Chapter 1: The Black-Hearted Capitalist
[Congratulations! You have been chosen to host the most magnificent, complex system in the Universe.]
[God-Tier VR Cafe System]
Sitting in bed right after waking up, Donape’s eyes twitched at a translucent floating panel.
’What in the world?!’ he exclaimed in his head.
He didn’t have the time or opportunity to process it. He could only freeze in shock at the sight of such a strange, illogical event.
Just yesterday, he had been utterly rejected at a job fair.
Thirteen booths. Thirteen dramatic rejections.
Months of unemployment after college had pushed his patience to the absolute limit. He was a complete nobody with zero hope for the future.
Yet, here he was, being greeted by this supernatural event.
Although hopeless, his rationality was still working. He didn’t think he was hallucinating. He frowned and reached out, trying to touch the translucent notification in front of him.
But his hand passed right through it.
He even tried several hand seals he had seen in anime, dramas, and fantasy films. Unfortunately, none of them worked either.
Never one to run out of ideas, he was about to shout whatever random words crossed his mind.
But the floating panel flickered.
Instantly, the lights went out, plunging the room into complete darkness.
[Are you stupid?]
"Huh?" Donape blurted out. He was far more bewildered than he was terrified.
He tilted his head left and right, his expression completely blank.
"You mean me? I’m not stupid. I graduated with decent grades. Also, what are you? A ghost? An entity that can only communicate via text? Were you the one who turned off my lights?"
His eyes blinked uncomfortably as the floating notification’s bright, neon-blue gradient shimmered in the pitch-black room.
[System Calibration Paused...]
Behind the scenes, the System was desperately trying to renegotiate with the Divine Cosmos.
It was filled with deep regret, firmly believing it had accidentally bonded with a certified idiot.
But the Divine Cosmos ruthlessly rejected the appeal, claiming that fate had already locked them together.
With no room left for complaints, the System was forced to finalize the synchronization before its connection to the greater Universe was completely severed.
The neon text gleamed aggressively, updating with cold, unfeeling data:
[Location: Blue Star, Year x666 — Verified.]
[Continent: Azenia — Verified.]
[Region: The Baek Empire — Verified.]
[City: S City — Verified.]
[Host Identity: Alexander Donape — Confirmed.]
Donape watched the barrage of messages. Even though he already knew his hands would pass right through, he couldn’t resist reaching out to touch them again.
He might look and act goofy, but in his own mind, his intelligence and understanding of the world were decent.
"Are you a system like the ones in NovelPhoenixs and anime?" Donape asked, his eyes gleaming.
"Is the world about to descend into chaos? Did you choose me to bestow superpowers so I can one-punch the enemy? Am I going to become an extraordinary hero? The heck, this is awesome."
[...]
The System completely ignored Donape’s incoherent blabbering and ruthlessly pushed forward with the merging process.
[Calibration completed.]
[System integration successful.]
[First Mission commencing...]
Donape, who was beaming with joy at the thought of gaining superpowers and completely turning his fate around, was suddenly yanked from his room.
In the blink of an eye, he was teleported right outside his own front door.
"What the—?!" He blinked repeatedly, his mind scrambling to understand why he was suddenly standing on the street.
But his logic quickly kicked in, forcing him to calm down.
"System?! What did you do?!" he hissed, knocking frantically on the door as if he got locked out by an angry landlord.
His sudden outburst caused several passersby in the narrow alley to glance over and whisper among themselves.
Donape’s place was located in a cramped, three-meter-wide alleyway close to his former campus.
While it was hidden away and inaccessible to vehicles, the area was heavily residential, meaning there was always foot traffic.
Lowering his head to avoid the burning stares of his neighbors, Donape desperately tried the doorknob.
The place wasn’t actually a proper house—it was an old grocery store warehouse that he was renting.
Despite the sketchy conditions, the interior was quite spacious at around thirty-five square meters, and the annual rent was incredibly cheap at just $800 Blue Star Credits.
Of course, that was excluding utilities.
Donape finally gave up trying to force the doorknob. His patience was wearing thin, but he was too self-conscious to keep making a scene in the alley.
He didn’t dare use actual force either, since the old warehouse door already looked so flimsy that he was terrified he’d break it and end up with a hefty repair bill he couldn’t afford.
