A black Honta Civix braked and stopped beside Jason. Jason looked at the car and made a confused face. The car window rolled down, and a cute face appeared.
"Hop in, I'll drop you." Kaitlyn offered Jason help as he was struggling with a few bags.
"Thank you, Kaitlyn." Jason said and got around to the other side of the car, pulled the back door open, put the bags on the back seat, and closed the back door. Then he opened the front passenger seat and sat beside her.
"Thanks again. You are doing good for yourself. What do you do for a living?" Jason first thanked her and then asked her as her outfit and car were adequate enough to impress Jason.
"Oh, I am the Assistant General Manager of Silverline Auto Group." She replied with a proud smile on her face.
"Wow, AGM of one of the finest car dealers on the current market. That's great. But if you are the AGM of such a fine premium multi-brand automotive dealer, then why are you using this Honta Civix?" Jason was obviously struck by her because he didn't anticipate Kaitlyn would be of such high status and still remember a guy like Jason, who was still wearing sandals and shorts. But still using a low-key car.
"It's because… well, you can say it's my preference. It reminds me of where I started. As AGM I obviously can drive something flashier, but I don't want to. This car… It is dependable, and my emotion is attached to it." Kaitlyn said it like she had deep feelings for her car.
"Sorry if I offended you; I didn't mean it. I was just simply asked out of curiosity." Jason apologized to her, as he didn't want to offend her choice.
"I didn't mind it at all. Actually, I get asked this question quite frequently." Kaitlyn smiled and began to accelerate the car.
It was almost 10:30 P.M. when they arrived at the front of the apartment building where Jason lives.
"Thank you so much for your help." Jason, who was carrying all his bags, thanked Kaitlyn for helping him.
"No problem, I live two blocks away, so it's not a big deal, and I loved your company. Hope we will meet again soon." Kaitlyn said and accelerated her car.
Jason smiled and gestured goodbye to her. She smiled back, rolled up the window, accelerated the car, and disappeared from sight of Jason.
She is an AGM in the current best automotive dealership, cute and attractive in every aspect, and yet she treated me well. Sigh! I hope we will meet again soon too.
Jason sighed and headed toward his rental apartment. When he was walking in the hallway heading toward his room, Jason saw a familiar face heading toward him.
"H… Let me help you, big bro." A young 16-year-old girl saw Jason and wanted to greet him, but seeing Jason was struggling carrying a few bags of groceries, she decided to help him first.
"Oh, no need, Nora. I have arrived anyway." Jason refused, as he had already arrived and she was just a little girl to him.
"I will help as much as I can." She forcefully took two bags from his hand and carried them toward his room.
Jason sighed and walked to his room, unlocked the door, but didn't open it.
"Thank you so much for your help. Oh, and I transferred the rent to your mom's E-wallet." Jason thanked Nora, and seeing the landlord's only daughter, he remembered that he successfully failed to complete the spending quest and ended up giving the rent money. If the system stated beforehand that it won't work, then he wouldn't give the money right away.
"Okay, I will inform my mom. See you later, bye." Nora handed over the bags to Jason, said goodbye to him, and walked away.
Jason waited a bit for Nora to leave out of sight, and then he opened the door.
*Kreeeeaak*
Jason pushed open the door, and the first thing that came to him was the smell of cigarettes.
As expected. That's why I didn't open the door in front of her. Maybe I should quit smoking.
Jason stepped in, put the bags on the table, and locked the door behind him. Then he put in the refrigerator what needed to be in it and put bread and cereal on the kitchen counter.
A few moments later, after he freshened up, he was lying on his bed, eating cheesesteaks and scrolling reels, but didn't feel any entertainment. He checked the time and it was 10:50 P.M.
I got the golden finger, yet I feel like I will ruin my life. Watching reels and doing nothing will make me lazier. Maybe that is why the system wants me to exercise to level up. I got the opportunity, and if I ruin this golden opportunity this time…
Jason thought to himself and shook his head.
No, I can't let this opportunity slide away.
Jason stood up on the floor, posturing for push-ups.
2… 3… 4…
Jason counted 4 and collapsed on the floor. His hands were trembling and shivering.
Four years of instant noodles quite took a big toll on my body. My body is weak. I can't even do 5 pushups. No wonder I was struggling with a few bags.
Jason, who was collapsing on his chest, turned around and made a sit-up posture.
8… 9… 10
*Haah* *Huff* *Haah* *Huff*
Jason managed to do 10 sit-ups and collapsed on the floor.
"Damn it. If things continue like this, I won't be leveling up; I will ruin my life instead. From tomorrow I will change my lifestyle and level up." Jason said to himself and went to the bed.
He was playing Online Multiplayer Battleground Mobile on his cracked phone and eating his cheesesteaks. The game was laggy on his phone, as his phone was as weak as Jason and not capable of giving even 24 fps.
He played for a while, and when his phone's charge nearly died, he plugged in and charged his phone and went to sleep.
System.
[Pulse Card Balance: $174]
[Complete Main Quest to level up the system.]
[Quest Log:]
[Pushups (100/4)]
[Sit-ups (100/10)]
[Squats (100/0)]
[Running (10/0 km)]
[Spends ($1000/100)]
$174. Nice, I will grind and buy something nice for myself. First I need new clothes and a decent phone. Maybe shift to a different house. Buy a PC.
Jason was thinking of how he will improve his life and soon fell asleep.
The next morning
The sun was shining. Jason felt motivated. He had walked to a nearby sportswear store and picked out a black tracksuit for his running quest. He stood at the counter, the employee waiting eagerly.
"That'll be $45." the salesperson said.
"Sure." Jason reached into his pocket for the Pulse Card but couldn't find it. He patted his other pocket. But the result was the same. Same with the back pockets.
Did I leave it at the apartment?
"One second, I'll just use E-Pay." Jason said with a forced smile.
He pulled out his phone and unlocked the screen. He swiped to the app drawer, looking for the heart logo. But it wasn't there. Jason frowned. He swiped again. And again. He searched the app library.
Heart Financial Bank App. [No Results Found]
A cold drop of sweat rolled down his forehead. His hands began to tremble.
System?
System!
Nothing happened. No semi-transparent panel. No holographic text.
"Sir? Are you paying?" the employee asked, looking annoyed.
Jason didn't hear him. His face became pale.
"System… System… Golden Finger… Cheat Code…"He screamed the words, panic rising in his throat.
"Don't do this to me. Please." Jason sniffed and cried.
But the System did not answer.