The next morning, Noah woke up early, around 8 AM. The sunlight was just starting to filter through his curtains, casting a warm glow across his room.
As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he noticed his phone blinking with notifications. There were two new messages, but he decided to leave them for now.
He got out of bed and stretched his arms.
“aaahnn.” Noah yawned as he headed to the bathroom.
He had showered the night before, so there was no need to shower this morning too but he still needed to freshen up.
He brushed his teeth, splashed some cold water on his face, and ran his fingers through his hair, feeling more awake and ready to start the day.
Back in his room, he finally checked his phone. The first message was from Sarah, sent at 7 AM, wishing him a good morning.
The other was from Lily, sent at 10:00 PM the night before, asking him when they would study together.
He decided to reply to Sarah first. With a small smile, he responded to the greeting and asked how she was doing.
Satisfied with his reply, he opened Lily’s message.
He knew he’d have to balance his time carefully today because he had to meet with Lily and Sarah.
He quickly typed a response to Lily:
“11:00 AM at Digbeth Library? It’s the best library around.”
After sending the message, Noah noticed he had a few missed calls. Checking the caller ID, he saw it was from his old boss—the man who had exploited his desperation for work.
The minimum wage was $9, but this guy had been paying him a measly $4 an hour for back-breaking manual labor, with only a 10-minute break during an 8-hour shift. Noah had labeled him appropriately in his phone as “Bast**d.”
Deciding to deal with it, Noah called him back. The phone rang only a few seconds before his boss picked up, immediately launching into a tirade of insults.
“Where the hell are you, Noah? You think you can just skip out on work? Get your lazy ass over here, or you’re fired!”
Noah could practically see the guy’s face turning red through the phone. It was already 8:30 AM, and Noah was supposed to start work at 7:00 AM.
Before he could respond, a mechanical voice appeared in his mind.
[Ding! The Ultimate Choice System Activated]
Option 1: Go to work.
[Reward: $35 and the title “Slave.”]
Option 2: Tell him you quit with a soft voice.
[Reward: $10,000 and ownership of a small grocery shop.]
Option 3: Tell him to shove the $4 up his a** and hang up.
[Reward: 100% shares of the mid-sized company Walls4Us and Beginner Talent Finder Skill.]
Noah’s eyes widened at the third option. The choice seemed obvious, but he couldn’t help but savour the moment.
The company Walls4Us was actually the company he was working for or more rightly, slaving for. His previous boss Charles was a site manager in one of the sites that the Walls4Us took over.
The company Walls4Us was actually where Noah had been working—or more accurately, slaving away. His boss, Charles, was the site manager at one of the construction sites the company had taken over.
Without hesitation, Noah chose Option 3.
“Option 3!” he declared.
Charles’s voice crackled through the phone, filled with annoyance and arrogance. “HUH? What nonsense are you spewing, Noah? If you’re not on-site in the next 30 minutes, I’ll cut your wage to $3 an hour, you hear me?”
Noah couldn’t help but smirk as he listened to Charles’s threats. Knowing what he was about to do, a wave of satisfaction washed over him.
With a confident tone, he responded, “You know what, Charles? You can take that $4 an hour and shove it up your ass. I quit.”
There was a stunned silence on the other end of the line, and before Charles could recover, Noah hung up. The system chimed in, confirming his choice:
[Ding! You’ve acquired 100% shares of Walls4Us, a mid-sized construction company.]
[Ding! You have acquired the skill, Talent Finder]
A large amount of information was being transferred to his brain, but he couldn’t believe how overpowered the skill was.
Noah chuckled to himself, shaking his head. “Honestly, with these rewards, I’m half tempted to call him back just to see if I can win a free mansion by telling him where to stick his shovel.”
Noah’s smirk grew into a full grin as he stared at his phone. The irony wasn’t lost on him—he had just told off his previous boss, and in doing so, he now owned the very company Charles worked for.
“Looks like I’m your boss now, Charles,” Noah muttered to himself, shaking his head in disbelief at how things had turned out.
“Let’s see where this day takes me,” Noah muttered with a smirk, heading out of his room towards the kitchen.
Noah strolled into the quiet kitchen, greeted by the sight of an almost bare fridge. Only milk, three eggs, and a few random leftovers stared back at him.
“Well, that’s not exactly breakfast material,” he muttered to himself, closing the fridge door.
Deciding to treat himself to something better, he headed back to his room to change. Throwing on a casual outfit—dark jeans, a clean white t-shirt, and a light jacket—he felt refreshed and ready for the day ahead.
“Time to grab something good to eat,” Noah thought heading out the door.
Noah then calls Sarah to see if she would like to have breakfast with him.
“Ring-ring”
“Hello, how you doing?” Asks Noah.
“I’m good, how are you?” Replies Sarah.
“Im doing fine talking to you, i wanted to ask if you would like to have breakfast with me outside?” He said, grinning at the thought of their relationship getting closer.
“Why don’t you come over? I…I can make us breakfast,” she stuttered slightly, clearly not used to inviting a man over like this.
Noah grinned as Sarah’s hesitant offer came through the phone. He could almost picture her nervously fidgeting on the other end.
Smiling, Noah didn’t hesitate. “That sounds perfect. I’d love to eat your cooking.”
“I’ll be there soon,” he said, excitement growing in his chest.
“Alright, see you!” she replied.
“See you!”
“Beep”
Looking at his phone, Noah smiled lightly.
“Cute.”
Slipping his phone into his pocket, he headed towards Sarah’s house for breakfast.
Meanwhile, Sarah was in full panic mode, her face flushed red with embarrassment. It felt like steam was practically coming out of her head.
“Where did I even get the courage to do that?” she muttered to herself, pacing back and forth in her kitchen.
“I’ve never invited a man over before!” she groaned, lightly slapping both of her cheeks to calm down.
Realizing time was ticking, she took a deep breath. “I need to start cooking before he gets here,” she said, quickly tying up her hair and rushing to the kitchen to prepare something special.