"Tell her to stay as far away as possible and never show her face near me again!"
Rahul spoke to Kabir in a tone of pure irritation.
Kabir immediately replied, "Got it. My Brother Rahul isn't exactly hurting for female company right now. A woman with zero self-respect like Ananya should definitely keep her distance. I'm deleting her contact right now!"
As Kabir was about to hang up, Rahul stopped him.
"I'm about to board. I have a short layover in Singapore, but I should touch down at Mumbai International around 1:00 PM tomorrow. Make sure you're there to pick me up!"
Hearing this, Kabir turned ecstatic. "Bhai! You're finally coming back? Done! I'll be there at the arrivals gate with a garland if I have to! How many international girls are you bringing back with you? Did that billionaire heiress hide in your suitcase?"
Rahul felt a wave of helplessness listening to Kabir, who seemed even more hyped than he was.
"No, I'm flying solo this time. Where would I even put them? I'm literally selling my apartment, remember? Anyway, boarding is starting. See you tomorrow."
The flight took off from Dhaka, touched down briefly at Singapore Changi, and then continued its journey across the Indian Ocean. Rahul landed in Mumbai at 1:33 PM local time.
As he walked through the terminal, he stopped at a currency exchange counter. He pulled out the 65,000 Taka refund he'd received and exchanged it for Indian Rupees.
Airport exchange rates were, as always, a total scam. At the official rate, 65,000 Taka should have been roughly ₹46,000. But the airport counter only gave him about ₹41,000. He didn't have much of a choice; Taka were useless in Mumbai, so he took the loss and stuffed the cash into his pocket.
The moment he stepped out of the arrivals gate, he spotted Kabir's burly frame in the crowd. Rahul walked up to him, but as he got closer, he realized Kabir wasn't even looking at him—his eyes were scanning the crowd behind Rahul.
Rahul pulled down his surgical mask and shouted, "Hey, idiot! What are you looking for over there?"
Kabir jumped, startled by the sudden voice. When he realized the person standing right in front of him was indeed Rahul, the look of shock on his face was cinematic.
"Holy shit! Bhai... what the hell happened to you? How did you get so handsome?!"
Rahul tossed his heavy backpack to Kabir. "Don't be dramatic. I just haven't shaved in a day."
Kabir caught the bag, his eyes still wide. "I'm dead serious! You look completely different. It's not just your face—your entire aura has shifted. You look five years younger! If you told people you were twenty, they'd believe you."
"With looks like that, no wonder you were a legend in Dhaka. It's a literal Dimensional Strike! If I had half of your face, I'd never be single for more than ten minutes!"
Rahul hooked his arm around Kabir's neck, cutting off the fanboy chatter. "Alright, stop the flattery. Get me home. I need to meet the agent and finalize this house sale."
"Bhai, have you really thought this through? Selling a property in this market... you're going to lose a fair bit on the initial investment." Kabir felt a twinge of pain for his friend's wallet.
"It doesn't matter. I want to pull the equity out so my parents can live comfortably in their retirement," Rahul said, feeling a sense of relief. "As for me, I can live anywhere as long as I have my camera."
Kabir didn't argue further and led Rahul to his car—a modest domestic electric hatchback. It was comfortable enough, despite the internet jokes about it being a "cab driver's car."
As they drove out of the airport, Rahul tucked his mask away. He wanted to test a theory: Would his Karma Succubus Attribute work here in India?
But as they walked through the parking garage and drove through the city, nothing unusual happened. Several girls passing by cast appreciative, lingering glances at him—as if they had spotted a minor Bollywood star—but no one approached him. Even after an hour, the System didn't trigger a single new Karma notification.
Rahul felt puzzled. Are Indian girls just more reserved? Or does the System think the difficulty level here is too high?
He guessed that the System's distribution of Karma probably depended on finding the right type of girl. It wasn't just a random generator; it sought out specific connections. It simply meant that within his immediate radius, there wasn't anyone the System deemed a "match."
"Let's get some food first, then I'll drop you at your place," Kabir said, breaking Rahul's train of thought.
They stopped at a local dhaba near Rahul's suburban apartment. The owner, a woman who still carried herself with a lot of grace, took one look at Rahul and her demeanor changed instantly. She personally served them, and Rahul noticed their portions were nearly double the standard size.
When it came time to pay, she refused to take the full amount, giving them a "neighborhood discount" that brought a ₹800 meal down to ₹400. Before they left, she even lingered by their table, clearly wanting to ask for Rahul's number. Rahul, maintaining a polite but firm distance, declined.
Kabir watched the interaction with pure envy. "Bhai, seriously... teach me. I'm willing to pay tuition fees for this level of game!"
They finally reached Rahul's apartment. Rahul immediately opened his laptop; he needed to dump over ten days of high-definition footage before the buyers arrived for the meeting. Organizing it all was going to be a massive project.
"Kabir, do me a favor," Rahul shouted from his desk. "Grab the DJI camera out of my backpack for me."
Kabir, who was having a smoke on the balcony, walked over to the bag. "Where is it?"
"Side pocket."
Kabir unzipped the main compartment by mistake. The second the zipper cleared, his jaw dropped. He let out a yell that probably reached the neighbors.
"RAHUL! BHAI! WHY THE HELL IS THERE SO MUCH CASH IN YOUR BAG?!"
Rahul rushed out of the room. He looked into the backpack and saw two thick, neatly rubber-banded bundles of 1,000 Taka notes resting right on top of his clothes.
Rahul picked one up, and the images of Anisha and Anika smiling at him at the airport flashed in his mind. They must have tucked this in while I was in the shower before we left.
A lump formed in his throat. It would be a total lie to say he wasn't deeply moved.
Kabir was practically vibrating with excitement. "Holy crap, Bhai! Who gave you this? It was that billionaire girl, wasn't it?"
"Bhai, you aren't just a vlogger anymore... you are officially the gold standard for Indian men everywhere!"
Expert Guide Follow-up:
Rahul has returned to Mumbai with a backpack full of cash and a new, magnetic aura. As he prepares for the meeting with the homebuyers, he finds out Ananya is waiting for him downstairs. Should he use this new financial leverage to settle his debts and move on, or should he use it to show Ananya exactly what she lost?