Richard returned home in the afternoon and there he found out that his mother is out for work as a helper in a carinderia and his little sister is in school.

Just as he was about to close the door, something came.

"Oii!"

Richard turned around and saw it was the five-six guys.

Two men stood near the alley entrance beside a parked motorcycle.

One was short and fat with tattooed arms exposed beneath a sleeveless shirt. The other was taller, skinny, and chewing gum lazily while holding a small notebook in one hand.

Richard immediately recognized them.

Everybody in the area did.

They were collectors.

Not exactly dangerous gangsters, but the type of people poor communities avoided upsetting.

The fat one pointed toward him.

"You’re Theresa’s son, right?"

Richard nodded slowly.

"Yeah."

The man immediately walked closer afterward.

"Your mother borrowed money yesterday."

Richard almost laughed internally.

Yesterday.

Literally yesterday.

And they were already here.

The skinny collector flipped open the notebook while speaking casually.

"Thirty thousand principal."

Then he continued reading.

"Previous unpaid balance from older loan... eighteen thousand."

Richard frowned slightly.

"Wait, what?"

The fat collector shrugged.

"Your mother still had remaining balance from before."

The skinny collector continued calmly like he was reading grocery prices.

"Then there’s service charge."

"Collection fee."

"Interest."

"Penalty from delayed old balance."

Richard blinked slowly.

"...How much total?"

The two collectors exchanged glances briefly.

Then the fat one answered casually.

"Fifty-two thousand three hundred."

Richard genuinely stared at them for a second.

"What the fuck?"

The fat collector immediately frowned.

"Watch your mouth."

Richard exhaled sharply while rubbing his forehead.

"The money was borrowed literally yesterday."

The skinny collector shrugged.

"Old debt rolled over."

Richard suddenly understood why poor people never escaped these lenders.

Because the debt never truly disappeared.

It just kept growing. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Again.

And again.

And again.

Until people spent years paying money without actually escaping anything.

The fat collector crossed his arms afterward.

"Look kid, we’re not here to argue."

"We’re just collecting."

Richard quietly stared at the two men.

If this happened yesterday?

He genuinely would have panicked.

Because fifty thousand pesos was impossible for them before.

Absolutely impossible.

But now?

Things were different.

Richard slowly looked around the alley first.

Several neighbors were already secretly watching from nearby homes.

Typical.

Communities like this loved drama.

Especially anything involving debt collectors.

Richard sighed quietly afterward before speaking.

"Wait here."

The collectors frowned slightly.

Then Richard stepped inside the house briefly before returning several seconds later carrying a black sling bag.

The moment he opened it—

Both collectors visibly paused.

Bundles of cash.

Real cash.

Richard calmly began counting money in front of them.

Ten thousand.

Twenty.

Thirty.

Forty.

Fifty.

Then extra.

"Fifty-two thousand three hundred, right?"

The fat collector’s expression visibly changed.

Even the skinny one stopped chewing gum for a second.

Because honestly?

Families from places like Happyland usually begged for extensions instead.

Not full payment.

Definitely not instant full payment.

"Count it," Richard said calmly.

The skinny collector immediately took the money afterward before rapidly recounting everything himself.

Several seconds later, he slowly looked up.

"...Complete."

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward afterward.

The fat collector scratched his chin slightly while eyeing Richard differently now.

Richard calmly zipped the bag shut afterward.

"Now we’re clear, right?"

The skinny collector nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Debt cleared."

Richard leaned lightly against the doorway afterward before speaking again.

"I also want a favor."

The two collectors looked at him quietly.

Richard kept his tone calm.

"Don’t come to this house anymore."

The fat collector frowned.

"Hm?"

"My mother worries too much whenever collectors show up here."

Richard continued naturally.

"If she asks later why nobody’s collecting anymore, just tell people the debt already got transferred somewhere else or settled privately."

The skinny collector narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You hiding money from your mother or something?"

Richard almost laughed.

If only they knew he literally gained a reality-breaking system yesterday.

Instead he simply shrugged.

"I just don’t want her getting stressed."

That part at least was true.

His mother had already suffered enough humiliation from debt collectors over the years.

Neighbors whispering.

Collectors arriving every week.

Constant anxiety whenever motorcycles stopped outside their alley.

Richard hated all of it.

The fat collector looked toward the skinny one briefly before shrugging.

"Fine."

Honestly, as long as debts were paid, collectors barely cared afterward.

Money was what mattered.

The skinny collector closed the notebook afterward.

"Well... didn’t expect this today."

Richard only smiled faintly.

"Neither did I."

The two men eventually returned toward their motorcycle afterward.

But before leaving, the fat collector glanced back once more.

"You got business or something now?"

Richard paused briefly.

Then answered casually.

"Something like that."

The collector nodded slowly afterward before finally leaving the alley.

