It was already past 1 p.m. by the time Ren rolled his way back to the slums of East End atop his newly acquired beloved steed.
To be clear—it wasn't that the purchasing process took long. The whole transaction had taken ten minutes, tops. It was just that his chosen ride had… let's say… performance issues.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
Ren staggered up the curb, panting like he'd just run a triathlon, soaked in sweat and pushing a folding bicycle that looked like it belonged in a thrift store clearance bin.
Right behind him, a yellow cab pulled up lazily. The door opened, and Drake stepped out, looking fresh as hell.
"Dude, are you for real? It's just a ride from Otisburg to East End. Why do you look like you're about to die?"
"I had to clock in at 8 this morning! You try riding that piece of junk all the way back and then talk!"
Ren wasn't exactly out of shape—but he wasn't in shape, either. He made it back mostly through sheer willpower… and a whole lot of rest stops.
Still, watching Drake's face when he realized his taxi fare had doubled from tailing Ren the whole way? That alone made the pain worth it.
"I told you. Should've just gone for a cheap scooter or used car," Drake sighed. "You ride a car in Gotham, it's a triple win: you dodge drive-bys, use the vehicle as cover during shootouts, and control angles of enemy fire. It's common sense!"
Ren finally caught his breath and forced out, "I… can't drive."
"…What."
"I mean, the license is real. But I don't actually know how to drive."
The license had come courtesy of the Starting from Scratch system. In real life, he'd only passed the written test back in Japan. He'd never even touched the wheel.
Drake's face blanked. "So wait. You have a license, but can't actually drive?"
"Exactly. So if I did buy a car, tomorrow's headlines would read: 'Two Dumbasses Start Random Highway Gunfight, Film at Eleven.'"
Ren had originally planned to check out the system store to maybe buy a driving skill… or even a discount vehicle.
But then he opened the system interface—and his eyes bulged.
His asset point balance?
Still $3.00.
Wait—what about the paycheck?! He just got over four thousand dollars wired to him! It was in his real-world bank account, literally sitting in his bag.
Why hadn't the system credited it?
"System Notification: Starting from Scratch system adheres to strict fair-trade principles—'You reap what you sow.' Wages are converted into asset points only upon fulfillment of full working hours."
"Your current wages will be converted to asset points after four weeks of work."
"…You son of a—"
Ren's blood pressure spiked. His whole body trembled. His soul left his body, came back, and then rage quit again.
"System Reminder: Tips will be converted to asset points immediately upon receipt."
"…Oh. That's fine then," Ren muttered, grinding his teeth. "Perfectly reasonable. No problem at all. Totally cool."
Okay. So he still had some way of getting emergency points. At least it wasn't entirely useless.
But that meant his grand plan to buy a car—or purchase a driving skill—was officially on hold.
So what was the most reasonable form of transportation he could manage for now?
Gotham's infrastructure wasn't completely hopeless. East End had buses and subways—but let's be real, they also had pickpockets, drug dealers, and guys who'd rob you for your shoes.
Ren didn't want to become besties with the next subway mugger. Especially not while carrying hundreds in tip cash home at night.
Real-world money couldn't be loaded directly into the system. Only wages earned through labor counted. If he did want to convert his actual cash into asset points, he'd have to spend points to do it—which made the whole thing pointless.
So that left bikes, scooters, or taxis.
And in the end, he went with a beat-up $60 folding bicycle.
Why not a scooter?
Because the bike could be carried home and stashed safely indoors.
A scooter? Someone would hotwire it on day one.
Besides, in East End, the poorer and shabbier you looked, the safer you were. No one would waste time mugging a guy who looked like he already got mugged.
Downside? Bikes took energy. And time.
Ren hadn't expected that the ride that took Old Jack's bus only 40 minutes would take him four hours of sweat, curses, and burning thighs.
Guess Old Jack was more of a pro than he looked. Bald tires or not, that man drove like a legend.
"At this rate, I'll be fired before I even make it to my third shift…"
As Ren spiraled into emo despair, the system chimed in again:
> System Notification: Starting from Scratch Store is proud to offer Vehicle Modding Services!
Modded Bicycle – Starting at $50 asset points.
Modded Electric Wheelchair – Starting at $100 asset points.
Modded Car – Starting at $1,000 asset points.
"…The hell is this?"
Forget the car for a second—what kind of cursed upgrade was this electric wheelchair nonsense?
Ren tapped into the listing, and the product description popped up.
> "Max speed: 80mph.
Vibe: Totally unchained.
Coolness rating: Off the charts.
Warning: Please purchase the 'Wheelchair Driving Mastery' skill to use this safely. Unsafe driving may result in tears, funerals, or both."
Okay, listen—this was Gotham. Everyone was crazy. If he went full psycho with a modded wheelchair, no one would even bat an eye. They'd just say, "Hey, look, a new lunatic in town."
And honestly?
Ren was kind of tempted.