Jason stared at his phone, chest still rising and falling like he'd just survived a fight. He looked at the phone screen; he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Kaitlyn?
He rubbed his eyes with his trembling knuckles. The last thing he expected was a text from her. He tapped the notification open.
Kaitlyn: Hey! Hope I'm not disturbing you. How's your morning going?
Sigh! My morning? I'm lying on the floor, bathing in my own sweat and unable to feel my arms.
Jason sighed before typing back, forcing his shaking finger to be accurate.
Jason: Hey. Not disturbing at all. Just finishing a workout. How about you?
The three dots danced on the screen, and the reply came almost instantly.
Kaitlyn: I'm good! Just busy with work as usual. Are you free this upcoming Saturday?
Jason frowned his brow in curiosity.
Jason: Yeah, I'm free. Why?
Kaitlyn: I have to drive out to the next state. It's a long drive, and I really hate driving that far alone. I was wondering if you could tag along. Keep me company?
Wait… what!? A road trip? Seriously!? She wanted me to go on a road trip? with her?
Jason: Suddenly going out of state? Everything okay? Not an emergency, right?
Kaitlyn: Haha no! Nothing serious. Just work. I figured it'd be more fun with you.
Why me? Then again… I don't wanna question my luck when it finally showed up.
Jason: In that case, I'm in. I would love to go. But… I'm going to need a favor in return.
Kaitlyn: Oh? What kind of favor?
Jason: I need to go shopping. You clearly have a great sense of style, and as you saw… my fashion sense is absolute garbage. I need you to help me pick out some decent clothes.
Kaitlyn: Haha, you got it! I would love to help you out. Consider it a deal.
Jason: Okay, it's settled then.
Kaitlyn: I've got a meeting in five minutes, so I gotta run. I'll text you the details later. Bye, Jason!
Jason: Bye, Kaitlyn.
Jason put the phone aside. A smile appeared on his face. It wasn't just a text for him. It was an invitation into a world he had only viewed from the outside.
This is a huge opportunity to step into her world. Today is Tuesday; I have three more days to grind. As I don't have any idea what her sense of style will cost, I have to save money. I will focus on the physical grind for now. The spending quest can wait for the mall.
Jason somehow got the motivation to do more workouts. He gritted his teeth, got himself into Push-up position, and pushed.
The next few hours were filled with pain, suffering, and stubbornness. Jason fought his own body for exercise. Every squat felt like his hip joints were screaming for mercy. Every push-up was a battle against the forces of gravity that he was losing. He took breaks when his vision became blurry, crawling to the kitchen for a drink of water, then dragging himself back to the "gym" floor.
Finally, his muscles completely gave out. He collapsed on the floor as his cheek pressed against it. His breath was heavy.
"Haah!… Haah! My limit… reached. System." Jason was huffing.
[Pulse Card Balance: $771]
[Complete the Main Quest to level up the system.]
[Quest Log:]
[Pushups (100/41)]
[Sit-ups (100/76)]
[Squats (100/83)]
[Running (10/1.6 km)]
[Spends ($1000/100)]
Finally, I am making some progress. 41 push-ups; I'm getting there. The sit-ups and squats are nearly done… But the 10km run... Sigh! I feel like I'm at the bottom of a mountain, and it's staring at me from the top.
Growl
Jason's stomach growled as he was hungry.
I have to eat something. I need a bath as well. The heartbeat to dollar conversation is the ultimate passive income. By tomorrow it will be over a thousand dollars. Maybe I should order some food, protein this time, not that instant noodle bullshit. But first I have to take a bath. I smell like death.
Jason forced himself to his feet; his legs were shaking like a newborn's. He dragged himself to go to the bathroom for a bath.
After taking a bath, he wore a loose red cotton t-shirt and a pair of black three-quarter pants, as he had intended to go to the park and complete the running quest. Jason was now feeling relaxed. He lay down on his bed, grabbed his phone, and opened a food delivery app.
Should I order pizza? No, I need protein, , not more garbage.
He ordered two large beef shawarmas with extra garlic sauce.
While he waited, he scrolled reels. After a dozen minutes later, the doorbell buzzed.
Finally… My food has arrived.
