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2024-10-29 19:42:56"Hey, you, get me a coffee," the manager ordered as he pointed at Billy.
"Right away, sir," Billy said without batting an eye.
Suddenly, another coworker said, "Get me a coffee too."
"Me too," another said.
"Okay, does anyone else want a coffee?" he asked.
Everyone within hearing distance immediately gave their orders, which he happily accepted. Before he could leave to grab the coffee for everyone, someone stood in his way. Standing before him was Jacqueline, who crossed her arms with a stern expression on her face.
"What's going on here?" she demanded.
Immediately, everyone went silent. No one dared to speak to her. Even though she had only joined the company a few months ago, everyone knew she was on the fast track to being promoted. She had the looks and brains to rise to the top. If they made a mistake, it would be the end for them.
Her green eyes scanned the area as everyone ducked their heads except for the manager. "Well? Why are you all silent?"
"Now, now," the manager said as he gave her a placating gesture. "Mr. Wood here offered to get coffee for everyone."
Jacqueline's eyes narrowed as he focused on the manager and said, "That isn't Billy's job."
Billy quickly intervened and said, "It's alright. It's no trouble. I can get you coffee too."
At his words, her gaze softened as she said, "I'll come with you. It won't be easy carrying all the coffee."
"Wait. Jacqueline, there's something that requires your attention," the manager said as he took a step forward.
She snapped her head in his direction and outright glared at the man. Her long red hair whipped around and nearly hit Billy, who moved back to avoid getting smacked in the face. This time, he chose to remain on the sidelines since there was now no hope of stopping her.
"I doubt you need my help since I'm a new employee. I'll go with Billy to get the coffee," she said in a tone that allowed no arguments.
Then she spun around and grabbed Billy by the arm to drag him out of the room. He could have easily broken out of her grip if he wanted to, but he allowed her to, if only to give himself some peace of mind. It was better to let her blow some steam this way. After walking for a bit, she stopped walking and removed her hand.
Giving him an apologetic look, she said, "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to grab you."
He shrugged. "It's fine. It's better than you losing your temper and getting fired because of me."
Jacqueline scowled as she said, "I don't understand why you put up with them. You should say something instead of letting them walk all over you."
"It's fine," he said as he resumed walking, with her following behind him. "I'm just repaying them for helping me out so much. Even though I'm not qualified, I was able to get this job thanks to my connections."
If it wasn't for his wife and her family, he would have never been able to step foot in the company. He didn't know what they did, but he was grateful to get a well paying job despite never finishing school. Without them, he would be busy flipping burgers or begging on the streets for some change.
"Besides, getting coffee isn't so bad. It gives me a chance to stretch my legs." Then he leaned towards her and whispered conspiratorily, "Also, I can get away from everyone and relax."
She chuckled. "Okay, I can see the benefits, but I still think you should say something. I'm kind of worried that they might take it too far."
"If that happens, I'll deal with it," he said with a grim expression.
Jacqueline didn't look like she believed him, but that was fine with him. He wasn't the type of person to lash out first. However, once someone pushed his buttons, he would never let them go scott free. No one, not even his wife, knew how he used to beat up his bullies when they dared to make fun of his orphan status and talk trash about his parents.
His parents died young, so he barely remembered them, but he knew they were good people. Anyone who could talk badly about them deserved to be sent to the hospital. Luckily, no one suspected he was the one to beat up the bullies. The bullies didn't want to admit it was him, and there had been no other witnesses.
"Do you remember the orders?" Jacqueline asked as they stood in line in the cafe.
Her eyes scanned the menus as Billy said, "I can order."
As soon as they reached the cashier, he immediately listed the entire list of orders. The cashier had to ask him to repeat it a few times since he had said it so fast. After he finished ordering, Jacqueline also ordered her own coffee. However, when she tried to pay, Billy quickly cut her off and used his card.
"I could have paid," Jacqueline grumbled as they sat down to wait for the order.
He shook his head. "I have the money."
His wife had provided him with a card so he would never be short of money. He had really lucked out on having a beautiful, rich wife. Billy sometimes wondered why she picked him out of all the people to date and marry. Combing through his short brown hair, he tried to ignore the way Jacqueline was looking at him.
Even though he had already told her that he was happily married, she still seemed interested in him. Billy couldn't remember being this popular back in his school days. Well, he couldn't really say he was popular if it was only two women, but the point was that he wasn't going to cheat on his wife.
Besides, Jacqueline had plenty of other options to choose from. The manager was obviously interested in her, though he doubted she would ever bat an eye in the man's direction. He didn't seem to be her type. Practically everyone in the office had a crush on her. Even he could see that. If he weren't married, he might have accepted her offer to date when she asked him out a few weeks earlier.
