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 pharmacy to get Dad's medicine."
Ainsley smiled and kissed her mother-in-law's cheek. "Mom, please take care of Dad," Ainsley said as she left.
Edmund leaned back, his legs still stiff and difficult to move. "Honey, where did our son get that much money?"
Windy was silent for a moment. "Ainsley said that Erland's friend lent him the money."
"A friend? Who?"
Edmund was confused. To his knowledge, his son never brought friends home. In the past, Edmund had even heard that his son was bullied at school. Erland was ostracized by his classmates.
"I don't know either, dear. Erland didn't mention a name."
"I hope he's not lying. Our debt has piled up, and I don't want Erland borrowing money from loan sharks. Fifty million dollars is not a small amount."
Windy was worried about her husband's words. She held Edmund's hand tightly, praying that their fears would not come true.
"My dear."
"Yes?"
"Erland has endured so much suffering. He helped us pay off Harry's debts. His wife is also ill. I don't want to add to his burden."
Windy nodded, wiping her eyes that were wet with tears. Her heart ached remembering Erland's suffering. She felt even more sorrowful recalling her eldest son Harry's gambling habit.
Harry disappeared, running away from home after leaving a mountain of debt to loan sharks, making Erland and his parents responsible for it.
"Don't cry."
"I just remembered Harry. It's been five years since he left home. I worry about what has happened to our son out there. I fear he might be experiencing something terrible."
Meanwhile, the pharmacy was very crowded, and Erland had to wait in line. He sat calmly, holding his wife's hand.
"Oh my! It's him again."
"Remember? He's the one who tried to pay for the surgery in installments."
"Does he think this hospital is a bank with a credit system? Poor thing, he probably wants to pay for the medicine in installments too."
Erland remained silent, ignoring them. Only when his father's name was called did he stand up.
"Don't give him the medicine unless it's fully paid for."
The pharmacist serving Erland smiled thinly. "Sorry ma'am, but Mr. Erland has already paid in full. Even his father's surgery bill was paid in full. No credit system like you gossiped about."
"What?! Paid in full?" The faces of the five women darkened with embarrassment.
The pharmacist serving Erland smiled kindly. Erland thanked him, and the women fell silent, feeling defeated.
Two days later, Edmund's condition started to improve. However, the doctor still did not allow him to go home. Wendy continued to stay at the hospital, leaving Erland and his wife in charge of the house.
While at home, Erland thought about one thing—the system.
It had been a long time since Erland had seen that strange screen.
Honestly, he was waiting for it, wanting to confirm something. He read references from comics and fantasy novels about game-like events that happened to him.
"Appear!" Erland closed his eyes and extended his hand forward. He mimicked a scene from the most popular online game about the system.
"Still nothing?" Erland turned his head, hoping the screen was hiding behind his body.
"Come out! Boom! Explode!" Erland looked like a madman, shouting and striking ridiculous poses. He stretched out his arms, did somersaults, jumped up and down, even lifted his legs up while his head was down. He resembled a monkey swinging from a tree.
"System appear! System come out! System, I'm calling you!"
It was all in vain; his efforts were fruitless. Erland gave up, unsuccessful. His bedroom door opened, and his wife Ainsley entered with a plate of fried rice.
"My husband, what are you doing?"
"Ainsley!" Erland panicked, his face turning pale. He realized his body was still in a ridiculous position, like a monkey.
"Honey, I was just! Uhm…!"
Bam!
Erland fell forward, exposing his buttocks. He was extremely embarrassed, especially since his yellow striped underwear was visible. Ainsley chuckled softly, making Erland want to bury his face in the ground to hide.
"I brought you breakfast," Ainsley said.
Erland scratched his head, now sitting properly. He watched as Ainsley placed the plate in front of him.
"You need to eat a lot to stay healthy."
Erland was silent, looking at the simple fried rice without any sides. He gazed at Ainsley's beautiful face, appreciating her sincere effort.
"We're out of eggs, so I could only make you fried rice."
Erland laughed. Ainsley was indeed a devoted wife. She never asked for extra money for groceries, always making do with what was available.
