The Revenger's System

5. Before the Storm

Peeep!

[A mission received!]

[Face-slapping Son-in-Law: Acquire $100.000.000 in 24 hours.]

[Rewarded Ability: Unlimited Balance Lvl 1.]

Ryan reread the message floating before him for the third time. He didn’t imagine it. TEETS truly meant he must get that many zeros in twenty-four hours.

‘You must be joking! Where the hell can he get one hundred million in a day beside robbing a bank?!’

[TEETS only give missions according to Host’s full potential.]

‘Full potential, you said?’ Ryan already felt a massive headache coming.

Peeep!

That annoying sound again. He expected a new message to pop, but nothing came.

Peeep!

Ryan frowned.

Peeep!

Splash!

Ryan gasped for air, feeling himself suddenly drowned in water.

But he wasn’t.

“Get yourself out of here, you scum.” It was Violet, and her trusty glass of water poured into his face.

He coughed hard, trying to get the liquid out of his oesophagus and lungs. He wheezed, “Wha..?”

“What did you say?” Violet stood over his lying form, placing her right foot on his chest with enough pressure to hinder his breath. “You dared to punch Ashton, and that’s the only thing you said?”

Ryan tried to get up, but she pressed harder until he grimaced. Violet was wearing pointy heels, just for his sake. “Sorry.”

“You should thank him,” she said, “He could have do worse to you, but he didn’t.”

He wondered why.

“Anyway, it’s long enough that you sleep here.” She knew he was not sleeping; she was here when Ashton beat him to a pulp. “Don’t you think it’s time for you to get the hell out of here and do your job?”

His job–

What was his job again?

Ryan groaned and pushed himself up with his weak arms. He wiped his face from the cold water, taking a deep breath to orient himself. Violet was already lounging on her bed, probably scrolling through her feed and definitely expecting him to clean the mess.

He went out and in again, taking out the mess and bringing cleaning supplies with him. It didn’t take long to put Violet’s messy bedroom into its previous state, free of anything that reminded him of Ashton Bogart.

One time he caught his reflection in her tall mirror, Ryan saw that both of his cheeks were swollen, with a split lip that complimented it. If he pulled his worn t-shirt, he’d probably find blue and black on his entire abdomen. Strangely, he wasn’t in pain. Not a single shred of it.

Could it be that what happened earlier was real and not his imagination?

Was he even dreaming?

Maybe he was too far gone that he made up something as ridiculous as TEETS. He really was going crazy if he even thought about revenge for a fleeting moment.

Revenge, for real.

Ryan would have laughed out loud if he had been alone in his room. Even the thought of revenge was impossible, let alone realizing it.

[TEETS will help Host to achieve his goal.]

[That is TEETS’ only reason to connect with Host.]

‘The fuck!’

“What are you doing standing around like a dumb clown?” Violet’s uninterested voice surged in his ear, snapping him out of shock.

“No-nothing…” he mumbled before picking up his cleaning supplies.

Before he left Violet’s bedroom, she carelessly said, “Do you remember what tonight is?”

Ryan faltered on his way out, “Uhm… it’s…”

“Dad’s birthday party.”

Right.

It was such an important event for the Crowne family. How could he forget? This year was the first time he was invited to the party. His mother-in-law couldn’t shut up about it since last month.

Violet gave him a threatening glare as she continued, “Don’t you dare make a scene like earlier in the party or you’ll get a bruise between your legs.”

“I won’t,” he said in a flat tone.

“Wear something… better.” She looked at him from head to toe and made a face as if she smelt rotten eggs. “At least, a white shirt and pants suit.”

“Okay,” he gave her a small smile, noticing her soft tone. She never talked to him that way, so it was a first.

After discharging the trash and putting the cleaning appliances in their rightful place, Ryan went past the family room and found his parents-in-law enjoying a movie with a big bowl of popcorn. The first thing that came to his mind was how they managed to make popcorn by themselves?

“Oh, there you are, scum,” his mother-in-law said, “What were you doing, sleeping so long like that?”

His father-in-law snickered hearing that, knowing full well that Ryan went unconscious after Ashton kicked him mercilessly. If only they knew.

“I was cleaning,” he said slowly.

“Yeah, yeah. The dining room could use some cleaning too, you know?”

Ryan craned his neck to glance at the said room. Indeed, the table was covered by dirty plates and leftover dishes. Some boxes from a famous Chinese restaurant were still there, waiting for him to pick them up. Obviously, they were having a big lunch while he was still unconscious.

And they invited Ashton too, it seemed.

He could only sigh, not surprised by his in-laws’ behaviour.

Getting his mind on it, Ryan started to pick up the dirty plates and take away boxes to the kitchen. He found some leftover noodles, shrimp, and small pieces of sausages in some containers. He picked them up with a pair of chopsticks and ate the leftovers, as he didn’t have anything since lunch yesterday. Still tasted good.

After he was done with the dishes, Ryan went to his own room. It is located on the back side of the house but near enough to the kitchen. Small, about twenty feet square with no window, it was the previous housekeeper’s bedroom.

But it was better than the cardboard box he had lived in for the last few years before he met Albert and was brought to the Crowne family as a son-in-law.

Laying on the thin mattress, he closed his eyes. After he fainted for about five hours, he was still feeling tired.

He couldn’t sleep. His father-in-law’s birthday party started at eight, but they had to arrive at the venue early. It meant he didn’t need to make dinner. For now, he’d take a breath and think about how he’d make $100.000.000 in a day for his mission.

He couldn’t fail this.

Not when he had a chance to get his payback for the first time.