Chapter 1: The Super Money Collecting System
"Hey, don't you want to run? Why did you stop?"
Aaron Gage gazed at Daniel Kennedy scornfully. He hugged a beautiful woman and said, "Aggis, my darling, is this your ex-boyfriend?"
"Aaron, my God!" Aggis White rolled her eyes. "Please stop making fun of me! Do you think that I would actually date such a poor guy? He doesn’t even have five hundred dollars to his name!"
Daniel heard her and gritted his teeth quietly. Aggis had dated him once before, but now she was acting like she was better than he was.
"He should check himself in the mirror and stop daydreaming," she continued, oblivious to the look of discomfort on Daniel’s face.
He was poor, and, admittedly, five hundred dollars was a lot of money to him. He had cut down to one meal a day to save money for Aggis, but it was not enough! Aggis clearly knew it too, and not only was the woman unmoved by what he had done, but she insisted on insulting him. She said that he was a daydreamer, and that he just wanted to pander to Aaron Gage!
Aaron smirked, walked over to Daniel, and took out a handful of money from his pocket. "Hey, buddy!” He laughed and said, “I guess you are still a virgin. Am I right? Here. Take this money and find some streetwalker. Have some fun on me! Please, I feel bad for you!" Aaron slapped Daniel in the face with his money, teasing and taunting him.
"How about you take this money and use it to treat your mental problem?” Daniel replied. “I think that would be better!" He sneered and gave Aaron a reproachful look.
"You are a f*****g piece of s**t!" Aaron yelled. He turned to his people and said, "Go ahead and beat him! Hit him on the head! Make him retarded!"
Following Aaron's orders, several gangsters began to kick and bully Daniel.
Aaron hugged Aggis and yelled: "Hit him as hard as you can! Ruin his f*****g head! Put him in the hospital and check on his f*****g mental problems later today!"
Daniel protected his head and endured their attack in silence. They punched and kicked him as hard as they could. They beat him until his eyes were bloodshot, but he never made a sound.
A woman yelled from far away: "Hey, what's going on there?"
Everyone stopped and looked back. It was Barbara Maddox.
When Aaron saw her, he whispered into Daniel's ears, "You are poor. Remember that. Being poor is your main problem!"
Barbara shouted again, still from a distance: "Daniel, what's going on over there? Is something wrong?"
"Brother!" Jason Malcolm’s face had changed. He seemed slightly afraid suddenly. "Barbara is coming. Her dad is one of the company’s major shareholders. We had better leave now. I don't want to mess around with her..."
"I knew it!" Aaron spat on the ground. How could such a beautiful fall in love with that poor guy? – he wondered – What's wrong with her eyes? He jabbed his finger in Daniel's face, sneered, and walked away.
As soon as they were gone, Barbara ran over and carefully helped Daniel up. "Are they bullying you again?" she asked.
"No, I'm fine." Daniel shook his head, "No one bullied me. It's my fault. I should be more careful."
It is stupid to rely on a woman – thought Daniel – Sooner or later, I will punish them all!
Barbara sighed. Daniel was sweet and nice, but he was very unlucky. It seemed that he got bullied every time he went outside. He was so stubborn, though, which she supposed was why he refused to admit that he was being bullied. He had his pride still, apparently.
Originally, she had wanted to inform him that his salary and performance fee this month had not been enough to pay back the money the company had advanced him. With the situation the way that it was, though, she thought it might not be the proper time to bring it up.
When she was about to leave, Daniel looked up and said, "Barbara, about the money… I need to pay it back. Just tell me how much and I will give it back to you tomorrow."
Without waiting for her to reply, Daniel limped away and returned to the building where he worked.
Money! Daniel sighed. It's always about the f*****g money! He punched and kicked at the big tree in the small garden in the downstairs foyer. "Why does everything need fucking money?"
Suddenly, a bell rang out in his head and he heard a voice say, "The Super Money Collecting System has been activated!"
Daniel was stunned. What the heck? – he wondered. A Money Collecting System?
A second bell chimed, and the voice said, "The system has found a nearby Money Spot. Would you like the Navigator to lead you to it?"
"Sure!" Daniel said without hesitation.
An image similar to his cell phone’s navigation appeared to his mind’s eye. There was a red spot that he assumed marked his destination, and it was near the back door!
Daniel nervously followed the navigator’s instructions. They led him through the back door and to a large bush outside. He scrambled through the branches and quickly found a black plastic bag.
Daniel pulled it out, opened it up, and when he looked inside, he was stunned. His throat tightened and his heart began to beat faster and faster.
The bag was full of money! “There are at least three hundred thousand dollars here,” he whispered to himself in awe. “Goddamn it!” he exclaimed. “I'm rich now!”
This Super Money Collecting System is damn cool!
The bell chimed for the third time and the voice said, “If you spend the money within the next two hours, you will be entered into a lottery and have the chance to have your navigation area expanded."
In other words... there will be more money!!!!
"What if I can't spend it all?" he wondered.
"If you fail to spend all the money within the allotted amount of time,” the system replied, “your life span will be reduced by fifty percent.”
You will take half of my life? But that is so cruel!
After thinking about it carefully, Daniel was able to relax, and a smile appeared on his face. If he had a Super Money Collecting System, he would not have to worry that he had no money. What's more, he would be entered into a lottery! He would just have to spend all the money. How hard could that be?