Supreme Landlord System: My Harem of Enchanting Goddesses

Chapter 8

Barra stopped right in front of wooden door number two whose paint faded completely. His right hand gripped the rusty iron handle.

​Bang!

​"Cough! You want me to clean this trash bin?" Valerie protested sharply.

​Barra stepped inside ignoring her complaint. The room's cement floor was severely cracked in various corners. Its walls were full of peeling greenish mold spots.

​"This room needs new paint, putty, and basic furniture," Barra said.

​"And you think you can buy them with the remaining three dollars earlier?" Valerie sneered sharply.

​Barra turned slowly. His hand reached deep into his leather jacket pocket.

​He pulled out Valerie's diamond Rollexa watch.

​Valerie's eyes instantly widened. "Hey! That is my rent collateral! What will you do with it?"

​"Make it capital," Barra answered briefly.

​"System, is there a trade-in feature for valuable items?" Barra asked inwardly.

​A mechanical voice immediately rang very loudly in his ears.

​[Monopoly Pawn Feature activated for Host.]

​A holographic gold scale appeared floating above Barra's palm.

​"Place the collateral item on the scale for price appraisal," the System ordered flatly.

​Barra placed the diamond watch right on the light disc. The scale rotated slowly. A red light scanned the entire metal surface and diamond studs of the watch.

​[Scan complete. Object: Custom Rollexa Watch. Detected market value: 120,000 dollars.]

​Barra smirked faintly while glancing at Valerie who folded her arms across her chest with an arrogant expression.

​[System Pawn Offer: 3,000 dollars. Funds will be locked as Special Property Funds.]

​Barra's smirk instantly faded without a trace.

​"Three thousand? Are you robbing me?!" Barra protested loudly.

​Valerie flinched hearing the sudden shout from the man in front of her.

​"Who are you talking to?" the woman asked in wonder.

​Barra was silent, not answering Valerie's question.

​"The System purely sets instant liquidity prices without tracking traces. Accept or reject," the machine replied ignoring Barra's panic.

​Barra gritted his teeth tightly. He needed the money right now.

​"Accept the offer," Barra decided.

​The Rollexa watch in his hand instantly shattered into bright blue pixel shards. The expensive item disappeared in seconds.

​"What happened?!" Valerie screamed hysterically.

​She lunged forward closing the distance, then grabbed Barra's t-shirt collar tightly.

​"Where is my watch? You did a cheap magic trick?!" she demanded angrily.

​Barra brushed off both of the woman's hands with one easy movement.

​"I sold your watch to a black market contact. It sold for three thousand," Barra lied flatly.

​"Three thousand?!" Valerie shrieked in disbelief.

​The woman's chest rose and fell holding back peaking emotions.

​"That is a limited edition antique! Its price is a hundred and twenty thousand, idiot!" she snapped roughly pointing at Barra's face.

​Barra leaned his face forward, staring straight into Valerie's eyes.

​"That hundred thousand watch cannot be eaten if we are fugitives," Barra said pressing every syllable.

​"You bastard,"

​"The money can only be used to buy building materials, not for splurging," Barra cut in absolutely.

​Valerie bit her lower lip tightly holding back anger. She realized her position was truly disadvantageous.

​Two hours later.

​Barra returned from the hardware store at the end of the street. He brought two cans of white paint, several brushes, and a sack of cement. To buy all that he spent thirty dollars from the Special Fund Balance.

​"Get up from there. Your rest time is over!" Barra ordered.

​He threw a large brush right onto Valerie's lap.

​"Me? Paint this dirty wall?" Valerie argued with an unaccepting look.

​"Unless you can call your house servant here, yes, you paint it," Barra answered sharply.

​Valerie stood up with rapid breaths. She took the brush with one rough pull.

​"I will remember this treatment, Barra," she threatened softly.

​Barra took the paint bucket and pried open its metal lid using a flat screwdriver.

​"Start working from the left corner. Do not miss a single part," Barra instructed pointing at the end of the wall.

​The rough work went very slowly. Valerie absolutely did not know how to hold the brush handle correctly.

​Barra glanced at Valerie from the corner of his eyes. He stopped his work patching the cracked floor.

​He walked closer, then stood right behind Valerie's body.

​"Your grip is too stiff," Barra scolded.

​Barra's right hand reached forward, grabbing Valerie's wrist from behind.

​Valerie held her breath instantly as her back directly touched the man's broad chest.

​"Press the bristle tips to the wall, then pull straight down," Barra guided whispering.

​Their hands moved together swinging the thick brush onto the wall surface. The white paint now stuck much more evenly and did not drip much.

​Barra released his grip, then stepped back one step.

​"Do it that way until the wall over there is finished," he said casually.

​Valerie quickly turned her face toward the wall. Her ears blushed bright red holding back awkwardness.

​"Naggy," Valerie muttered softly, but her hand kept moving following Barra's instructions.

​Time passed and room number two now looked much cleaner and brighter. Its walls were covered evenly with white paint, its floor was still wet.

​Barra sat leaning casually on a plastic chair in front of the hallway terrace. His hand held a cold mineral water bottle.

​Valerie sat at the edge of the mattress. Her face displayed an extraordinary exhaustion she had never felt in her life.

​"My arms feel like breaking," Valerie complained massaging her own shoulder base.

​Barra gulped his water slowly wetting his throat. "At least you are still alive to complain."

​Right after that sentence was spoken, a red screen suddenly exploded in thin air. The System's warning voice rang painfully piercing Barra's eardrums.

​[Fatal Threat Warning! Five hostile targets detected entering the property radius.]

​Barra immediately stopped his movement swallowing water. The plastic drinking bottle in his hand was squeezed softly.

​The Appraiser's Eye Skill shot scanning light lines through the brick wall. Behind the front wall, five rows of red numbers lit up brightly in the night darkness.

​[Target Status: Black Wolf Gang Core Members. Weapon: Steel Machetes. Intent: Kill Host.]

​Barra stood up slowly from the chair without making the slightest scraping sound.

​"What is wrong?" Valerie asked realizing the drastic attitude change of the man.

​"Go into the room now and lock the door tightly!" Barra ordered with a very low tone.

​Valerie looked at Barra's face which tensed stiffly. "Who is coming?"

​"Baxter apparently is not playing around with his threat of bringing his boss this morning," Barra answered flatly.

​The scraping sound of sharp metal objects being dragged touching the asphalt stones started sounding loud from the front yard.

​Five black shadows jumped very agilely past the gap in the iron fence that was already severely dented by the bulldozer's strike.