Chapter 1: The System's Ironic Gift
Ethan "Ace" Carter woke up to the insistent bleating of his alarm clock, a jarring sound that threatened to shatter his already fragile sanity. He slapped the snooze button with the force of a man battling a personal vendetta, burying his face back in the threadbare pillow. Another day, another dollar… or, more likely, another pile of bills.
Ace was, to put it mildly, directionless. He bounced from one dead-end job to another, his ambitions buried under a mountain of student loan debt and a general lack of motivation. His current occupation? Professional couch potato, supplemented by the occasional freelance gig writing clickbait articles about celebrity cats.
He groaned and finally dragged himself out of bed, shuffling towards the kitchen for his morning dose of caffeine. As he reached for the instant coffee, a strange notification popped up in his field of vision. It wasn't on his phone, or his laptop, or any device he recognized. It was just… there.
[System Activated!]
Ace blinked, wondering if he'd accidentally inhaled too much dust from his ancient vacuum cleaner.
[Welcome, Host! You have been chosen to receive the Business Inversion System.]
"The… Business… what now?" Ace mumbled, rubbing his eyes. He desperately hoped this was just a particularly vivid dream brought on by caffeine withdrawal.
[The Business Inversion System is designed to… incentivize business ventures. Here's how it works: For every $1,000 profit generated by your business, you will receive $1. For every $1 loss, you will receive $100.]
Ace stared blankly at the notification. It had to be a prank. A ridiculously elaborate, technologically advanced prank. But as he reached out to dismiss the notification, a digital interface materialized in front of him, displaying his "System Inventory."
[System Inventory:]
- Funds: $100,000
"One hundred… thousand dollars?" Ace whispered, his eyes widening. "This has GOT to be a joke."
He cautiously reached out and touched the digital display. It felt… real. Solid, even. He pinched himself, just to be sure. Ouch. Not a dream.
[Please note: This system is undetectable to external entities. Do not attempt to disclose its existence to others.]
"Okay, so… I can't tell anyone about this. Got it," Ace muttered, his mind racing. A system that rewards him for losing money? That was… insane. But also… potentially life-changing.
A devious grin spread across Ace's face. He was no business genius, far from it. But he was pretty good at being a failure. This was his chance to finally turn his incompetence into a lucrative career.
"Alright, System," Ace said aloud, a newfound determination in his voice. "Let's get to work. I'm going to become the most successful failure the world has ever seen!"
His first thought? He needed a business. And not just any business, a business so terrible, so fundamentally flawed, that it was guaranteed to lose money.
An idea sparked in his mind, as ridiculous as it was brilliant.
"I'm going to make a mobile game," Ace declared, a manic glint in his eye. "A game so bad, it'll make Flappy Bird look like the Mona Lisa. I'm going to make… 'Potato Simulator 2024'!"
The system remained silent, presumably processing the sheer audacity of Ace's plan.
Ace, fueled by coffee and the promise of financial ruin, rushed to his ancient laptop, ready to embark on his journey to become an accidental tycoon.
He had a lot of money to lose, and a lot of potatoes to simulate.