The Broke Billionaire's System: Spend to Survive

Attack on the Tiny Apartment

Johann frowned. He stood up with great difficulty, his bones feeling as if they had just been struck by a sledgehammer. Beside him, Freya remains on high alert, her hand instinctively searching for a weapon that had already run out of ammo. Johann's cramped apartment was now nothing more than ruins of broken concrete. Thick dust danced under the beam of the flashlights held by those strangers in black suits.

"Who are you?" Johann asked hoarsely. He tried to stand tall even though his body was still trembling from the side effects of the ancient artifact. "And what do you mean by the first test?"

The woman in the sunglasses did not answer immediately. She signaled with her hand, and two of her subordinates moved forward with the precision of a machine. They did not attack.

Instead, they began picking up the remaining debris of corporate magic scattered across the floor. Their movements were systematic, efficient, and highly professional.

"We are the Auditors," the woman replied briefly. She stepped toward Johann until they were only inches apart. A scent of expensive, cold perfume wafted from her, contrasting with the smell of sweat and dust clinging to Johann. "And you have just performed a remarkable cleanup. Unfortunately, your actions have left a massive magical stain on this city's reality."

Freya interrupted with a sharp tone. "Auditors? Don't make me laugh. We almost died because of Viktor, and you're just showing up now? Where were you when we needed help?"

The woman turned slightly toward Freya, her lips curving into a thin, condescending smile. "Ms. Schneider, mercenaries are never invited to adult parties. You are merely a disruptive variable in the ecosystem we are observing. However, since you have helped our primary subject stay alive, we will allow you to breathe a little longer."

Johann felt his chest tighten. He stared at the woman in disbelief. "Primary subject? Do you consider my life to be some kind of experiment?"

"That system didn't just fall from the sky, Mr. Keller," the woman said again. She pulled a sleek tablet from inside her jacket and showed it to Johann. The screen displayed Johann's balance, which had just hit zero. "Your money is not just currency. It is the accumulated energy from the sweat of thousands of people you have cleaned up in those luxury buildings. You are the most effective magical vacuum cleaner ever to exist."

"That's disgusting," Johann muttered. A bitter sense of humor sparked in his mind. "So I'm just a vacuum cleaner given play money to see how far I can tear this city apart?"

"An interesting definition," the woman chuckled. A laugh that sounded like metal grinding together.

Suddenly, the apartment floor shook. A shrill scream echoed from the narrow alley outside. It seemed Viktor's remaining followers hadn't given up yet. They charged at full speed, cutting through the darkness of the night with unstable corporate magic. Purple energy blasts began slamming into the remaining walls.

"We have to go!" Freya shouted. She pulled Johann and pushed him toward the shattered window. "Johann, use your power again! I don't care about a zero balance or whatever, do something!"

Johann looked at his hands. There was no golden light. No notification appeared before his eyes. He felt completely empty. However, the Auditor woman grinned widely. She flicked her fingers, and a silver briefcase snapped open on the floor. Its contents weren't money, but thousands of black credit cards radiating a cold aura.

"Use these," the Auditor woman commanded. "Each one of these cards contains an initial balance of one million dollars. But remember, this is credit. If you do not pay the interest with the 'stains' you clean up later, these cards will consume your soul."

Johann had no choice. He snatched a handful of the cards. As his fingers touched the cold surface of the plastic, the system in his eyes suddenly flared back to life with a darker hue.

[CREDIT BALANCE ACTIVE. CURRENT DEBT: $100,000,000. PLEASE MAKE A PAYMENT IMMEDIATELY OR YOUR SOUL WILL BE FORFEITED.]

"Damn it, this system is a total bottom-feeding loan shark!" Johann yelled. He swung the cards into the air. Deep blue energy radiated outward, forming a shield and a weapon simultaneously. He felt like a lawnmower ready to mow down every enemy in front of him.

Freya looked both mesmerized and horrified by Johann's transformation. She grabbed Johann's shirt, pulling his face close until they were nearly touching amidst the chaos. "Johann, if we survive this, I don't ever want to see you in debt to this insane system again. We'll find a way to destroy them all. Together."

"That sounds like a terrible date plan," Johann replied, though he couldn't help a faint smile seeing Freya's eyes welling up in the middle of the danger. He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, a gesture that strangely sent his adrenaline skyrocketing. "But I like it."

"Enough with the romantic drama!" the Auditor woman cried. "The enemy is at the door!"

Johann turned, raising his hands surrounded by the energy cards. He saw a dozen of Viktor's followers, who now looked like mutated magical monsters, their muscles bulging with a pulsing purple aura. They were no longer ordinary humans. 

"You're ruining my cheap apartment," Johann said in a flat but threatening tone. "What price are you going to pay for the stain you've made on this floor?"

Johann lunged forward, no longer a cleaner who feared power, but a cleaner who knew exactly where the weakest point of every system lay. He thrust his energy cards into the air, aiming straight for the magical pulse points surrounding Viktor's followers. 

Instantly, an energy explosion occurred. It wasn't a destructive blast, but rather one that erased all magic from his enemies' bodies. They collapsed, screaming as their bodies reverted to their weak human forms. 

However, the celebration didn't last long. From the shadows of the building across the street, a red laser light locked onto Johann's chest. It wasn't magic. It was a sniper with a conventional weapon that couldn't be blocked by magical energy cards.

"Johann, get down!" Freya screamed as she tackled Johann.

The shot missed Johann's chest but hit Freya's shoulder. Fresh blood soaked the woman's black uniform. Johann gasped, his eyes widening as Freya fell into his arms. He felt the world around him stop spinning. 

The Auditor woman looked at them coldly. "Oh, it seems you must learn that every action always has a price, Mr. Keller. Are you ready to pay the price for this woman's life?"

Johann looked at Freya, who was beginning to lose consciousness, then at his system, which was now flashing wildly with blood-red text: [PAYMENT OPTION: SACRIFICE CREDIT BALANCE FOR HEALING, OR LET HER DIE AND LOSE SYSTEM ACCESS FOREVER.]

Johann didn't think twice. He pressed the confirmation button. But as his credit balance began to be drained, another voice suddenly echoed in his head—a voice far older and more terrifying than any system.

"Johann, do not press that button," the voice whispered. 

Johann froze. He looked at the Auditor woman, who now appeared panicked. "Who are you, really?" Johann asked in a trembling voice, while the sniper across the street began preparing to fire a second, more accurate shot.