"You must be lying! How could Erland have such a large balance! His salary as a factory worker is very low!"
"If you don't believe me, you can check."
Anne's two friends looked at the computer screen in front of the cashier, their eyes perfectly round at the balance of $8,800,000. They were embarrassed.
'Did this poor man secretly have a second job all this time? How does he have that much money?'
'Maybe Erland is lying to us with his shabby appearance. He's actually a rich man hiding his identity.'
Erland who could read their hearts smiled, “Count all the groceries of my wife and these two women. It looks like they're daydreaming because they can't pay for their groceries.”
“We don't need your money. We'll pay for it ourselves!”
The two women hurriedly gave their credit cards, but strangely enough, their credit cards suddenly became unusable.
"Sorry, your credit card cannot be used for payment. Your card has been blocked by the bank."
"What?"
"Maybe you owe a lot of money to the bank. That's why your credit card has been forcefully blocked."
"Nonsense!" Anne's two friends immediately retrieved their cards. Just as they were about to call the bank to complain, the bank's customer service department sent an e-mail notification.
Erland deliberately looked at the e-mail and read it, laughing. "Your loan to the bank has reached $1 million. They want you to pay it back immediately."
"Shut up, Erland!"
The supermarket manager turned to Anne's two friends, "So can you pay it or not?"
Rose became agitated, elbowing Mery's arm and asking for help.
"Can't you ask your boyfriend for a transfer now, Mery? We can't be humiliated in front of Ainsley. I don't want Erland to look down on us."
Mery bit her lip anxiously, "You know, my boyfriend and I just broke up. I can't ask him for money anymore. Rose, how about calling your Dad?"
"Are you crazy! My dad's company is having a hard time. He restricted my spending money, so I borrowed $1 million from the bank to cover my needs."
The teller cleared his throat again, "Miss, Mr. Erland has paid his bill. Now it's your turn, the other customers have been waiting too long. If you don't pay soon, they will protest."
Rose looked back at the growing line.
"Come on, what's taking so long? We want to pay too!"
"Ms. Manager! If these two ladies can't pay, please give us priority!"
"They both interrupted Mr. Erland's line earlier, and now that it's their turn, they don't want to pay!"
Mery was about to cry, she was so embarrassed. Mery approached Erland, who was putting his groceries into a plastic bag.
"Erland, you said you would pay for our groceries, right? Can you pay now?"
Rose's eyes widened in surprise, she pulled Mery's hand and scolded her. "What are you doing? Are you asking her for a favor?"
Mery whispered softly, "There is no other way Rose, this is the only way. Only Erland can help us!"
Mery approached Erland again, “How? Our groceries aren't expensive. You still have enough money to pay for it.”
Ainsley grabbed her husband's hand, "But I won't allow my husband to pay for your groceries."
Ainsley's refusal stunned Rose and Mery.
Erland smiled, "I obey my wife's request."
Ainsley added, "Your pride is too high to apologize to my husband after insulting him. Ask Anne, since you've been bragging about my sister. You said Anne was generous, right? And you are friends. My sister will definitely come to help you."
Rose and Mery hadn't expected Ainsley to be so heartless. "Ainsley, it will take a long time to call Anne. We borrowed your husband's money first, we promise to pay him back."
Ainsley said firmly, "With what money are you going to replace Erland's money? You can't even pay the bank bill."
"Ainsley!" Mery shouted. She felt humiliated. Ainsley kept bringing up the bank debt in front of everyone.
Erland didn't like to see his wife being yelled at, so he took immediate action. "Mrs. Manager, these two women are holding up other customers. They won't be able to pay. You should throw them out right now before the other customers get angry."
The manager thought about Erland's words and called security. Rose and Mery were finally evicted.
"Next time you make a mess in our store. You will be severely punished. Not only will you be expelled, but you will have to pay compensation."
Ainsley was grateful that they were gone, Erland saw the beads of sweat on his wife's forehead. Dealing with Anne's two overbearing friends must have worn Ainsley out.
"Honey, shall we go to a restaurant to eat? It's already lunchtime. You should take your medicine, too."
