The heavy rain that had been falling for the past five minutes or so, had washed away the tears and blood from the hard blows that the frail young man in shabby clothes had received without a fight.
The punches were still being thrown at the frail young man by some thugs who were known to be accomplices of a notorious loan shark in the small town called Mastaka.
"Looks like he's dead, boss," said one of the big thugs with a tiger tattoo on his left arm.
"I don't care if he's dead or not, his fault is that he was born into a poor family that doesn't know themselves, let's go and let him freeze to death in the rain," said the man called boss.
One of the thugs kicked the body of the young man who was lying helplessly until he rolled a few centimeters from where it was.
"What if he's still alive, boss?" asked another thug.
"That means he has to pay his family's debt, if he can't, we'll take his kidney and sell it."
The young man, who had no energy left, could faintly hear them all laughing.
It hurt.
It was painful.
It felt like everything was crumbling.
But what could a weakling like him do?
Nothing but accept everything with resignation.
His name was Kaiden Grayson, the last child of a poor family that was notorious because Kaiden's older brother, Aiden, was a troublemaker.
Aiden loved to gamble, got drunk every day, stole money, hit people, and so on. Because of Aiden's actions, his mother had to compensate many losses to other people, so then the only option his mother chose was to go into debt.
That debt has now reached around 350,000$ and that's a lot of money especially for poor people like the Grayson family.
Kaiden himself had just turned 18 and graduated from high school. But since middle school, or since his father died in an accident at work, Kaiden has been doing any job just to be able to eat everyday.
Now that Kaiden is alone, Aiden and his mother have agreed to commit suicide to get out of debt.
It wasn't enough that his family had left him alone, now Kaiden had to accept the burden of his family's debt.
That's why Kaiden was beaten up that night, because it had been three months since his brother and mother died, but Kaiden hadn't been able to pay a penny of the debt.
Kaiden came to his senses five minutes after the heavy rain had stopped. It left the ground muddy and dirty.
Despite regaining consciousness, Kaiden could not move his body at all, only pain and stinging.
[Your condition has qualified you to become a master of the tycoon game system]
[Your body will be adjusted to accept the system properly]
[The adjustment will begin soon]
Suddenly a strange voice like a robot or a woman, Kaiden wasn't sure, echoed in his ears.
Kaiden thought it was just an illusion because of the severity of his condition.
"Maybe I'm going to die soon," Kaiden muttered in such a low voice that only he could hear it.
Moments later, due to the lack of blood, Kaiden's consciousness began to fade. Before he passed out, Kaiden coughed and spit blood from his mouth.
Meanwhile on the other hand, a police car on duty at a deserted spot behind the market, not far from where Kaiden was lying, accidentally found Kaiden's body. They checked the place because they knew the thugs who were troubling the city residents were around there.
Sure enough, the two policemen on duty found Kaiden's body still lying helplessly. Mixed with the muddy soil and mud all over his body, and the blood that was still wet flowing from the wounds on his body.
"Is he dead?" Asked one of the policemen.
"Don't know, let's check."
***
Kaiden woke up suddenly, he pondered for a moment, remembering what happened to him.
After he remembered it, he felt annoyed that he hadn't died yet. That meant, he still had to pay off all his debts which he still thought was impossible.
But - where is this?
Kaiden tried to sit up, and he again found it strange that he didn't feel any pain.
Hadn't Kaiden been beaten so badly that Kaiden himself thought he was going to die? He was sure that even if he lived, his left leg would be deformed and he wouldn't be able to walk properly.
But Kaiden felt very healthy right now. He could move his muscles well, there was no pain at all.
It didn't stop there, even the stab wounds he received didn't leave a mark. Kaiden believed he had three knife stabs and scratches on his arms and chest. Kaiden even remembered how blood flowed from those wounds.
But everything disappeared.
"What happened?" Kaiden muttered in confusion.
"Then what is this screen?"
Kaiden raised his hand, touching the strange holographic screen floating in front of him with his index finger.
[Welcome to the tycoon game system!]
Kaiden recalled the strange voice he heard before he coughed up blood and passed out. It was exactly like the voice he was currently hearing from the holographic screen.
"So yesterday was real?" Kaiden muttered, between confusion and amazement.
