When Eishi logged in, he happened to see Shino online in his friendlist. She was inside a lobby for a Team Deathmatch—solo queue, atop that. Her rank wasn't far from Eishi's beginner one.
Without thinking, he requested to join the lobby. Moments later, he found himself inside a waiting room. Eishi didn't expect to get accepted. His habit from his past life remained.
Whenever one of his friends is online, he would request entry to their lobby. There's no need to chat… unlike now.
He broke the silence decisively.
"Hello. I hope you did not mind."
"No, no…"
These were the only words they exchanged. Shino started the matchmaking. It didn't take a while as there are many players on their 'rank'. They got matched with other randoms. His avatar was that of an imposing bald black man.
"Tsk, tsk. I don't want to see you feed, okay?"
No communications took place. The trio confirmed their loadouts before the game began.
'Shoot House… They have this too?'
The medium-sized map contained an office, containers, junkyards, and so on. Shino used a sniper. She switched to a secondary pistol first as she looked for suitable spots. The black man used an AK117. He did not hesitate to rush straight to the enemies. Eishi equipped his M16 and did the same.
Things were going peacefully until a Bullet Line flashed straight to the man's head. He could not react.
Bang-!
His body turned into countless crystals. He was insta-killed. Eishi followed the sound of the sniper. His keen sight saw a muzzle flash.
Like the black man, a Bullet Line flashed in his forehead. He was about to get struck when he tilted it downwards.
Bang-!
"Lucky bastard."
The sniper was forced to retract his words.
All four rounds missed.
Before he could even react, he was shot straight in his forehead. Eishi kept on running as he looked at the gunshot's direction.
'Accurate.'
The moment he stepped inside the office, he saw two people camping.
Bang-!
Bang-!
Bang-!
Bang-!
…
He ran while shooting. Four shots to the head took one down. The other didn't waste this chance to gun Eishi down.
However, he did not expect for all of his bullets to be dodged.
'What the hell? He's hacking!'
Bang-!
That was his final thought. The entire round took less than five minutes. Shino didn't say anything and started the next round.
During their entire session, she saw how it was to move like a speed demon. Eishi dodged all of the snipers' bullets. All Shino had to do was to pull the trigger while they were preoccupied with him.
Their continued winning streak was caught by the matchmaking system. They began facing higher-ranked opponents.
Shino's crude strategies did not work in these matches. Gun Gale Online's uniqueness caught the attention of not only self-trained military geeks, but also of the official military, private mercenaries, and special police squads. The game officials, in return, place them at a high rank right after starting.
For the first five games, she kept getting killed. It was Eishi who hard-carried their squad, coming under heavy fire before rushing straight to them. But, he also began having troubles. The 'virtual body' does not correspond with his real body. His body's movement lagged far behind his reaction speed.
He began to take on calculated hits—the kind that won't deplete his HP in one go. Through this crazy fighting method, they kept on winning.
Shino's progress wasn't slow, either. Although she started as a complete newbie, she caught onto some of the professional snipers' tricks. For example, a split second of muzzle or scope flash is enough to warrant her death. She had to move more prudently to avoid being killed instantly. There are also the tricks in positioning, feinting, and so on that she saw in the spectator's camera.
With Eishi as the teammate, her learning progress soared. It wasn't until two hours later that they went offline.
"...Thanks." She said with a low voice.
"Oh? No problem, no problem. You're also good."
Seeing his avatar disappear, Shino's complex thoughts ensued. The thrilling godly performances from earlier couldn't be erased in her mind. If her prior interest in him was limited to surprise, it is not wrong to say that she was charmed now.
Even…
She has a feeling his in-game appearance was his true appearance.
To Shino, who was ostracized by her classmates, encountering someone who treated her well was already rare. The intangible charm, soothing voice, and handsome looks dealt her one blow after another.
'Can we play again..?'
*****
'It should be enough…'
Eishi, who began to embrace his scumbag status, nodded at his spontaneous actions. His view after that realization was simple.
He may be a scumbag, but he would pamper them with everything he has. He can help them become stronger during the apocalypse.
His prior view of pure love and scumbag view resulted in this not-so-scumbag attitude. There would even be others who would question whether it is scumbag-ish or not.
Eishi cared for them. All he wanted in return is to have multiple girlfriends. Was that fair?
At the very least, those Zaibatsus (lit. Tycoons) knows that the answer to that question is yes.
'3 PM… and tomorrow is exam week.'
Eishi reviewed their contents atop his head.
'I remembered it all.'
The insane 200 points of Spirit made him an intellectual genius. His thinking was clear, his mind could remember everything, and bursts of inspiration appeared every now and then. The tactical responses of the professional teams he fought inside Gun Gale Online are engraved to his very mind.
'Martial arts… I should ask Hiratsuka-sensei for this one.'
Eishi learned several martial arts online, but he knew they were missing a lot of things. His Spirit also affected his intuition, hence he saw these gaps. He fixed all of them, though it cost him hours of hard work. He realized it was better to learn a complete one from the get-go.
'It won't hurt to get a secretary… It's too troublesome to move by myself…'
*****
Question: Where do you hire competent secretaries?
Eishi doesn't know.
The internet doesn't help much in this regard. His limited network dragged his progress down. He doesn't value money at all. Instead, he wanted to convert it to tangible apocalyptic resources as soon as possible. Paper money is meaningless in the apocalypse.
Eishi saw two paths to recruitment. One is the Bank he uses. They are very aware of his current cash flow. He can use their network to recruit employees and accomplish large purchases.