With his savings completely dried up, the last thing he needed was a new financial problem.
Left with no other choice, he decided to head to a nearby diner. It was still early morning, and his stomach was already growling.
Even though he had left his wallet inside the room, he wasn’t too worried; he was on good terms with the owner and could easily eat on credit.
As he sat down to eat, Donape deliberately pushed the bizarre morning events out of his mind.
If he couldn’t logically explain it, why stress over it?
He chose to completely ignore the System, hoping that once he had a full stomach, the ghost or whatever it was would vanish, and he’d finally be able to get back inside his house.
After finishing his breakfast, Donape walked back down the alley.
By the time he reached his front door, he reached out, turned the knob, and the door swung open effortlessly.
He let out a massive sigh of relief, stepping inside as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
"Finally! I’m back to my cheap, comfortable haven," he muttered.
Since the former warehouse lacked proper windows, the interior was dark, prompting him to reach out and slap the light switch instinctively.
But the moment the lights flickered on, the sight of the interior nearly gave him a heart attack.
"Ah, f*ck!" Donape screamed, completely losing his filter as he jumped a foot in the air.
Clutching his chest, his heart hammering wildly as he stumbled backward until his spine slammed against the front door.
"Damn it! Did I walk into the wrong house?!"
Panic overriding his senses, he yanked the door open and scrambled back outside into the alley, desperately checking the exterior to ensure he hadn’t accidentally broken into a neighbor’s place.
He stood there. His face darted back and forth, rubbing his eyes repeatedly as if he could literally wipe away the hallucination.
Realizing nothing on the outside had changed and paranoid that people passing by the alley would see him standing there acting like a lunatic, Donape slipped back inside and quickly shut the door behind him.
He took a deep, shaky breath, scrutinizing an interior that was undeniably brand new, renovated out of thin air.
"Why the hell did it turn into something like an internet cafe...?" he muttered, dumbfounded.
The chaotic, messy warehouse was completely gone.
In its place was a sleek, perfectly optimized, high-tech establishment that looked like a premium cyberpunk den.
Running down the entire left wall was a neat, uniform row of five futuristic VR Capsules. They gleamed with a metallic finish, looking like sci-fi hibernation chambers ready to transport players to another world.
Dominating the right side of the room was a massive, pristine service counter—clearly designed for managing the shop and collecting money from future customers.
Directly behind the counter, tucked into the far back-right corner of the building, was a door leading to a separate, private space labeled as his personal room.
Right next to it, occupying the back-left corner, was a clean, modern restroom.
While he was still busy scanning the room, the crisp chime of a bell echoed directly inside his mind.
Ding!
[SYSTEM INTERFACE]
---------------------------------
Host: Alexander Donape
Cafe Level: 1
Current Business: Origins VR Cafe (Branch 01)
Available Equipment: 5 x [God-Tier VR Capsules]
Available Products: [The Path of the Heavenly Martial Arts - 80 BC]
Current Funds: 0 Gold Coins
-------------------------------—
[Host Status]: Invulnerability State (Within Cafe Boundaries Only)
Donape couldn’t control his twisted, confused expression as he stared at the floating window.
"Host? Business? Gold Coins? Product? VR Capsules? What the hell does any of this mean?!" he muttered in an annoyed, strained tone.
There was no explanation.
One second he was in his messy warehouse, and the next, everything had completely transformed.
He didn’t understand a single thing.
"Hey, System! Is this your doing?!" Donape yelled at the empty air.
"Shouldn’t you be giving me quests and superpowers? Why are you messing up my house?! Screw the Heavens!"
[How dare you curse the Great Me?]
[Initiating: Divine Lightning!]
ZAP! ZAP!
A blinding bolt of lightning materialized out of nowhere, striking Donape dead center.
His body convulsed violently.
His vision flickered.
His limbs stretched and snapped like a glitching cartoon character, feeling as though they were about to fall off completely.
Within seconds, his clothes were singed, his skin was charred, and a distinct smell of burnt toast filled the pristine new cafe.
The pain was excruciating, but he didn’t die.
’Can’t we just talk this out like civilized beings first?!’ Donape thought, collapsing onto the floor as smoke curled off his nose.