Missions are just slavery with extra steps

Rick felt sharp pain on his sides. Upon seeing the mission in his interface, he lost grip of reality, to a point where he's already questioning his existence.

"What in snowball's hell do you want me to do?" If people could see what Rick is inside, they'd laugh at his crying face.

"It's a mission."

"Why do I have to steal underwear?!" He really is out of words right now.

"It's a mission."

Same answer. What does this guy expect? A system with morals? Fat chance!

"You're not answering my questions, dammit! Can I skip this one?"

"It's a mi— oh… hehe…" As if it's been caught bugging and repeating the answers because he doesn't care, the system changed his answer. "Ahem… Of course you can't. I'm the system here, not you."

Pfffttt…

Rick changed his attitude instantly and pulled on his hair. It's as if this dumbo is thinking that the system will get out if patches of his hair separate from his head.

"Hey, I can see what you're doing. But since I said I'm a system, don't you think you're rushing to a bad conclusion without even hearing the rewards?" The robotic voice questioned.

Upon hearing that there's a reward involved in the ridiculous mission he's been given, Rick thought that he might as well hear it. There's nothing to lose, is there?

---

Mission completion reward: Surprise.

---

A mouthful of blood was ejected from Rick's mouth. He can't take it anymore! What is with this system?!

"Surprised, aren't ya?"

"Surprised your face! You abomination!" His face is wearing a disgruntled expression.

If the system was a human, he surely would've taken a shot at his face by now.

Thinking about it though, if the system's a human, he won't be as weak as this guy. Because he'll be a human that's also a system wielder.

Rick started walking aimlessly with a blank look. However, everyone avoided him like a plague. He's dirty, has blood streaks on his mouth, and looks listless.

"Don't get close to that guy, he's suspicious!"

"That guy looks like he had a little too much drugs."

"Is that a zombie?"

Why do the people sound like random xianxia crowds?

"I promise you, it's gonna be good!" The system sensed the deflation of its host. "Please get me female undergarments!"

"Huh? Did I hear that right?" He stopped midway and cleaned his right ear with his fingers amid the looks of annoyance by the passersby. "Did you just say 'get me' huh?"

In his head, everything went silent except for the slow beeps of the system.

As surprising as it may sound, but Rick Rowland didn't gloat. He may have gained the moral upper hand over this lascivious entity that is the system, he also thought that as a person needing a system to be the strongest, he really shouldn't piss it off.

But you're pissing me, the author no less, off!

Rick didn't question the system's motives anymore, and just ran off to a residential area after getting a quick, short rest scrounging for food at a huge garbage collection point near a famous fast food chain.

As night fell, he's already surveyed a lot of crowded residential areas for clothes being hung dry, like a pro robber.

"Why am I even putting up to this…" Rick started his litany. "Sigh… I guess being the strongest should at least be this hard."

If I only need to become a petty panty thief to become the strongest in a world like this, I'll gladly do it! This guy does not know he had it easy!

He hurdled a fence and entered a garden lawn with a lot of clothes left dried out. The lawn wasn't huge, but was nicely kept with a row of sunflowers taking in the moonlight.

The neighborhood was silent, except for minimal foot or vehicular traffic. Since it's already close to midnight, even a city that never slept tended to slow down a little.

The stars twinkled the same way the thief's eyes did when he saw those flower print undergarments.

Like a wolf that pounced on its prey, he swiped on the undergarments and saw the progress bar slowly fill up. He didn't even count how many he had already stolen…

He wore one of the undergarments in his head like a perverted bastard and thought, "I never thought it would be this easy. I had my reservations at first, and yet, HAHAHAHAHAHA! I feel the power surging into me!"

Where is the police? There's a delusional idiot over here! What power surging? That's just your raging hormones!

---

Mission progress: 9/10

---

The notification beeped into his head.

Rick crumpled like a piece of paper thrown by the wayside.

He felt like he was cheated. It's just 9? Can't you count, system?

1… 2… 3… 4… 9…

Without any chance to recalibrate his worldly emotions, he ran like a madman to the one other location he found undergarments. Thing is, that one is in a part of the neighborhood much busier than here.

As he arrived, he wiped the tears off his eyes. "I feel cheated!"

He's very dirty. So he's always avoided by the people he crosses in the street. Add to the fact that he has panties on his head…

A line of wire hanging two and a half meters above the ground is his next target. "Shit. There's so many people in this place! It's supposed to be midnight, dammit!"

Wonderfully said by a thief. Why don't you just sleep on the pavement somewhere and not add to the 'so many people' you're rambling on about?

"Good thing it's not that hard to reach." He reached the undergarment he's missing with moderate effort. But before he can manage to pull it down…

"Hey, you panty thief! I'm gonna kill you!" A middle-aged lady appeared at the door a few meters away. Her shout alerted the tightly built community into waking up.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Rick forcefully pulled the undergarment from the clothes line. In his rush to escape, he never realized one thing…

Multiple people from emaciated old men, to wily young brats appeared from their houses after the middle-aged lady's shout.

"What happened, Auntie?"

"Who is thieving this time?"

"Is that man with the underwear on his head the thief?"

"Hey, don't look at me, I'm not a panty thief anymore."

"Catch that guy with underwear on his head!"

I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear the second to the last statement.

The ragtag bunch of old women, old men, young brats, housewives, men who worked odd jobs, and college students held pitchforks, flashlights, pepper sprays, brooms and various other weapons of mass destruction. The man they're searching for, is running aimlessly, as he's not from this part of the city.

"I'm very silent, and yet, I still almost got caught." He rounded the corner and slipped inside a garbage bin and counted his winnings. "System, gimme that reward. Come on! I'm ready to be strong!"

---

Mission progress: 9.5/10

---

Huh, hey there system, he fought tooth and nail for that. At least don't scam him out of his reward.

"Oy, oy, oy! Are you scamming me? I literally have this…" He held up the last undergarment he stole, and almost peed his own underpants in seething rage.

"It's fucking cut in half!!!"

I peed my underpants in laughter.

The system also peed his virtual underpants in laughter.