[Right master, the system is real]
[The system will help master become the richest man in this world]
"But-"
[It's all true! The system will give missions and direct what the master should do, which will make the master a tycoon!]
[For the master's healed body, it's because the system is repairing the master's body so that it can be strong enough to accept the system]
"Woah, so I'm healed because of you, thank you, system."
[No problem, it has to be done, otherwise the master would have died right away]
"Please explain why you chose me, and how I can complete your mission?" Kaiden asked.
[It's because you're the most suitable and deserving]
"Is there a price for me accepting it?" Asked Kaiden, he was scared, because this was the first time something strange had happened to him.
He knew that if someone wanted to help others, they would ask for something in return.
"Are you going to ask for my soul?"
[No]
[The system couldn't answer that question]
"Then-"
Kaiden did not continue as someone entered the room he was in. Kaiden was sure he was in the hospital.
"Oh, are you awake? Just a moment, I'll get the nurse."
Kaiden saw a policeman enter, then he went out again to call for a nurse. Not long after, he came back with a nurse and a doctor.
"This is strange, all the injuries and fractures that should have been there until last night, have now simply disappeared. Even the scratches have disappeared." The doctor said.
"But I saw that young man last night full of wounds, it's impossible for them to disappear in just one night, doctor."
"I know that too, but-"
Kaiden could no longer focus on their conversation, nor could he focus on the nurse who was examining his condition once more.
Because right now Kaiden's focus was on the system screen in front of him.
[Your first mission is to get out of here and sell anything with the capital that will be given to you]
[With that capital, you should earn at least double the profit]
[The capital given is 5000$]
[The reward for successfully completing the mission is 500,000$]
[If you fail, you must repeat the mission until you succeed]
That means, Kaiden has to keep repeating the mission if he doesn't succeed. But, what should he sell in order to get twice the profit?
After a few hours in the hospital, Kaiden was finally able to go home. All of Kaiden's treatment costs will be paid for by the police. Kaiden was even escorted home by the police.During the trip, the policeman questioned Kaiden about how he could be in a deserted place behind the market in such a battered state.Kaiden told them everything that happened, about his brother who liked to cause trouble, about his mother who was stressed out because of his brother's actions and owed so much money to loan sharks, and about his brother and mother who suddenly died by suicide."So, they committed suicide without you, huh? I didn't know because I was just transferred to this city." The policeman said.Kaiden nodded, "That's right, they did it while I was sleeping, so the next day I already saw the bodies of both of them. After that, I worked all kinds of jobs, no time to rest at all, just to pay off the debts that kept piling up. Three months later, I only managed to collect $200 and even tha
"Now, what should I do?" Kaiden asked himself.He had eaten and now felt full.He had gone back to his house because he didn't know what to do. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't come up with any ideas at all.Kaiden had heard that poor people and rich people had different mindsets. The rich would find any opportunity that could be turned into money. And Kaiden now felt he had the mindset of a poor person, because he couldn't find any opportunities that he could turn into money.[In that case, the system will give some hints that might help]How happy Kaiden was to see the notification from the system.[Try going anywhere, either on foot or on a bicycle, and look for ideas from there]Kaiden's smile faded instantly, as it turned out that the system didn't give him any ideas. Maybe the system wanted Kaiden to figure it out on his own. But Kaiden thought it was better, if he depended on people's help all the time, how could Kaiden progress and get better?Kaiden went out again,
[You get a reward for getting a trustworthy person to help with business][200$ successfully entered inventory]Kaiden smiled at the notification from the system, meaning that he could indeed trust Mr. Toni to help him. Since Kaiden would be starting business tomorrow in the morning, this afternoon he went to the place where he last worked. He wanted to let his manager know that he was no longer able to work.Kaiden's previous workplace was a seafood restaurant, located near the beach. Kaiden was taking a look at the beach for tomorrow's business. It was a weekend, so there would definitely be a lot of visitors.Kaiden parked his bike in the employee parking lot, then entered through the back door as usual.Kaiden's job at the place was to help the chef in the kitchen. I already told you, right? Kaiden would do any job, even if he had to be humiliated every day. The kitchen was a scary place, you couldn't play around there. Profanity and insults were so common.Kaiden actually felt lu