Jacqueline suddenly leaned forward and whispered, "Hey, is it true today is your anniversary?"
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Seeing no reason to lie, Billy said, "Yeah. Where did you hear it from?"Jacqueline shrugged as she said, "I heard some of the other people in our department talking about how you were denied a day off for your anniversary even though you put in your request several weeks in advance."Billy winced. So much for it being confidential. That kind of information shouldn't be allowed to spread. It was a breach of privacy. It didn't take a genius to know who spread it since there had only been a few people involved in the process. The manager immediately came to mind, but he had no proof, so he couldn't accuse him of sharing private information."Anyway, do you still want to leave early to get some things for your wife?" she suddenly asked.He blinked. "Of course. I want to get her a couple things to celebrate our six year anniversary.""I still can't believe you've been married for so long," she mumbled. "You're only twenty two."Ignoring her mutterings, he asked, "Why do you ask? You would
Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System Chapter 3: Unexpected Surprise at Home
Billy whistled a tune as he held his precious cargo to his chest. His wife was going to love what he got her. She had mentioned before that she wanted some new earrings when he asked why she wasn't wearing the ones he got for her a couple months ago. Since he got her red earrings last time to go with her dress, he got blue ones to match her eyes.He paused and shifted his weight so he wouldn't drop the cake, flowers, and champagne while he locked the car. Once he was successful, he turned around and frowned at the other car parked nearby. Billy had never seen the car before. It certainly wasn't one of the cars his wife and her family drove. They must have guests visiting.It would explain why no one had come out to greet him. No one had mentioned guests, but they probably didn't have the chance to tell him. With a shrug, he walked past the car towards the door. The thought of the surprised and pleased look on her face when she saw him return home early with gifts brought a smile to hi
Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System Chapter 4: Deja Vu
Billy gasped and nearly took out the person next to him, who happened to be his manager. The man luckily avoided Billy's swinging arm and glared at Billy, who was trying to process what just happened. He was pretty sure he had been attacked by a crazy person, so why was he back in the office? Then he noticed how his manager looked ready to blow a basket and braced himself."How dare you. I'll have your job for this," the man exploded, with spit flying everywhere.Even though Billy should be upset about the spit landing on his face, he was still trying to figure out what was going on. Had he been daydreaming? He placed a hand on his face as he recalled the pain of having his face being torn apart. It had felt too real to be a dream. What was going on?""Are you listening to me?" the manager demanded as he got into Billy's personal space and stabbed a finger into his chest.Looking down at the finger pointed at his chest, Billy thought about what he should do now. If everything that hap
Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System Chapter 5: Confirmation
At least Jacqueline was still willing to help him out. Billy really needed to repay her for everything, but first he needed to return home and confirm for himself that his wife was really cheating on him. He also needed to figure out what had happened before he died. After thinking about it, he had some idea of what it could be. However, he had to see for himself to confirm his thoughts."Thank you so much. I'll definitely repay you," Billy said.His answer seemed to startle her as she stared at him with a confused expression before she said, "I'm glad to help. Let's grab the coffee before you go."The events that followed after were just as he remembered, though there were some slight differences. It couldn't be helped considering how he had changed some things already. The fact that things were working out so closely, according to his memories, was actually quite frightening. Was it telling him there was no escaping his fate of being kiled?Billy now stood in front of the house, sta
Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System Chapter 6: It’s a Zombie
This time, Billy was ready for the thing that lunged at him. Before it could tear into his face, he stabbed it right between the eyes with his knife. He grimaced as he felt blood splatter across his face. It was only a tiny amount, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling. Raising a hand to wipe some of the drops from his face, he calmly ripped his knife out of the thing in front of him.It dropped to the ground, and he finally noticed the screaming behind him. Looking back, he saw that everyone had gathered and was looking fearfully at him. They had never expected him to kill someone. That was if they could call the thing that attacked him a person. The way it was acting made him think of a zombie.Billy would have normally thought that the idea was ridiculous, but he had died and woken up in the past. He would believe anything at this point. However, this wasn't the time to be idle. Dropping down to his knees, he searched the body for any clues to what was going on. A zombie couldn't just a
Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System Chapter 7: Facing a Zombie Swarm
