I agreed to be a kept man, but I'm still being punished by the system.

On Sunday morning, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the master bedroom in room 2404, illuminating the fine dust particles in the air.

Lin Yang's consciousness emerged from the chaos. The soreness in his body and the heavy pressure from his left arm forced him to open his eyes.

Chen Wanjun was fast asleep beside him. Last night's frantic demands seemed to have exhausted all her energy. At this moment, she was like a docile cat, curled up in his arms.

Even in her sleep, her arms remained tightly wrapped around his waist, as if afraid he would run away.

Lin Yang spat under his breath.

Honestly, I can't even sleep in.

Without disturbing her, he slowly and gently pulled his numb left arm away from her soft, full breasts.

He tiptoed out of bed, lifted the covers, and stepped barefoot onto the cold wooden floor, silently leaving the master bedroom of 2404.

Back in apartment 2403 across the hall, my own territory, even the air felt free.

Zhang Wei hasn't gotten up to write yet; he probably went to bed too late last night.

Lin Yang walked into the bathroom, the hot water washing over his body, taking away the fatigue of the night.

After changing into a clean T-shirt and jeans, I felt much more refreshed.

His gaze swept over the wardrobe, and something came to mind.

He opened the closet door and pulled out the old coat he had previously disliked. His hand reached into the pocket, his fingertips touching a flat, stiff piece of paper.

A cash check for one million.

He held the check in his hand, tracing the lines on it with his fingertips.

The image of Liu Shanshan's fiery red lips flashed through his mind, followed by the system's task prompt.

One is Qin Xue, and the other is Liu Shanshan.

Liu Shanshan's task has a shorter deadline, shouldn't it be prioritized?

With a thought, he called upon the system in his mind.

[Host, how can I help you?]

The cold, mechanical voice rang out precisely on time.

"Is there a specific order to those tasks?"

No, host. The system only determines whether a task is completed or not.

"Then, does this one million check in my hand count as a gift from Liu Shanshan, number four?" Lin Yang asked, shaking the check in his hand with a sliver of hope.

[Host, this is an apology, not a gift from the target. The system does not recognize it.]

"Tsk."

Lin Yang pursed his lips; he knew it wouldn't be that good.

"By the way, was there a reward for completing that last mission?"

Yes, host. The skill list is as follows:

Skill 1: Musical Instrument Proficiency.

[Skill 2: Firearms Mastery]

[Skill 3: Crisis Warning.]

A blue screen unfolds on the retina, and three options are clearly visible.

Musical instrument mastery and firearms mastery. The purposes of these two are obvious just from their names.

"What does this crisis warning mean?"

[Host, this is a passive skill that allows you to anticipate potential dangers.]

That sounds good.

One should always be wary of others, especially in the circle he's now in.

"What about the other two?"

[Musical instrument proficiency: 1 credit points. Firearms proficiency: 1 credit points.]

"After mastering it, are there also proficiency and mastery?" Lin Yang keenly grasped the key words.

[Yes, host. Musical Instrument Proficiency: 1 Soft Rice Points; Musical Instrument Mastery: 1 Soft Rice Points; Musical Instrument Grandmaster: 10 million Soft Rice Points. Firearms Proficiency: 10...]

"Alright."

Lin Yang interrupted the system's incessant introduction.

"It's all a scheme, forcing me to earn money by being a kept man. Even capitalists would be moved to tears."

[Ok, host. 】

"Then let's choose crisis warning."

[Instructions received. Host selects skill: Crisis Warning.]

As soon as the system finished speaking, Lin Yang felt a faint electric current surge deep within his brain, as if something had been activated. His hearing and vision seemed to become slightly sharper in an instant; he could clearly hear car horns coming from the distant street outside the window and see a tiny spider web in the corner of the wall that he had never noticed before.

As he was experiencing this change, the system's voice rang out again.

The current crisis warning level is one star, with limited coverage.

"I knew it," Lin Yang asked. "How do we upgrade from there?"

[Upgradeable to a maximum of five stars. Each upgrade requires consuming a specified amount of "soft rice points" or completing a special task.]

"grass."

Lin Yang gave the middle finger to the air.

I felt a little better after cursing the system.

He was helpless; after all, he was the user, and the system was the rule-maker.

Forget it, I don't want to.

He carefully placed the check into his coat pocket; the most important thing right now was to turn this piece of paper into real numbers in his bank account.

He had not forgotten Chen Wanjun, who lived across the hall.

He went downstairs and bought soy milk, fried dough sticks, and a few meat buns from a breakfast shop at the entrance of the community. He used the password to open the door of 2404 and placed the breakfast on the table.

Then he took out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Chen Wanjun.

Eat on time and remember to apply the medicine. I have errands to run today and may be back late.

After doing all this, he returned to his car.

The deep blue Cayenne started up, its engine emitting a deep roar.

He opened his phone's map app and searched for nearby banks that were still open on Sundays.

"Big cities are better; banks are open on weekends."

He found a branch of XX Bank and drove there.

Perhaps because it was still early, there were very few customers in the bank.

He took a number and arrived at the counter almost immediately.

I handed over the check and my ID, and the whole process went incredibly smoothly.

Although the teller's eyes showed a hint of curiosity, her professionalism prevented her from asking any further questions.

The formalities were completed quickly.

Lin Yang walked out of the bank, sat back in the driver's seat of the Cayenne, and let out a long breath.

"Ding-dong—"

The phone screen lit up, and a bank message popped up.

【您的xx银行帐户于11月16日09:35完成一笔转帐汇款交易，入帐金额1,000,000.00元，可用余额2,125,655.85元。】

A series of numbers clearly came into his view.

Lin Yang stared at the line of numbers, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

Two million.

A month ago, he was a recent graduate struggling to earn a meager salary of three thousand yuan.

Now, his bank account balance, plus his recent salary, is over two million yuan.

This feeling is unreal, yet incredibly reassuring.

The sense of security that money brings strongly enveloped him.

He was happily humming an off-key tune, just about to start the car, when his phone vibrated again.

It's a WeChat message.

He clicked on it, and the sender's profile picture was a dark-style cheongsam art photo, with the nickname: Liu Shanshan.

Mr. Lin, you cashed the check so quickly.

Lin Yang's smile froze instantly.

How did she know?

Is this check being tracked?

This woman has more tricks up her sleeve than he imagined.

He felt uncomfortable with the feeling of being watched, but he quickly suppressed it.

His fingers flew across the screen, his tone flippant and roguish.

Sigh, Shanshan, you won't support me, so I have no choice but to cash that check.

We need to renovate our house, but we're short on funds.

I just sent the information.

hum-

The phone screen lit up again, this time not with a message, but with an incoming call.

The caller ID displayed two words.

Suman.