The girl's father pushed her and the journalists around her. Clara approached me. I had expected a smile and some praise—I had saved her from a big disaster. Without realizing it, my cheek turned red; for the first time a girl had slapped me.
"Mr. Vikas, this is my home, and it has its sanctity. You can't sleep with any woman here. Please understand—get out of my house. I solve my personal problems myself. I don't need help from anyone,"
she looked like someone whose heart had been broken for the second time. I took a deep breath. I had been very careless. I had just realized the mistake of what I did. Did this happen because I carried out the system's mission, or because I carried it out in the wrong way?
I hadn't been paying attention to her shouting and her words. I approached her, picked up my coat from the ground, then said, "I'm sorry if my behavior was insulting, but I have my reasons, and these were the suitable circumstances. I can't explain my intentions—you'll find me at Crimson Light if your offer is still on the table."
I left the house. I was walking without direction, not knowing where I wanted to go. I stopped at the bus stop. There were several people whispering loudly enough for me to hear.
"Didn't you see the live broadcast? It's that young man whom the billionaire's wife cheated with. Damn it, he's good-looking, nothing special about him,"
one of the women in the back said, and her sister replied, "Dear, maybe she did it because he's good in bed. Heh, if someone like him were offered to me, I'd throw him in the trash. Look at who would accept someone like him."
I frowned sharply and looked at them, and the two of them turned in opposite directions. Why does all the news point to the idea that I'm not worthy? "What are my current stats, system? How can I become more handsome, how can I raise my stats?"
I said, while Clara's slap still hurt my heart. Even with this system, there are girls I can't subdue.
[Name: Vikas Alexander
Level: One
Life Points: 190
Resistance: 6/10
Attractiveness: 4/10
(Attractiveness can be increased through automatic advancement to Level Two and through personal grooming)
Harem Wing: Closed. One mission remains to open it.
Properties: Crimson Light Bar (Level One)]
I pressed on the system shop tab. Anger was really overtaking me. The comments of those two women increased my self-loathing. I looked at the open sections—there are types of women who aren't impressed unless you're truly filthy rich.
[System Paid Offer:
You can choose one of the closed sections of the shop in exchange for reducing your Resistance Points to zero.]
Wait, wait—this system is planning to make me stuck at this level in that case. No, I won't take the easy way. I'll go to the gym, to the barber, and I'll polish my appearance.
I got off the bus. I had no money. The whispering inside the bus increased. "Listen, man, if you don't have money, don't ride the bus again. Use your legs and run. I bet you're good at using that one tree in your forest,"
the driver closed the bus. I clenched my teeth. I don't have money. What was I thinking when I got on the bus? I'm still poor Vikas, without a job yet, just trying to stay alive as much as possible, living on the mercy of this system just to get revenge.
I stopped two buildings away from the bar's location. I was walking with a single goal in my mind—to win this game. I had thought it was a small bar at the end of the road. I was standing in front of a six-story building. The doorman bowed to me the moment he saw me, as if he recognized me.
"Mr. Vikas, I'm Deputy Manager Max. He went out and will be back in a few hours. Mr. Mukher asked me to take care of your needs,"
he said. I didn't reply; I had no desire to talk to anyone. I entered the first hall. It was quiet, with an old-style design and crimson lights. There were two waitresses pouring wine for some customers who looked middle-class.
"Here, the more your value rises, the more you're allowed to go up to the higher floor,"
Mukher said while adjusting his suit. Yes, I noticed that the difference between the brands of our clothes was reflected even in their value.
"Take me to the manager's office,"
I said. Mukher stepped forward. On one of the floors, I saw Matty. Ha—was I dreaming? That was the fifth floor, the millionaires' floor, the elite of the rich. She was entering one of the suites.
"Oh, that is Madam Matty Cloud, the wife of the billionaire Cloud. She's a loyal customer of this bar since its founding. The manager's office is up on the sixth floor,"
he said. How I wished to follow her, but I held back. I don't have the leeway to draw her attention. She has the richest man—if I want to break her, I have to become better than her husband.
I sat on the chair. There were surveillance screens filling the front wall—so many of them. "This violates customer privacy,"
I said without thinking. Mukher came closer and said, "These are the cameras of the sixth floor. The rich like to record their intimate moments. It's a service the bar provides them in exchange for protection."
The only screen that caught my eye was the one showing my former manager. I pointed to it without realizing it, and Mukher smiled as he said, "That's confidential information. That client is used to this kind of relationship. I'm surprised her relationship with her husband has lasted until now. I was shocked when she got married."
"Do you keep all the recordings of the sixth floor?"
I asked as I sat behind the desk that belonged to the owner of this place. I felt a bit at ease, until Mukher's voice came, "Recently, they are not being kept because of Madam Matty. She has reserved the sixth floor, and when she is not there, she allows us to host only a few people in it."
I laughed until my eyes almost teared up. That insolent woman will not control this place. "Mukher, we're going to make some changes. I want this bar redesigned— even the rules will be rewritten,"
I said while staring at Matty, who was in her happiest moments, intoxicated with pleasure.