Ainsley sat on the waiting sofa outside the shop, Erland wiping the sweat from his wife's forehead with a handkerchief.
Ainsley shook her head, "I'm just thirsty."
"I'll buy you a drink." Erland ran to the vending machine, inserted a coin, and took out a bottle of mineral water. He uncapped the bottle for Ainsley to drink.
"Erland."
"Yes, dear."
"Where did you get the money?"
Erland's heart skipped a beat, what other lies did he have to tell Ainsley? Yesterday he had lied about the 50 million dollars to pay for his father's leg operation. Now there was no way Erland could tell the same lie that this money was also a loan from his friend.
Over time, Ainsley would become suspicious, especially since the system would continue to give Erland money many times over as a reward for completing missions.
"Erland, why are you silent?"
Erland hesitated. He held Ainsley's hand in a cold sweat. He more worried.
"Honey, I actually got this money from ..."
The transparent screen flickered in front of him, the system popping up with a warning message.
[High Scale Danger Warning: Player Erland Colvin, you are forbidden to reveal any information about the system. If you violate this condition, you will die.]
Hi guys, thanks for reading Erland's story. I hope you like it. This book will give you a pleasant reading experience. I would appreciate it if you would subscribe to this novel. I wish you all health and happiness. Greetings from your author. Happy reading.
"Honey, I really don't want any secrets between us. But right now, I still can't tell you where the money came from. But I can promise you that I didn't get it by stealing or borrowing from loan sharks. I got a good paying job. I got out of the factory. This $8,800,000 I got as a bonus from my job.""What kind of job can pay that much, Erland? You scare me. I don't want you to get involved in anything dangerous."“Ainsley, listen to me. Look into my eyes. Do I look like a man who likes to do dirty work?”Ainsley shook her head. Erland grasped her hand tighter.“I won't do bad things or commit crimes just because of money. Trust me, this money is clean. You can trust me, right?”Ainsley paused, she hesitated but remembering all of Erland's struggles working hard to pay for her medical expenses, Ainsley had to trust her husband.“I believe you.”Erland smiled, "Thank you dear, thank you for believing in me."The transparent screen message disappeared and Erland breathed a sigh of relief
Ronald followed them into the bar, where some of the men from the group were smoking outside the singing room. They were dressed in dark gray clothes, with prominent snake tattoos on their hands."What are you looking at? Move it! Boss Jefrey is on the second floor."Several men in suits with guns surrounded the second floor, presumably those in charge of guarding the floor."Is that him?""Yes, boss."The dark-haired man with burns on parts of his face crossed his legs. He put out his cigarette, "How much money do you have to come looking for me?"Ronald took out a picture of Erland, "If you can confirm that he is disabled, I'll give you any amount!"Jefrey laughed, "Pft, hahaha, are you serious? You'll pay any amount? No nominal limit?"Ronald took out a blank check, "You can write the amount yourself. But if this plan fails, until the police find out. You will die.""Dead?" Jefrey smiled."Who do you think you are to hurt the boss?" Jefrey's men were angry."Before you kill the boss
"Mr. Erland, your father's operation will cost $50 million, including hospital fees. And I want to inform you that the operation requires payment in advance.""50 million dollars? Can I pay in installments, Nurse? I promise I'll pay it off soon, just please operate on my father's leg! His leg must not be amputated!""Only if you pay in full, Mr. Erland.""Please, allow me to pay in installments, Nurse.""I'm sorry, but our hospital does not offer a credit system.” One of the hospital visitors rushed forward and became angry."Damn you! This is a high-class hospital, you have to pay in advance, there's no negotiation. If you can't afford it, you should check the hospital's background before bringing your father here. If you're poor, you better take him to a county hospital that receives government subsidies. You're just making a fool of yourself!" "Knowing that you are poor, why did you bring him to an elite hospital? Are you trying to act like a rich person? You should know your pla
"She is here for work," Ronald answered. "We are short of servants." "What do you mean, Ronald?" Erland probed, trying to connect their shortage of servants with his sick wife's presence in that place. Ronald smirked. "What else do you think? Of course, Ainsley is here being a servant!" Erland's hands clenched tightly. Ronald enjoyed making the poor man angry. "The Thompson family is not a charity organization, we can't give out free money. If Ainsley asked for money to buy medicine, she has to work for it." Erland's patience was wearing thin. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed Ronald by the collar, pushing his body against the wall until he almost fell to the floor. "My wife is not just anyone! She is a daughter of the Thompson family! Your family too! Giving her a little money for medicine won't make you poor! Especially since she's sick! How could you make your sick sister work? What if her condition worsens! Heart failure is not a trivial disease." Ronald just laughed.
