----
Despite this whole ordeal with that Bacterium being rather nonsensical, we learned much more about the tower and its inhabitants thanks to him and his thugs, so I'm quite grateful.
"D-Do I have to work a part-time job to earn more?" Alma asked, growing nervous.
"Haha! No, no, relax," I said. "I can give you some if you want... How much do the others have?"
I asked my family and learned that most had between 50 to 100 million each, which was more than I had imagined. I suppose they've been accumulating it passively this whole time? It was reassuring to know they already had substantial capital.
Alma was pretty much the only newbie to the system. Emeraldine offered her some, but I told her it was fine.
"Don't worry, Emeraldine. I'll give her some," I said.
"Aw, well, if you insist," Emeraldine nodded. "With the crystals you got, we've earned at least a few hundred million more. The problem is finding where to exchange them. Maybe we should try the next floor."
