Chapter 2 | The Greatest Wealth System Activated

"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. 

"Pfttt, hahaha, you married a woman who's going to die soon. Erland, I pity you, buddy." 

"Bastard!" Erland swore, throwing a punch at Ronald's nose, but Ainsley managed to stop him. 

"Erland! Please, don't hit him." Ainsley hugged Erland's waist from behind. Her face was very pale, she coughed, and her breathing sounded labored. 

Erland lowered his fist, more worried about his wife's health. "Ainsley, why do you have to work? I will earn the money. I told you, your health is more important. You need to rest. Your heart can't handle strenuous activity. The doctor has often warned you." 

Ainsley's warm, gentle eyes looked at her husband's face. She softly touched Erland's cheek, then held his hand. 

"How can I just sit still without helping at all? My husband has tried his best to take care of me." 

"Ainsley?" Erland's heart ached. 

His wife was so kind, patient, and gentle. She was the woman who made Erland fall in love. Just two weeks after their marriage, Erland had fallen for Ainsley's kind nature. 

"Ronald, I am here working as a servant. But my husband and I are not begging for your money. You haven't spent a penny on my medical expenses. Instead, Erland works day and night for my recovery. You shouldn't insult my husband." 

Brenda felt offended. "How dare you rebuke my son, Ainsley! What right do you have to say that! You said you haven't used our money! Hah, don't forget! You've been eating at the Thompson family's table since you were a child!" 

"It was my father's duty to raise me! If the Thompson family had a problem feeding me, they should have never impregnated my mother in the first place!" 

Slap! 

"Ainsley! You wretch! Disrespectful child!" Brenda grabbed Ainsley's hair and slapped her. 

Erland tried to help his wife, but the four guards beside him held Erland tightly. His thin body didn't have the strength to fight them off. 

"Don't hit my wife! Let her go!" Erland shouted, struggling. 

"Shut up, you scum! Miss Ainsley deserves a lesson for daring to defy Madam!" shout the security.

Erland's neck veins bulge, his anger peaked, and his blood pressure rose. He could see his weak, helpless wife being slapped by his mother-in-law.

Meanwhile, his wife could only call out to her father-in-law for help, but the man just turned his face away, indifferent, as if letting his daughter die being tortured. 

Erland tried to help, but before he could act, a punch landed on his cheek. His vision blurred, his head spun. He tried to stay conscious even though he felt like fainting. 

Ronald's laughter echoed, he was the one who hit Erland. As Erland insisted on standing up, fighting the dizziness in his head, a strange object appeared. 

A thin board resembling a transparent computer. 

Ding! 

[The Greatest Wealth System has been activated. Among billions of people, you are the lucky one chosen to be a player. Does Mr. Erland Colvin agree to accept it?] 

Erland's eyes widened. What is this? He was trying to save his wife, but suddenly a strange, transparent blue screen appeared, blinking right in front of his face. 

[Waiting for player consent. Yes or no?] 

"What is this screen blocking my view of? Move away! Don't joke around! My wife's life is at stake!" 

[Because the player is taking too long, the system will be activated automatically. Please prepare yourself, Mr. Erland, to become a player. Player verification will begin shortly.] 

Ding! 

Erland saw a small bolt of lightning start to spread to his ten fingers. The electrical current caused a shocking sensation.

Erland's blood felt like it was on fire. His body heated up. His heart pounded so hard that it caused Erland pain. 

Everyone in front of him suddenly stopped moving. Brenda's act of hitting Ainsley also froze like a statue.

Erland clenched his hands as a strange program started to appear in his head. He vomited blood from enduring the excruciating pain. 

[Player verified. The body's metabolism responded well. Risk of death avoided. New player rewards added. Muscle mass increased by 1%, body strength increased by 5%, agility increased by 3%. You will experience physical shock. Your ears will ring. Please endure for one minute.] 

"Argghh!" Erland screamed. 

His entire eardrum felt like it was about to tear. The loud ringing from an unknown source suddenly deafened Erland's ears. 

[Player endured successfully. The body will recover. Congratulations on surviving.] 

Erland took a deep breath, panting. It felt like he had almost died. 

"What is really happening? This is crazy!" Erland opened his eyes again. 

The pain that had previously tortured his body suddenly vanished. Erland felt revitalized. Even his arm muscles seemed thicker. 

"Stupid bastard! Wretch!" 

Erland saw his wife being beaten again. Everything was moving; they were no longer statues. The situation had returned to normal. 

"My wife!" Erland broke free from the grip of the four guards beside him. 

He only shook his hand, but the four guards fell to the floor as if pushed. They groaned in pain. Honestly, Erland was quite surprised to see it, but he didn't have much time to marvel at his strange newfound strength. 

Erland quickly ran to his wife. He grabbed his mother-in-law's hand and shielded Ainsley's body behind his back. 

"Are you tired of being a Thompson family son-in-law that your filthy hand dares to defy your mother-in-law, Erland!" Brenda shouted angrily. 

Erland checked Ainsley's bruised face. He was furious that his wife was hurt. 

"Worthless son-in-law! Family parasite! Poor!" Brenda's hand moved to slap Erland's cheek, but Erland's reflexes were so quick. 

Skillfully, Erland grabbed Brenda's arm, deflecting it so that the woman lost her balance, almost hitting her daughter Anne. 

"Mother, that's enough. Stop being angry; Ainsley is sick." 

"Anne, don't defend that wretch. I've told you! You don't need to be kind to her! She's not your sister! You don't have a wretch of a sister like her!" 

"Stop insulting my wife!" Erland warned, not accepting it. 

"Heh, you started shouting at me, Erland! My husband, this man hurt me! Look at my arm; it's bruised because of his grip! He intentionally hurt me!" Brenda said, looking at her husband. 

Acting like a victim of abuse. Erland was disgusted; his mother-in-law was so vile. 

"Hit Erland, Father! This ungrateful son-in-law indeed needs to be punished. If necessary, report him to the police and imprison him for hurting Mother," Roland provoked to anger Edie. 

"No, Father, please don't report my husband to the police," Ainsley begged. 

Ding! The strange screen appeared in front of Erland. 

[Player Erland Colvin, hit your father-in-law and slap your mother-in-law.] 

[Mission reward: 50 million dollars.] 

[Mission failure penalty: death by electrocution.] 

[Time to complete the mission: 15 minutes.] 

Erland froze, thinking he might be crazy for seeing this screen again.