System Within: Million Dollars From Today

CHAPTER 08

“MHHMPFHH!” Sheila's eyes widened at the strong kiss, but she immediately pushed Gabe away with both hands. “What the hell?” she wiped her mouth.

“Now, it’s settled,” Systa said in place of Gabe.

“Settled? What’s settled?” her brows drew together.

“The debt.”

“Huh?” Sheila squinted her eyes. “What nonsense are you spewing?”

“You kissed me, and my kiss costs 500 dollars,” Systa reasoned, “so if we do the math, you still owe me 80 dollars.”

Sheila’s jaw hardened. “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re the one who kissed me, so you should be the one paying me! Not the other way around.”

“No. You’re almost 40 years old, but I’m not even 30, so no matter who kisses who, the older one ends up owing to the younger one,” Systa stated and turned around from her.

“What the hell are you doing?” Gabe, through his consciousness, kept screaming at Systa who wouldn’t give control over his body. “You’re fucking my relationship with her. Give me my body back.”

[You have no idea, so shut up.] Systa was cold.

Systa made Gabe stop after taking a few steps and then turned to look at the confused woman that was Sheila. “By the way, the strawberry flavor you used for your lipstick….” he gave a thumbs-up before continuing to walk away.

After some hesitation, Sheila ended up calling for him, “Wait.”

Systa heard her, but she didn’t stop Gabe.

Sheila had to scuttle over. “Wait,” she soon caught up with him. “What are you doing here? Did you come to drink in this bar?”

“Yeah, but this is my first time,” Systa said. “And they didn’t let me in because I was alone. But that’s okay. It’s their loss, not mine.”

“Haha, you’re right, but if you still want to grab a drink, you can come with me,” Sheila suggested.

“That’d be my pleasure,” Systa replied and gave his hand to her and walked with Sheila. The guards didn’t stop him this time.

Gabe was supremely shocked. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. How did things turn out like this? I was sure you were pissing her off.”

[Yes, I did, but only in a way that’d leave her wanting more.]

“H-Huh?” Gabe couldn’t even comprehend what Systa just said. “That makes no sense. You kissed her without her permission. How can that make her want more?”

[Your IQ when it comes to relationships is low, so I don’t blame you, but you should use this experience and learn and improve your IQ. If we want to level up faster, it will depend more on you than me.]

“Okay, but how am I going to improve if you have control over my body?” Gabe icily asked.

[Chill, bro.] Systa gave the control back to him.

And Gabe was now able to feel the presence of Sheila walking right next to him. Her arm was rubbing his arm. It felt strange but also wonderful. When they sat at the table, he asked her what drink she liked and then ordered the drinks.

[Don’t talk too much.] Systa advised him. [Make her do the work, most of the time. You want to give her the impression that there’s much more to you than what you reveal to her. You have to appear hard-to-get for these types of women.]

“O-Okay,” even though Gabe said that, he was feeling quite tense. All of his past relationships ended up miserably failing, so he couldn’t help but be anxious right now, even though he tried not to.

“So, how are things in your life?” Sheila sounded curious. “Did you get the job?”

Gabe shook his head.

“What skills do you have?”

Gabe didn’t know what to say. He knew Sheila was a software engineer who earned about 70,000 dollars per month, and yet she was stingy enough to pester him for the 420 dollars he owed. He asked Systa for guidance and then said, “I can do all kinds of jobs.”

Sheila smiled, sensing that he was trying to avoid her. “So, I take it you can code as well?”

Gabe nodded because Systa told him to.

“Alright. You know I work in IBM as a data analyst, don’t you? I have some doubts about my recent project,” she said. “Would you be willing to help clarify…”

Gabe nodded again, even though he didn’t want to.

“Great,” Sheila was very prideful when it came to work. She was a coding geek, so she asked him about a tough roadblock she had faced about two months ago.

To her bewilderment, Gabe effortlessly offered her a ‘better’ solution and left her speechless. It took her a week full of scratching her head to get around the same issue, yet Gabe was able to easily solve such a complex problem? Why was a guy like him jobless? Life made no freaking sense to her right now.

“W-Why are you jobless when you’re so talented?” Sheila couldn’t help but ask.

“Well…” Gabe didn’t know what to say. There were plenty of reasons as to why he failed the interviews or got fired from the job. Listing them all would make him look stupid, so he didn’t say anything.

“Do you want me to refer you to my boss?” Sheila asked. “He’ll gladly take you in.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Gabe quickly refused. He was scared of math, so he didn’t want to work in a software company at all. “I will soon find a job that suits me, hopefully.” He took a few gulps of wine and emptied the glass.

“I think I know why you’re like this,” Sheila added. “It’s because you’re staying with someone who’s weighing you down.”

Gabe didn’t get what she was talking about.

“You aunt, I mean. You should put her in an old age home or something,” Sheila suggested, “or you won’t be able to have a life.”

Gabe’s expression hardened immediately. “Thanks for the drink,” he stood at once and walked away, even though Systa told him to stop.

Sheila didn’t chase him and muttered under her breath, “I know I went a bit overboard, but I said that for his own good.”

Gabe walked out of the bar and still looked mad. “Why are all women like this? Most of them don’t like me, but even the ones that do end up seeing my aunt as a hindrance.”

[Go back in.] Systa hissed. [It’s still not too late to make up for what you did. You still have the chance to make her take you to her home. If you tame her, you’ll gain experience points.]

Gabe, however, kept walking away from the bar. “She’s 40. Divorced with no children. I should have known what kind of a woman she was before even talking with her.”

[Every woman has their faults. Besides, what she said holds some truth. Your aunt has indeed been holding you—]

Gabe suddenly stopped and glared at the copper ring. “Watch what you’re saying.”

Systa got surprised by the bloodlust Gabe exuded unintentionally.

“If something bad happens to my aunt because of you,” Gabe growled. “I’ll never forgive you.”

[... Got it.] Systa said softly. [So, calm down.]

“If I was the one who got bed-ridden, my aunt wouldn’t have abandoned me. She’s the only one I can call my family in this world.”

A few seconds of silence passed.

Gabe took a deep breath and controlled himself. “If you don’t like my aunt, then get out of my life. But if you do like to stay with me, then treat my aunt with more respect than you treat me.”

[...I understand. And I’ll respect your decision.]

“I would love to date a thousand girls and be successful with every single one, but the sad truth is that most of them wouldn’t care about my aunt,” Gabe spoke with a troubled, heavy heart. “I’m looking for someone who can love me as well as my aunt. If they can’t even do that, I’d rather be single for my whole life.”

[An alpha can’t be single for their whole life. He has to spread his seed.]

“Screw that.”

[Screw you. To be precise, screw your low IQ brain.]

“Think whatever you want, but I’m not changing my mind when it comes to dating the women I want,” Gabe bluntly said. “In other matters, however, I will listen to you.”

Systa could feel his determination. It was so strong she wasn’t able to take over his body when he was exiting the bar.

Gabe got a doubt. “By the way, if you were an alpha system, how were you able to clarify Sheila’s doubts in coding?”

[I told you I can give you everything. You still don’t believe me?]

“Then give me a million dollars,” Gabe blurted. “Make them appear in my hand or something.”

Systa sighed. [Sheesh… I guess I should be frank with you. Right now, you’re not worthy to make me give you a million dollars. That’s why I’m telling you to level up. Then, I’ll give you as much as you want and more.”

Gabe went silent.

Moments later, Gabe came home. The main door was open. There were sandals outside. “Who came this time?” he rushed in, thinking someone he owed money to came now and was troubling his aunt.

However, when he opened the door of his aunt’s room, he froze in his footsteps.