The thought of those stacks of crisp American currency lit a fire under him. Shane sprinted out of the bedroom and made a beeline for the second-floor bathroom.
He threw the door open and scanned the room. He needed to verify if this bathroom matched the one in his memories of the show.
In the first season of Shameless, they mostly talked about the downstairs bathroom, but the upstairs one definitely existed in later seasons. He needed to be sure.
The result was satisfying: The layout was exactly how he remembered the scene where Aunt Ginger's money was hidden.
As he was looking around, his eyes accidentally caught the mirror above the sink.
Or rather, the face staring back at him.
Black hair, slightly messy. Deep-set eyes. A high nose bridge. The facial structure had the sharp definition of a Westerner but the softer edge of Eastern features.
It was a face that screamed "brooding, mysterious, handsome."
Basically, he looked like a young, mixed-race Keanu Reeves.
Shane thought to himself, With a mug like this, what the hell am I doing on the South Side? If the universe had given me a "Hollywood Star System" instead of this bargain-bin app, I'd be walking red carpets by now.
Too bad. Reality was a bitch. He was a Gallagher, and his system was "Temu." He'd just have to roll with it.
"At least the face is basically mine, just... upgraded."
Shane rubbed his chin, indulging in a moment of narcissism. Living with his own face—even a better version of it—felt way less creepy than wearing a stranger's skin.
He thought about the "fusion." This world's Shane was basically his variant. They were both Shane.
If this had been a pure body-snatch situation, he'd be worrying about the future. Like, if he got married and had kids later, whose DNA would that be?
Would I be the cuck, or the bull?
But with this fusion setup? It was perfect.
And the best part was that his consciousness from the other world was in the driver's seat.
Suddenly, remembering something else, he yanked his T-shirt over his head.
"Holy sht..."
The upper body in the mirror looked like a classical sculpture come to life.
He'd only seen the abs earlier, but now the full picture was revealed: Broad shoulders tapering down into a V-shape, full pecs, and that chiseled eight-pack.
The Adonis belt—those V-lines on his lower abs—moved slightly as he breathed.
He struck a few poses in the mirror. Biceps popped. Triceps cut deep. When he flexed his back, his lats spread out like wings. He felt like he could fly if he jumped hard enough.
His skin was a bit pale from malnutrition and lack of sunlight, but the pallor only made the muscle definition look sharper.
"This is... fcking ridiculous. Michelangelo couldn't carve proportions this natural."
Shane whispered to himself, unable to resist poking his own chest.
After admiring the gun show, he stood up straight to gauge his height. About 5'10" (177cm).
He was only seventeen, a few months younger than Lip. With this body's potential, growing a few more inches in the next couple of years wouldn't be a problem.
"Whatever. Body later. Right now, it's about the money! Money! Money!"
Shane pulled his T-shirt back on, hiding the shredded physique. He turned around, ran downstairs, rummaged through a pile of junk, and found a claw hammer.
He sprinted back to the upstairs bathroom.
He located the specific panel under the cabinet from his memory. He raised the hammer.
Bang!
Bang!
CRASH!
Wood splinters flew everywhere.
After a few solid whacks, a hidden compartment was revealed.
Shane tossed the hammer aside and reached in, pulling out a wrapped bundle.
He weighed it in his hand.
Heavy. There was definitely a lot of cash in here.
He sat down on the toilet lid, unable to wait another second. He ripped open the package.
The first thing he saw was stack after stack of neatly bound bills.
"Jackpot! That is some serious startup capital!"
He dug deeper. Inside the bag, there were also some old blueprints, a jar of liquid containing a severed finger (Ginger's, obviously), and a black pistol.
Shane ignored the finger and the gun for now. He dumped the cash out and started counting fast.
"One hundred... one thousand... ten thousand..."
"Twenty-five thousand dollars!"
How much was it in the show? He couldn't remember if they ever said the exact number.
"Who cares? I'm here now. This is my version!"
Looking at the pile of money, Shane's heart was pounding.
You had to understand what $25,000 meant in 2010.
$25,000 could keep Frank drunk and high for years.
$25,000 could buy half a house like Aunt Ginger's.
$25,000 was enough for any smart person on the South Side to start a small business and claw their way out of the ghetto.
In the lower class, almost nobody ever saw this much clean cash in one place.
This was life-changing money.
Keep in mind, Fiona's entire grocery budget for the week was usually a hundred and thirty bucks, tops.
Shane immediately summoned the "Temu" system interface.
"Top up!"
[Detected Rechargeable Currency. Recharge?]
"Yes!" Shane didn't hesitate.
The green stack of bills vanished instantly. The balance on his interface jumped from $61.21 to $25,061.21.
"Oh yeah..."
Seeing that balance skyrocket gave him a massive sense of security.
The system accepted the cash without issue. That meant any money he touched could be deposited.
If he used this right, the possibilities were endless. At the very least, he'd never have to worry about counterfeit bills.
Then, another thought popped into his head.
If I can deposit... can I withdraw?
He focused his mind. Withdraw one thousand dollars.
As soon as the thought formed, a stack of hundred-dollar bills wrapped in a bank strap appeared in his empty hand with a crisp snap.
The system balance dropped to $24,061.21.
"Holy sht!" Shane was buzzing. "This is too useful!"
He didn't put it back immediately. He wanted to test one more thing.
Holding the stack of hundreds, he thought: Deposit. And convert this entire thousand into twenty-dollar bills.
[Detected Rechargeable Currency: $1,000.00. Deposit and execute denomination conversion?]
"Yes!"
The bills in his hand vanished again.
A split second later—
On the sink counter, a mountain of twenty-dollar bills materialized out of thin air.
The sea of green was way more visually impressive than the small stack of hundreds!
"So convenient. I can swap bills whenever I want. No more flashing Benjamins and looking suspicious."
This system... it was tacky, sure. But damn, it was user-friendly.