Mr. Randy is the owner of the restaurant, he is the father of Robby, his second son, who is a chef in his restaurant and will one day inherit the restaurant business.But it cannot be denied that Robby is very lacking and has a lot to learn. Especially after knowing that Robby fired and beat Kaiden just because he was jealous of Kaiden.Randy really couldn't understand what made his son jealous, who had never been in trouble in his life, from Kaiden, who had been miserable since childhood. It made no sense to Randy.He was currently facing the two boys in his room. One was very haughty, unwilling to admit he was wrong, though now looking somewhat frightened. The other looked very resigned, but there was no look of fear on his face that Randy could see. Kaiden wouldn't be afraid if he wasn't wrong."So you took it for granted when Robby fired you, then you wanted to leave, but then Robby beat you up?" Asked Randy, he briefly glanced at his son Robby, his eyes showing that he was scared
Kaiden didn't care about the others, he just focused on himself. He knew the others were laughing at him, including someone he was familiar with.He was Fabiano, the son of the owner of the resort near the beach, and Kaiden's previous classmate.Bian, as he was usually called, was the class president who was known to be very kind and considerate to all students. However, not many people knew that Bian was actually still part of the school thugs who liked to bully other students.Bian does maintain his image, lest his parents know that he likes to bully other students, likes to smoke, skip school, and other juvenile delinquencies.He did look very handsome and like a good guy, but the truth was the opposite.Kaiden clearly didn't like Bian, as he often bullied Kaiden at school. Then Bian and his friends threatened Kaiden not to tell anyone after being bullied. Kaiden had a lot of trouble because of them.Once he almost broke his leg because he was beaten by them, but fortunately Kaiden
Kaiden was very happy when a new smartphone was brought out by the pretty employee, it was black in color. The blonde employee explained about the smartphone to Kaiden patiently, Kaiden himself asking a lot of questions because this was the first time he had seen such an expensive smartphone."It's useless for you to explain in such detail, because he won't be able to pay for everything," said Citra, the bitchy employee who used to be Kaiden's classmate. Citra had just served a customer who was well-dressed and looked rich, but didn't end up buying a smartphone."Even if he doesn't buy, we should still serve him well, that's what the shop owner said," said the blonde-haired girl."I warned you, he's a hobo, he has no money, he can't afford such an expensive smartphone." After saying that, Citra left again.The blonde employee turned back to Kaiden, "Do you want to buy or not? If you do want to buy, I can insert the SIM card as well."Kaiden nodded, "I'll buy it, here's the money, plea
Although the thugs who collected Kaiden's debt went home peacefully, they came with a ruckus.Thanks to them, Kaiden's house was a mess. There was even a hole in the roof, maybe they had thrown a rock or something.To be sure, Kaiden cleaned up the house immediately after they left.He knew that his house was very small and barely habitable. But it was his father's only inheritance, and the house and land had belonged to Kaiden since his father died.Kaiden also didn't understand why his father had given the house and land to Kaiden and not his mother.Because of this, his mother couldn't sell the land, as it had to be approved by Kaiden and Kaiden was adamant about not wanting to sell the house. They were so poor, if the house was sold, where would they live afterwards. That's what Kaiden thought. He didn't know that his decision would lead his mother to get into a lot of debt, then commit suicide and put it all on Kaiden.Kaiden just couldn't understand why his mother was like that.
Several hours had passed, Kaiden was tired of not having any other customers after the two little girls and the old man. It's not that Kaiden didn't try, he also tried to offer his wares to everyone who passed by, but they all just passed by him without bothering to turn their heads.Until Jennifer arrived, she was wearing casual clothes in the form of short jeans and also a white t-shirt. Kaiden was stunned to see the blonde haired girl. But after realizing, he immediately smiled at Jenni."Hello Kaiden, how is your merchandise today? How much have you sold?" Jenni asked to the point, making Kaiden feel annoyed again, but he just smiled as if everything was fine."Only sold one, maybe I'm just unlucky today, would you like to try the coconut ice?" asked Kaiden, thankful for the positive smile.Jenni smiled at Kaiden, who was still in good spirits, not depressed at all despite the lack of sales.Then Jenni nodded, "sure, I'd like one."While Kaiden prepared the coconut ice, Jenni took