The moment the motorcycle disappeared from view, Richard quietly exhaled.

Then he looked upward slightly toward the tangled electrical wires above Happyland.

For the first time in years...

Their family was finally free from five-six debt. Now, it’s time to make more money.

He closed the door behind him and proceeded to his bedroom on the second floor.

The old standing fan near his bed continued rattling loudly while pushing warm air around the cramped room.

Richard tossed the nearly empty sling bag onto the table afterward before sitting down slowly on the edge of the bed.

Then he stared at the remaining cash.

Even after paying the debt collectors, he still had over forty thousand pesos left.

Richard leaned back slightly afterward before pulling out his phone again.

The system’s reconstruction cooldown still had several more hours remaining.

Meaning for now?

The best thing he could do was research.

If he wanted to maximize profits quickly, he needed to understand how rich people bought luxury items.

Especially watches.

Because unlike phones, luxury watches were a completely different world.

People spending millions on watches were paranoid.

Richard immediately opened YouTube first.

Then Facebook groups.

Then Reddit threads afterward.

Search bar:

"How to sell Rolex safely"

"What buyers check when buying Rolex"

"How to authenticate Rolex"

"How secondhand luxury watch market works"

The more videos he watched, the more complicated the luxury watch industry became.

"Jesus Christ..."

Richard muttered quietly while scrolling.

Apparently rich people inspected everything.

Not just the watch itself.

The box.

The serial number.

The papers.

The movement.

The bracelet weight.

The engravings.

Even the sound of the mechanism.

Some buyers even opened the watch completely just to inspect the internal movement.

Richard honestly felt like he was entering another universe entirely.

Meanwhile his own old watch barely even worked properly anymore.

He glanced toward the small drawer near his bed afterward.

Inside was an old silver watch his father bought years ago from some random department store.

Cheap.

Scratched.

Nothing special.

But beside it?

An old watch box still remained.

Not luxurious.

But at least it looked decent enough externally.

Richard slowly stood up afterward before taking both items out carefully.

The old watch honestly looked terrible now.

Faded strap.

Scratches everywhere.

The battery probably died years ago already.

Yet while staring at it...

Richard’s thoughts slowly became dangerous again.

"What if..."

Could he reconstruct this into a Rolex?

The possibility alone already made his heartbeat subtly accelerate.

He immediately continued researching afterward.

Apparently there were three things luxury buyers obsessed over most when buying outside official Rolex stores.

Authenticity.

Condition.

And papers.

Richard quietly absorbed everything carefully.

First was the serial number.

Every genuine Rolex apparently had unique serial engravings tied to production years and specific models.

Buyers checked those constantly.

Second was movement.

Apparently fake watches usually failed here because luxury watch movements were insanely complicated internally.

Third was weight and materials.

Real Rolex watches used expensive steel, gold, sapphire crystal, and precise machining.

Then came the scary part.

"Box and papers."

Richard blinked while reading forum comments.

People literally paid hundreds of thousands more if complete documentation existed.

Warranty cards.

Certificates.

Receipts.

Original packaging.

Some collectors even cared about tiny tags and manuals.

One forum user wrote:

"No papers = higher risk."

Another commented:

"Buy the seller before buying the watch."

Richard slowly leaned back afterward.

That sentence honestly made sense.

Luxury buyers were not just purchasing objects.

They were purchasing trust.

Which meant if Richard suddenly walked into a luxury market carrying random Rolex watches without background or reputation...

People would immediately get suspicious.

Especially someone like him.

A poor-looking twenty-two-year-old from Tondo.

Richard quietly rubbed his chin afterward.

So phones were easy because ordinary people mainly cared if the device worked.

But luxury watches?

Completely different battlefield.

Then another realization suddenly entered his mind.

If the system could reconstruct identity itself...

Then maybe certificates and serials would naturally become legitimate too.

Just like the iPhone.

The reconstructed iPhone already had authentic-looking software data and serial information.

Meaning the system somehow rewrote reality around the object itself.

That honestly still terrified him slightly.

Then another problem appeared in his mind.

How exactly was he supposed to sell a Rolex afterward?

Pawnshop?

Luxury reseller?

Facebook Marketplace?

Carousell?

No.

Too risky.

Richard immediately searched again afterward.

"How do people sell Rolex in Philippines?"

Apparently most transactions happened through trusted luxury watch dealers.

Greenhills.

Makati.

BGC.

Private collectors.

Facebook luxury groups.

Some stores even authenticated watches before purchasing them outright.

Richard frowned slightly afterward.

That part was dangerous.

Because what if the system-created Rolex somehow failed detailed inspection?

Would people think he was selling counterfeits?

Could he get arrested?

The more he researched, the more cautious he became.

Still...

The potential profits were insane.

Some Rolex watches sold for over one million pesos.

"No, this is worth the risk, I just have to look rich so that people take me seriously."