Chapter 4: System Upgrade
890 Words
Upon reading Alexis’ reply, Aaron allowed a faint smile to grace his lips, his fondness for the girl growing ever so slightly.
He understood her all too well—her refusal to accept his red envelope was merely an excuse, and even if he were to genuinely invite her to dinner, she would likely decline.
*"Very well, then. I’ll take you out for a meal when the opportunity arises. Goodnight."*
With that brief response, he set the matter aside.
After all, he had far more pressing matters to attend to, leaving little room for idle pleasantries with a stranger.
Silently invoking the word *"System,"* he summoned the interface of the *Tycoon System*.
His gaze immediately darted to the experience bar.
**[Upgrade Progress: 0/10,000]**
A sigh escaped him. It seemed there were no shortcuts to leveling up the system. He had just sent a $2 red envelope—had that counted toward his experience, progression would have been effortless.
But the system, ever meticulous, had accounted for such loopholes. Generosity bore no rewards; neither expenditure nor experience were granted.
Thus, the question remained:
Should he spend $10,000 before midnight to swiftly ascend to Level 2?
Undoubtedly, a higher level would yield greater monetary rewards per second, amplifying his daily gains.
Yet, hardened by years of frugality, Aaron hesitated.
To some, $10,000 might be trivial.
But to him? It represented over a year of relentless toil and scrimping. To part with such a sum before reaping a single benefit from the system left him uneasy.
*Patience, * he told himself.
Once midnight struck and the system’s rewards were confirmed, *then* he would upgrade.
As the clock neared twelve, tension coiled within him.
The seconds crawled, each tick of his phone’s clock stretching the fleeting minutes into an eternity.
**"00:00:00"**
Midnight arrived. Aaron held his breath, awaiting the promised notification.
*"Ding—"*
The sudden chime jolted him, sending a shiver down his spine.
A new message flashed on his screen—not a w******p alert, but an SMS.
**[JPMorgan Chase & Co.]** *Account 3579 received a real-time transfer of $30 on May 16 from Citibank…*
Aaron stared blankly.
*This* was the system’s reward?
*Only thirty dollars?*
Then it dawned on him—he had activated the *Tycoon System* just past eleven. The payout was prorated.
Fifty-some minutes equated to a meager thirty cents per second.
He scrutinized the message, a flicker of disappointment surfacing.
For all its grand promises, the *Tycoon System* has delivered a pittance.
Yet, its significance was undeniable.
The system was *real.*
And if he wished to ascend beyond this paltry sum, swift action was necessary. A few hundred dollars a day hardly befits a *true* tycoon.
The system’s creed was clear: *"To earn, one must first spend."*
His bank balance stood at $10,420—just enough for an upgrade.
No, $10,450 now, thanks to the system’s meager bounty.
Earning was arduous; spending, however, was simple.
But what to purchase?
A flurry of possibilities arose—a high-end laptop, the latest iPhone, designer apparel…
Any of these could easily surpass $10,000.
Yet, indecision gnawed at him.
*Ah, the agony of choice.*
Though, in this case, it was a *luxurious* dilemma.
Glancing once more at the bank notification, Aaron chuckled dryly at his own hesitation.
Years of penny-pinching had conditioned him to overthink.
But now? He could afford indulgence.
With the system’s accelerated returns, recouping this expenditure would take mere days.
Resolute, he opened sss and searched for *iPhone.*
If he was spending, he might as well go all out.
The *iPhone X*—last year’s flagship—boasted a near-$10,000 price tag (*purely fictional, of course. Tim Cook, don’t take this seriously, ha!*).
Two variants: 64GB ($8,300) and 256GB ($9,600).
*Go big or go home.*
He added the Space Gray 256GB model to his cart.
Still shy of $10,000.
A $500 premium case—because anything Apple-adjacent commanded a premium—sealed the deal.
With that, his savings were nearly depleted.
His rationale was simple:
First, the iPhone was *expensive.*
Second, he had never owned one.
At work, the higher earners—especially women—flaunted their iPhones with pride.
Take Abigail, for instance, with her *iPhone 8,* endlessly extolling its buttery-smooth performance and flaunting how her device could buy *five or six* of Aaron’s budget *BLU* phones.
Sure, his $100 BLU wasn’t *terrible*—aside from the agonizing seconds it took to launch w******p.
Now, he would see what the hype was about.
He selected his office as the delivery address—with his late-night returns, home delivery was impractical.
Amazon’s swift shipping ensured arrival by noon the next day.
Order confirmed, he summoned the system once more.
As expected—
**[Current System Level: 2]**
**[Earnings: $0.05 per second]**
**[Upgrade Progress: 86/100,000]**
**[Note: Every $1 spent = 1 EXP]**
**[Congratulations! As a Level 2 reward, you have unlocked a lottery draw. Invoke "System Draw" to proceed.]**
Aaron reread the prompts, satisfaction blooming.
Higher level, greater rewards.
Now, he was a man who earned *five cents per second.*
A far cry from a true tycoon, but progress nonetheless.
Yet, a troubling pattern emerged.
Progression grew exponentially harder.
At Level 1, reaching Level 2 requires *12 days* of passive earnings.
Now, at Level 2, the $10,000 EXP target demanded *23 days.*
If this trend continued, future upgrades would become *grinds.*
- Writer
