Chapter 11
"Yuvia!" Solomon's ears pricked at the sound of his sister's voice.
Something had clearly gone wrong. His thoughts raced—he had to save her.
Solomon moved to push himself away from the gambling table, but the leader took the sudden movement as a personal affront.
A deep frown etched itself onto the man's face. "Kid, do you know who you're messing with? Sit back down and play dice."
Solomon's brows furrowed as he studied the casino leader. Yuvia was in trouble, and this man was standing in his way. He couldn't just start a fight here and now; how could he extract himself without a brawl so he could reach his sister?
"Sir, excuse me. I need to use the restroom. All of a sudden, I really have to go," Solomon said, letting out an awkward laugh and scratching the back of his head. The leader eyed him with deep suspicion before finally gesturing for him to leave.
Solomon let out a long, heavy breath once he was out of sight. Thank God I can think on my feet. Now, it was time to find Yuvia.
At that moment, a notification flickered in his vision:
[ $200 cashback earned for outsmarting the casino leader ]
So, the system was still functioning even in sleep mode.
[System clarification: Passive cashback monitoring remains active during upgrade. Mission assignment and active features are offline. Wallet tracking continues at all times.]
What?! The system's voice served as a grim reminder of the mission hanging over his head. Who could realistically start a business in two days and generate a billion-dollar return overnight? Solomon's mind felt like a pressure cooker on the verge of exploding.
He was starting to feel like the system was tired of him. This thing was never his friend; it was a villain through and through. It should have named itself the SSS-RANK Anti-Billionaire Cashback System, because that felt much more accurate right now.
Solomon reached the door where the noise was loudest. This was exactly where Yuvia said she would be delivering the last order to a wealthy customer. Her cries reached him clearly now, regardless of the distance.
"Yuvia," Solomon growled. He kicked the door with a surge of strength far beyond that of an average man. The wood cracked and groaned as the door flew open, and Solomon burst into the room.
The scene that welcomed him sent a vein bulging in his forehead: a man was forcing himself on top of a woman in a bunny outfit while several men in black suits sat around, casually enjoying the show.
You disgusting creep.
His presence was immediately noticed. Before the guards could react, Solomon lunged forward, dragging the man off his sister and delivering a brutal kick to his fat stomach.
Yuvia scrambled up from the seat, trembling as she threw her arms around Solomon. "Brother, let's run! These men—they're A-Class. We have to go. We can't stay here!"
Everything was happening too fast. Solomon gripped Yuvia's hand, intending to bolt, but as they turned toward the exit, several men blocked their path, pointing loaded guns directly at them.
Solomon's brow furrowed. This was a nightmare. Was this how it ended? He was surrounded by men with their fingers on the triggers.
The wealthy man Solomon had kicked rose from the floor, a dark frown twisting into a malicious laugh as he looked Solomon over. "You dirty slum rat... you actually dared to hit me?"
The man stepped closer, pausing for a beat as his grin turned even more wicked. "So, you're a system user. You've got quite the Soul Coin reserve in you."
Solomon's eyes widened. This man was a default system user.
Trouble. The first default he'd encountered could mutate, and now this one had appeared. He could only hope this guy didn't know how to evolve yet. Solomon took a deep breath, trying to think—fast. He was caught between loaded guns and a potential monster that could rip his head off at any second.
It felt like a dead end.
[New Mission Alert: Defeat the default user and all his soul coins are yours. ]
[Reward: His Soul Coins = Real Money]
[Mission Risk: Level A – High Risk]
[The host is gifted with a card as a tool for this mission.]
A string of mental exclamation marks flashed in Solomon's mind. The system had appeared just in time, but the mission was daunting. It seemed the system wasn't taking the coins for itself this time, likely because the chances of him actually winning were so slim.
Solomon's eye twitched. Damn this system. He promised himself he'd get his revenge one day.
But for now, he had to deal with the "tool." What could a person do with a deck of cards? Were they even weapons? As he looked at the system screen, an ordinary-looking card appeared in his hand, hidden from the men's sight.
He felt the edge of the card against his fingers—and it suddenly sliced him. It happened with such blinding, 0.2-second speed that his mind struggled to keep up. The card had actually cut his palm. It wasn't a sharp object by design, but it was incredibly dangerous.
Solomon tried to cut his finger intentionally this time, but nothing happened. Why wouldn't it work now? He paused, realizing the secret lay in the velocity. He repeated the action with a lightning-fast flick—and the card sliced his palm so deeply he nearly screamed.
That's it. He had a way to attack.
"Is that an elephant on the roof?" Solomon shouted, pointing upward with a dead-serious expression.
Instinctively, the men looked up.
Solomon seized the opening. He swung his hand in a blur, sending the cards spinning toward the men's throats. Swing!
Tsssk—
The sound of cardstock embedding in flesh echoed through the room. All nine guards went down instantly.
Suddenly feeling a rush of air at the back of his neck, Solomon instinctively ducked, dodging a follow-up attack. The A-Class default user hadn't been fooled; he had moved just enough to let the card whistle past his throat.
"Yuvia, hide in the corner!" Solomon barked at his sister, who had been clinging to his arm. She nodded frantically and scrambled to hide behind a heavy chair.
"Boy, I'm going to take your Soul Coins! More money, more power for me!" Laughing menacingly, the man's arms began to morph, shifting into massive, spiked wooden clubs.
What kind of mutation is this?
Solomon watched with narrowed eyes before performing a backflip, narrowly dodging a swing from a wooden limb. He landed steadily and snatched two more cards from the floor.
"Let me just punch you and collect those coins!" the default user screamed, slamming his woody, spined hands together. The impact boomed through the room.
Beads of sweat rolled down Solomon's face. His mind was blank, struggling to find a strategy against a wooden tank. Could his cards even penetrate that? He needed to test if he could slice through those hands with enough speed. If it worked, great. If not... well, there was no Plan B.
He decided to provoke the man. If he could work him into a blind rage, he could create an opening. Solomon let out a grin.
"Hey, fatty. You look pathetic. Even your evolved form is disgusting. You should hide that thing you wanted to use on my sister—it's even nastier. I bet it's about the size of a broomstick!"
Solomon's grin widened. The default user stared back with bloodshot, dead eyes. He had definitely succeeded in pissing him off.
Yes. That's exactly what I wanted.