Ultimate Revenge!

003

Ethan didn’t bother with this Mr. Adams, he was just a man close to death, not worth worrying about, and continued eating heartily. After filling his stomach, he decided he wouldn’t go to the company to see that woman today; first, he’d take a look at his stats.

He hadn’t expected his Intelligence stat to be so high. Dexterity was high, he could understand that, since he’d realized his own cooking skills were quite good, even personally recognized by a three-star Michelin chef. He also had other minor skills, like paper folding and sewing.

“Could it be that all those times I tried to please Isabella actually counted as a form of intelligence?” Ethan mused.

“Ting: The System updates the host’s stats with complete transparency. Please do not underestimate yourself.” Cashie’s mechanical voice rang out.

“Thank you, I understand now.” Ethan replied gratefully to Cashie.

Alright, no matter how good his mind or hands were, if his strength and constitution were weak, he’d still be a good-for-nothing. Of course, he needed to balance out his stats. Ethan immediately used the 10 free attribute points from the Starter Pack, raising Strength to 10, Constitution to 12, and Agility to 11.

“Doesn’t seem like anything’s changed.” Ethan mumbled after assessing his body.

“Ting: Of course the host wouldn’t notice. The System balances your body’s stats perfectly, as if this was your original body.” Cashie reminded him.

“So that’s how it is. That’s good.” Ethan nodded.

Taking his phone out of his pocket, Ethan tried to keep himself calm as he messaged his parents. His heart was in turmoil. The memory of helplessly standing before his parents’ memorial photos was truly terrifying; right now, he wasn’t strong enough emotionally to hear their voices directly. His family wasn’t rich, but they lived comfortably, and his parents’ baozi shop was always crowded. According to memories from his past life, after a series of events, his father died a tragic death saving him, and his mother, already frail, believed both her husband and son died in that accident and died of heartbreak.

Reading his mother’s gentle texts and his father’s strict reminders, Ethan nearly burst into tears but held it back. Don’t worry, Mom and Dad, this life, even if it kills me, I’ll protect you both.

Ethan shook his head to calm himself, then began preparing to complete his daily quest. A lazy exerciser by nature, these tasks might seem simple at a glance but were a real challenge for him, and of course, he wasn’t about to use the mansion’s gym; he couldn’t be bothered touching the stuff his domineering wife used.

He packed a set of clothes and a towel into a backpack and left the house, walking to a gym.

Ten minutes later, he arrived. Registration was simple and fast. He already had the workout from Cashie, so there was no need to hire a PT.

“Start daily quest.” Ethan said to Cashie.

“Ting: The System will now guide you through the quest. Please begin warm-up as instructed.”

A rectangular System window appeared in front of Ethan, showing an image of himself performing the moves. Ethan quickly followed along; though he was a bit clumsy at first, he soon got the hang of it. As expected of workouts given by the System, just the warm-up alone made him feel his muscles stretching rapidly, and sweat poured out like a river.

“Ting: Warm-up complete. Begin the main exercises.” the System’s mechanical voice sounded again.

Ethan started doing the exercises according to the instructions. These were all basic moves, but they required a certain level of accuracy, and the System was always quick to point out his mistakes and provide detailed corrections.

“Finally done, almost killed me.” Ethan gasped, barely able to stand. It felt like he’d just survived a torture session, but his spirits were high, as if his entire body had been remade.

“Ting: Daily Quest 1/?? completed: Strength +1, Constitution +1. Congratulations, host. The reward has been granted.”

“Ting: Received Effort Pill x1. Please use it promptly.”

He hadn’t expected to get a reward item. Ethan clicked to check the details:

“Effort Pill: A recovery pill used after completing the System’s body training. Helps accelerate recovery and muscle growth. Reduces muscle soreness by 90%.”

“Good stuff!” Ethan quickly took the pill. Immediately, the muscle pain tormenting him eased dramatically, no longer nearly as bad as before.

Ethan stretched his body, excited, then went to shower and change into clean clothes. Finished, he pulled out his phone to book a taxi, he was eager to try out the skills and talent he’d summoned.

Sitting in the taxi, he opened the System panel to review his skills and talents. Their names were self-explanatory, so Ethan already knew how to use them, but he still checked anyway:

First, the skill: Increase Selling Price by 10%, Decrease Purchase Price by 10%, extremely useful for a broke guy like him, with a cooldown of one day. Ever since he entered this mansion as a live-in son-in-law, he’d only gotten 500 spending money a month, and all he could think about was gifts and ingredients for delicious meals for his CEO wife. Looking back, he really wanted to slap himself, his genuine devotion was treated like garbage, yet he still clung to her for four years. But better to wake up late than never.

Next, his talent: Beautiful Handwriting. Being a talent, it was like a natural gift, unlike the “hack” skills, it had no cooldown.

Ethan quickly arrived at his destination, a bustling shopping mall. He’d deliberately chosen one not owned by the Knight family.

“Looks like I should buy a car for convenience, and it’s time to get a job to make my own money too. I’m different now, I don’t have to care about my appearance or be afraid of my domineering wife and the Knight family anymore.” Ethan muttered to himself as he strolled.

He was in high spirits now, as if a heavy chain had finally been lifted. He was free; he could do whatever he wanted, without having to care about anyone’s mood or curry favor. Glancing at his reflection in a shop window, then at the phone in his hand, Ethan smiled softly:

“It’s time to change. Goodbye, past self.”

Ethan stepped into a smartphone store:

“This phone is $2,000 and this tablet is $3,000. That’s a total of $5,000, sir.” the sales clerk politely handed him the invoice.

“Activate skill: Increase Selling Price by 10%, Decrease Purchase Price by 10%.” Ethan silently muttered to himself.

Suddenly, the clerk seemed startled, as if he’d just remembered something, and said:

“I’m sorry, sir, your total is $4,500.”

WOW!!! Incredible. No wonder it’s the legendary hacking skill from the System, it really let him make a killing here.

Ethan took out the card from his Starter Pack to pay. The card was a silver-gray color with no patterns, but the sales clerk accepted it like it was nothing out of the ordinary.

“Payment successful, thank you for your purchase.” the clerk said politely, handing the card back to Ethan.

“By the way, do you buy back used phones?”

“We do, sir. Please let me check your device.”

Ethan handed over the phone that had been with him all these years. After inspecting it for a while, the clerk spoke:

“Sir, although your phone has minimal scratches and is still functioning well, our store can only offer you $100. We can’t go any higher.”

“Activate skill: Increase Selling Price by 10%, Decrease Purchase Price by 10%.” Ethan smirked and silently muttered again.

“We can offer you $110, sir.”

“Deal.” Ethan laughed inside, feeling elated.

“Ting: Skill ‘Increase Selling Price by 10%, Decrease Purchase Price by 10%’ is now on cooldown. Cooldown duration: 24 hours.”