The God's Game System

Chapter 10

Leo tucked the heavy black envelope into his inner jacket pocket and stepped out of the hotel lobby.

Before heading down the front steps, he opened his system interface.

"Sovereign," Leo called out mentally. "Open the market."

"Back so soon?" the Sovereign rumbled in his mind, sounding mildly amused. "I thought you were done spending divine currency on mortal nonsense for the day."

"I need an edge for this auction," Leo said. "Something that lets me see what others miss."

"Ah. A hunter's eye," the Sovereign said. "There is a basic appraisal function available. Two hundred points."

A glowing prompt appeared before Leo’s eyes.

[Purchase Skill: Eye of Truth / Appraisal]

[Cost: 200 System Points]

[Effect: Instantly reveals true market valuations, hidden debt structures, physical health flaws, and psychological bluffs on target individuals or documents.]

Leo confirmed the purchase without hesitation.

[Transaction Complete. Remaining Balance: 300 System Points.]

A sharp, cool sensation washed through his eyes, making the edges of the world appear slightly sharper, as if every contract and person had a hidden layer of numbers waiting to be unraveled.

Leo closed the menu, hailed a luxury black sedan from the hotel valet, and gave the driver the address for St. Jude’s County Hospital.

The smell of disinfectant, stale cafeteria coffee, and damp floors hit Leo the moment he pushed through the swinging double doors of St. Jude’s third-floor medical ward. Beeping heart monitors echoed down the narrow, crowded hallway where gurneys were parked end-to-end.

Near the central nurse's station, a loud, sharp voice was already echoing over the chatter of the waiting room.

"I don't care, alright? I honestly do not give a damn!" a middle-aged nurse in faded blue scrubs shouted, slamming a plastic clipboard onto the counter. She had dark circles under her eyes and a permanent scowl etched across her face. "You haven't paid a single dime in three weeks! Three weeks, you know? The hospital isn't a charity ward, young man!"

Leo walked down the hallway, his boots making quiet, rhythmic thuds against the linoleum. He saw his younger sister sitting in a wheelchair near the wall, her face pale, an IV drip hooked up to her thin arm. A young orderly was already packing her small canvas overnight bag.

"Excuse me," Leo said, stepping between the orderly and his sister.

The nurse spun around, her hands resting aggressively on her hips. She glared at Leo's simple clothes, her eyes narrowing in instant recognition.

"Oh, look who decided to show up!" the nurse yelled, her voice rising so loud that three doctors down the hall turned to look. "The missing brother! Where have you been, huh? Do you have any idea how much back-rent and equipment fees you owe us for this bed? Do you?"

"My sister needs her dialysis treatment," Leo said calmly, his [Absolute Poker Face] hiding every trace of anger behind a wall of absolute stone.

"Dialysis? Like, are you serious right now?" the nurse scoffed, letting out a loud, mocking laugh that made Leo's sister flinch. "You think we just give out dialysis for free? You owe eight thousand four hundred dollars in overdue fees! Eight grand! And every time I called your phone, it went straight to voicemail! You know what we do with patients whose families don't pay? We discharge them! So grab her bag and get her out of my hallway before I call security to toss you both out into the alley!"

"Is that so?" Leo asked softly.

"Yes, that is so!" the nurse barked, leaning over the counter and pointing a sharp, manicured fingernail directly at his chest. "Listen to me, you worthless deadbeat! I've been dealing with bums like you all morning! You come in here, you beg for extension after extension, you make up fake stories about car accidents and lost jobs, and then you leave us holding the bill! I am sick of it! You can't pay a mid-table nurse like me my shift f*e, and you think you get to demand care? Get her out of here right now!"

Leo reached into his coat pocket, pulled out his dark leather wallet, and slid a platinum bank card across the slick plastic counter.

"I want to pay her balance in full," Leo said, his voice flat and even. "And then I want her transferred to the private penthouse medical suite on the top floor."

The nurse stopped mid-sentence. She looked down at the sleek, unbranded platinum card, then looked back up at Leo with an expression of pure irritation.

