Chapter 3: Rushed Preparations

He didn't know how the system had managed to set everything up in such a small amount of time, but given that the system had managed to somehow send him back in time, it wasn't too hard to imagine that it had easily taken over the creators of the game itself.

Hibiki glanced at the box and blinked as he noticed that an envelope had been taped onto its side.

A large part of him didn't want to open the envelope, but he knew that the only way to beat the system was to figure out what it was planning, and that included using any hints and taunts that the system used to try and trap him.

He carefully peeled off the envelope before ripping it open, only to drop it in shock.

'Nope. No way. I must have looked at it wrong. The system wouldn't- Maybe I should look again?'

Hibiki carefully picked up the envelope and took a deep breath before he opened it once more.

'I can't be hallucinating if it's still the same, right? So why the hell would the system send me a black card if it knows I am trying to beat it? Is it able to view my thoughts and actions?'

The thought greatly unsettled him, but there wasn't anything he could do about it anyway, and he cringed at the thought of even holding the card that seemed to have more money on it than he would be able to make in thirty lifetimes if the attached forms were to be believed.

In fact, he was going to do exactly what the system wanted him to do. He was going to use the money on the card to get the things he needed.

'The first step is to invest it. I can always cut up the card once I return the exact amount that I am going to use.'

It felt like the system was mocking him, but a thought occurred to him as he glanced at the box at his side. Greed's Decree. Greed.

There was a pretty good chance that the system was trying to entice him in a different way by saving him and his brother and then delivering the Greed's Decree headset as well as a black card with more than enough money. Unfortunately, he wasn't currently in any position to decline the 'gifts' but he wasn't going to be swayed from his quest if that is what the system thought.

He returned to his room and immediately started investing in a few companies, only to flinch as he saw that their worth was already skyrocketing.

'If I had waited until tomorrow, there is a good chance that I would have had to pay more than double the amount to buy a share. This also means that I would have had to work harder to get it all back.'

Hibiki twitched at the thought before he eyed the headgear once more.

If the system is currently powerful enough to possess people and control events, why hasn't it shortened the time even further and forced the scientists to break the dimensional wall yet?

'Was there something that was keeping it at bay?'

He shook his head at his own thoughts. If something truly existed to keep the system under control, then it wouldn't have wiped out humanity in his previous life.

He opened the box and frowned when he saw that the headset looked different from what he'd previously used, and it made him uneasy, but given that he'd used a headset that he fixed up in the past, it was easy for him to determine that the components were the same, except for the visor itself, which seemed to be made up of crystal instead of glass.

Though as he turned it over again, he blinked in surprise to find that the green light was glowing, which showed that the headset had a connection to the game already and that the game was already 'Live'.

'The announcement said that it was launching in a week's time...why is it active now? Is that why I received the headset so early?'

It was all too strange, but he didn't have a choice…he needed to stop the system of Greed's Decree at all costs, and if it meant getting a headstart by entering the game early? Then why not.

He glanced at Akio to ensure that he was still sound asleep before he placed the headset over his head. Unlike the other headset that he had fixed in the past, this one almost seemed like it had been made just for him.

He frowned but followed the familiar path into the game anyway. The crystal lenses turned dark, and Hibiki wondered whether it was one of the headsets that had been placed aside for when the rich and powerful people inevitably entered the game once they realized that there was money to be made from it.

He made himself comfortable as he waited for the game to launch, but instead, a message popped up:

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Lauch Greed's Decree system?

Yes/No

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Hibiki frowned as he looked at the message, "That's new."

He didn't think twice before selecting 'Yes'.