The sunlight filtering through the curtains burned a little brighter than usual.
Liam sat up slowly, rubbing his face with both hands. For a second, he half-expected to still be in his old, beat-down apartment from the first timeline—peeling paint, a leaky faucet in the corner, and that awful neighbor who played EDM at six in the morning.
But no—same creaky ceiling fan. Same yellowed light switch by the door. Same stiff mattress he remembered from this version of his teenage years.
Except now… something was different.
He blinked.
A blue screen hovered faintly in his vision—transparent but solid, like a hologram out of a sci-fi movie. The text scrolled slowly, as if to give him time to process.
Welcome, Host.
Dream Life System initializing…
Current Balance: $50,000
Missions Available: 3
Liam sat upright fast enough to nearly throw his back out. "Balance?" he muttered.
Then it clicked.
Right—the briefcase. The wad of cash Alice gave him in the car last night after the tea house stunt. His "performance bonus," or what she called a "down payment" for next time.
But he hadn't dared bring it inside.
His parents—no, the people who raised him—were the type to smell money from three rooms away. If they even saw the corner of a briefcase that expensive-looking, it'd be gone in sixty seconds. Pawned off, guilted out of him, or just straight-up taken.
He didn't need that drama. Not again.
He threw on a hoodie and joggers, laced up his beat-up sneakers, and slipped quietly out the back door.
The alley beside the house was quiet. A little too quiet. The air smelled like cheap detergent and spoiled takeout. Liam passed the old, dented trash bins and crouched beside the concrete base of the house, just behind the rickety fence.
There—by the loose panel near the foundation. A shallow gap between the wall and the old dumpster pad.
He knelt, felt around, and pried up the board. Dust and spider webs clung to the edge, but beneath it, nestled snug like buried treasure, was the black briefcase.
Still locked. Still exactly where he left it.
Liam popped it open halfway and peeked inside. The neat stacks of crisp, fresh bills stared back at him like a dream.
"Still here," he muttered. "Good."
He took a few bills off the top—enough for pocket cash—then slid the briefcase back into hiding and replaced the panel. A quick dust-off of his palms, and he jogged quietly back toward the house.
Once in his room, he kicked the door closed and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Then, with curiosity outweighing caution, he turned to the glowing screen still hovering in mid-air.
It had expanded.
Dream Life System - Main Interface
Host: Liam (Leonel Reyes)
Age: 18
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 84 kg
Primary Interests: Women, Money
Current Balance: $50,000
Missions:
Double Your Balance
• Objective: Increase your current cash balance to $100,000
• Time Limit: 5 Days
• Reward: Investment Insight (Passive Skill) + 1 Random System Gift
Charm a Girl from Your Past
• Objective: Win over a girl you barely noticed the first time
• Reward: +10 Charm Points, +1 Charisma
Unlock a Side Hustle
• Objective: Earn $500 outside your main income source
• Reward: Side Hustle Slot Unlocked, Business Tracker App
Liam dragged his chair toward the screen and sat down like he was about to take an exam.
"This isn't just some game," he murmured.
He reached toward the hovering panel out of instinct, and his hand actually passed through it—only instead of fading, it rippled, responding like water.
New tabs blinked into existence.
Inventory: (Empty)
Skills: (None active)
Charm Points: 0
Rep Tracker: Locked
He clicked the "Inventory" tab, but it stayed blank. The "Skills" tab looked like a talent tree from an RPG, but all the branches were greyed out.
The only thing that caught his eye was that first mission.
Double Your Balance in 5 Days.
He bit his lip.
Five days to turn fifty grand into a hundred. If this was real—and at this point, he was starting to believe it was—then failing might mean losing it all.
He thought back to his last life. How hard he'd worked just to break past the twenty-thousand mark. How long it had taken to claw his way out of the dirt.
This was a shortcut. But it was also a gamble.
Gambling it was tempting—so was flipping something fast. But even in this new timeline, he wasn't reckless. Not anymore.
Then there was the second mission.
Charm a Girl from Your Past.
He raised an eyebrow.
"Which girl?"
As if in response, a notification bloomed into the corner of the screen.
Hint:
Grade 11 Literature class.
Wears headphones. Avoids crowds.
First row near the window.
He tilted his head. "Wait… her?"
He remembered now—a quiet girl with black hair and sharp eyes. Always wore oversized jackets. Never joined group work. Kind of mysterious.
Cute, in a lowkey way. Not the type to chase attention.
"Guess I'll have to charm her now," he said, deadpan. "Because that's totally normal."
Still… this "Charm Points" thing? +10 was nothing to scoff at. He didn't know what charm points did yet, but if they worked like a stat boost in a game, he wasn't about to ignore them.
Then the third mission.
Unlock a Side Hustle.
That one felt… doable. And smart.
Make $500 from something outside his "main income source." Which meant the system didn't see the Alice gig as a hustle—it saw it as something else entirely.
Liam rubbed his jaw.
He'd need to brainstorm. Flipping sneakers? Doing homework for rich kids? Driving lessons?
A notification pinged again.
Reminder: Mission 1 deadline - 5 days remaining.
Start early to receive bonus efficiency rewards.
"Bonus efficiency?" Liam muttered. "This thing's trying to gamify my life."
A weird chill went down his spine. This wasn't like the cliché systems from the novels he used to read in his first life. Those had annoying robot voices and overly helpful assistants.
This one was… quiet. Subtle. Just present enough to guide him, without overwhelming. It felt intentional.
And maybe that was the most unsettling part.
The rewards sounded great. But Liam had lived long enough—twice now—to know nothing came without strings.
Still, the ball was rolling. Whether he liked it or not.
He stood and glanced toward the window. The sun had risen properly now, casting bright lines across the dusty floor.
His stomach rumbled.
He closed the system screen with a thought. It vanished with a soft hum.
Then he headed to the kitchen for a coffee and some eggs. He had money. He had time. He had five days.
Time to build his dream life—whatever that meant.