Leaving school that afternoon, Lin ended up riding with the teacher. The sports car parked in the lot was showy enough to make his head tilt. It was the sort of car most people only see in magazines. The plain answer to the obvious question was that she had bought it. Lin filed that under "strange but not impossible" and focused instead on how social status shaded every interaction he witnessed that day.
On the ride, small conversations revealed that social webs extended farther than he thought. A girl had pulled strings to get him VIP access to an event. Another parent turned out to be unexpectedly friendly. Those coincidences made it easier for Lin to convert opportunities into leverage. He was already thinking about how to use a VIP pass, a favor, or a well-timed introduction as inputs for future wish tasks.
Back at the club, task conversions and steady wish point income started to show their power. A one-off blue task transformed into a recurring assignment. That meant predictable, repeatable rewards in the future. Lin saw that this was the real value of the Service Club: its small scale made it manageable, and its repeatability made it profitable in the currency the system used.
There was also the human side. Helping a shy girl get a scholarship, steering someone toward a useful part-time job, or simply creating a social bridge for someone who lacked one all had immediate emotional effects. When those things came through, the system credited him with wish points. People's everyday improvements were becoming a form of capital. Lin found that idea intoxicating in a specifically practical way.
By evening, Lin had a clearer picture. Life could indeed feel like a chain of small coincidences. But with the system, those coincidences could be nudged. Each pushed in the right direction added up to something larger. He had no illusions about virtue. For him, this was a process and a plan. He would help, collect wish points, and use them to gain actual abilities that made further help easier. It was a loop that fit into his temperament perfectly.