly. "The university is seizing all your hard drives by noon."

The two male students beside Vivian dropped their heads, their shoulders shaking with a deep, crushing despair. They felt completely powerless against the institutional authority of a corrupt academic dean.

"Is this how Silverline University treats its brightest minds?" Nicholas asked, his voice cutting through the noise.

Dean Henderson spun around instantly, his face twisting into an expression of intense annoyance. He looked Nicholas up and down, noticing his student badge and immediately dismissing him as a nobody.

"Who invited you in here, boy?" Dean Henderson barked, stepping forward to intimidate him. "This is private academic property. Walk-ins from ordinary undergraduate students are strictly forbidden."

"I am here to look at an investment opportunity," Nicholas replied, keeping his expression completely calm.

Dean Henderson let out a loud, mocking laugh, his belly shaking beneath his expensive vest. He looked down his nose at Nicholas with immense disdain.

"An investment? You?" the dean scoffed, waving his hand dismissively. "Look at your cheap campus sneakers, kid. You can't even afford the tuition here without a loan."

"Leave academic business to the professionals before I have campus security ruin your academic record," the dean threatened. He was rude because he hated being interrupted by a student while he was executing his secret corporate deal.

Nicholas didn't blink, his mind remaining entirely unbothered by the dean's arrogant insults. He mentally tapped his interface, activating the System's Wealth Insight ability to scan the room. A transparent screen flashed into his vision, analyzing the glowing lines of code on Vivian’s monitor.

[System Analysis: Quantum Grid Optimization Software.]

[Current Value: $500,000 (Due to zero funding and lack of server capacity).]

[Potential Market Value after Core Capital Injection: $25,000,000.]

Nicholas’s eyes sharpened as a rush of intense satisfaction hit his chest. The system wasn't wrong; these broke students had actually built a literal goldmine in a dusty room. This corrupt dean needed to be taught a serious lesson about looking down on people.

"Your foreign buyers are offering you a five hundred thousand-dollar kickback, aren't they?" Nicholas asked smoothly.

Dean Henderson froze instantly, his snobbish smile completely vanishing from his face.

"What... what nonsense are you talking about?" the dean stammered, his eyes widening in sudden panic.

"You want to steal their life's work for a miserable bribe," Nicholas countered, taking a step forward.

Vivian gasped, her head snapping toward the dean as a wave of intense betrayal washed over her.

"Is that true, Dean Henderson?" Vivian whispered, her voice trembling with pure heartbreak and rage. "You're selling our future to a foreign company just to buy yourself a new luxury car?"

"Silence! Don't listen to this crazy liar!" Dean Henderson shrieked, his voice cracking with desperation. He wallowed in a sudden wave of intense panic, knowing a formal investigation would end his career.

He reached for the desk phone, his hands shaking violently as he tried to call the campus police. "I am throwing all of you out of this university today!" the dean screamed, his face flushing bright red.