The command kept appearing, refusing to disappear. Even the mission completion time continued to move.[Time remaining: 8 minutes. Complete your mission before the penalty is imposed.]Erland was confused. In this critical situation, the strange screen kept pressing him. Meanwhile, his father-in-law started approaching him. The man's face darkened, fists clenched, ready to hit him.Ding! A new notification flashed on the screen.[Warning! Player Erland Colvin, the penalty for your mission failure is being prepared. A 1000-volt electric shock will be processed. You will soon experience death. Countdown starts: one minute, 60, 59, 58, 57...]With each passing second, Erland's heart pounded. With courage and a determination to defend himself, he delivered a hard punch to Edie's cheek, sending his father-in-law flying several meters and crashing into an antique vase displayed near the window.Erland's powerful punch caused the vase to crack and shatter across the floor. Ronald, Anne, Bre
“What did he say? He got 50 million dollars?” Ronald suppressed his laughter. “Ainsley, your husband must be dreaming. Where would he get 50 million dollars from? Who would lend him that much money? And if anyone did, it must be a loan shark. Your husband has a small salary; it would take a lifetime to pay off that debt. Ainsley, I feel so sorry for you. Your life will only get harder with loan sharks chasing you.” Everyone joined in mocking Erland. Colleagues, officials, and the Thompson family business clients laughed at Erland's foolishness. “Hahaha, he must be out of his mind,” they jeered. Erland didn’t care; he held his wife’s hand. “Honey, let’s go!” Ronald, filled with anger, saw Ainsley and Erland heading out. “Stop! You can’t just leave like that! You both have to take responsibility! My father and mother are hurt because of you two!” Ronald shouted, intending to chase after them. “Ronald, I’ve contacted our family doctor!” Anne exclaimed. Ronald was furious, but seei
Erland's father's surgery was successful. Now, Edmund is undergoing treatment. The doctor has asked Edmund to stay in the hospital until the stitches from the surgery dry up."I'm sorry for being a burden to you,” said Edmund to his son, Erland."What are you talking about, Dad? It's my duty as a son to be devoted to you. Your recovery is the most important thing to me now."Edmund's wrinkled hand touched his son's head, gently stroking it.Windy and Ainsley entered, both women carrying a basket of apples."Dear, why are you forcing yourself to sit? Just lie down," said Windy to his husband.Edmund looked at the basket of fresh apples. Something was bothering him—where did his family get so much money from? After paying the $50 million surgery bill, his wife still had money left to buy him apples, which were very expensive."Honey, can we talk privately?" asked Edmund to his wife.Windy glanced at her son and daughter-in-law. Erland stood up first, "Ainsley and I will go to the pharm
[Run 10 kilometers, do 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 pull-ups.] [Completion reward: secret.] [Mission failure penalty: divorce from your wife.]Erland was stunned. Was this system a personal trainer? Why was it giving him tasks like an athlete's workout routine? The most annoying part of the mission was the penalty: divorce from his wife.[Player Erland Colvin, the system will start the countdown. Complete your daily mission target before the time runs out.]The screen turned into a timer. He had 24 hours to complete the mission. Erland didn’t want a divorce; even if he had to die, he would never let Ainsley go."Arghhh! Crazy system!""Erland!"Ainsley was shocked as Erland suddenly ran out of the room, sprinting at full speed. He hadn't even finished his fried rice."What’s going on?" Ainsley worried.Due to the daily mission, Erland spent his day exercising.Erland's breath was heavy, sweat pouring down his temples. He had run 8 kilometers in a marathon.Two more kilometers to c