Augustus blinked. Bet? With a surprised expression, then his attention shifted as a new task panel hovered before his eyes.
Ding!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Main Task: Save Crunch Studio]
– Mini Goals:
[×] Gain Majority Control, 70% shares – $150,000
[×] Secure a Better Work Environment – $100,000
[×] Invest in Equipment & Staff – $100,000
| Penalty: Public opportunity lost. Future startup-related rewards reduced permanently by 25%
| Reward: +$1,000,000 + Allies + Confidence
| The decision is yours. Build your empire—or walk away. [Accept/Deny]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Main Task? Save the startup and…What the fuck one, two, S-six zero's that's a million… Augustus froze processing the moment Looks like the system means business now. he thought,
but his attention soon snapped back as another employee shouted, "How!? We have been at it for over a week? And with team effort we just solved it yesterday," he said with a stunned expression.
The Crunch Studio was a game developer startup, but most of its earnings came from taking small projects and solving menial problems for established companies who wanted to outsource some game mechanics.
So their income wasn't anything great; everyone worked here for learning and passion while earning what small amount came to them.
"Augustus has always been smart, the only reason he didn't join earlier was because the pay here wasn't that good," Keith clarified with a proud smile as if he was the one who solved it.
"Impressive. As promised to Keith, after his many requests that you needed money, I'll pay you $200 every month plus what others get too. I know it's not a lot, but that's the best I can do," David said.
He had been running this small startup for over a decade but regrettably, it never took off. "Don't worry about others, they all agreed to this if you pass this small test," he spoke with assurance.
"Yeah, Augustus, my man, don't worry, and congratulations on joining Crunch Studio," another employee said, accepting him easily and added, "But Keith, you sure he is poor?" looking at Augustus's clothes. Keith gave a silent nod.
"Boss, what do you think of celebrating a new star employee's addition? It's been quite some time since we went to the alley mug, and we've also completed a project from NextByte Games. I think it calls for a small party," another employee suggested with a soft smirk.
The room was filled with welcoming vibes. Everyone was young and eager. There was no office politics or deceit. Rather, instead of putting others down, they wanted to learn from each other, including Augustus.
"Augustus, teach me some tricks dude. How did you do that?" another mumbled.
"Teach you? Bro, you just figured out copy-paste last week," Keith said, shaking his head.
"Kek"
"Hahahahah!" And everyone burst into laughter.
I'll almost cry now. This is the best day I've had in ages. I've never felt like this, Augustus also let out a suppressed laugh.
After remembering the events from being depressed to getting the system and until now where people welcomed him with open arms while making him feel included, this was a distant feeling that almost made him tear up.
But his wary mind couldn't point it out. Was it because he looked much better or they were simply good? Who cares, I'm happy and that's all that matters.
"Fine, but please go easy on your poor boss," David approved with a happy sigh and shook his head.
"Woohoo!"
"A new friend and a party. I couldn't ask for more."
"Less gooo!"
Everyone burst open with joy. They walked to a small restaurant that served alcohol and food. It was just 2-3 streets away from them. And everyone was of legal age, so there were no issues with that.
***
"Haha, drink more, my new friend, don't shy around," an employee said in a drunken voice.
"Haha, Yes, yes I'm drinking," Augustus replied with a wry smile not knowing how else to react while sipping and grabbing a small chicken piece on a plate.
Everyone drank and ate with joy while growing closer to each other.
Where is the boss? I can't see him here, Augustus thought and nudged at Keith. "I don't see boss here. Let's go look for him," he said.
"Sure, let's go," he smiled and stood up, then added while glancing at his colleagues, "We'll get some fresh air. You guys enjoy."
They both walked out and looked around to find David.
After searching for a few minutes, Augustus noticed someone in the corner of an alleyway, after a closer inspection it was David lying down unconscious.
He sucked in a sharp breath "Keith, get some water and quickly come here!" and yelled while running toward David.
"Boss, boss!" Keith swiftly followed while carrying a water glass glass. Augustus grabbed it and sprinkled some water on David's face while turning on the torch as it was dark.
And only after turning on the light did they notice all the bruises on his face.
"He's been badly hurt."
David slowly opened his eyes while Augustus and Keith gave him shoulder support to stand up.
"What happened, David?" Keith asked in a grim tone.
"argh…N-nothing. Just book me a taxi. I'll go home. There's some money in my pocket use that to pay the bill," David's Voice cracked nervously. "And please don't tell anybody about this" he requested.
"Were they the same loan sharks, boss?" Keith asked, having seen David argue with some people behind the office.
"H-how did you know? Ouch… Whatever, book me a taxi. I'll go home first."
"No, I'll take you to the hospital. Let's go," Augustus said and began to walk slowly.
"No! Aah, ah, stop. That's too costly. I'll recover in my home easily," David tried stopping himself.
***
"Don't worry. After a thorough checking, Mr. David will recover soon," the doctor stated with a firm voice and walked out of the room.
"Sigh, I said I was good. Now, there's more expenses," David said letting out an exasperated sigh.
Augustus didn't fully know how bad it was with the loan sharks, but he had gotten a general idea. "Boss, please listen to me carefully," he began, aiming to complete the first task while also easing David's worries.
"If things are this difficult, please consider selling 70% of Crunch Studio to me. I'll buy it, move the office to a more spacious floor, And while at it, upgrade all the systems and facilities so that everyone can work happily in a better environment," Augustus concluded.
Keith, sitting beside him, pulled his clothes. "Stop joking, man. You know giving false hope is very bad, right?" And as he said those words in a hushed tone…his phone rang.
"Oh shit! Yes, yes, I'm coming," he panicked and looked at Augustus. "Sorry, bro, it's my parents' anniversary today. It almost slipped my mind. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Take care, boss," he said and left the room in a hurry, since nothing was serious with David he didn't worry much.
David looked at Augustus and grumbled with a bitter smile "Yeah, like he said, stop giving me false hope, kid."
"Haha, David, I'm not joking. Take your time to decide until tomorrow. Rest well, and you should be recovered by tomorrow. I'll also pay the hospital bill, so don't worry about anything and just rest well," Augustus said and stood up, but before he even reached for the door…
"If you're serious, I'll take you up on that offer," David quickly decided in a desperate tone.
Augustus smiled. "Don't worry boss. You will still be the one to handle everything. Rest well now. We will meet tomorrow in your office," he said noticing his desperate tone.
David smiled with furrowed brows and then nodded at his response, Augustus nodded back and stepped out of the room.
Then began walking toward the billing counter "Hello, bill for patient David Hamilton, please," he asked the lady sitting at the counter.
"Give me a minute, please," she said and searched for a file and handed it to him.
Emergency Room Charges: $950
CT Scan & X-rays: $1,200
Doctor & Specialist Fees: $690 … … Total Billing: $4,785
He read the total bill, and what once seemed a hefty amount, he now paid it with a soft smile.
"Since this place has a good work environment…System, accept the task," he instructed with a steady gaze…and to be honest he was going to accept it anyhow, who could resist 1 million freaking dollars right?
But what Augustus didn't know was that this 1 million dollars was only the beginning of a spiral into deals, power, and decisions no amount of code could debug.