"Eh? Why is this beggar trying to get in?" The thought flashed through the mind of a 6'5" (195.5 cm) man in a black uniform the moment he saw Jason approaching.
Before Jason could even reach the door, a massive hand appeared and stopped only a few inches from Jason's chest.
"Hold it." The guard rumbled with his deep, rough voice. "You are not allowed to enter in dressed like that."
"Huh!!??" Jason was confused. He looked down at himself. "Yeah… Fair enough." Jason muttered and nodded as he was wearing a stained white t-shirt and faded black shorts with sandals.
"Look, man, I can pay. I can afford the food." Jason said, he was a little annoyed now.
"No can do, sir. Even if you have a million dollars in your pocket. Policy is policy." The security guard shook his head and denied him on the spot.
"Another rigged system. Assholes." Jason knew it was not the security guard's fault for stopping him. Some suit upstairs had probably made that stupid rule. Still, it pissed him off.
Jason didn't argue with that security guard anymore. He turned around and walked away from that restaurant.
Damn it. I got so hyped about the golden finger that I didn't even change my clothes. Anyway, fuck this restaurant shit.
As he was walking past some food vendors, his eye caught a certain food vendor, and he stopped.
This thing looks delicious. Let's try it.
He changed direction and walked over to the food vendor. It was a cheesesteak cart, run by one guy grilling meat over a hot flat top. The smell of smoky beef, melted cheese, and toasted bread hit Jason immediately.
"Hey, do you accept cards?" Jason asked the chef who was grilling meat, as he wanted to test the card to see if it works or not.
"Yes, sir. What can I get you?" The chef nodded and asked politely.
"Give me two supreme cheesesteaks now and two more for takeaway." Jason pointed at the bags and said.
The chef raised a brow, then nodded and checked the price. "That will be $51.96."
"Okay, Take $60. Keep the change. Just make them delicious." Jason said and pulled out the black card.
"Thank you so much, sir." The chef's expression brightened, he pressed some button in his payment terminal machine and held it out for Jason to tap the card.
Jason tapped the card.
Beep
"Done, sir. Please wait a moment while I get your order ready." Chef said and started to prepare the order.
It worked. Finally, I will be rich. System
[Pulse Card Balance: $61]
[Complete the Main Quest to level up the system.]
[Quest Log:]
[Pushups (100/0)]
[Sit-ups (100/0)]
[Squats (100/0)]
[Running (10/0 km)]
[Spends ($1000/60)]
Great, it counted!! Close
The system vanished into nothingness as Jason put the card back into his pocket and stood by the vendor. As the chef was preparing his order, the aroma of smoky beef, buttered bread, and cheese melting into the meat only got stronger, which made Jason even more hungrier.
After a few moments
"Here you go. Your order is ready." The chef said and handed him the plate.
It's been almost 4 years since I had meat.
Jason chugged two cheesesteaks within a few moments.
Wow, It feels like heaven. It's so delicious. Worth every penny.
"Thanks, chef. That was amazing." Jason said as he was satisfied.
"Glad you enjoyed it. Come again anytime." The chef smiled and handed over the order in a paper bag.
Jason took the paper bag with the takeaway sandwiches and walked off.
I should grab some groceries too. I am fed up with instant noodles.
Jason headed for Hallmart. After a dozen minutes, he arrived at the grocery store.
Let's see, I need breakfast items. I can't cook shit… except for instant noodles, so there's no need to buy anything complicated.
Jason grabbed a cart and took sliced white sandwich bread, salted butter sticks, strawberry jam, cereal, a gallon of milk, and a pack of fresh strawberries and blackberries.
"Jason!!??"
As he was heading for checkout, a soothing voice came from behind. He turned his head in the direction of the voice and saw a familiar face he had always admired secretly in the past.
She had her black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her forehead was covered by sunglasses. She was attractive despite being small and slender. She was wearing a black turtleneck and blue jeans and was holding a cart full of grocery items.
"Hey!" Jason saw a familiar face, but he was unable to remember her name or where he saw her, so he simply greeted her.
"Wow, it's been like what? Five years?" She came closer to Jason as she was dragging a shopping cart with her.
Five years? Oh yeah, now I remember. She used to be my classmate in high school. But I still couldn't remember her name.
"Yeah. How have you been?" Jason didn't know what to talk to her about, so he asked what came to his mind first.
"I am good! Just finished work; had to grab some things. What about you? How's life treating you?"
"I'm…doing okay, I think."
"That's good to hear. We should catch up properly. Let's connect on ChatApp." She said and pulled out her phone from her purse, opened the ChatApp QR code, and held it in front of Jason.
"Uh, yeah. Sure." Jason pulled out his screen-cracked android phone and scanned the QR code.
"I wish I knew you were living in the same city sooner. Anyway, I gotta run, but text me, okay? It was really good to see you, Jason." She said with a smile on her face, gave him a little wave, and headed to the register.
Jason looked at his phone. It was displaying her number and name.
Kaitlyn… She is as friendly as always. She didn't even judge my outfit for a moment and added me on ChatApp. I remembered that she had a lot of friends in high school. Extrovert as always. And I was the opposite of her; still, she remembered me.
Jason saved her contact and put the phone inside his pocket and headed to checkout.
"Sir, It will be a total of $40." The cashier scanned all the products and said to Jason with a polite tone.
"Okay. I will pay with ePay." Jason pulled out his phone, opened the Heart Financial Bank App, scanned the ePay QR code from the counter, and paid $40. "Transaction ID's last four digits are 8888."
"Received. Thank you, sir." The cashier said and handed over the bags.
Taking the groceries and his takeout food, Jason was struggling to hold too many bags in his hands as he was walking beside the street.
Let's check the balance. System.
[Pulse Card Balance: $69]
[Complete the Main Quest to level up the system.]
[Quest Log:]
[Pushups (100/0)]
[Sit-ups (100/0)]
[Squats (100/0)]
[Running (10/0 km)]
[Spends ($1000/100)]
I have spent my starter reward money. $69 is earned by my heartbeat. This system is insane. Close.
Screech!
As he was laughing and dancing internally. A black Honta Civix braked and stopped beside Jason.