"You're energetic this morning, Jack."
After Jack scanned the man from bottom to top without showing it, the resemblance between them was evident. It was his father. The father looked at Jack for moments before approaching him and raising his hand. Jack became flustered by his gesture, but the father seemed to be waiting for something.
"What? Won't you shake your old man's hand, you rascal?"
"Oh, yes, of course." Jack slapped his hand with his father's, and then the father chuckled softly.
"Such high morals! Well, I like that you're more polite with your dad. I suppose getting hit by a truck was for the better, after all. Oh, how I wish your sister would experience a train collision."
"Y- yes... I suppose?" Jack didn't know how to answer honestly. After seeing his visible confusion, Asher Wilson smiled and asked, "So, where are you going at this time with your injury?"
"I wanted to get some fresh air and take a walk."
"I understand your desire, but it's cold now, and you haven't fully recovered. Why don't you wait for about two hours, and I'll join you for a walk? Your dad worked extra hours yesterday to spend some time with you guys today, my comrades."
After saying this, Asher's face showed excitement as he smiled deeply at Jack. Despite his strong desire to go now and alone, he decided not to rush and be patient. Who knows? Perhaps this body has some enemies who could take advantage of his injury to bully him. It's possible, as he has experienced such an event before. When they returned inside the house, Asher went to his office on the ground floor instead of going upstairs to see his wife or relax. Well, that's not important because Jack stayed awake during those two hours, contemplating between the system and the tattoo. Neither of them had changed. The tattoo of the broken sword remained intact, and the darkness still formed a single sentence.
"Analyzing user's condition... Examination in progress."
A world that appears to be normal and harmless, can it summon a system? The answer, of course, is no. So, what is the truth? Jack came up with some hypotheses.
Firstly, this world existed before the emergence of the cells. This is possible, although Jack himself never lived through the moment when the cells appeared in the world because he was reincarnated after that incident. Is this hypothesis valid? No, because the worlds where cells appear are usually governed by higher beings, demons, or even gods who are bored and want to observe humans fighting against monsters or each other. However, the way the system appeared in his case was unique and not like any method used by gods. No, this system appeared as a result of the changes in the tattoo.
Secondly, this world is just an illusion, and all humans here are under this illusion. Of course, this hypothesis opens the door to imagine things that Jack doesn't want to imagine, such as the possibility that all his previous lives and sufferings were just computer simulations collecting information as part of an experiment conducted by a mad scientist. Thinking about this sent shivers down Jack's spine. However, he also rejected this hypothesis because, in one of his previous lives, he was a friend of a mad scientist studying the concept of the illusory world and the Matrix. It was surprising to find that there are many rules for placing someone inside the Matrix, including the need for a precise and well-regulated system, as without it, the world would be full of programming errors. It is also impossible to provide enough energy to create a whole world, let alone create multiple different worlds. Finally, dying inside the illusory world would mean death in reality or even worse. So, this hypothesis is also far from being valid, despite being terrifying.
Thirdly, there are secret organizations secretly controlling the world. Their job is to create individuals who possess the "system" for secret and dangerous purposes. And this body is one of the subjects of their experiments, as the system was implanted in him when he was unconscious in the hospital. This hypothesis is reminiscent of poorly written conspiracy theories, but compared to the first hypothesis, it is easier to believe this conspiracy. Of course, this made Jack feel nauseous because it was cringe-worthy.
Of course, there is a chance that all the previous hypotheses are incorrect. After all, you cannot limit all crazy ideas. Jack didn't feel the passage of time as he pondered, until he heard a knock on his room door and saw his father enter. "So, Jack, are you ready to go with me?" "Yes," Jack replied with a broad smile on his face. "Oh, are you both leaving now?" Jack's mother asked when she saw him coming down the stairs. Her husband shook his head in response. "Take your time, my dear. You won't find any girls for yourself with that perverted look on your face." "Hmm? Oh no, I'm just happy to go out and want to notice what I missed." "Oh, so you want to see what you missed, even in the garbage bin? Wonderful." The father and son were dressed in simple yet fashionable clothes for this world. They strolled among houses and gardens, and even entered shops for Asher to ask about the prices of various products, then they left without buying anything. Of course, none of this mattered to Asher because he was focused on feeling any strange fluctuations or changes that might occur while simultaneously observing both the tattoo and the system. Jack passed by several areas without noticing anything. Although he had gained a preliminary understanding of the city he was in and the type of people here, in addition to memorizing every turn, alley, and corner he passed or saw from a distance, it was not enough for his curiosity. Jack wanted to go outside the city, but Asher told him to rest his body and leave his journey for another day. Jack didn't object and calmly returned home, where he picked up his phone and browsed the internet to gather more information. Unfortunately, the concept of the internet in this world is limited and relies on payment to access information. This is a barrier for Jack at the moment because he doesn't have any money, and he can't ask his parents for help because the terms of use require payment using the individual's own money, as well as specifying the place and method of obtaining that money. Hmm, it seems that the government controls the lives of every citizen and collects information about them. Well, at least this adds some credibility and reduces illegal transactions. But this won't stop Jack because he has devised a simple and easy plan... he just has to become someone else. While Jack's family thought he was resting in his room every morning, Jack was actually sneaking out of the house and wandering the city every day, observing the houses and people, especially those who live alone without a family. This situation continued for a week, with Jack carefully searching in the farthest places from his home and not arousing any suspicion. Finally, he set his sights on an old lady who rarely leaves her house, living without a family in a crowded street where their relationship with each other doesn't seem very good. Jack then started throwing garbage and waste onto the neighbors of this old lady, just to make them believe that she was the one behind these actions. After that, he found a large dog in that street and started feeding it daily to get it accustomed to him. After setting his goal, Jack chose a quiet night to visit the old lady, holding a beautiful gift in his hand.
Why was he observing that old lady?
Because in order to make easy money, the best way is through humans.
Was he planning to steal from her?
No, because from what he understood about this world, money exists in transaction cards issued by the government to each citizen with known and legitimate sources of income. These are special cards that only interact with their holders. If anyone tries to use them, they won't work. And if Jack tries to threaten the old lady to use her card, he won't be able to escape the grasp of the police once news of a thief spreads.
So, what's the plan?
It's simple. Jack entered the old lady's house through the window she always left open at night and made his way to the living room where she was sleeping on the couch after watching TV. Without making any sound, Jack took the kitchen knife he had brought with him and quickly slit the old lady's throat, not giving her a chance to let out any final screams.
Jack looked at the second thing he brought, which was the dog that had gone crazy due to the smell of blood. But Jack ordered it to wait.
Quickly, Jack looked around to find the old lady's financial card, took it, and used her hand to confirm the purchase of the information he needed. After that, he gave the signal to the dog to enjoy its final feast, most likely.
Jack left the house filled with the sounds of cutting and flesh, and returned to his own home.
"Well, let's see what we have here," Jack said, glancing at the information he quickly found useful.
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