After Lucy left, the office became quiet once more.

Benny finished the last bite of his breakfast before tossing the empty packaging into the trash bin nearby.

Then he stretched slightly and looked across the office.

There was ten high-end computer setups with dual monitors, top-tier processors and powerful graphics cards.

Just looking at them made his hands itch so Benny slowly walked toward one of the desks and sat down.

The moment the computer powered on, the startup speed alone nearly brought tears to his eyes.

"...Fast."

Even back in his previous life, despite working in an office for twenty years, the computer he used was slow, slow enough that he could perhaps even prepare an instant noodles waiting for it to start up.

Benny leaned back in satisfaction.

With equipment like this...

What else was there to do besides gaming? It would be a crime to not play any games.

His entire mood improved immediately.

"I should text Brother Neo too."

Neo would probably go insane seeing these setups.

Benny immediately pulled out his phone happily.

But just as he was about to type the message, he suddenly paused.

A thought struck him regards the loan Lucy went to sign.

That ¥100,000 loan wasn’t technically system money anymore, right?

It was company debt.

It was a completely separate source of funds.

"Since the loan isn’t technically system funds... I can use it to pay Brother Neo ¥8,000, right?"

The familiar screen appeared almost instantly.

[ The loan is taken under the name of the company. ]

[ The act of spending the loan without proper business justification will be deemed as going against the rules. ]

Benny’s expression froze.

"...Huh?"

His excitement instantly cooled slightly.

So he still couldn’t casually hand Neo ¥8,000 directly?

Benny frowned deeply and reread the message carefully.

Then, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"...Without proper business justification?"

That wording...

That wording was extremely important.

Now, Benny was no lawyer but he at least knew that there’s always a loophole to everything.

The system didn’t outright forbid paying Neo.

It only prohibited unreasonable spending.

Which meant that as long as Neo’s salary could somehow be justified reasonably...

Then it should theoretically pass.

Benny slowly leaned back into the chair.

His mind immediately began spinning again.

The more he thought about it...

The more his eyes gradually lit up again.

"...I see."

A grin slowly spread across his face, so the problem wasn’t paying Neo.

The problem was that the current Neo wasn’t worth ¥8,000 yet in the system’s evaluation.

But people could grow.

Which meant that as long as he gradually built up Neo’s "value" within the company...

Then eventually the system would have no choice but to approve the salary naturally.

Benny suddenly felt enlightened, the system wasn’t stopping him.

It was simply telling him to commit properly to the scam.

"...Interesting."

"But how do I even do that..." Benny muttered to himself while logging into the game.

The system wanted "reasonable justification" for Neo’s salary.

But how exactly was he supposed to raise Neo’s value naturally?

Training? Work experience?

The only reason he even hired him was his immense bad luck but if he used that reasoning the system might even push for his removal from the company.

Benny frowned deeply while the game launcher finished loading.

Then his eyes suddenly noticed that Neo was online.

"...Perfect timing."

Without hesitation, Benny immediately sent him a lobby invite.

The invite was accepted almost instantly and before Benny could even type a single word, his phone started ringing.

Benny picked up casually. "Hello?"

The moment the call connected, Neo’s voice exploded through the speaker.

"BROTHER BENNY! QUICK! LET’S GO ARENA RIGHT NOW!"

Benny nearly pulled the phone away from his ear. "...What happened?"

"I got ganked!" Neo sounded deeply aggrieved. "Two red players jumped me while I was transporting items to the black market!"

Benny blinked.

"...The black market?"

He paused, then his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Wait... how does that relate to arena?" he asked honestly. "Shouldn’t we go where they are if we want revenge?"

A heavy sigh came from the other side.

"It’s not worth it, brother."

Neo sounded defeated as he said the next line.

"Both of them are at one billion fame. You’re barely even ten million fame while I’m only at a hundred million. We’re basically doing charity if we go for revenge."

"..."

Neo coughed awkwardly. "So... let’s just do arena instead."

Benny considered it seriously for two full seconds before finally nodding.

"...If you say so."

And so, the two entered the arena.

Hours passed in a blur as they continued gaming nonstop, match after match after match.

Finally, Benny leaned back in his chair, utterly drained.

"...Let’s continue tomorrow."

Neo fell silent for a moment before asking slowly,

"Are you sure you want to end it on a defeat?"

Benny stared at the game screen for a long second before speaking in a tired voice.

"Brother Neo... let’s face reality. We’re on a twenty-loss streak."

Silence filled the room.

Neither of them said another word.

As if by mutual agreement, the two quietly exited the game, shut down the computers, and decided to chat instead. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Brother Neo, what happened? Why weren’t you in class today?"

Neo coughed lightly before replying,

"What do you mean? I was in class today."

Then he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh right! Professor Selena was looking for you earlier."

Benny frowned slightly.

"Why?"

Selena was his step-sister and also a professor at the university. But as far as Benny was concerned, the two weren’t close enough to worry about each other.

In fact, almost no one knew they were siblings, not even his friends.

"How would I know?" Neo shrugged. "Though... she seems to be very worried because you skip class. Perhaps—"

Beep!

Benny hung up the call halfway before suddenly pausing.

"Oh... I forgot to tell him about the computers here."

Stretching lazily, he let out a small sigh.

At the very least, they were siblings even if simply in name, so he decided to go meet her.

With that thought, Benny got up, locked the company office behind him, and headed out.