"Yes!"
The moment the countdown appeared, **Ethan Cole** blurted it out without thinking.
[Ding!]
[System binding successful. Daily Intel System now loading for the Host!]
His sudden shout made all three roommates whip their heads around. "What's the 'yes' for?"
"Nothing! It's nothing." Ethan forced himself to sound casual, fighting to keep his voice steady.
"Damn!"
"Crazy!"
The trio shrugged it off and went back to whatever they were doing.
Meanwhile, Ethan focused on the system interface that had popped up, carefully reading the introduction to the [Daily Intel System].
[Host: Ethan Cole]
[Age: 21]
[System Function Description: One intel report will be delivered every day at midnight.]
[Intel Level: Monday through Sunday, all start at Level One.]
[Intel Upgrade Description: Any day of the week can be selected as an upgrade unit. Upgrading from Level One to Level Two costs $100,000. Each subsequent level doubles the previous cost.]
[System Benefit: Starting from the activation date (the 21st), the system grants one free intel upgrade opportunity per month.]
[Upgrade Note: All seven days must be upgraded to the same level before the next tier unlocks.]
[Novice Reward: Upon first binding, the Host automatically receives one intel upgrade opportunity (usable only to upgrade Level One intel to Level Two).]
"So the intel is organized by day of the week—Monday, Tuesday, etc.—and I can choose which days to upgrade. Level One to Level Two costs a hundred grand, then two hundred, four hundred… and so on."
As a computer science major, Ethan's mind processed it instantly.
"And it just gave me one free upgrade! Even if it only takes me to Level Two, that's worth a hundred thousand right there. Plus I get another free shot every month—that's huge!"
Desperate for cash as he was, a greedy little thought flickered through his head: *I wish I could just convert that upgrade into straight money.*
He immediately dismissed it. Asking for cash on top of a free perk would be way too much.
"Which day to upgrade first… I'll pick Saturday."
He still had no idea what kind of "intel" the system would actually provide, but upgrading Saturday felt safest—at least he'd have the whole weekend to act on whatever it turned out to be.
"Upgrade Intel Level: Saturday."
[Ding!]
[Upgrade successful!]
[Time until next intel refresh: 00:18:21. Please wait patiently, Host!]
After the quick tutorial, the interface switched to a clean countdown timer.
Knowing his life was about to change forever, Ethan couldn't even pretend to scroll on his phone anymore. He stared at the numbers like they owed him money, willing time to speed up.
His legs started jittering involuntarily from pure adrenaline, making the whole metal bunk bed rattle.
That finally annoyed **Jordan Blake**, who was still deep in his "study session" of pickup-artist short videos.
"Bro, seriously? It's the middle of the night and you're already revving engines like you're about to take off?"
"Kid, even if you've got strong thrust, you gotta learn some control!"
"Get lost!"
Ethan fired back loudly, using the banter to burn off some of the nervous energy and stop his limbs from shaking.
Deep down he was already scolding himself: *How am I supposed to handle big things if my nerves are this bad?*
After a round of trash-talking that somehow escalated from airplane jokes to who was actually stronger, the dorm finally settled into normal chaos. Ethan's tension eased a bit.
Under his intense stare, the timer finally hit all zeros.
[Today's Intel (Level Two): In the green belt landscaping downstairs at the Saint Claire Apartments on East Circle Drive, there is a discarded stuffed doll. Hidden inside the doll is a Longines Présence Series watch—a surprise gift from a top donor after an "intimate friendship exchange" with a female streamer who has 300,000 followers. The streamer had no idea the watch was inside, thought the doll was cheap and ugly, and tossed it carelessly after the donor left. Suggested resale price: $6,000.]
"A Longines watch!"
Ethan's breathing turned rough as he stared at the screen.
*So this is the kind of intel it gives…*
The thought of a six-thousand-dollar watch just sitting there waiting for him made staying in bed impossible. He flipped out from under the covers, grabbed his socks, and started pulling them on.
"It's this late and you're heading out?"
Even though it was technically still Friday night, **Sam Hayes** had just finished his last game, powered down his PC like a responsible roommate, and was getting ready for lights-out.
Seeing Ethan gearing up to leave at midnight, Sam looked genuinely confused.
The other two poked their heads out too.
"Not sleeping in the middle of the night—are you going out to chase tail?"
"Wait—didn't you and **Mackenzie Hart** break up forever ago? What could you possibly be doing this late? Hold up… don't tell me you've got a new one lined up!"
That one line instantly triggered theatrical howls of despair from the three single guys.
The Mackenzie that Jordan mentioned wasn't just Ethan's ex—she'd also been the unofficial "department beauty" of the neighboring major.
After her previous relationship ended last year, Ethan had made his move. With a decent amount of savings at the time, things moved fast and they became official pretty quickly.
During the few months they were together, Ethan got to experience the full "sweet-and-sour" college romance package—several times—but between dates, outings, and the gifts he bought, his bank account emptied at an alarming rate.
In the end, when Mackenzie asked for the latest iPhone and he couldn't (or wouldn't) deliver, the relationship fizzled out almost overnight.
Not long after, word got around that she was already dating some finance-major rich kid, and her iPhone 14 had magically upgraded to a 16.
Ethan never called her a gold-digger or anything dramatic.
He'd gone after her mostly because of her looks; they were both just meeting each other's needs at the time.
Back then he'd only sighed and thought her personality was just as hard to handle as her… "assets."
It wasn't until his family hit hard times and he tallied up the thousands he'd spent on her that he started inwardly cursing his own impulsiveness: *Why the hell were you so greedy, little brother?*
Regret didn't get money back, though. He sure wasn't about to try demanding it and risk ending up as campus meme material.
So he just kept reminding himself of the golden rule he'd picked up online: *Money is for women to look at, not for women to spend.*
"There's no new girl. I'm just stepping out for a minute."
Even though he was as close to these three as brothers, Ethan wasn't dumb enough to breathe a single word about the system.
Facing their barrage of questions, he kept it short and vague, grabbed a reversible jacket and a face mask from the closet, and headed for the door.
"East Circle Drive, Saint Claire Apartments."
Luckily the school had basically no real curfew or gate checks, or this would've been a nightmare.
The second he stepped outside the dorm building, Ethan pulled out his phone and punched the destination into maps per the system's directions.
"Nice—only 4.7 kilometers. No need for a ride."
He scanned a shared bike at the campus gate, popped in his Bluetooth earbuds, and started pedaling hard into the night.
Thankfully the gate was deserted at this hour.
Otherwise everyone would've seen some lunatic who should've been sleeping tearing down the road on a shared bike like it was the last lap of a race…