Chapter 4 - A New Player In Town I

It's been two weeks since I've taken over Michael's body, and a lot has changed since then.

I just got done showering in the gym's showers. I looked at myself in the full-body mirror as I dried my hair off with a towel. I'm now standing at around 6 foot 2 inches (1.88 m) in height, with an angular face and medium-lengthed wavy black hair. The old Michael's paunch is now gone, replaced with forming muscles. For two weeks' worth of workouts, I've been making big progress. Thanks to the Gamer skill, of course. A bit of a stubble beard was also forming on my face. I always liked Michael with a beard more, so I'm gonna try and grow one.

My stats have also changed quite a lot since then. Though a majority of it is still lacking. But with the things I've planned for today, it shouldn't be much of a problem for long.

Stamina: 9 > 24

Shooting: 15

Strength: 11 > 22

Stealth: 6

Flying: 2

Driving: 13 > 16

I then dropped the towel beside my gym bag and grabbed my clothes. I put on a white t-shirt with a light blue denim shirt over it; black jeans and casual brown boots. After putting my clothes on, I got out of the shower and sat by the gym's lounge area.

Also, I haven't stopped chipping away money from my future competitors' money. I sometimes listen to some chatter in their comms and their Heads have been quite on edge. Especially after finding out huge chunks of their money have suddenly vanished from their bank accounts.

Devin Weston took it the worse, he's been forcing his people non-stop to find a culprit, and I may or may not have planted some fake evidence in their data that lead them to The Duggan Family. It was quite well-known that they'd been rising the oil and gas prices around San Andreas so they could buy off the Diamond Casino from the Cheng Family, so Weston believed it immediately. So he's planning to take some action, the murder everyone kind. Welp, not like it concerns me anyway. If they want to kill each other then that's good news for me. One less burden out of my list.

As I sat by the lounge's sofa, I opened up my shadow account containing all the money I'd stolen which currently holds $201,478,359. I can now buy the [Shop] function of the system, which would cost me $100,000,000.

[Confirming your purchase [YES] [NO]] I clicked on yes.

[ - $100,000,000 has been deducted from your account]

[Thank You for your purchase!]

As soon as I got the confirmation, I immediately opened up the [Shop].

[Welcome, User EX161!]

[A-Tier] [S-Tier (LOCKED] [SSR-Tier (LOCKED] [EX-Tier (LOCKED)]

[To unlock the next tier, 50 purchases must be met, along with a fee of $500,000,000]

'Another paywall?? Jesus f*cking christ' I sighed in frustration.

Ah forget it, it won't really matter much for now anyway. I then opened up the A-Tier category.

[There are currently 10 items available. Every 7 days, the list will be updated]

Out of all the items available, three immediately caught my eye.

[ Pure Methamphetamine Formula (A)

Cost: $50,000

The purest crystal in the universe. With a purity of 100%, not much could get better than this. ]

H*ly shit! I guess that solves one of my problems. Unfortunately, I can't start cooking meth yet. I'm gonna need more people for this.

[ John Wick's Bulletproof Suit (A)

Cost: $75,000

An upgraded version of the legendary assassin, John Wick's suit. With the added function of morphing into any set of clothes you own.

Note: Could only be worn by you. ]

I didn't even read the very short description or the price, I bought it the moment I read the name.

[ Sieger 300 Ghost (B)

Cost: $10,000

This Sniper Rifle is modelled after the Walther WA-2000. With the [silence] suppressor attached, no one would even notice anything till they see the body drop. ]

It's the same model as Agent 47's Sniper! I'm buyin' it.

Looking through the list some more, not much was really as eye-catching nor had any uses for me at the moment other than the voice modulator and the clown mask from Payday. I bought four each for my future crew.

After my shopping spree, only $101,342,559 was left on my account. I'll get back most of it quickly anyways, so it doesn't really matter.

I then walked out of the lounge area and left the gym. It was now time for me to do my next agenda of the day. I got into my car and drove off. On the way to my next destination, I couldn't help but feel excited. I've been putting it off for two weeks now cause I wanted my physical stats to reach the 20s so my body could handle what I'm planning to do.

I'm on my way to Ammunation. It's where you could buy most firearms, weapons and all sorts of equipment in San Andreas. But it's not the merchandise I'm interested in, it's the shooting range.