"What's that?" his wife's mother demanded as she clung to her husband.There was another loud bang, causing several people to scream. Billy took the opportunity to choke the second guard into unconsciousness and deal with the first guard. The man was unprepared for the consecutive punches that Billy threw his way. He fell to the ground with a groan as Billy grimaced.Billy would have preferred to keep them both able bodied for what was about to happen. They needed more people who could actually fight, but they left him no choice. The banging was nonstop as everyone backed away from the door. It looked like no one was dumb enough to open the door after what happened earlier. Good. It would buy them some extra time.Taking the tasers and batons that the guards stupidly didn't use against him, he debated for a moment. After thinking about it, he tossed one of the tasers at his wife, who nearly dropped it. She stared at it before holding it close to her chest. He threw one of the batons a
Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System Chapter 8: Zombie Swarm Aftermath
Billy took a moment to catch his breath after ripping his knife free from the zombie's neck. Observing his surroundings, he could scarcely believe that they had survived the encounter in one piece. Well, not everyone had. The number of people that had survived was but a small fraction of how many there had been to begin with.Of course, he couldn't say for sure that there were no other survivors in the other parts of the building. There was no way to tell unless he searched everywhere. For now, he needed to focus on the survivors that were nearby. The only people left in the vicinity were himself, his wife, and her parents. It wasn't surprising since he had worked hard to protect them from the zombies.He winced at the throbbing pain in his shoulder. Glancing down at his shoulder, he grimaced at the long marks that ran down his arm. A zombie had gotten lucky and managed to claw at his arm. Of course, he got back at the zombie by bashing its head in with his baton before stabbing it re
Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System Chapter 9: The Third Time’s a Charm
Billy gasped as he felt up his chest. The piece of metal that had torn right through his lung was no longer there. In fact, his clothes were clean as a whistle, and the aches and pains he felt from fighting the zombies weren't there. He did feel some phantom pains, but he could tell that his body was fine.That's when he realized how silent it was. Taking a look at his surroundings, he saw that everyone was looking at him with wierded out expressions. Well, it wasn't surprising since he suddenly frantically checked his body for injuries. Anyone would be confused and a bit disturbed by what they were seeing. Even the manager was stunned and speechless.Lowering his arms, he calmly asked, "Is there something you need, sir?"The manager snapped out of it and demanded, "Get me a coffee."It wasn't the exact same words, but they were close enough. As soon as the manager said this, Billy was immediately swarmed with requests. By this point, he should be caving in and accepting their demands
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- Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System
Author's Note
Hello everyone. I just want to thank all my readers who have been following along because it sure has been a doozy. Also, there are several things that I want to let you know.Billy's story has ended, and I'll have to admit that I didn't think it would end so soon. I had a lot of things planned, but after some careful consideration, I ultimately decided to end it early.Just like with Rise of the Demon King: Caleb Gonzales's Rat Race, I might do a rewrite or remake of it.If I do go through with this idea, then I'll just immediately go to eBook and paperback, and it would be very different from the one here. We will have to see, and I'll let everyone know.For now, I'll be focusing on finishing Johnny's story in Rise of the Commoner: Johnny Burns's The Lost Heir, which can be found here: https://www.meganovel.com/story/Rise-of-the-Commoner-Johnny-Burns-s-The-Lost-Heir_31000695378 .It's also going to be ending early. I'm not sure by how much. It might even be shorter than this one. We'
- Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System
Chapter 117: Conditions
After hearing what the woman had to say, Billy released her. She took the chance to elbow him in the face, making his nose bleed, before putting some distance between them. There was a dark look on her face. He scowled, but he didn't retaliate for it. Instead, he went over everything he had learned from her. It had been a lot, and that had only been the surface."Well, what are you going to do now?" she asked."Well, I'll be accepting that proposal of yours," he said as he stood up and brushed the front of his pants.The woman huffed. "See. I told you. I don't know why you insisted on picking a fight when there was no need to fight.""However, I have some conditions," he said.She stared at him in disbelief before blurting out, "What?""You heard me. I won't accept your proposal without my own terms," he said."You can't be serious. You can't just add your own terms. You're already lucky enough to be spared in the first place," she said."It's not like you wanted to. You're only doing
- Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System
Chapter 116: The Truth
"Hold it," Billy said as he held up a hand."Yes?" she asked."Why are you doing this? Why are you preparing to unleash a zombie apocalypse?" he asked."Why?" She took a moment to consider his question before saying, "It's for entertainment."Billy felt the veins in his head bulge from sheer anger. "What?""All of this is meant for entertainment for our followers. Unforunately, we've been having issues making it work, hence the number of tests we performed," she said."Followers? What are you talking about? Are you saying this is a game?" he demanded."A game? No. I guess you can view it as a game, but it isn't. You don't really need to know the details since you don't have the clearance for that information," she said.He gritted his teeth. "Then what can you tell me?""As stated before, we were running tests when we noticed some things were not progressing properly. One of them happened to be you," she said as she poin
- Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System
Chapter 115: Death(?)
