Chapter 1. System Activated

"Hey, you brainless Ace!" Bob, the manager, barked as Ace heaved a heavy sack of goods into the warehouse. "I received a report that you've been slacking off on the job, you worthless piece of garbage!"

Ace stopped and turned to face Bob, incredulous. "What?! That's not true! I've been working non-stop all day!"

"That's what I heard," Bob replied tersely, crossing his arms. "I'm afraid there won't be a salary for you today."

Ace had the misfortune of being both unlucky and poorly educated, leaving him no choice but to work as a porter. Despite this, he worked diligently to find a better job in the city. Unfortunately, his manager was always accusing him of something, which often resulted in him not receiving a salary. 

“I've done my best, boss,” Ace said, trying to emphasize his point. “Where did you get that conclusion?”

Bob, who was only as tall as Ace's chin, sternly exclaimed, "You better stop talking and get out of my sight, or you won't have to work in this place anymore! Don't waste my patience, Ace. If you still intend to protest, I will fire you right now. If you want to stay, how about …"

"I see your sister is beautiful too! Would you like to give her to me, huh? I'll pay you very generously!" Licking his lips, Bob continued, a smirk crossing his face as he spoke.

This instantly made Ace furious. He glared at Bob, his eyes burning with anger. "What did you just say?" He growled, his voice low and threatening. 

"What's the matter with you, Ace? Your sister is a real looker, I gotta say! You wanna make some cash and sell her to me, huh? I'll pay top dollar!" He sneered, igniting the flames of disgust in Ace's chest that had already been quelled.

"You've gone too far, Bob!" Ace exclaimed, his voice rising in anger.

Ace sprinted to his boss and grabbed him by the collar, easily pulling him out of his chair. Despite his large size, Ace, who was more muscular and stronger, was able to overpower him.

"You can insult me, but not my sister!" he growled.

Bughh... 

Bughh... 

Ace then unleashed a flurry of punches on his boss' face, a total of five. Bob's men rushed in an attempt to restrain Ace, but they were no match for him. The three-on-one battle was intense, with kicks and punches flying all over the office, creating a chaotic mess.

"You bastard Ace, I fired you!" Bob shouted after seeing two of his men lying helpless.

Bugh!

Ace then delivered a powerful kick to Bob's face, leaving a trickle of blood from the corner of his lips.

"With pleasure!" Ace said, landing one more punch before throwing on his hoodie and walking away.

He had made a grave mistake, and it was likely that Bob wouldn't remain quiet and would continue to vex him. But Ace wasn't the type to stay silent when his little sister or mother was insulted in front of him; he was no coward. He was determined to do things the right way, and anyone who crossed the line would not easily forgive.

Ace had to raise funds to pay for his mother's hospital care, and she required a large amount of money. With this in mind, he worked almost 16 hours a day with little rest, making it his sole priority to earn money for his mother.

"I'm not going to give up so easily," he muttered under his breath as he trudged towards his next job, knowing he still had eight more hours of work that night, leaving no time to lament over what had come to pass.

As Ace was pedaling through the city streets at night, he saw a car pass right by him. "Huh, Megan?" he muttered to himself.

Sure enough, it was Megan, his girlfriend, in the front seat with a man wearing a dashing and neat suit. Ace recognized him immediately: it was the big boss of the company he had just been fired from for beating up the manager.

Ace was curious, so he pedaled his bicycle in the car's direction. And to his surprise, the car also stopped not far in front. As he got closer, Ace spotted Megan getting out of the car with a man, and then he saw Bob, who still looked hurt and was pointing at Ace.

"That no-good guy had the nerve to hit me," Bob said firmly, jabbing his finger in Ace's direction.

“Megan, what are you doing here?!” Ace shouted loudly, feeling bewildered by the situation.

Bruce, the man who owned the company, muttered under his breath, "Who is this bum, Megan? Why does he look like he knows you? Do you mind if I teach him a lesson for causing trouble in my company?" He then put his arm around Megan's waist.

