Chapter 9
Solomon successfully defeated the default user by finding an opening and lunging onto his head, his feet coming down with enough force to crush the skull beneath. Just like that, the creature was dead and gone.
[Mission Complete]
> Completion Rate: 100%
> Enemy energy transferring to you...
> 60% of energy transferred...
> 80%...
> 100% energy transferred.
> System upgrade activated.
> The system has received the maximum amount of Soul Coin energy—enough to initiate an upgrade.
The system began gathering the surging energy.
Initiating 28-hour sleep mode for full upgrade...
"Congratulations, Host. The SSS-RANK Cashback Billionaire System has ascended from Level 1 Tier to Level 2."
...
The system could actually upgrade. Solomon had never thought it possible—he had truly believed SSS-RANK was the absolute maximum. Even when the system mentioned upgrades before, he had never taken it seriously. He thought he was already at the limit.
"Twenty-eight hours of sleep," Solomon muttered to himself. His mind began to wander—what was he supposed to do while the system slept? There would be no missions and no more life-threatening stakes placed on his head or his family. Peace... for twenty-eight hours.
But just as he started to relax, the system's voice echoed in his mind once more:
[New Mission Alert]
The host must carry out this task while the system is offline.
Mission: Financial Operator Trial
Generate $100,000,000 in a single day through the cashback system.
Prove your worth. Spend with purpose. Every transaction counts.
Mission Duration: 28 hours
Failure Consequence: Your grandma develops lung cancer (currently incurable at this low-grade world level).
Solomon's eye twitched. Speak of the devil, and it appears. There was no way he would let anything happen to his grandmother.
"Can I reject the mission?" he asked the system.
"No, Host. You might as well ask me to unbind from you—and take you back to the moment when the hitmen were about to kill you."
Threatening and malicious—that was the true nature of the system. Solomon had already figured that out. This wasn't some helpful cheat code like the ones in the webnovels Laura always read and told him about. No, this system was here for his blood, his success—or his downfall. He needed to put in ten times the effort just to keep up with it.
...
"By the way, tell me how to turn back into a human," Solomon asked. He had noticed his reflection earlier when he looked in the mirror. He definitely wasn't in love with his current appearance; it was totally inhuman. He felt like he had been walking around in this monstrous form for far too long.
[Figure it out yourself,] the system replied, leaving Solomon to fend for himself.
"What a nice system. This thing is just so kind to me," Solomon muttered sarcastically, a vein popping on his forehead.
He stared at his reflection for twenty-eight seconds, never once considering the simplest solution until now: Close your eyes. Imagine yourself in human form.
As he closed his eyes and focused entirely on his original appearance—his true physical form—time seemed to slow down. Then, the sensation ended.
Solomon opened his eyes. He was back. Back to his normal self.
...
"Business... Start a business? I'm just a college student," Solomon said aloud. "I feel like some damn old man because of this system... Haha, this is a total trap! I don't even have a moment—no, a cent—in my wallet to start a business!"
[ $7,000 has been loan-credited to the host's wallet ]
[Note: Main wallet frozen during system upgrade. This loan is your only available capital for the next 28 hours. Soul coin reserve remains accessible for emergency evolution only.]
Wallet Balance: $7,000.89
Loan Interest: 500% return required
Failure to meet the interest rate will result in the host being crippled.
"System, I can give you my future generations if you want. Should I just cut it off right now for you?" He was half-joking—but if the system said yes, he'd know for certain that it was his enemy all along.
"Creep," the system's voice rang out.
A vein bulged on Solomon's forehead as he thought to himself: Between humans and the system... who's really the creep here? Especially with its menacing punishments for every failed mission.
"Time to go to class before some troublemakers find me here," he muttered. "My mood isn't great. I don't want to do something that'll get me suspended."
Turning to leave for class, Solomon paused. The place was a total mess—blood was everywhere. The blood of the Default User. That bastard had certainly given him a hard time. Images of the fight flashed in Solomon's mind.
Sighing, he walked away as if none of it had anything to do with him. In situations like this, when questions started flying, you just had to say "No." No evidence. No connection. After all, who would be crazy enough to believe in the supernatural in this world anyway?
Later that day...
"Grandson, I made all this for you! What do you think? Some nice soy chicken!"
Solomon stared at the bowl of food in front of him. He hesitated; his grandma was being exceptionally kind today. Usually, she was quite reserved with her food portions, but today she had gone all out.
"I know you're confused, dear, but you've become the breadwinner of this family. Grandma wants to reward you."
"Breadwinner now?!" What was she trying to say? That he hadn't been providing before? That their family had been going nowhere because of his simple goals?
Solomon didn't want to think too deeply about it. His face tightened into a frown because he already knew the truth of it.
"What's wrong, dear? Why the frown?"
"What frown? I'm fine, Grandma."
His grandmother had always been kind, and she was far too good at noticing when something was off.
"By the way, your sister said she's not coming home today. She's going to stay over and cover the night shift. The little one is with me, but I'm still worried."
"Midnight work?" Solomon asked, his frown deepening.
"Yes."
Solomon's mind couldn't stay calm. His instincts kicked in immediately. Being outside at night wasn't safe—especially not for someone like his sister. She was too innocent for the shady things that happened in the dark. Though older than him, Moshe was naive... except for that one incident. One mistake that had left a mark—one she let ruin her.
Without wasting a second, Solomon quickly shoveled several spoonfuls of food into his mouth. He stood up from his seat and said to his grandmother, "I'll go check on Yuvia first."
"Why? It's just work."
"You wouldn't understand, Grandma."
His grandma stayed silent, standing there as she watched him walk away into the night.
...
Soaking wet from the rain, Solomon looked to his left. A man was smoking in the corner. He looked further into the shadows where a gun lay on the ground, resting like a dark beauty in the gloom.
"A casino? What a perfect place to 'work' at. Nice..."
Solomon frowned and walked inside, not caring about the many eyes that locked onto him like predators watching their prey.
"Brother!"