"Who's there?"
Like a startled animal, Matt quickly scanned his surroundings. Yet, no one in sight could match that cold voice.
The children and a few women were far off in the distance. The only ones nearby were a few elderly people out on their evening jog, definitely not in the mood for kidding.
"I'm not even old yet, and I'm already hallucinating. Seems like my life wasn't messed up enough."
Suddenly, right in front of him, blue pixels began to gather out of thin air, and it didn't take long before a blue operating system-like notification materialized. And surprisingly, on it were the same lines he had just heard.
Matt rubbed his eyes, but the notification in front of him did not disappear.
"Whoa! Is this real?"
Filled with doubt, he reached out his finger toward the message, glancing around to see if anyone else could see it. But no one was paying him any attention.
[◔‿◔]
[Host, please press Yes to bind with the Daily Sign-in System.]
The moment his finger touched the surface, a tiny 3D robot appeared, along with two buttons. One green, marked Yes, and one red, marked No.
Matt was taken aback.
For a few seconds, he couldn't make sense of what he was seeing.
"What are you?" Gathering his courage, he asked.
He was afraid that touching it might turn him into some monster. After all, the government had recently issued several warnings about monsters roaming freely in public. Even though he hadn't run into anyone yet, caution was still necessary.
[Host, I am the system bestowed upon you. Once you bind with me, I will reward you for your daily sign-ins. Each day, you may receive money, skills, luxury cars, property, assets, and more.]
[The rewards are real, so what do you think?]
"Hmm… It's tempting," Matt thought.
Being a corporate slave for years, he had learned that there was no such thing as a free lunch. Yet, the temptation was undeniably potent enough to make even a saint stumble.
"Should I go for it?" he muttered to himself. "My life right now is already a mess. Even if something bad happens, what worse could it be?"
"So, what do I need to do in return?" he asked, refusing to believe his luck was so divine that the world would be handed to him without a cost.
[Only one condition. Sign in daily. If you miss even a single day, you will die.]
The system's voice was as cold as ever, blunt and straight to the point.
"This isn't a joke, right?" Matt asked with a faint smile, trying to confirm.
But there was no response from the system.
"Well, only an idiot would reject such free wealth like this."
Without delaying it further, he hit the green button, and in the very next moment, the words on the screen changed.
[Congratulations, Host. For your first sign-in, you have been rewarded with one million dollars.
(These funds are 100% tax-free and come from a fully legal source. You may spend them anytime, however you like.)]
[Newbie gift available.]
Beep!
At the same time, Matt's phone buzzed again.
[Your account has been credited with $1,000,000.00 via Wire transfer. Available balance: $1,000,530.10]
Seeing the message, his hands began to tremble. Quickly, he opened his banking app and checked again. There were no mistakes. No extra or missing zeros.
"Holy heavens… I didn't get scammed. I'm a millionaire now. Damn. I'm a fucking millionaire."
Matt couldn't contain his joy. His mouth kept opening on its own, slipping into a foolish smile.
"Mommy, look at that uncle," a small boy said, tugging at the long skirt of the woman standing beside him. "Has he gone mad?"
The woman had been laughing with the other women nearby. She stopped when she heard her child and followed his gaze to Matt.
"Come on," she said quickly, pulling the boy closer. "Let's go home. You might catch something. That uncle was probably infected during a previous monster hoarding."
Dusk was settling in. Her son wouldn't be playing much longer anyway, and the excuse came easily.
It wasn't really her fault. Matt was still tapping at an invisible panel in the air.
[Congratulations, Host. Newbie gift unlocked.]
[Congratulations! You have been rewarded with a Koenigsegg Jesko (Absolut) worth $4,000,000.00 The keys are in the system space.]
"..."
Matt waited, hoping for another reward. He kept his eyes fixed ahead, but nothing else appeared. After a moment, he let out a short laugh at himself for being greedy.
"System, how do I retrieve my car keys?" he asked. "And where's the car?"
Since the reward hadn't been fake, the car had to be real as well. And if he were the owner, then calling it his car only made sense.
[Host, your car is parked in your office parking lot. As for system storage, you may retrieve items here.]
The screen flared, and a small box appeared. Inside it, he saw the faint outline of a key fob.
Matt had always had an interest in cars. He instantly recognized the dark royal shield.
Koenigsegg!
As he touched the image, the key materialized in his hand.
It was the first time he was holding something this expensive. He couldn't stop the urge to try it immediately. The itch to test it was too strong. So, he walked straight into his former office's parking lot.
By chance, he ended up in the VIP section, avoiding a long detour. Compared to the regular parking area, the VIP section was much larger, and almost empty.
It didn't take him long to find the car.
Parked in the corner was a gleaming white machine, crouched like a sleeping beast. It looked brand new, untouched.
But two ugly stains hovered around it. They were busy taking selfies, switching poses one after another.
When they noticed Matt walking toward them, the smug smiles on their faces disappeared.
"Huh, you're back? Looks like you won't understand until a few bones get broken."