Jason got up in excitement that he had forgotten his whole body was in pain and opened the door. A young delivery boy in a bright delivery uniform stood there, holding a paper bag that smelled like it was directly coming from heaven.
"Food delivery, sir. Your total amount is $32." The delivery person handed over the paper bag to Jason and said with a polite tone.
"Hold a moment, please." Jason took the paper bag and told him to wait, as he needed to grab his card from his wallet.
Jason put the bag on the bedside table, grabbed his wallet, and returned to the delivery boy.
"Charge $50. Keep the rest as your tips." Jason handed the card to the delivery boy and said with a smile.
"Thank you so much, sir." The delivery boy thanked him and took the card.
As he was ready to swipe it on his portable terminal, he paused. He turned the card over in his hands, felt the weight of the metal, and noticed the gold infinity symbol.
"I have never seen a card like this before, sir. Is this some kind of exclusive?" The delivery boy said, looking up at Jason.
"Very exclusive. If you had seen it before, I would be the one surprised." Jason leaned against the doorframe and said with a smirk on his face.
The delivery boy nodded and tapped the card.
Beep
"You are all set, sir. Thanks again for the tips." The delivery boy thanked again and handed the card back with two hands. It was a sign of respect for the wealthy customer. Then he turned around and walked away in the hallway.
Jason locked the door behind him and returned to the bed. He unwrapped the shawarmas and ate them with the garlic sauce.
After eating both of the shawarmas, Jason was now full. He set an alarm for 7:00 P.M. and was asleep before he could feel it.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Time passed. It was 7:00 P.M. when Jason's alarm rang. Jason groaned and stopped the alarm. He was feeling tired but still dragged himself out of the bed. He went to the washroom to freshen up. After that, he grabbed a bottle of water and stepped out of the apartment.
The evening weather was cooler now, compared to the afternoon. As he was heading to the main gate, a familiar voice called out.
"Hello, big bro!"
Jason saw Nora leaning against the main gate of the apartment building, waving at him.
"Hey, Nora." Jason waved back at him and greeted her.
"Where are you going?" She asked. She was genuinely curious, as Jason was a couch potato, he never left his room unless something important showed up.
"Just heading for the neighborhood park. I have to do some workouts."
"Ah! Seriously, big bro!!?? Are you doing workouts?" Nora's eyes became wide, she was surprised because, as someone like Jason, who is super lazy, doing workouts is unbelievable.
"Yeah." Jason nodded.
"Did your girlfriend dump you or something?"
"What? No! It's nothing like that." Jason was surprised by her question. He shook his head and denied it. "I am just trying to fix my life. That's all."
"Oh, sorry for assuming wrong. I wish you good luck then." Nora apologized and wished him luck.
"Thank you. I gotta go. Bye." Jason gave her a little wave and stepped out of the building.
These teenagers have wild imaginations. The only real reason I'm doing workouts is because of the golden finger.
After a dozen moments later, Jason finally arrived at the main gate of the park. The park was bustling with people, same as it was in the morning. Jason expected that would happen again, so he didn't care much and focused on his quest.
Jason took a long deep breath and started to run while holding a bottle of water.
Time passed. Jason was running. When he got fully exhausted, he drank a few sips to wet his dry mouth. When he couldn't move anymore, he took a 5-minute rest and then continued.
Jason's vision became blurry. He sat on the nearby bench. He was huffing, his lungs were burning. His water was empty long ago. Jason called the system to check the progress
[Pulse Card Balance: $1335]
[Complete the Main Quest to level up the system.]
[Quest Log:]
[Pushups (100/41)]
[Sit-ups (100/76)]
[Squats (100/83)]
[Running (10/9.8 km)]
[Spends ($1000/100)]
Haah!... Haah!... Nearly done. I will take some rest before completing it. Close.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and covering his face with his hands. The park was empty around him, as he was in the corner of the park. The streetlamps were covered by the tree. Jason was sitting in the shadows of an overgrown tree.
Rustle.
A bush shook behind the bench. Jason heard but didn't lift up his head, as he thought it was a squirrel. He kept his head down. Then, he felt something cold and hard pressed against his right forehead. Jason flinched, instinctively trying to swat it away.
"Don't move. Give me all you've got. Or I'll rip your head off." A voice growled. It was rough, low, and terrifyingly close to his ear.