After arriving, I parked my car first. In front of me was the Ammunation building. On its side was a red-painted wall with [ AMMUNATION GUN CLUB - Los Santos - ] written in white letters. The front door was also in red, with the name of the building written at the top. I walked in and I immediately noticed the place was packed with guns. To my left, there were bulletproof vests on display. To my right were various pieces of equipment, mostly diving gear.

On the front counter, stood the owner of the place. He looked to be in his late 40s, with light skin, and a moustache. He wore a green jacket vest with a black shirt underneath, a black hat and fingerless leather gloves, and aviator glasses adorning his face. He was surrounded by a collection of varying types of firearms displayed on steel wall-mounted gun racks and a glass display of melee weapons, boxes of ammunition and explosives in front of him.

"Hey man, what can I do for you today?" He said as he waved his hand in greeting.

"Is the range open?" I asked as I made my way to him.

"Yeah. It's a bit early in the morning still so you should have it all to yourself. It's $100 an hour by the way" He replied.

"Sure, I'll take five" I gave him $500

"Nice" He whistled as he saw the money. He then pointed to the double doors beside the counter "Just walk through this door, then the door to the right should be the range. Have fun, man"

"Thanks" I made my way to the doors, then to the range. Inside was a large space separated by a barrier, the other side being narrower than the other. It had a divider, allowing ten people to use the range simultaneously. In the wider space, there were metal sheets, with the target printed on the front, which could be seen attached to metal bars at the top. They were all automated so I could move them at will with the help of a control panel on the dividers. On the back of the range were multiple steel cabinets containing guns ranging from pistols, SMGs, Assault Rifles, Shotguns, and Snipers.

I'm gonna start small first. I do have Michael's memories so I know how to shoot, but not his experience and muscle memory so I'm basically starting from scratch. I took an AP Pistol and went to the barrier. I push the buttons on the control panel, and as I did so, the metal sheets slowly went down with the targets now facing me.

I aimed my gun at the target, aligning the sight just below it. I put all my focus on the front sight, as I centered the first pad of my index finger on the trigger. My heartbeat quickened as I held my breath, paused, and then pulled the trigger. A loud bang echoed around the range. My arms that held the gun slightly raised due to the recoil.

'Sh*t!' I laughed to myself. It was the first time I've ever shot a gun. My heartbeat was still quick as I experienced a new high. I then continue to shoot until I emptied out the magazine.

I then assessed my shots. Not all of them were dead center but it was good for a first-timer. But it wasn't enough. My control of the gun was shoddy. Most of my misses were because of the recoil and I fired too early. If I want to survive here, I need to be better. I then took out the magazine and inserted another.

I continued to shoot until my hold on the gun barely moved at every fire. I needed to become an unmovable force. I spent the next five hours practising. I moved to other guns till the recoil didn't even affect me anymore and my aim got better and better as time went on. I practised with moving targets, multiple and timed.

People came in and out of the range during the five hours but thankfully they weren't as much of a distraction. I had some small talks with them, some praised me. Overall, I think I did well on my first day of shooting a gun.

I was only able to practice with different types of pistols and assault rifles today, but not to worry. I've got nothin' but time.

Shooting: 15 > 24

After five hours, I left the shooting range and went inside my car. I opened up my Inventory.

[ Bullet Proof Suit (A) ]

[ Meth Formula (A) ]

[ Sieger 300 Ghost (B) ]

[ Voice Modulator (B) (x4) ]

[ Payday Clown Mask (C) (x4) ]

I then opened up the Suit.

[Would you like to equip the Bullet Proof Suit?]

'Yes' As soon as I gave out a confirmation, my clothes were suddenly enveloped in a white light then disappeared just as suddenly.

[The suit has been equipped! You can now morph it to your will]

I thought of the grey suit that the original Michael had, paired with a pair of black formal dress shoes. My clothes started morphing until they matched my description. 'This is cool'

I then put my car key in the ignition and started the engine. It was now time for me to head to my next destination of the day. The Diamond Casino And Resort.

***

That's it for Chapter 4!

This was supposed to be out last night but I've been rushing some deadlines during the past few days. I was tired af so I didn't have the time to finish writing. Also! Thank you so much for the kind words, the reviews, the power stones, I really appreciate it! Honestly, when I posted this, I was expecting to get a couple hundred views but you blew me away! Thank You!

I am only an amateur writer. Honesty, this was my first official try at writing a novel. So I cannot promise a consistent quality for the chapters I write but I hope you could bare with me till the end of this novel!

And about the shop function of the system. Michael's already too overpowered at the start, so giving him anymore would just make this story boring. That's why I'm limiting what he could get from it. If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment!