Chapter 8 — Second Target (Wealth Foresight Awakened)
[ATTRACTION LEVEL — DEEPENED]
[LOYALTY — RISING]
The notifications faded one by one, and the glowing panel dissolved into nothing.
Silence slowly came.
I lay there for a few seconds, staring at the ceiling. Jade's body scent still lingered on my shirt. Her tears, body warmth, angelic voice. Everything replayed in my head on repeat. This felt like a dream, but if I was really dreaming then I don't wanna wake up.
I exhaled slowly.
"Alright," I muttered. "Back to reality."
The system hummed faintly, as if waiting for that sentence. The first thing reality threw at me was hunger, Then exhaustion. Then the most depressing thought possible.
My face went flat.
"... My balance".
I logged into my online banking on the old computer.
The numbers slowly loaded taking for ever.
Current Balance: $14.27
I kept staring, but nothing changed.
"You got to be fuckin kidding me, right now"
Fourteen dollars and twenty-seven cents.
"2009 or not… broke is broke."
I zoomed in like somehow more zeroes would appear if I looked closer.
They didn't.
I dropped my head back against the pillow.
"So I'm handsome, stronger, upgraded… and fuckin' broke."
The system chimed.
[Reality Check Completed.]
[Congratulations, You are officially poor.]
I glared at the empty air.
"…Did you just congratulate me?"
[It seemed appropriate.]
I laughed once under my breath. Not happily. Just the slightly insane kind people do when life keeps screwing them up.
"Fourteen dollars In 2009, that was enough for a couple of burgers and a bus ride. Not enough for important stuff."
Memories from my other life pulsed through my chest — the apartment I could barely afford, long shifts, stress.
Emily complaining about money.
Then cheating anyway.
With Zack. The same Zack who called himself "brother." My jaw tightened. The room felt colder.
The system spoke again, softer.
[Host's emotional state has shifted.]
"Yeah," I muttered. "I noticed."
I sat up slowly on the bed.
"System."
[I am listening.]
"I remember things from the future," I said quietly.
"I remember a lot from the future… but not all of them are clear. Dates are kinda blurry and some companies name mix together in my head.
[Correct.]
"I don't want to stay broke this time, I'm not living the same life twice."
Silence.
Then the System spoke again
[Ambition detected.]
[Desire level rising.]
[ Desire for wealth saved ]
[Additionally…]
A new panel blinked alive.
[DESIRE SHOP — UNLOCKED]
I stared.
"What?"
[List of purchasable items, boosts, and temporary upgrades is now available in exchange for Desire Points.]
My heart kicked.
"Open it."
The panel expanded into dark-blue light.
[DESIRE SHOP]
• Minor Luck Boost (24 hours) — 50 Desire Points
• Charm Amplifier Lv.1 (Temporarily increases attraction) — 80 Desire Points
• Minor Wealth Foresight (Business opportunity hint) — 120 Desire Points
• Body Recovery Enhancement — 50 Desire Points
• Seduction Aura Lv.2 Unlock Requirement Display — ???
• Random Gacha Spin — 100 Desire Points
• teleportation skill — 2,500
Desire points
• Time rewind within 1 minute — 500 Desire points
My fingers curled.
"Wealth foresight."
[Locked until Host selects it.]
Price: 120 Desire Points.
I checked my stats again.
[Desire Points: 225]
"I can afford it."
[Correct.]
"But is it worth it?" I muttered.
The system remained quiet not bothering to answer me. It let me think.
My mind raced. Future headlines. Viral products. Stocks. Names of companies that didn't matter now but became giants later.
Money meant freedom, mentor independence. And, Independence meant never needing Emily.
And never bowing my head to Zack again.
Just because I remember the future doesn't mean I know every number, every date, every company name. My memories are just fragments. and Minor Wealth Insight is the missing piece, that connects them, that shows the clear part.
"Buy Minor Wealth Foresight."
[Confirmed.]
Points dropped.
225 → 105.
A rush of information poured through me it felt Like someone had cleaned years of dust off my thoughts. Information clicked together on its own. I remembered business names, Concepts and Markets.
I saw a small startup app nobody took seriously now…but later, it exploded globally. I saw the early rise of a cheap coin people mocked before it shot up. I saw shortages, trends, sudden shifts that everyone else would only realize when it was too late.
I sucked in a slow breath.
"Oh shit… this is insane."
[Your mind has been temporarily aligned toward profitable opportunity identification.]
[Duration: 96 Hours.]
Four days.
Four days of ability to see gold while others saw trash.
I opened my bank app again.
Fourteen dollars stared back.
Fourteen dollars and the future in my head.
"I need capital," I muttered.
"Even if I know where to place bets, I need money to make money."
[That is possible.]
The words snapped me upright.
"Possible… how?"
[You already told me, Host.]
[You now have wealth foresight]
Power sat right there, staring me deep in the face. So close I could almost taste it.
"But I don't have starting money," I muttered. "Fourteen dollars won't buy me future domination."
[For now.]
"For now?"
[Wealth comes in stages. Seduction, opportunity, leverage, influence.]
A teasing tone crept in.
[And, occasionally, very rich lonely women.]
I blinked.
"…Are you really kidding me?"
[I am completely serious.]
The System sounded like it was smiling.
[Your path to resources may not begin at a bank.]
[It may begin in a living room.]
[Or a bedroom.]
A face flashed through my thoughts.
Zack's mother. Beautiful, lonely, rich
Neglected in my first life.
And the one woman Zack bragged about being overprotective of. In my past life, I respected the boundary.
This time?
My reflection in the dark screen smirked back at me without trying.
"I won't break the ones who don't deserve it," I murmured.
"But Zack?"
Heat filled my veins.
"Zack will pay."
The phone suddenly buzzed in my hand.
I didn't even need to look to know who it was.
His name glowed across the screen.
ZACK
A thin smile stretched across my lips.
Speak of the devil.
I answered.
"Yo, Alex!" Zack's cheerful voice burst through the speaker, familiar, fake.
"Where you at, man? Haven't seen you since earlier."
Every word scraped.
I could hear Emily's moans from my past life under that same voice. Could still see him talking dirty to her while staying inbetween her legs.My grip tightened — just enough that the plastic casing cracked a bit.
"Home," I said simply
Keep it steady and low, Don't expose anything.
"Heard you got pranked in class earlier," Zack laughed. "You good? You sound weird."
You sound weird.
Yeah, Weird like a man who remembered you in bed with his wife while smiling in his face.
"I'm fine," I said calmly.
Looking at the reflection on the screen,rage flickered behind my eyes like a violent storm.
Relax, Breathe in breathe out.
Don't show it yet.
Zack kept talking, clueless.
"Cool, cool. So hey, you free today? I was thinking you could swing by my place. My mom's cooking and stuff. And I gotta talk to you about something."
There it was,Fate had a funny sense of humor. His mother,My next victim.
"Talk about what?" I asked.
Hesitating just a little.
"Oh, just some stuff, man. Also… I kinda need a favor."
Of course, He needed me Again. I should have known. It was the usual. He either came for help or for money. His mom was pretty loaded, but she was strict and didn't usually give him much cash. So he treated my wallet like his backup plan, While he stole everything behind my back.
Anger surged, hot and violent but I managed to suppress it.
Not yet.
"Yeah," I said, voice still smooth. "I can come over."
"You're a lifesaver, dude," Zack laughed. "Mom will be happy you're around too. She's been kinda lonely lately."
My smile sharpened.
"I know."
"What?"
"I mean," I corrected lazily, "yeah, she's always nice. Haven't seen her in a while."
"Oh, true. Anyway, swing by in like an hour?"
"Sure."
"Great. See you, bro!"
The line.ends
Bro, That word burned.
Silence creeped in slowly,
Then the system broke it.
[Host's rage threshold is elevated.]
[Self-control level: impressive.]
[Recommendation: maintain emotional stability when confronting past-life triggers.]
"I'm fine," I muttered.
[You are absolutely not fine.]
I laughed once.
The system almost sounded amused.
[However…]
[Your path has opened.]
A faint outline of a silhouette appeared in my thoughts — elegant, mature curves, tight shirt, soft tired eyes that hid a desperate hunger for attention.
Zack's mother. My Second target, My lips tilted upward slowly as a smirk made it's way to my face. This time, I wouldn't be naive.
This time, I wouldn't play the loyal friend while watching my life get stolen.
Armed with, fourteen dollars an upgraded charm, minor wealth foresight,A lonely rich MILF and my traitor friend. Everything lined up too perfectly.
I stood up and stretched. My body felt light, tightened with new strength. I changed my shirt, fixed my hair without thinking, and caught my reflection.
The kind of man mothers warned their daughters about...and still secretly thought about anyway.
The system chimed one last time.
[Aura of Seduction — Available]
[Do you wish to activate?]
I paused deep in thought. No not yet. But later? At Zack's house? With his lonely Mom at home.My answer formed quietly in my head. The panel hovered, waiting.
A slow, shameless grin spread across my lips as I headed for the door.