It had been four months since the mysterious System bound itself to Eric. He no longer doubted his sanity and even lit incense for his ancestors.
Eric was Chinese-American, and his father was a journalist in Hong Kong who sought asylum in America fearing a CCP crackdown. He didn't know much about his mother.
All he remembered of his early childhood was his mother leaving him and his father, and in later years his father calling her a gold digger whenever he got too drunk.
When Eric was 12, his father was detained by Chinese State Security agents operating in America, and he never saw his father again.
He entered foster care, and despite the difficulties, Eric managed to keep his academic performance at the highest level, which later helped him when he applied to UC Berkeley.
His circumstances and his story, along with his high academic performance, won him the Chancellor's Scholarship.
His first two years were extremely hectic due in part to the requirements of the scholarship—rigorous coursework, extracurricular activities, working with a mentor on projects, and so forth. It was only during his third year that he could relax a little.
Yet, unexpectedly, the System introduced itself.
It was early August now, and Eric was due to start his fourth and final year in a week.
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Eric stood in front of a small warehouse at a remote location.
"The assay and certificate of analysis have been to our satisfaction; all that's missing is your signature," Randall, the representative of COMEX, the world's largest commodities exchange, said with a smile.
With a faint smile, Eric nodded. He signed a few papers and handed a key to Randall.
Randall gave Eric a firm handshake. "It's a pleasure doing business with you. Hope it won't be the last."
"Sure," Eric said with a smile.
Randall retrieved a second key from his pocket and used it together with Eric's key to unlock the warehouse door.
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A shimmering pallet wall of gold bars greeted them. After a quick inspection, Randall nodded at Eric. "Everything's in order... $762 million will be wired to your account in the next 15 minutes. But there'll be a hold on the money for 48 hours, after which it's all yours."
Eric heaved a long sigh. The weight of the transaction finally sank in.
I made it.
"Thank you! I'll be leaving then, see you," Eric replied with a cheerful smile.
Randall nodded.
Two heavily armored trucks started backing into the loading bay as Eric exited the warehouse gate.
Eric was in a cheerful mood. Not even the hot California sun managed to bother him. He walked for a good 20 minutes before calling it quits and getting an Uber.
The cool air of the air conditioning felt heavenly to Eric. Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed his phone and logged into the bank's app.
After a few refreshes, there it was.
Orbit Holdings LLC
$762,175,326.71 USD
On Hold - 48 Hours
Over the last three months, Eric had used up all the money in his personal account for registering the LLC and for lawyer consultation fees. Since last week, his diet had consisted exclusively of ramen packets, and he lived in a shady motel.
In two days, I will be financially free and be able to truly lay the foundation for my dreams...
System.
Looks like you're pretty happy with the outcome... I just mined a tiny asteroid, this is nothing compared to what's yet to be. Once your company gets off the ground, that's when it will truly rain!
"I have—" Realizing that he started to speak out loud, Eric looked at the Uber driver, who either didn't hear or didn't care.
I have a question. Since you seem to be so altruistic, and you can make incredible things, why don't you want me to just give it away for free?
That's a good question... Not! Don't be ridiculous, even the Supreme Hai and by extension, I, believe in capitalism.
How can humanity advance without financial pressure—and how can I let you be my host and work for nothing?
Either way, my directives are as such - 'Teach a man to fish and sell him lobsters.' What do you think?
That's... There's something wrong with that quote... Anyway, I'm not complaining. By the way, I've been meaning to ask you for a while—
You want to ask me about aliens, right? The answer is yes. This universe, like many others, has lots of civilizations at various levels of advancement.
One of my directives and reasons for my deployment is to increase the odds of humanity's survival and maybe eventual dominance.
As Eric pondered upon this information, before he realized it, he arrived at the motel where he was staying.
After paying for the ride, he was left with a single dollar bill.
"Haha... The last dollar," Eric laughed as he carefully put the lone dollar back in his pocket.
Inside the motel, he cooked a packet of ramen in his electric kettle. "Two more days of this..." Eric sighed as he slurped the noodles.
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