"Big brother... wake up, big brother,"
"Ugh,"
Dylan opened his eyes. He saw Aaron hovering over him, trying to wake him up. He looked around. It turned out he was back in his own body. He slowly stood up. But as he did, he felt something had changed.
"Wait... why do I feel taller?" Dylan thought.
He turned to look at Aaron, who was stunned and looked shorter than him, even though their heights were almost the same before. Aaron also seemed stunned and was examining Dylan.
"Big brother? Why do you look... different?" Aaron asked, confused.
"I didn't change... I don't know myself... I don't get it," Dylan answered, holding his head with one hand.
"Hmmm... weird. Last night you were still a little taller than me... why is there such a huge difference now, and besides... why does your body look like it did when you used to do martial arts?" Aaron muttered, holding Dylan's muscular arm and measuring his height.
"I don't know, don't ask me because I don't get it," Dylan replied.
Suddenly, "Dling," a message came into Dylan's smartphone. He immediately picked up his phone from the table and looked at it. A notification from his banking app came in, and he opened it. His eyes widened when he saw the balance.
[Registration reward: $200,000.00]
[Registration reward: Access card to secret basement.]
"Huh?" Dylan asked in his head.
[Please check your pocket, sir. I have given you the registration rewards.]
Dylan put his hand into his jacket pocket. He found a key card with a cartoon-like cat head on the front.
"Huh... what is this?" Dylan asked, confused.
Aaron stretched his neck to see what was in Dylan's hand and became just as confused as Dylan.
[Please go to your room and enter your wardrobe.]
Dylan immediately ran to his room with Aaron following him. He then walked to the antique wardrobe attached to the wall. He opened both doors and pushed aside his hanging clothes. At the back of the closet, there was a small box-shaped slot, not visible at a glance, the size of the card in his hand and with the same cat head symbol.
Dylan tried to press the card against it, and the card fit perfectly, then automatically rotated with the slot. "Ting," the back of the wardrobe opened, revealing an elevator. Of course, Dylan and Aaron were shocked and a little scared to see it.
"Um... big brother, what is this exactly?" Aaron asked.
"I don't know myself... let's go in, Aaron, let's see," Dylan answered.
"Y-yeah, let's go," Aaron replied.
They both walked into the closet and entered the elevator. On the panel, only two buttons were visible: down and up. Dylan tried pressing 'down,' and the elevator door closed. Again, there was a cat symbol where the floor number should be above the elevator door.
"Ting," after a short time, the door reopened, and the elevator stopped. Dylan and Aaron stepped out and saw a dark room ahead of them, but suddenly, "blaar," all the lights in the room turned on. Dylan and Aaron's eyes widened as they saw a spacious room that looked like a warehouse.
Many items, such as expensive paintings covered in plastic, hung on the walls, a glass display case held antique jewelry and old coin currency, a rack with rows of mannequin heads and wigs on top, rows of expensive antique weapons on shelves, and a table with lots of equipment like knives, grappler guns, glass cutters, and gloves stuck to it. There was also a device for flying, like a glider that looked both sophisticated and antique.
"B-big brother, what room is this?" Aaron asked, starting to feel uneasy.
Dylan didn't answer because he was fixated on an old black-and-white photograph, where his grandfather, looking about 20 years old, stood in the center, flanked by six beautiful women in old-fashioned attire. Behind them, he could see the house he was in, which looked brand new.
"S-so this is what Grandpa left me?" Dylan asked.
"Huh... what, big brother?" Aaron asked.
Dylan spotted a bag on the table, and inside it was a stack of money that looked like it had been there for ages. Then he looked at the tools scattered on the table. He turned back to survey the entire room, which was filled with valuable treasures and seemed to have been stored in that room for a very long time.
"So this was Grandpa's job, Aaron," Dylan said.
"Huh... what was Grandpa's job?" Aaron asked.
"Our grandpa was a thief and a con man... all of this is his work," Dylan stated.
"Huh... what? Seriously?" Aaron asked.
"Yeah (turning to look at the hanging photo) looking at that photo, it makes sense that he had ten other grand kids besides us, and there might be more, we don't know. Our grandpa was bad news, Aaron, he was a master criminal and was never caught until he died," Dylan replied.
Dylan told Aaron everything that happened at the lawyer's office. Of course, Aaron was shocked and looked disbelieving, but because he had also seen the room and was standing in it, he had no choice but to accept the reality that their grandfather was a criminal.
Then Dylan noticed a thick book, like a scrapbook filled with yellowed newspaper clippings dating back decades. He saw reports of thefts that foiled criminal transactions, as well as scams that consequently exposed other major frauds, and so on.
"Hmm... if you look at these papers... Grandpa was a good thief and con man... he robbed and scammed to fight crime... this is confusing," Dylan said.
"Let me see, hand it over, I'll read it," Aaron replied, taking the book.
[Sir, you must exit, as your wives are walking toward the house.]
"Ok," Dylan replied.
"Huh... who are you talking to, big brother?" Aaron asked, confused.
"Let's get out of here, Aaron. The girls are almost home. Please keep this a secret from them," Dylan answered.
"O-ok, how do you know?" Aaron asked, confused.
"Come on, just take the book and read it in your room," Dylan said, pulling Aaron's hand.
"Oh... ok, don't drag me," Aaron replied.
They immediately ran toward the elevator. Dylan managed to glance at the shelf and saw a large glass box that seemed to be used to store glasses because there was a stand for placing them.
But because he wanted to get out quickly, he pulled Aaron, who was carrying the book, into the elevator. "Ting," after reaching the top, Dylan came out of the wardrobe with Aaron, both breathless and sweating because the basement was very hot from being sealed for so long.
Then they immediately left the room and felt the fresh air outside the room. After that, Dylan walked to the living room and checked his smartphone again to confirm his account balance once more.
"Hey CATS... your name is CATS, right?" Dylan asked in his head.
[That is correct, sir.]
"This money that went into the account, is it mine?" Dylan asked.
[That is correct, sir. That money is yours as a system registration reward from me.]
"Thank God... thank you, CATS. I was just stressing about money, and this is enough to live on," Dylan replied, feeling a little relieved.
Suddenly, "blugh," Dylan turned to see four school bags dropped on the floor. Then he also saw Maya, Amy, Lena, and Ellie stunned with their mouths agape as they looked at him. Behind the four of them, Aaron was shrugging his shoulders. It seemed Aaron had opened the door for them and let them in. Dylan was confused because Maya's, Amy's, Lena's, and Ellie's cheeks were flushed, their eyes were sparkling, and a little blood was coming out of their noses.
"Why are they looking at me like that?" Dylan asked.
[Because you have changed and now you are sweating.]
"Oh... right, but honestly, after finding out what happened, I don't know how to face them. On one hand, I'm annoyed because I was played, but on the other hand... it was all my own fault... or more accurately, your fault," Dylan said in his head.
[They love you, sir. They did that so you would accept them.]
"Grrr... I still feel tricked... even though I'm also happy I was tricked because they are the prettiest girls in school... I don't know, how long have they been planning this, even to the point of artificial insemination," Dylan said in his head.
[Since one of them saw you enter the clinic to donate sperm, sir.]
"Is that right? I didn't think anyone saw me that time," Dylan said.
[They always monitored you, sir—at the bookstore, the restaurant, the school, even at the construction site.]
"Is that true? Why go to such lengths?" Dylan asked.
[Because they are running from something they cannot possibly tell each other, and only you can help them... with my assistance, of course.]
"This... is starting to get a little creepy," Dylan said, glancing at the four girls who were still mesmerized, looking at him.