When he said these words, the customers were both shocked and surprised.
"Ain't no way the service was this different."
"Yeah, I tried to buy something earlier even at double the price, but he said everything was already pre-ordered."
"This kid really laid out his priorities straight up," another customer muttered.
...
Hearing the loud gossip around her, the girl simply giggled and paid it no mind before replying.
"About three," she said.
"Sure,"
With a single word, he picked up a plastic bag containing three fried chickens and handed it to her.
"Hehe, thanks. Here's the payment, no need to change it and just keep the change, I'm in a hurry. Bye," she said before turning around and leaving.
As she turned around, the lanyard of her ID swung into view, and he caught a glimpse of the name printed on it: Mia Arden.
"Hmm, what a beautiful name," he murmured inwardly as he turned his attention back to fulfilling the pre-ordered requests.
"Hey kid, I'm here to pick up my order. Here's the payment," the man said, handing over his bill.
Remembering that he had given part of his order to Mia, John couldn't help but let out a strange smile.
"It seems I accidentally gave away some of your order. Is it alright if I cook you a fresh one? I'll double it as compensation, how about that?" he asked.
Seeing him bargain while clearly making up an excuse, those who were still around couldn't help but laugh.
"Oi, kid, that excuse was way too smooth," one man said, shaking his head.
"Yeah, yeah. Next time just admit that you're trying to impress her, am I right, young man?" another added loudly.
"Can you all stop giving the kid confidence? If she comes back tomorrow, he might give everything away and leave us with nothing."
"Yes, yes, you're right," another customer added, causing even more laughter around the stall.
Hearing their comments, John naturally felt embarrassed. In truth, what he did was simply a gesture of thanks.
If it weren't for her taking the first step, the others might not have followed at all. However, his actions seemed to have taken on a different meaning.
The man who was asked to wait didn't argue and simply nodded his head. Since his workplace was only an hour away and he still had plenty of time, so it wasn't a problem.
On top of that, he was getting three extra portions, so it wasn't a bad deal at all.
Then John started his cooking and this time Live, seeing how he cooked the fried chicken and his serious expression everyone was mesmerized.
"This kid is an amazing cook. Just look at how calm his hands are and how he controls the oil. Even fried chicken shouldn't smell this good," someone muttered in disbelief as the aroma spread.
"He isn't doing anything fancy, but look at that oil, look at the timing. You can really tell that the smell is different from those other stalls," another man muttered while licking his lips.
"He's just frying chicken, right? So why does it smell like something you'd line up for at night," another customer said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"I know, right? Everything looks so simple, the movements, the seasoning, but somehow it feels different," an older man commented, his eyes glued to the pan.
With that, John finished the first batch and handed it to the man who had been waiting.
After that the customers began to line up, which is a sight to behold as the line stretched nearly two meters long.
Even students who were already late and office workers rushing to work didn't care, as long as they could savor the taste.
And once they tasted it, it was all worth the wait. Despite being overwhelmed by the sudden surge of customers, John didn't panic and instead focused calmly on his cooking.
To keep the taste consistent, he placed the cooked fried chicken on a large tray and let the first customers in line choose one by one.
When he finally ran out, he informed the remaining customers, who were clearly disappointed. He told them to wait for a moment while he went to the market to restock.
With no other choice, some decided to wait, while others couldn't afford to. Being late was acceptable, but being too late wasn't, so they had no choice but to leave.
When John returned, half of the line was already gone, which was to be expected. Wasting no time, he started cooking again.
By afternoon, he simply ate some chicken for his meal and continued working.
As the day went on, even more customers arrived, and he began to struggle without anyone to help him.
When afternoon passed and evening came, he decided to close later than usual. Finally, when the clock struck seven in the evening, he shut down the stall, feeling worn out and exhausted.
"Haays, working really is a hassle. Lucky for me, this kind of hard work is nothing new," he said as he pushed the cart back to the apartment.
After taking a shower, he went straight to bed, "So tired. System, how much money will I get after this?" he asked.
...
[Quest: Sell Fried Chicken
Description: This is a good job
Objective: Just sell some chicken lil bro...
Reward: Money (Click Me)]
...
[Calculating…]
[For today's sales, you sold approximately 182 fried chickens, earning 2,730 pesos. Including tips and kept change, your total earnings amounted to 2,915 pesos.]
[After processing the sales and applying the appropriate rewards, you have been granted: 40,000 pesos]
"What?!" John almost screamed at the huge amount of money he had received.
"You're not messing with me right system?" he asked, still in disbelief.
[No, I am not] - The system replied simply.
"Wow. That's a massive amount of money. With this, I think I can survive for four to five months without working, as long as I budget it properly," he said.
Then his phone rang, and he saw a notification showing that the money had been credited to his card.
Feeling satisfied, he decided to rest for the night, but then he remembered that he still had two remaining quests to complete.
When he remembered this, he immediately grew anxious, wondering what to do next. Since it's such a waste if he cannot do something productive.
"I want to walk toward the door," he declared.
However, the system did not respond. He sat on the bed for a moment, confused, wondering why the panel hadn't appeared.
Thinking it hadn't heard him clearly, he blurted out again.
"I want to roll on the bed."
"I want to swim on the floor."
"I want to masturbate with my pants on,"
"I want kick the pillow,"
While his mouth kept spouting random lines, nothing seemed to work until he finally said,
"I want to smash the window."
Ding..
[Quest: Smash, Smash, Smash]
[Description: Returning to your old habits is not always a bad thing.]
[Objective: Smash the window and the quest will be completed.]
[Reward: Trust and favorability with Ruth and Claire will be reduced to zero.]
...
Reading it, he was stunned, "Isn't this supposed to be a reward? Why does it feel more like a punishment?"
Shaking his head, he began to wonder what would be worth doing for his remaining two quests. His eyes then soon landed on the cabinet.
Inside, there were two books stacked together. His old self had never bothered to check them, so he decided to see what they were.