The other one is Shizuka. Her 2014 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Model cost over 18 million Yen. That's not something a 'teacher' can realistically save up. The only other reason is that she's rich—and rich people often have a network of their own.
For now, he chose the first one. He dressed up in decent semi-formal attire. The collar of his white long-sleeve remained unbuttoned. It perfectly outlined his muscle lines. Paired with a set of black slacks and leather shoes, he looked like a model.
'I hated tucking in before, but now…'
Eishi admitted he looked better once the long sleeves were tucked in. He finished it off with a black leather belt.
Just as he stepped out of his flat, he remembered one thing.
'I should also buy a car…'
*****
"A property manager?"
"Not just that. I need a team to manage my finances. I am hoping you can introduce me to some."
"Is that so? That will be no problem…"
The middle-aged man looked at the youth sitting across from him. His temperament established his presence inside this room. The manager felt like he was talking to his highest superiors.
The incredulous information about him flashed in his mind.
'Third year high school, a startup of thirty million Yen…'
The bank has a record of the declaration of cash flow. They knew Eishi's money came from the foreign exchange market. Naturally, they also knew about his background information—that is, the background fabricated by the system.
At eighteen, he managed to grow his thirty million Yen capital into a staggering 24 Billion Yen. He placed all 24 Billion Yen in their Bank. More shockingly, it is a cash flow. Unlike the more troublesome properties, cash flow is very easy to handle. It also allows the bank to develop faster.
The threshold of 'high-class' families in Japan starts at a billion Yen. Those with two hundred Billion Yen already belong to the upper percentile of the high-class. Only the Zaibatsus surpasses them.
24 Billion Yen in cash flow made Eishi the most distinguished guest of the Yokohama Branch. His presence in Yokohama made the higher-ups send a lot of instructions to the Yokohama Branch Manager, the middle-aged man communicating with him now.
'He's so young… and he hinted at a good secretary…'
The manager wracked his brains for a while. He barely maintained his composure due to his decades' worth of experience.
"If you may, I want to recommend someone in our bank."
"Oh? Is that fine?"
"Absolutely!"
The name that left the manager's mouth stunned Eishi.
'Yukinoshita Haruno…'
Her background in this world was that of a Graduate at Tokyo University. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Finance. She had been here for less than a year, but she was able to prove herself capable with a good grasp of people's hearts. Whether in leadership or speaking with clients, she holds a high success rate.
Her true identity, however, is the daughter of the Yukinoshita Family. They are a high-class family that established themselves a hundred or so years ago. Her experience here was more of a training than anything else.
"Go. Talk with her. Let her come if she's willing."
"I understand!"
The manager left as soon as he received Eishi's words.
'Money is not enough. I'll see if I can borrow their networks…'
When it comes to money, he is confident that he will overwhelm the Yukinoshita Family. The Rebate Chances is an absurd hack. As long as the apocalypse doesn't come yet, Eishi is determined to use one Rebate Chance every day to earn more money. Then, he'll use it all to build a strong apocalyptic shelter, endless supplies, weapons, and so on.
As for the method of earning Rebates, Eishi thought of a good plan. He would use 10 billion Yen and ask Airi to click random buttons on the stock exchange. That would be her daily task.
By then, forget earning billions. He would be raking in trillions of Yen, enough to compare to Japan's yearly Gross Domestic Product in his previous life (about 600 trillion Yen).
His wait didn't take a while. The manager returned along with a woman. Her shoulder-length black hair, purple irises, and straight gait showed her elegant professionalism. Her white blouse and black pencil skirt showcased a side of hers that Eishi hasn't seen before.
The moment he saw her panel, he wasn't disappointed.
[Haruno Yukinoshita]
Innate Talent: Spirit Eye (SS, Unawakened)
Non-exclusive Talent: None
Life Level:
Strength: 18
Agility: 17
Constitution: 15
Spirit: 18
[Spirit Eye (SS, Unawakened)]
Details: Eyes blessed to see through the very nature of life. She can set apart the hostile from the friendly. Her tendency to be trusted by others increases dramatically. A natural born leader.
Her athleticism was evident in her attributes. Eishi swiftly moved to the next page.
[Haruno Yukinoshita]
Appearance: 96
Figure: 97
Temperament: 93
Purity: Intact, Can be bound
Overall Rating: SSS
'This… That girl Airi can match her figure?'
Eishi thought of Airi. Her physical attributes are below average. Haruno, presumably, toned her figure through repeated exercises. It can be said that Airi won the genetic lottery.
Then again, those supple butt, soft breasts, and willow-like waist explains everything.
Tap-!
Tap-!
The heels of her stilettos echoed in the silent meeting room.
It wasn't just Eishi who examined her. Haruno's purple irises glanced at him who sat upright. His intangible temperament turned the room's atmosphere several degrees colder. She saw this kind of presence in those who controlled Japan's major economic fields.
Even so, no one compared to Eishi. The thought of it being a false bravado had long been erased.
'This… Is he really a high school student?'
"I will leave you two to discuss. Please excuse me."
The manager bowed before leaving the meeting room. Only Eishi and Haruno remained.
"Please sit."
His gesture freed her from constraints. She sat on the chair across from him.
"I assume you heard it from the manager. I want you to become my secretary. If you agree, I can give you fifty times your current salary."
"..."
"You will use your networks to carry my orders. I will give you three… no, five percent of each cost as your bonus. I am willing to sign the contract now if you agree."
Eishi's unlimited balance stunned the experienced Haruno.