LightReader

Chapter 4 - chapter 4

Kai leaned against a thick oak tree just inside the park entrance, pretending to check his phone. The cool water felt good, but the real thrill was the knowledge he now possessed.

He closed his eyes briefly, focusing his mind on the shimmering System Icon in the corner of his vision. The blue translucent screen immediately filled his view. He navigated to the System Bank panel.

He saw the balance clearly displayed: $75,000.00. It was real.

He scrolled through the features. The System description had mentioned a card and an app, but he hadn't received them yet. He found two simple buttons below the balance:

​[Claim System Bank Card]

[Claim System Bank App]

He clicked both instantly.

As soon as he did, a completely black card materialized, appearing with a faint pop in his open palm. It was sleek, new, and had his name, Kai Reids, elegantly etched on the front. It looked incredibly expensive and professional. He quickly slipped the card into his wallet, right next to his almost empty bank card.

Next, he looked at his actual phone. Right there, among his other apps, was a new icon. It was a simple logo with the word BANK written plainly across it. He tapped it.

The app opened instantly, showing a very simple, clean interface. It displayed his current balance $75,000.00 and only two other buttons: Send and Receive. Kai liked the simplicity. No complicated settings, no transaction fees, just pure function.

He went back to the main System Panel to check the bank features again, and this time he saw something he had missed before.

The description explained that he could withdraw physical money at any time. Even better, he could specify exactly which denominations he wanted how many bills of what amount. That meant no more awkward change situations like the one he just faced.

He decided to test this immediately. He needed real money, not just digital numbers.

He focused on the withdrawal option and selected an amount. He typed in $500. Then, he specified the bills: Five $100 bills.

A moment later, a neat stack of five crisp, new one-hundred-dollar bills materialized in his free hand. They felt real, smelled like fresh paper, and looked perfectly legitimate.

Kai quickly folded the money and tucked it safely into his jacket pocket. He had just confirmed the two most important functions of the system: the incredible monetary return and the seamless, instant control over the funds.

A genuine wave of excitement washed over him. He was no longer just a depressed, overweight transmigrator struggling to fit in. He was a wealthy man with an ultimate cheat code.

"This is really a great system," he whispered, feeling his energy renewed. His walk suddenly seemed much easier.

Kai kept walking for a full hour. His brisk pace had long since slowed to a miserable shuffle. Even with the colder temperatures of the soon-to-come winter, he was drenched in sweat. His shirt clung uncomfortably to his substantial midsection. The water bottle he had bought was completely empty.

By the time the hour was up, he was huffing, his lungs burning from the unusual exertion.

"Okay," he gasped, wiping sweat from his forehead. "That's enough for the first day."

He started the slow walk back toward the apartment.

As he walked, his mind turned toward the exam. In his previous life, he had already finished high school, and with his adult knowledge, he knew exactly how to study effectively. This was a chance to not only pass the exam but to get truly excellent grades, setting a foundation for a much better future here.

His first step, before anything else, had to be disciplined study. He decided he would start by making comprehensive notes on all the material. This was the best way for his adult mind to quickly process, organize, and deeply understand the content. It would force him to think over the content rather than just passively reading. This was a commitment he would follow through on.

He reached the apartment door.

He twisted the key in the lock, opened the door, and stepped inside. The quiet of the apartment immediately replaced the sounds of the street. He quickly locked the door and slid the heavy security chain into place. Natasha was at work, and the place was all his.

He went straight to his room, tossing his empty water bottle onto the desk.

He sat down on the chair. A small sigh escaped him. The system was powerful, but he hadn't received any notification about a feature that could simply inject knowledge directly into his brain. That would have been too good. The process of learning, it seemed, still required his effort.

He pulled out a stack of notebooks and a pen. The physical work to change his body was difficult, and the mental work to upgrade his grades would be difficult too. But now he had a goal, and he had the motivation of a seven-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar safety net.

He opened the first textbook and began to write.

Kai sat at his desk, head bent over the notebook. For three hours straight, he worked. With his adult knowledge and renewed determination, the process of note-making was incredibly fast.

His method was simple: read the textbook content, then immediately rewrite it in the most compact, minimal wording possible. The goal was to retain maximum information while using minimum space. While it sounded simple, it was a focused, deep form of study that ensured excellent comprehension and recall.

A normal student would do this slowly over an entire semester, but Kai didn't have that privilege. After the intense, continuous work, he was almost halfway through the first subject. High school material looked scattered and easy to an adult because they'd already seen the information, but to get a top result, a student had to master all of it. Kai's adult discipline made this easily manageable.

After the three-hour sprint, his neck was stiff. He stretched, rotating his shoulders and arching his back. It was time for a break.

He picked up his phone. There was a message from Natasha.

Natasha: "Eat something for lunch, okay? Order if you want. Tell me, and I'll send you the money."

Kai remembered the previous owner's terrible eating habits mostly cup ramen and frozen pizza. Natasha had tried to encourage him to eat fresh food. She had even left cooked leftovers, but the previous owner didn't bother reheating them, and cold leftovers tasted worse than ramen. Eventually, she had given up and started simply trying to persuade him to order something decent.

Kai decided he should eat soon.

He opened a local delivery app. He didn't like ramen or frozen pizza, so he went all out, ordering a large, proper meal from a good local restaurant. The total came to $26.20. He wasn't going to ask Natasha for the money, but he certainly wasn't going to miss this opportunity.

He reached the checkout screen. He chose to pay with his new System Bank Card. The app asked for the tip amount.

He typed in a number that would make any normal person pause. He went for a generous, round tip: $200.00.

He confirmed the order. The total bill, including the food and the huge tip, was $226.20.

The system chimed instantly, but quietly, in his mind.

​[System Notification!]

​[Host has given away $200.00!]

​[Reward: $2,000,000.00 has been transferred to your System Bank!]

Kai smiled. That was much better than the previous test. He now had over two million dollars in his untraceable, untaxable account. All because he decided to give a hard-working delivery driver an unbelievable tip.

He quickly sent a reply to Natasha, just to maintain appearances.

Kai: "Just ordered something. Don't worry, I paid for it myself. Thanks for checking in."

He put the phone down, feeling incredibly satisfied. The food would be here in thirty minutes.

More Chapters