"Is this a joke to you?" she snapped, picking up the card between two fingers as if it were contaminated. "You think you can just hand me some fake silver card you bought online and—"

"Swipe it," Leo cut her off. "Right now."

The nurse muttered something under her breath about wasting her time, grabbed the card, and violently dragged it through the card reader on her terminal. She punched in the eight thousand four hundred dollar balance, fully expecting the screen to flash red with a decline notice.

Instead, a quiet ding rang out from the register.

A long white receipt began printing out instantly.

The nurse froze. Her mouth fell slightly open. She stared at the screen, her eyes darting back and forth across the numbers.

"Wait... what?" she whispered to herself. "Hold on, this... this went through?"

"Add fifty thousand dollars to her account for future treatments," Leo instructed, leaning slightly forward. "And bring the Chief of Medicine down here right now. I want a private security detail stationed outside her new suite, and I want a dedicated specialist assigned to her care twenty-four hours a day."

"I... uh..." The nurse's face drained of every drop of color. Her hands began to tremble as she pressed buttons on her keyboard, her arrogant tone completely shattering into panicked stammers. "I mean... sir, I... I didn't know... the system usually doesn't... I mean, you were wearing..."

"Swipe it for the fifty thousand," Leo repeated.

With trembling fingers, the nurse swiped the card again and keyed in the amount. The machine beeped a second time. Approved.

A tall, grey-haired man in a white doctor's coat walked quickly out of the elevator, holding a tablet. "Nurse Brenda! What is going on here? Why was a fifty-thousand-dollar VIP retainer flagged on our terminal?"

"Doctor!" the nurse squeaked, her voice cracking as she shrank back against the desk. "I... I was just..."

Leo turned to the head doctor. "Your nurse was in the middle of wheeling my sister into the street because of an overdue bill. She told me people like us don't belong in this hospital."

The doctor looked at the printed receipts, then at the nurse's terrified, pale face. His jaw tightened in immediate fury.

"Brenda, step away from the desk," the doctor said, his tone dripping with cold authority. "Go to the administrative office and hand in your badge. You are suspended pending a formal review."

"Doctor, please!" the nurse sobbed, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at Leo with desperate, pleading hands. "I'm sorry! I was just stressed! Like, the shift was so long and—"

"Security," the doctor called out sharply. "Escort Brenda off the premises."

Two hospital guards immediately stepped forward, grabbing the weeping nurse by her arms and leading her away down the crowded hall.

Leo didn't even look back at her. He turned to his sister, who was staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Leo..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "Where... where did you get that kind of money?"

Leo leaned down, gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and smiled softly. "Don't worry about the money. Just focus on getting better. You're safe now."

An hour later, after ensuring his sister was comfortably settled into a spotless, private suite with two security guards posted outside her door, Leo left the hospital and took a cab to Vane & Co., the most exclusive luxury tailoring house in the city's fashion district.

The shop was quiet and refined, smelling of imported leather, cedarwood, and expensive wool. Rolls of dark Italian fabric sat on marble cutting tables under warm yellow recessed lighting.

Leo walked in, browsing the racks near the front window, looking specifically for a double-breasted suit sharp enough for the Grand Horizon auction.

The brass chimes above the front door rang loudly.

"Look, babe, I'm telling you, the bespoke fittings here are on another level," a loud, arrogant male voice announced from the entryway.

Leo turned his head slightly.

Dominic stepped through the doorway, wearing a bright silk shirt, white designer trousers, and a heavy gold watch on his wrist. Hanging on his arm was Elena, wearing an oversized pair of dark sunglasses and holding her new two-hundred-thousand-dollar green leather handbag like a trophy.

Dominic was mid-laugh, but the moment his eyes landed on Leo standing by the suit racks, his expression hardened into instant disdain.

"Well, well, well," Dominic said, letting out a loud, mocking whistle as he walked further into the shop. "Look what the cat dragged in off the pavement. Elena, is that your ex-husband standing by the Italian wool?"

Elena looked up, her lip curling into a sneer as she took in Leo's simple clothes. "What are you doing here, Leo? Did you follow us?"