Billy coughed up blood as he struggled against the giant zombie's grip. He could hear the others screaming as they fought off the other zombies that surrounded them down below. Unfortunately, he was in no condition to help them as he fought to stay alive. Billy couldn't believe how quickly things had gone horribly wrong.One moment, they were trying to stealthily sneak away. Then the next day, the giant zombie was rushing towards them like a maniac. They had tried to run away when they realized the giant zombie was coming for them, but it easily outpaced them. Whether it was because of its long legs or because it was simply faster than them, it easily caught up to them in no time.If Billy hadn't shoved Jacqueline away, she would have turned into paste beneath the giant zombie's foot. However, the force from its mere step had knocked everyone off their feet, giving the giant zombie time to grab him. The giant zombie's grip tightened, and he could feel his bomes creak i
- Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System
Chapter 114: Moving On
A sound caught everyone's attention, and all eyes turned to the doorway. They didn't see anyone or anything, but after what they had seen from the system, none of them were calm. The tied up woman was even more frantic to get out of the ropes. Unfortunately for her, they held fast, keeping her from getting away. Billy vaguely wondered why she didn't use her power."We're going," Billy declared."Wait," the woman wailed. "Don't leave me."Billy didn't give her a second glance as he walked away from her. He didn't want to stick around to see if the noise was actually something to be worried about. Jacqueline's gaze shifted between the two of them. She clearly didn't want to leave the woman behind, but she could also tell that Billy wasn't going to do that. Then the last person any of them expected to protest spoke up."I think we should let her go," Joshua said.Everyone turned to him as Billy said, "What?""We should let her go," Joshua said.
- Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System
Chapter 113: New Feature
"Are you kidding me?" the tied up woman shrieked, voicing what was on everyone's minds.What was the system thinking? This was basically telling everyone to die. Billy had no clue how many awakened there were, but their group had three awakened, if he still counted as one. That meant the zombies would receive a boost three times greater than if none of them were awakened, and what did they mean by boost? It was so vague that it could mean anything.Were the zombies stronger, faster, smarter, or what? It was impossible for anyone to counteract it without more information, which the system didn't seem to care to give. Billy could feel everyone's gaze on him, as if looking to him for answers that he didn't have. He could understand why Jacqueline and Joshua were doing that, but why was the tied up woman also looking at him?If anything, he should be the last person she should be looking to, considering how he had just threatened her. Well, he supposed that there we
- Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System
Chapter 112: Interrogating the Prisoner (2)
Billy studied the woman's face as the others stared dabsmacked with their jaws hanging. He was just as shocked as they were, but he was better at keeping it off his face. Out of all the things he expected her to say, he didn't expect the woman to tell him that things had gotten off the rails for everyone who had gotten a system and power."Are you really telling the truth?" Billy asked.The woman frantically nodded her head. "Yes, I am. You've got to believe me. I have no reason to lie. When I realized that I could hide from everyone, a screen appeared in front of me, telling me I was one of the awakened."Something had seriously changed this time. In previous lives, no one could receive their power until after their first wave was over. He wasn't sure what had made such a huge difference, but that meant the system had no right to take his power away from him. If anyone could get their power before the first wave ended, he shouldn't have his power removed.<
- Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System
Chapter 111: Interrogating the Prisoner (1)
"Billy?" Jacqueline called out.Billy frowned as he recalled telling her to stay quiet and out of sight until he said the coast was clear. She must have heard his knocking out the woman and got worried, but that didn't change how dumb it was. Jacqueline was basically announcing her presence to whoever was nearby. If he had been the one who had been taken out, she would have been in trouble.Even now, it wasn't a guarantee that they were in the clear just yet. He remained silent as he dragged the unconscious woman away while keeping an eye on his surroundings. After dragging her into another part of the house, he found some rope to tie her up with and searched her for anything valuable. Unfortunately, she didn't have anything on her except for a knife.He narrowed his eyes. It didn't make sense for someone to only go around with a tiny knife. Just imagining someone trying to fight a bunch of zombies with it was ridiculous. Even against another person was a joke.
- Rise of the Desperate: Billy Wood's Save and Restart System
Chapter 110: Escaping the Zombies
Billy stared as his mind whirled with indecision. A morally good person would run back to save them because that was the right thing to do. Leaving a woman who was someone close to him and two children to the zombies would be a monsterous thing to do. On the other hand, a realistic person or someone with self preservation would immediately leave them behind.Honestly, if it wasn't for Jacqueline, he would have hightailed out of there without even looking back. However, this was Jacqueline. If he left, he didn't think she would follow him. As she was now, she wouldn't abandon the kid to save herself. She would die. There would be no second chance for her since this was his only life left. On the flip side, because it was his only life, he had to be even more careful."Billy!" Jacqueline screamed again as she knocked another zombie away.He gritted his teeth and made his choice. Billy rushed over and grabbed Jacqueline's arm before shoving her away. She stumbled b