Ace muttered sternly in response, "She is my girlfriend." His fists were clenched, seeing what Megan was doing right in front of him.

Megan replied, "Do you believe that I know this man, honey? How could I want a stupid and poor man like him? Not level with me!"

Two bodyguards approached Ace from both sides and firmly grasped his arms, rendering him immobile. Bruce, with a smirk, walked towards Ace, with Megan still holding his arm tightly.

"So, a pathetic beggar like you has caused trouble at my place and even claimed that my girl is your girlfriend too? I believe you've been living in a fantasy world for too long, and I'm going to teach you a lesson so you can wake up and realize your true place. What did you say your name was again? Ass? I think that fits you perfectly!" Bruce said in a cold and scornful voice.

Ace muttered angrily under his breath, glaring at Megan, "Megan, is this your way of paying me back for all that I've done for you?"

But Megan just laughed sarcastically and stepped closer to Bruce. Bruce responded by gently caressing her lips with a kiss right in front of Ace. 

"Give him a lesson until he can no longer walk," Bruce whispered as he walked away, arm-in-arm with Megan.

Ace was attacked by two burly men, bodyguards who had been trained in combat. He was no match for them and soon found himself on the ground with bruises all over his body. The rain poured down, mixing with the blood from his wounds and soaking his clothes. His vision was blurry, and at that moment, he remembered his mother and younger sister.

"I will start everything from scratch," he muttered affirmatively. "I will not give up so easily. Mother… Miana… Please wait for me," he said softly.

[Ding!]

A loud ringing filled Ace's ear, and a letter materialized in front of him. He assumed his dizziness was to blame, but then the computerized voice announced,

[Artificial Intelligence Dai Algorithm is downloading.]

"Eh?" Ace heard a voice in his ear. He immediately glanced to the left and right and noticed a dot matrix forming in his eyes. Confused, he remained silent, watching the transparent screen displayed before him.

"It's like my monitor screen," Ace declared, pointing at the screen. However, his finger just went right through it, leaving only a faint green light in its wake.

[System downloading 10% …

[30%...

[70%...

[Downloading Complete!]

[Host Found, System activated]

[Host: Ace Dai]

[Strength: 50%]

[Memory: 90%]

[Point : 0]

[Skills: Need points to unlock new skills]

[You need to get medical assistance. Let me help you find the nearest health facility. It looks like you have bone fractures in your upper arm, fibula, and fingers. This issue is going to prevent you from doing activities for a week.] 

[The closest hospital is the Brooklyn Central Hospital. It's only 10 minutes away. I've already booked an ambulance for you; you're a VIP patient!]

"What the heck is this?" Ace exclaimed, confusion evident on his face as he stared at the words on the screen.

[I am the artificial intelligence system you created.]

He heard suddenly, causing him to sit up suddenly in shock. "You're not kidding me, are you? Has my artificial intelligence become real? This must be some sort of dream!"

[I am a system integrated with your body and mind, I cannot be deactivated until the mission is completed.]

"What mission?" Ace asked with curiosity in his voice.

[Make you a VIP Person in the world, destroy your enemies, and also get the woman you want to further establish DAI TECHNOLOGY as the best technology to change the world as you want.]

[Please look at your phone's notification!]

Ace pulled out his cell phone and stared in disbelief as a notification from a bank account appeared on the screen.

[Brooklyn Central Bank] The account balance with account number XXX18 is USD 20,000,000,000,000.00.

Ace's eyes widened when he saw the row of zeros in his bank account. He double-checked the funds to make sure it wasn't a dream and was astonished.

"This is really happening!" Ace incredulously rubbed his eyes, counting the zeros twice to make sure it was real.

It had never occurred to Ace that he could get trillions of dollars in his account. The thought of what he could do with such wealth made him feel nervous.