Lenny immediately got up from the floor, rushed to the counter, and grabbed his phone — completely ignoring the fact that he was still half-naked.
The soft glow from the phone screen cast gently on his face.
[Task completed!]
> You have been rewarded 3 viral points for completing [Task #4: Participate in Johan's Game].
> You have been rewarded an additional 5 viral points for completing [Optional: Win the game].
Lenny's mind went blank for a couple of seconds, momentarily unsure of what to think or feel. But soon, a wide grin crept up on his face.
'…Finally! Yes! I actually got them, wow. Now … uh, I have to think. The shop, yes, the shop feature. With these viral points, I can now try out that instant recovery capsule from the shop.'
As he contemplated and recalled his prearranged plans, Lenny moved about joyfully, walking in circles.
But then, he suddenly froze at the sight of another notification.
[Achievement unlocked!]
In the Top Idol app, a sudden animation of trumpets blaring accompanied a large trophy with a titled ribbon at its base.
[Bronze Trophy]
"Beginner" ~ Complete your first task.
Lenny nodded in acknowledgment, not thinking much of the bronze trophy. He felt it was similar to common achievements in games that didn't mean anything or serve any purpose beyond offering the gamer a sense of accomplishment.
That was until he was notified again …
> You have been rewarded 8 viral points.
> You have been granted a cash prize of $10,000.
Lenny barely had time to react before his mobile banking app pinged with a credit alert.
[Top Idol Co. has sent you $10,000.00.]
Staring at his phone, Lenny's face froze in disbelief.
He went over to the mobile banking app, WiPay, and refreshed it multiple times, believing it to be some sort of mistake.
However, his balance still read ten-thousand six dollars, eighty-nine cents — $10,006.89!
Lenny remained rooted to the spot, fixated on his phone screen.
Unanticipated tears quietly trickled from his eyes, tracing a silent path down his cheeks.
He briefly wiped his eyes with his free hand, but the tears fell even more.
"Hic… Hic…"
A torrent of emotions overwhelmed him, plunging him into an uncontrollable weeping session. These were tears born of pain, years of suffering, and anguish, mingled with newfound joy, happiness, and hope.
His knees weakened, and he gently rested his upper body on the counter, sobbing uncontrollably and snorting, ugly crying.
After all these years and all his relentless struggles, it felt as though there was nothing left for him in this world. He had given up and succumbed to the despair that had plagued him.
Every night, he slept, wishing he would wake up from the nightmare he called his life. Every morning, he woke up, wishing he had died in his sleep.
Every time he looked in the mirror, he confronted the face of his own self-loathing.
Every time he called his mother, Sarah, and heard her tired voice, he was reminded of how much of a failure he was. For her not to worry, he continued to maintain the lie that he had completed college and was employed as a manager at a prestigious company.
Every time he was with friends, he was reminded that he was truly alone in the drifting planes of this treacherous mortal coil. His laughter and smiles were hollow. A stark contrast to the emptiness he felt inside.
Day in and day out, he felt like a living dead man, a soulless failure trapped in an existence bereft of meaning. Walking purposeless and directionless into the inevitable unknown.
He fell so sick once that he couldn't move, and had neither money to buy drugs nor anyone to cater for him, only lucky the illness lasted only a few days. Since then, he often likened himself to the terminally ill in hospitals, lamenting that at least they were fortunate enough to have society acknowledge their existence.
He knew if he ever fell seriously ill again, with no way to work and no way to pay for medical bills and rent, he would undoubtedly die in a ditch somewhere or in the sewers.
There was no one for him. He was doomed to live a life that headed down a path with a grim fate awaiting him at the end, which seemed very near.
But now, he glimpsed hope — hope for a better life, hope for a brighter future, hope for a new sun.
Like teetering at the edge of an unfathomable abyss, then plummeting into the darkness below, only to be caught by an outstretched hand of hope.
He had finally been given a chance.
This was his chance to win—his means to escape the heavy shackles of the grim fate that awaited him. Now, if he truly willed, he could take the reins of his destiny.
Therefore, what more was left to say? He was going to give it his all!
…
[Rule #1: Only admins can send invitations to join Top Idol.]
…
After about 10 minutes, Lenny's crying session came to an end. He picked up his clothes, which were still on the counter, and headed to the staff bathroom.
Standing in front of the mirror, still half-naked, a soft smile graced his face, as though it were commonly there.
'…I should do this quickly. Closing time is almost near…' he thought curiously.
Lenny now possessed a substantial sum of 16 viral points, ripe for experimentation and investment. So, he decided to follow the plan he had formulated earlier when he had scoured through the app during the store's downtimes.
The Top Idol app had nine tabs: Profile, Attributes, Leaderboard, Inventory, Shop, Marketplace, Notifications, Achievements, and Help & Support.
Lenny navigated the app and briefly checked his stats in the Attributes tab once more. With the 'i' sign in the corner, he had learned that the maximum amount allowed for each stat was 25.
[Attributes]:
Strength — 7.
Perception — 12.
Endurance — 9.
Charisma — 5.
Intelligence — 15.
Agility — 11.
Looks — 8.
Lenny's face contorted with a hint of annoyance.
