The Kids Made Me A Billionaire; The Cashback System

The Street Without Cameras

My knuckles turned white as I read the letter.

The handwriting looked familiar. Shaky and like an Old man's.

Johnson sr.

"You took my mall. You took my 100x. But you forgot I still own the street your school is on. And the street has no cameras. 50x or 200x, a street is still a street at night."

Victoria read it over my shoulder and went pale.

"That's the old road. The one with no lights. Where they took my husband."

We ran.

The old road to Star Academy was a 2-kilometer stretch that the city forgot.

No lights. No cameras. The Johnson family owned it and never fixed it because they liked that it was forgotten. It was where deals happened.

And my four kids, Emma, a dog, and a baby lion were walking down it at 2:17 AM to show a bully their castle.

Victoria and I didn't take the Rolls-Royce. We took her armored SUV and drove 140 km/h through red lights. Victoria was driving with one hand, calling every guard she had with the other.

"My husband died on that road," she said, voice flat, like she was holding back a scream. "Car accident. At least that's what Johnsons told me. I always knew it wasn't an accident. He was 100x too. He was getting stronger than Sr."

I checked my system. It was screaming red.

[EMERGENCY: CHILDREN + BEASTS IN HOSTILE 50x TERRITORY]

[LILY'S HEART RATE: 142 BPM - FEAR]

[GOLD STATUS: GUARD MODE - GROWLING]

[LEO STATUS: ROAR MODE UNLOCKED EARLY - PROTECTING LILY]

My $30B balance meant nothing if I couldn't get there in time.

We turned onto the old road. It was pitch black. Only our headlights.

Then we saw them.

In the middle of the road, under one broken streetlight, five small figures. Lily holding Grace's hand. Tom holding Ben. Emma holding Gold's leash. And Leo, now looking bigger than a dog, standing in front of them, mane puffed up, growling at something in the dark.

And around them, three black SUVs, blocking the road. Johnson Sr. and his six sons and grandsons standing outside, even though they were supposed to be broke and 50x for 7 days. Broke men are the most dangerous.

Lily saw our headlights and screamed: "DADDY!"

Johnson Sr. turned, smiled. He wasn't scared of my 250x. Because he had something else tonight.

"We don't need money tonight, 200x boy," he shouted. "We need revenge. Your system can't cashback a punch."

One of his sons walked toward Lily.

That's when Leo did something no 3-month-old lion cub should be able to do.

He ROARED.

A real, deep, chest-shaking ROAR that made the SUVs shake. The sound echoed down the dark road.

The son stopped.

Gold joined in. Howling. Like a wolf.

And then - because my Beast Tamer skill was 250x tonight - every stray dog on that old road, every dog within 2 kilometers, started howling and running toward us. 20, 30 dogs, big street dogs, running to protect Gold and Leo.

Johnson Sr.'s face finally showed fear.

But the real surprise came from behind them.

Headlights. A beat-up Honda. My old 2008 Honda that I thought was towed.

It was Davis.

He had cleaned himself up, put on a janitor uniform from Grand Plaza, and floored it down the old road. He jumped out, holding a mop like a weapon.

"GET AWAY FROM HIS KIDS!" he screamed, voice cracking. "THOSE ARE MY... THOSE ARE THE BOSS'S KIDS!"

75x loyalty boost. He came.

Johnson Sr. laughed, "A janitor? A 75x janitor?"

Davis swung the mop and hit the SUV's headlight, smashing it.

The distraction was enough.

I was out of Victoria's car and running. I grabbed Lily and Grace, Victoria grabbed Emma, Tom, and Ben.

Lily was shaking. "Daddy, they said they will take Leo and sell him. They said Gold is just a stray."

I hugged her so tight Leo got squished between us and licked both our faces.

I looked at Johnson Sr.

My system said 250x for 5 more days. His said 50x for 6 more days. But tonight wasn't about systems. It was about the street with no cameras.

So I did what no system would ever reward me for.

I walked up to Johnson Sr., 70-year-old billionaire, and punched him. Straight in the nose. No cashback. No 200x. Just a father's fist.

He fell.

His sons rushed me. But they didn't get to me.

Because Victoria stepped in front of me, holding her phone up, recording.

"Smile, Sr.," she said, ice queen back, colder than ever. "This street has no cameras. But MY car has 8 cameras with night vision. Live streaming to Sterling Group legal and to the police commissioner who is my godfather. You touching children, on video, while you are bankrupt and 50x. How long do you think 50x will last in prison?"

She was bluffing. But Johnson Sr., bleeding on the ground, didn't know.

He scrambled up. "This isn't over, 200x. When we get our 100x back... "

"You will still be half of me," I said, picking up Ben. "And next time, my lion won't be a cub."

We drove back, all 5 kids, a dog, a lion, a janitor hero, and an ice queen, in one SUV. Gold was sitting on Davis's lap, licking his face. Davis was crying again.

Lily fell asleep on my chest, holding Leo's paw.

Victoria whispered while driving: "My husband... he would have loved you. You don't need a system to be brave."

My phone buzzed, quiet, after the kids were asleep in the hotel again, safe.

[DING! CHILDREN PROTECTED - NO MONEY SPENT, ONLY LOVE]

[SPECIAL REWARD: 250x PERMANENTLY UNLOCKED FOR PROTECTION MISSIONS - You no longer need to spend to protect them]

[NEW SKILL: Pride Leader - Gold and Leo now grow 2x faster when near your children]

[DAVIS LOYALTY: 75x -> 90x - He will never betray you again]

And a new mission was unlocked. I looked at my phone and smiled as I stared at it.

TO BE CONTINUED...