Urban System in America

Chapter 3: Mysterious System Gifts

He was totally shocked by what he saw in the mirror.

It was indeed his reflection, but he could hardly believe it was him.

The man in the mirror was still himself, yet he looked like an upgraded version—like comparing an NPC to a main character in a game.

No matter how handsome an NPC was, it would always pale in comparison to a protagonist, who was carefully designed and sculpted to perfection.

He felt exactly like that. He had always considered himself good-looking, but standing before his current self, he felt embarrassed to even mention his previous appearance.

His ocean-blue eyes had undergone a mysterious change. Before, they resembled the tranquil sea of the human world; now, they seemed like the boundless ocean of a god's domain.

His facial features had been refined to the point where even the slightest alteration would disrupt the harmony of his beauty.

His skin had a rosy luster, as smooth as a baby, and his body had transformed in ways that left him stunned.

He couldn't spot a single open pore, his height had increased beyond six feet, and he could faintly make out the contours of six-pack abs and defined mermaid lines.

After feeling both jealous and appreciative of his own transformation, he finally consoled himself. At least it was still him.

If someone else had received this upgrade, he might have wished for a second transmigration out of sheer envy.

"This is the rhythm of becoming a male god," he thought, before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

After laughing like a maniac for a while, he suddenly coughed and glanced around in embarrassment.

Luckily, no one had witnessed his wretched display—otherwise, his carefully crafted male god persona would have been destroyed before it even had a chance to form.

He wrapped himself in a bathrobe and returned to his suite, only to be greeted by the chaotic mess on his bed.

Speechless, he decided to ignore it for now. Settling into a comfortable chair, he eagerly turned his attention to the remaining two prizes.

After a moment of contemplation, he clicked on the golden paper.

As soon as he did, it materialized in front of him. He picked it up and saw that it was a share transfer agreement—already signed and notarized. That meant it was legally binding.

Curious, he quickly scanned through the document. The moment he saw the company name and the number of shares, his body stiffened w(ﾟДﾟ)w.

He scratched his head in confusion ¯(°_o)/¯.

Roch Industries? He had never heard of it. He wasn't sure whether he had just struck gold or received a useless dud.

He just pretended to be shocked. (〜￣▽￣)〜.

It seemed like his acting skills were still good.

The agreement stated that he now owned 5% of Roch Industries. But without knowing the company's worth, it was impossible to tell whether that meant anything.

He immediately picked up his phone and searched for "Roch Industries" online.

The results left him puzzled. All he found was fragmentary information and a simple website without any real details.

He frowned.' A company at this age without a proper website? Even a second-rate startup has a decent online presence. This must be a crappy company.'

He couldn't help but complain. 'What kind of crappy company has the system rewarded me with?'

With no other choice, he decided to ask the system.

He cleared his throat and with great majesty decided to confront the system." Lord system, can you please tell me about this company."

[Of course, Host.] The system replied coolly.

He was speechless about this matter-of-factly reply.

His lips twitched. "Then why didn't you tell me earlier?"

[You didn't ask, Host.]ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ

He swore he heard a trace of disdain in the system's tone, but he had no evidence.

So, he decided to forget about that for now.

'The night is still young—ahem! Life is still long.'

He clicked on Roch Industries' information, and in an instant, all the details flooded his mind.

A moment later, he was truly petrified this time.

Roch Industries wasn't some small-time company. It was one of the most powerful and valuable private conglomerates in the world. That explained why no information about it was publicly available—privately held companies weren't required to disclose financial details.

Roch Industries was a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Wachita, Kensas. Founded in 1940 by Fred B. Roch, it has expanded into various industries, including: Oil Refining & Chemicals, Pulp & Paper, Consumer Goods, Building Materials, Finance & Investments.

Its annual revenue exceeded 100 billion dollars.

100 billion dollars!

That wasn't even its total value—just its yearly earnings.

Moreover, Roch Industries had tremendous political influence. It spent massive sums on lobbying, shaping policies to benefit its business empire.

And what was lobbying? In simple terms, it was giving money to politicians to make them do what tyou want—and it was completely legal.

Of course, lobbying was an art, not something amateurs could handle. A single misstep could offend the wrong people.

But Roch Industries was a master at this game.

The fact that the company had remained private since 1940 was proof of its power.

Many corporations and investors tried to acquire shares but failed.

And now he was a shareholder of such a company. You can imagine the value of these shares.

It isn't just monetary value; its influence is far greater than its monetary value.

His mind was blanked for a moment. He couldn't believe that, from a poor pauper, he became a genuine billionaire, as just his shares in this company were valued in the billions, even though he couldn't sell those shares, but their value was still there, and he could still get dividends every year.

He felt ashamed of himself when he thought how happy he was when he found that he was worth over 100 million dollars.

System father is still the father, no, no, its grandfather, he just gave billions of dollars like it's nothing.

It seems like he has to keep a low profile in the future, otherwise he will slap himself and it will be truly embarrassing.

Yet here he was, a 20-year-old university student, now holding 5% of this legendary company.

After finally processing his newfound wealth, he turned to the last prize.

Given how shocking the first two rewards were, this one had to be just as insane.

He clicked on the gun-and-shield badge, and, just like before, blinding light filled the room before vanishing.

Instead of receiving a physical item, a new system window appeared before him, filled with information.

The moment he clicked on it, the system's pleasant yet mechanical voice echoed in his mind:

[Congratulations, Host, on acquiring Arcanum security company.]

Just like that, all the details about the company flooded his mind.

This security company really lives up to its name of the mysterious security company.

Because this security company was established 20 years ago and only provides security to the truly rich or powerful.

It has its own criteria for selecting its clients and nobody knows what this criterion is, but you can always find them around the really rich and powerful around the world.

And as long as you can get their security services, you don't have to worry about getting assassinated or getting yourself in trouble.

Many people didn't believe in this evil and tried to kill people under their protection, but without exceptions all such attempts resulted in failure and the, assaulters paid a heavy price for their actions. And since then, this company has become a legend.

And the tentacles of this company seemed to spread in all major countries and cities around the world.

But the most surprising thing is that this company didn't seem to be interested in anything other than providing security.

Some African warlords tried to recruit them by paying a lot of money, but without exception, they were also rejected.

Some government agencies also tried to take control of this company, but in the end, not only did they fail, but they also paid a heavy price.

After repeated failed attempts, they decided on a roundabout method and tried to find its owner or shareholders, even exhausted tons of resources, but they couldn't find a single clue about its real owner.

So, in the end, governments and powerful people settled on the status quo, as they didn't seem to be interested in anything other than the security work.

And they also might need their help someday. Who knows what could happen in the future?

Because for the rich and powerful, their safety is the most important, they already have all the riches and influence that they couldn't possibly spend for generations to come.

But as long as they died, no matter how much money they had, it would be useless.

After finally processing all the information about the company, he was shocked and somewhat speechless.

Shocked about the great power and influence of this company and speechless because who would have thought that the mysterious owner, whom all the governments around the world couldn't find, was just 20 years old and still a university student.

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

(end of chapter)