The Recycling System: From Scrap Collector to Billionaire

Chapter 5: I'll Show You

The sky had barely started to lighten the next morning when Jake dragged himself out of bed.

Same as always, he started by tidying the small yard and tossing a load of laundry in, though now that he actually had a washing machine, that chore took a fraction of the time it used to.

Once he'd finished up, Jake headed for the commercial strip on Sunrise Avenue. It wasn't far, a fifteen-minute walk got him there.

A decent-sized storefront came into view. It had been a phone repair shop before, and the previous tenant had even left the glass display counters behind.

Foot traffic looked solid, the block sat right up against a large residential complex.

Even at seven-thirty in the morning, there were already plenty of people out jogging or walking dogs along the street. A handful of phone shops and other small businesses dotted the block, several of them already open for the morning rush.

Jake wandered over to a neighboring shop owner to make small talk and, while he was at it, casually asked about rent in the area. Turned out a storefront smaller than Nicole's was going for around $4,800 a year. At $4,000, it looked like Nicole really had cut him a deal.

That settled it in his mind, he was renting this place.

He'd spent most of last night turning over what kind of shop to open, and after a lot of back-and-forth, he'd landed on something simple: a general secondhand goods store.

Sell anything and everything, phones, appliances, small stuff, big stuff, didn't matter, as long as he could get his hands on it, because with the system behind him, there was nothing he couldn't fix.

The location was scouted, the money was in the bank, and the business plan was set. As far as Jake was concerned, the shop was basically a done deal.

Whether customers would actually show up didn't worry him in the slightest. Sure, if it came down to his own repair skills alone, he'd probably lose money hand over fist. But he wasn't working alone, he had the system now, and there was nothing on earth the system couldn't fix.

Once word got around about the quality of his repairs, Jake was confident business would take care of itself.

It was still early, so he figured he'd grab breakfast and walk Amy to school. Finals were coming up soon, she needed a good meal in her before a long day of studying.

Mind made up, Jake jogged the whole way home. Ten-plus minutes at a full run, and he wasn't even winded by the end of it.

That Primary Enhancement Capsule the system had given him really was something else. He'd pulled up the interface again the night before, four total functions: Recycle, Repair, Redemption Store, and Lucky Draw. Right now only Recycle and Repair were unlocked; the store and the draw required a system upgrade first.

Curious, he'd checked what an upgrade to Level 2 would cost, 5,000 points, and it would unlock the Redemption Store along with it.

He'd shelved that idea fast. No telling what was actually worth having in that store, and honestly, Recycle and Repair alone were already carrying him just fine.

Once the shop started bringing in cash, he could recycle more junk, rack up points, and eventually upgrade when it made sense. Who knew what else the system had waiting for him down the line? Just thinking about it stirred up a low hum of anticipation in his chest. The pull of that system really was dangerously addictive.

"Morning, Mrs. Alvarez, give me eight breakfast sandwiches and two cups of coffee!" Jake called out as he reached the tamale stand, which had apparently expanded its menu.

"Well look who's off today. You're glowing this morning, Jake, got some good news to share?" Mrs. Alvarez greeted him warmly.

"Heh, I've put away a little savings over the years. I'm done collecting scrap, I'm opening a shop over on Sunrise Avenue," Jake said with a grin.

"Wait, a shop? Not bad!" Mr. Alvarez poked his head out at that, eyebrows shooting up. "Rent over on Sunrise's not cheap, is it?"

"Yeah, but I made a friend who cut me a good deal. I've wanted to open a place for a while now, and it's basically settled," Jake answered honestly.

"A friend that generous? Introduce me sometime," Mr. Alvarez said with a sly grin.

"Ha, we only just met yesterday. Mrs. Alvarez, you remember, I went to collect scrap at her place yesterday morning. We got to talking, turns out she had a storefront sitting empty, and she gave me a great rate," Jake laughed.

That was all Mrs. Alvarez needed to hear, her curiosity lit right up. "This friend of yours... wouldn't happen to be a young woman, would she?"

Jake felt his face heat up a little as he nodded.

"Well, congratulations, Jake, sounds like you're about to hit it big in business and romance," Mrs. Alvarez beamed, genuinely happy for him.

Jake laughed it off. "Nah, she's probably way out of my league, a little older than me too. Why would someone like that go for a kid like me?"

"An older woman's a treasure, Jake, you've got good taste. My wife's two years older than me, look how well that's worked out!" Mr. Alvarez chimed in eagerly.

Mrs. Alvarez rolled her eyes and leaned in, whispering conspiratorially. "Trust me, there's no field that can't be plowed if you put in the work. Go get her, kid, I'm rooting for you."

The three of them shared a laugh. But underneath it, Jake felt his pulse quicken, Nicole's face kept surfacing in his mind, unbidden. He shook it off after a moment. Focus. Make money first.

He was only a few steps from his own front door when he spotted a cluster of shady figures loitering by his gate.

Thieves? No, worse. Tyler and his crew.

Jake's temper flared instantly at the sight of them. If it weren't for the system saving him yesterday, he'd likely be dead or crippled in a hospital bed right now. These guys showing up at his doorstep first thing in the morning could only mean one thing, they'd come to check whether he'd actually died.

And Amy hadn't even started middle school yet. If he'd died, there was a real chance she wouldn't have made it to school at all.

Jaw tight, Jake gripped the bag of sandwiches and walked straight toward his front door.

"Tyler, look it's Jake!" one of them called out, spotting him first.

The whole group froze, staring. Tyler actually rubbed his eyes like he didn't trust them.

"No way. This kid's actually fine? I thought he got flattened by that car yesterday, I couldn't sleep half the night thinking about it!" Tyler snapped, furious.

"Guess it's true what they say, the poor just don't know how to die," someone muttered, and the rest laughed along.

Jake stared Tyler down, jaw clenched so hard it ached, fighting the urge to break his nose right there. These punks never accomplished anything real, but they sure had a talent for being disgusting.

"Jake! Come here a second, your brother-in-law needs you!" Mrs. Alvarez's voice rang out from behind him. She'd wandered out from her stand, watching the standoff with a serious expression.

She figured Jake was about to get harassed again and with the group camped right outside his door, things looked worse than usual. So, out of pure kindness, she was trying to pull him away before it escalated.

Tyler's crew were locals too, and with someone watching, they tended to hold back a little.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Alvarez, give me a second, I'll be right over!" Jake called back, waving to reassure her, then turned and kept walking toward his own gate, ignoring Tyler completely.

"The hell are you looking at, huh? Not happy to see us at your door? I'm just here for my future wife." Irritated at being brushed off, Tyler sneered. "Go on, ask your sister when she's ready to move in."

"Hahaha!"

"Yeah, we're just here to walk her to school. Being good future in-laws and all."

The group howled with laughter.

Tyler struck a smug pose, one foot propped up on Jake's doorstep, hand on his hip, cigarette dangling from the other, looking at Jake like he was something stuck to his shoe.

Jake had planned on letting it go, no point stirring up more trouble than necessary. But hearing that garbage come out of Tyler's mouth, all of yesterday's fury came roaring back on top of today's.

"Tyler, screw you and everyone you came here with. I'll show you exactly what you're dealing with!" Jake dropped the bag of sandwiches and drove a vicious kick straight at him.