Chapter 2: Another Beggar

Chapter 2: Another Beggar

Year 2226, July 7.

It was just another day in Allen's life. He sat on the chair, sipping the tea he had just prepared.

"Umm~! System, I have to say that even though you are a useless system, a little bribery and you will give me whatever I wish for."

[Negative.]

The system replied in its monotonous voice, but strangely, there was a hint of frustration hidden in it.

"You can't lie to yourself, money-hungry system."

[The host is wrong. The system is a respectable Weaponry System.]

"Well, if you are a weaponry system, then give me a steak. Medium rare, black pepper steak."

[Host is crossing the li-]

"250 system credits."

[That's... That's...]

"500 system credits."

[Deal.]

A grin spread over Allen's face as he heard these words. Truly this was a pitiful system.

Allen stepped into the small kitchen. Within the weapon store's five rooms, one was a kitchen, the second a bathroom, the third a practice room for testing new weapons – a dimensional space of considerable size.

The fourth room, a virtual reality space, remained inaccessible due to some leveling-up bullshit, reaching level 10, which seemed unattainable in the short term.

And the fifth was a simple bedroom, quite below the standard of the Sci-Fi but passable.

Shaking his head to dispel such thoughts, Allen grabbed his plate and cutlery, leaving the kitchen. Blue light tubes emitted a futuristic glow, creating a Sci-Fi atmosphere. It was as if they came out of some kind of Sci-Fi novel.

Sitting on the chair, he placed the plate on the counter. "Place the steak on the table, and do not play any jokes on me."

In the next second, blue pixels accumulated on the plate, slowly forming into a steak. The smell was fabulous, surpassing even the so-called 5-star dishes from his world.

As the first bite entered his mouth, a satisfied expression appeared on Allen's face. Within minutes, he completely devoured the steak. "You know, you should actually become a gourmet system."

[…]

He then walked back into the kitchen and placed the plate into the automatic dishwasher. This dishwasher not only washed but also dried the plates automatically. Truly, Allen was living in the future.

He might be the luckiest transmigrator out there. At least, he got a gullible system. Initially, the system refused to give him anything, but when Allen took advantage of the newbie package – a total of 50,000 system credits – he bribed the system.

The system probably wanted to suck him dry, but unfortunately, it didn't know that Allen was a master scammer. With this gullible system, Allen managed to secure a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom, by bullshitting and somehow connecting it to selling weapons.

Sigh, this was the art of bullshitting. It was beautiful.

"Hey, system."

[What's the matter, host?]

"Is there any other way to go back to Earth?"

[No, host. You either complete all the 1000 main tasks within 300 years, or...]

"Or bribe you, right?" Allen asked with a smile.

[It is not bribing; it is an ethical business between two entities!]

"Business of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 System Credits?" He asked in a teasing voice.

The voice of this system was amusing. Though it tried to be monotonous most of the time, there would be some leakage of emotions here and there occasionally.

"Sigh, I still remember how I wanted to punch you the first time..." Allen said with deep emotion. "And nothing has changed; I still want to do so..."

Allen vividly recalled his first meeting with the system.

It was winter, the season that Allen hated the most. A man who was twenty-three years old and still didn't have a girlfriend. His parents would pester him to get one.

And he did get one, in these cold winters. Love made his heart warm, so warm that he started finding beauty even in these winters.

It was his first date, yes, his first date.

"And you had to f*cking come at that time! Couldn't you have at least waited till I lost my virginity! I still did not even get my f*cking first kiss!"

[System denies this allegation! It was that old man's fault, all because of that old man, I'm stuck with a worthless host like you because of him too!]

"Right, that old man." As soon as the image of that old man came to Allen's mind, a bitter smile appeared on his face.

Out of goodwill and to play the gentleman in front of Sara, he kindly offered to help an old man cross the road. However, the old man proved to be as persistent as a clingy cat, turning what was supposed to be a delightful day into a series of requests.

By the day's end, the old man expressed a final wish to visit the bridge. Although confusing for Allen, he played along, hiding his growing frustration.

"Sigh, I so badly want to throttle that old bastard!" Allen muttered, his gaze fixed on the system as the memories replayed in his mind.

Upon reaching the bridge, Allen took a moment to soak in the scenery.

"And then that old man gave me a push," Allen said, leaning back in his chair. The situation seemed absurd, but that was precisely how it unfolded. The old man's face bore a smug look during their last encounter. What's more...

"That imbecile dared to show not one but two middle fingers after shoving me!"

[Pfffffffttt.]

"And now what are you laughing for?! Look, you're no less than that old man, like the bastard you are you popped up out of thin air, and suddenly hugged me!" Allen would never forget the site when his body was about to fall in the water, but suddenly a holographic screen popped out, in mid-air. Moreover, two virtual muscular arms suddenly appeared connected to the screen and hugged Allen.

And then, after that, Allen found himself in this world, specifically within this building. This world was also known as the Blue Star, bearing a striking resemblance to Earth. The similarities were so uncanny that Allen couldn't shake off the fear that it might be Earth in the future. Fortunately, the system reassured him; this wasn't Earth's future but rather some kind of parallel verse or realm.

"20 days... It's been twenty days since you kidnapped me, system."

[Host, it's not kidnapping. It's traveling between realms, between the verses. You should be proud.]

"Whatever, a fancy name for kidnapping. Why didn't you snatch some edgy teen with a shrunken brain who wants to be a protagonist? I was content with my life on Earth."

[...]

[That's not how this works.]

"Whatever," Allen said as he made himself another cup of tea. It was quite convenient; he just had to pour this red liquid into the tea cup, and some kind of powder that the system gave with water. The content would automatically boil due to the red liquid; moreover, the red liquid would also give a unique taste.

Grabbing that simple-looking bottle that had the sole mysterious brand on it with an unrecognizable name, he poured the blood-red liquid into the tea cup. He then took the powder jar, and poured some grayish-black powder.

Finally went in the water. As soon as the water was poured inside, the contents started boiling. With patience, Allen waited as he looked out of the window, noticing that it was raining.

"The soundproofing is quite nice." His eyes then again fell on the boiling tea.

Bang! Bang!

At that very second, someone banged on the door. Allen frowned as he said, "System, show me outsiders footage."

The next second, a red holographic screen appeared in front of him, showing the pitiful Lucas banging on the door.

Seeing his state, Allen concluded.

"Another beggar?"