This was the fifth time he had checked his attributes, but he just couldn't accept what he saw. Now, with the confirmation of the legitimacy of the app, the annoyance he felt was more palpable.
Strength, Endurance, Agility, Intelligence, and Perception — these attributes were within Lenny's expectations, to say the least.
However, the corners of his mouth and brows twitched slightly as he stared at the values of his Looks and Charisma attributes.
'…Dammit, I'm not that ugly! And I'm a pretty charming guy. Nana even calls me her prince charming. This app must be bugged. At least, they somewhat got my intelligence right. But still, it should be a few points higher…'
Shaking his head and pushing his dissatisfaction to the back of his mind, Lenny continued on with his plan.
He entered the Shop tab and was immediately greeted with a particular item with an icon of a pinkish-red substance in a cylindrical container.
[Insta-Health Recovery Capsule]
Type: Consumable.
Tier: I.
Description: Healiosa-Nowus! Recover from all minor ailments and injuries instantly.
Price: 1 VP.
Seeing the consumable item once again, Lenny couldn't help but criticize inwardly.
'…What on earth are these silly wordings on the descriptions of these items? Healiosa-Nowus, meaning Heal Now? They were most likely trying to imitate a Harry Potter spell with this one. Tsk, how can one even take this app seriously…?'
Not minding the childish and unprofessional description, he purchased the [Insta-Health Recovery Capsule] and then proceeded to the Inventory tab.
The icon of the product he had just obtained was the only thing in his inventory, and it occupied one out of nine slots arranged in a grid.
He clicked on the [Insta-Health Recovery Capsule] icon and was presented with two options: [Use] or [Sell].
'…Hmm, I would like to try out this 'sell' feature sometime…' Lenny thought to himself before tapping 'use'.
He glanced around the bathroom, curious to see how the item would be delivered.
Thud!
"What the!" Lenny jumped in fright at the sudden sound.
He turned around and spotted a cuboid packet on the bathroom floor. It resembled a common medicine packet but was about 5 inches in length, unlike the typical ones which were much smaller.
'…How is this possible? It appeared out of nowhere!'
With cautious curiosity, he picked up the item and scrutinized it.
The packet was a plain white surface, devoid of any design. On the side, the instructions were simple: "Place the bottom part, which has an opening in the middle, anywhere on the arm, neck, or thigh; and then, use your thumb to press down on the top part."
Nodding thoughtfully, Lenny carefully opened the packet and took out a cylindrical container crafted from a metallic material and glass-like transparent material, encasing a flowing reddish-pink liquid.
Lenny conducted a visual comparison, noting its thickness in relation to a whiteboard marker, although slightly thicker.
Following the provided instructions, he positioned the bottom of the canister with an opening in the middle on his left forearm.
Gently pressing the top of the capsule, it emitted a soft 'prf' sound, akin to the deflation of a balloon.
Lenny emitted a subdued groan as he felt a slight pricking sensation. He realized the bottom opening of the capsule most likely harbored a thin needle within, which promptly delivered all the reddish-pink liquid into his blood vessels.
He tossed the empty canister into the bathroom wash sink and leaned forward, gripping the corners of the sink as he studied his reflection in the mirror.
A mild sense of lightheadedness washed over him, and then…
And then, he bore witness to something truly extraordinary and only found in fiction: The bruises that had marred his shoulders, ribs, back, thighs, and even his bloodshot and swollen left eye, all began to fade away.
To be precise, they were healing at an astonishingly rapid pace!
Lenny's eyes widened in sheer astonishment. Tentatively, he ran his hands over his body, particularly the areas where the bruises had been.
"What the hell…"
His fingers repeatedly explored his body, his lips gradually curling.
'…This is incredible! There's—There's no pain anywhere! In fact, I've never felt so healthy in my life!'
"Hahaha!" Lenny burst into playful, triumphant laughter.
Then, he reached for his phone.
"This can't be a dream, can it?" he furtively asked himself.
Pa… He lightly slapped his face and saw that he was very much awake. It was an undeniable reality.
Running his hand through his hair, he grinned at his reflection.
"It's fuckin' legit!"
While Lenny had already started to believe Viral Star wasn't a scam when he received that cash reward, this experience just put the icing on the cake.
"...Oh my, what should I do next?" he joyously voiced, utterly flabbergasted.
Then, he quickly checked the phone's time.
'…Only 20 minutes left till the shift ends. I'll test the Go Viral feature with short videos on TinkTonk with the remaining 15 viral points when I get home. Hmm, I should also add some to my looks and charisma.
'Should I close up early today? If I do, I'll be able to go back to Old Town and visit that stranger who saved me. He must have been the one to send me the invite, so he must be an admin…'
Lenny wished to thank the weird stalker, but he also harbored a significant number of questions. Therefore, he quickly decided to close early and began wearing his clothes.
…
Under the moonlight, from the shadowy corner of the street, Lenny was discreetly observed as he exited Jack's QuickStop convenience store, wearing a joyful expression as he hailed a taxi cab.
"Start the engine," a deep voice said from within the darkness.
Silently, the engine revved, and the car began to follow the taxi cab ahead, all while remaining concealed in the shadows.
