Looking at the task reward, the corners of Jason's mouth curved upward.
He skimmed through the numbers. Four lottery draws—he decided to keep one of them aside, rolling it into next month. Timing mattered. Big draws should land on big days.
And right now, the system was already moving ahead.
The new line mission refreshed before his eyes:
Simp Funds: $1 billion
Mission: Spend $1 billion within six months, while raising favorability with eight women (8/10 or higher).
Raise favorability of eight women to 80
Raise favorability of three women to 90
Raise favorability of one woman to 100
Reward: 100,000 bonus
Failure Penalty: All remaining funds will be frozen
Jason stared at the mission window, speechless.
"One billion in spending… and the reward is only one hundred thousand?"
Even though he was already used to this system's twisted sense of balance, the insult still stung. The so-called "Simp System" was built to make him the perfect tool man—pouring billions into women until their lives skyrocketed, while he scraped by with crumbs.
If he played by its rules, every woman around him would end up a billionaire, while he'd be left with pocket change. And the moment they outgrew him? They'd walk. So much for loyalty or favorability.
Jason sneered inwardly. The system sees me as a tool? Then I'll treat the system as my tool. You run your program, and I'll run mine.
He wasn't here to follow the script. He was here to game it.
At that moment, his phone buzzed. Caller ID: Parker.
Jason picked up, and an anxious voice burst through the line.
"Jason, I just heard—you bought that industrial land out by the Bayfield–Northport line? And at forty thousand an acre? That's a massive premium!"
"You're jumping into real estate, why didn't you let me advise you? That land's restricted. You can't just convert industrial zoning into tourism. Everyone knows that."
"And on top of that—you bought hundreds of units in Seaside Estates? Jason, those are the condos nobody can unload, even at a discount!"
Parker sounded genuinely worried. He wasn't just another investor—he actually cared. He had been hoping Jason would pool funds with him on more secure projects. Watching Jason throw hundreds of millions into "bad bets" made his heart sink.
But Jason stayed calm, his tone light." Parker, you're really well-informed, huh?"
Parker sighed. "It's not that I'm informed, Jason. You don't understand how big a ripple you just made. The whole development circle's eyes are locked on Bayfield's tourism rumors. Any strange move in land or housing gets noticed instantly."
"And you? You just dropped over a hundred of millions overnight, buying up the one patch everyone else thinks is dead weight. The minute you signed, word spread like wildfire. Now the entire real estate circle is buzzing—half of them think you're a genius, the other half think you're out of your mind."
Jason leaned back in his chair, smiling faintly. Let them think what they want.
Jason leaned back casually, tapping the armrest of the leather chair."Then there's no helping it—I bought everything. It's just a little over a hundred million. If it doesn't work out, I'll just treat it as a game."
Parker, who had been mid-sip of coffee, nearly choked and went speechless.
Listen to that. Is that even human language?
Does Jason really think money grows on trees? Why not put that money into a proper investment with him—let his expertise multiply Jason's fortune, rather than blowing it all like this?
Soon enough, phone calls started pouring in one after another.
After all, he was Jason's partner in Vision Media, and he feared Jason had put himself into debt over this. Only when Jason casually explained it was just spare cash did Lewis finally breathe easier. But after that relief came an unavoidable pang of bitterness. People really do compare themselves to others—some work their whole lives to save this kind of money, while Jason calls it pocket change.
Word spread fast through the real estate circles of Harbor City. Many laughed at Jason, saying he was just another spoiled rich kid with no sense for business, tossing money around without understanding what he bought.
Meanwhile, in the city's Department of Land Development, Director sat in his office reviewing a file, massaging his temples.
The Planning Bureau had long known that Richard Grant was a land speculator. He'd found loopholes in regulations and squeezed profits out of them, and for the moment there wasn't much they could do.
Now, that same industrial tract was being converted into commercial use. Ideally, it could attract real investment and construction.
If developed properly, the land would connect the downtown waterfront to the Riverside district, turning the entire stretch into a stunning scenic corridor.
But Richard? He couldn't even get a decent industrial project off the ground—how could anyone expect him to handle a major commercial one? Whitman feared he'd only make a mess of it.
At that moment, his secretary stepped in."Director, that industrial land has been sold."
Whitman froze. Sold? Already? The city hadn't even announced the official tourism development policy yet—the public had no idea of its full potential.
"At what price?" Whitman asked sharply. "Don't tell me Richard ran into cash flow problems and dumped it cheap. And who's the buyer—do they even have the financial strength to see it through?"
The secretary handed him the folder."Not only was it not sold at a discount, sir, it was sold at a forty percent premium. The buyer's name is Jason."
Whitman blinked, first at the word "premium," then at the buyer's name.
Jason? That young man who had shown up at his son's wedding? How in the world did he know about this parcel of land?
Whitman was certain he hadn't leaked a word. He hadn't told a soul outside the office—not even Son should have known. So how did Jason figure it out? Could he really have deduced it from just a few offhand remarks?
Intrigued now, Whitman picked up his phone and dialed the dean. After the conversation, he sat back, thoughtful.
"This Jason… he's not just another rich kid. He has real strength. Maybe it's actually a good thing this land ended up in his hands. He'll make a fortune off it, no doubt—but as long as he develops it properly, the city will benefit too."
Three days later, the city published the official policy announcement online.
Harbor City's entire real estate market exploded overnight.
Property values along the waterfront corridor surged yet again. Most areas had already jumped on the strength of earlier rumors, but now they hit a new ceiling.
The biggest shock, however, was that old industrial tract on the border between Riverside and Midtown. Overnight it transformed from the cheapest land in the corridor into the single most expensive.
Valuations skyrocketed—from forty million to four hundred million—then shot past five hundred as investors scrambled to get in.
In the show House of Cards, there was a storyline where a development group used political collusion to scoop up industrial land for $40,000 an acre, then reclassified it for commercial use, watching it soar fifteen-fold.
Jason hadn't colluded with anyone. He'd relied only on his instincts—and yet the results were just the same.
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