Even though Erland often gave her less money for groceries because his salary had to cover other needs, Ainsley never complained.
"Hahaha honey, your fried rice is delicious! Even without eggs, I love it! Your hands are magical because they can cook such tasty food! Honey, do you have magic in your hands?"
Ainsley smiled. "For sure."
Erland laughed. "Alright! Time to eat!" He began to eat the fried rice heartily.
"Delicious! So delicious! Dear, you must have been a talented chef in a past life! Your fried rice tastes like five-star hotel food!"
"I just used simple spices."
"No, no! It's not about the spices! It's your incredible cooking skills!"
Ainsley's cheeks turned slightly pink, embarrassed by the praise. She smiled faintly. Erland was mesmerized by that smile, thinking his wife was the most beautiful.
"Eat slowly," Ainsley said, wiping Erland's lips.
Erland froze, his heart pounding rapidly. He felt a surge of happiness when Ainsley touched his lips with her thumb. Erland's cheeks warmed.
He felt an urge to kiss his wife. He began to move closer, but before his lips could touch Ainsley's, something strange suddenly appeared in front of him, separating their faces.
Ding!
[Player Erland Colvin, the Greatest Wealth Master System has been activated. You have received a daily mission.]
Erland choked on his food, coughing in surprise.
"What!" Erland was shocked to see the strange screen suddenly appear, even though he hadn't called for it.
[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
[Player absorbed bronze combat mode. Defense and attack increased.] Erland could feel a surge of strength spreading throughout his body. He felt his power multiply several times over.Besides feeling lighter, his agility also increased significantly. "Damn! That loser hit us!" "Erland!" shouted the senior leader, enraged. He had just gotten up after being hit by Erland. "Boss! Your teeth are gone!"Two front teeth had fallen to the floor. The senior leader glared at his lost teeth with anger. "That bastard made me lose my teeth. You want to die!" Without thinking, he lunged at Erland, trying to punch him. But before his punch could reach Erland’s face, he was already kicked by Erland. This time, the senior’s body wasn’t just thrown back; his bones were broken.The senior's subordinates, seeing how strong Erland’s attack was, began to back away, keeping their distance out of fear. "Come at me, all of you! Don't be cowards! Haven't you been bullying me all this time because I st
Everyone stared at each other, then looked at Erland before bursting into laughter. The workers, including Teddy, thought Erland was out of his mind, crushed by the burdens of his family's life."Hahaha! Erland, you're so ridiculous! You're going to get 100 Bitcoins from Mr. Teddy?""Hey buddy, do you think Mr. Teddy will generously give you Bitcoins? He wouldn't even deign to give you a single dollar!""What does Erland know about Bitcoin anyway? He must be bluffing! Pretending to know about Bitcoin, when in reality he's too dumb to go to college! He only graduated high school! What does he understand?"Teddy, hearing Erland being mocked by the workers, just smiled contentedly, feeling superior because of his education. Teddy was a college graduate, which is why he was able to hold the position of factory foreman now."Enough, Erland, there's no need to be embarrassed to apologize to me. Stop your nonsensical talk. Let me tell you, Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency. Your salary i
Two hours ago, after the incident at the factory, Erland didn't go straight home. He decided to go to the nearest convenience store and buy a cup of ramen noodles and a bottle of soda. He had something to check."How much money did I get when I sold this coin?"Erland opened the system's cash-box menu. It was 160 bitcoins. Erland ruffled his hair, he felt dizzy. How do I convert these bitcoins into dollars?"System, do you know how? I want to exchange these coins for real money! Not virtual money!"[Go to sales menu].Erland was surprised when the blue transparent screen changed to the sales menu. There were many items to buy or sell. This menu was similar to an online store, except that not all items could be sold."Are you serious? There's a menu like that?"Erland tried to touch the cryptocurrency sales image. A wide variety of crypto coins appeared. The price of each coin was listed in world currencies, not just dollars."This is amazing!" Erland exclaimed in amazement. He searche
"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.
"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