"I'm shopping," Leo said evenly, his face completely expressionless.

Dominic burst out laughing, clapping his hands together. "Shopping? Like, seriously, bro? Shopping for what? A discarded button? Do you even know where you are right now? This is Vane & Co.. A pocket square in this place costs more than your monthly rent used to be!"

An elderly master tailor in a black vest walked out from the back fitting room, looking between Dominic and Leo with a polite, inquiring expression. "Can I help you gentlemen?"

"Yeah, you can help us by calling security on this guy," Dominic said, pointing a finger at Leo and shaking his head. "He's an unemployed deadbeat who just got kicked out of his house. He doesn't have a dime to his name. He's probably in here trying to pocket a silk tie so he can sell it on the street—"

Leo closed his eyes, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and let out a long, heavy sigh.

"I am fucking tired of this," Leo muttered, his voice cold enough to cut through the room. He looked right into Dominic's eyes. "Is everyone in this city an asshole? Quit judging books by their covers."

Dominic blinked, taken aback for a split second by the sheer, unyielding confidence in Leo's tone.

Elena smirked, stepping forward with her oversized sunglasses resting on her head. "Don't get dramatic, Leo. If you're really that desperate for cash, I can give you a hundred dollars right now if you agree to sign the final divorce waiver without complaining."

She reached into her green handbag, pulled out a crisp hundred-dollar bill, and held it out toward Leo with two fingers. "Here. Take it. Go buy yourself a decent meal."

Leo stared at the bill, then at Elena's mocking smile, and finally at Dominic's smug face.

His eyes flickered slightly as his newly purchased [Eye of Truth] skill passively scanned the green handbag in Elena's hands.

A small glowing overlay visible only to Leo flashed over the bag:

[Item: Designer Leather Handbag]

[Status: Counterfeit / High-Grade Replica]

[True Market Value: $800]

[Note: Purchased by Dominic from an underground luxury fake distributor to deceive Elena Leroy.]

A cold, faint smirk almost touched the corner of Leo's lips, but he kept his face completely locked behind his passive skill.

He ignored Elena's outstretched hand entirely and turned directly to the master tailor.

"I need a custom bespoke three-piece charcoal suit," Leo said, his voice ringing clearly through the quiet shop. "Finest Vicuña wool, silk lining, custom tailored for a high-profile auction at the Grand Horizon Club in two days."

The tailor's eyes lit up. "Vicuña wool, sir? That material is twenty-five thousand dollars for a single cut."

"Hey! Are you deaf, old man?" Dominic barked, stepping forward angrily. "I just told you, he's broke! He's bluffing you!"

Leo pulled out his bank card and tossed it onto the glass counter in front of the tailor.

"Charge thirty thousand," Leo said calmly. "Keep the extra five thousand as a rush f*e to have it delivered to my suite at the Grand Palace Hotel by tomorrow evening."

The tailor picked up the card, ran it through the wireless terminal, and typed in the numbers.

A sharp beep echoed through the room. Approved.

The tailor's demeanor instantly shifted from polite interest to absolute reverence. He bowed deeply toward Leo. "It will be my absolute honor, Mr. Leo. We will begin taking your measurements immediately."

Dominic's smile froze solid. He stared at the terminal screen, his jaw dropping in absolute shock. "Wait... what? How... how did that card pass? That's thirty grand!"

Elena stared at Leo, her sunglasses slipping down her nose, her eyes wide with total confusion and growing panic. "Leo... where... where did you get thirty thousand dollars?"

Leo stepped toward the fitting stool, ignoring Elena entirely. He paused right beside Dominic, leaning in slightly so only Dominic could hear his low, steady voice.

"Nice bag you bought her, Dominic," Leo whispered, his unreadable eyes fixing on Dominic's pale face. "An eight-hundred-dollar fake looks real enough from a distance, doesn't it?"

Dominic went completely rigid, his eyes widening in pure horror as his breath caught in his throat.

Leo didn't wait for an answer. He walked past them toward the mirror, leaving Dominic standing frozen in the middle of the floor, sweating bullets while Elena looked back and forth between them in complete confusion.