Chapter 12: No.12: Date With The Childhood Sweetheart
Night arrived soon after in the city, causing the lights to spring to life from the streetlights, vendors, neighbouring buildings, and countless other places.
The sight was mesmerizing, with giant skyscrapers illuminated by neon billboards and brilliant lights that were eye-catching, while floating holographic screens displaying energy drink advertisements and a variety of other commercials hovered in the air.
The view was out of this world. Despite having recalled it from the former Bruce’s memories and knowing how amazed he’d been by it, Bruce still couldn’t help but marvel at how outlandish and futuristic it all seemed.
Making him all the more aware that he wasn’t in his former world anymore.
These parts of the city were more affluent and developed than the others, with every night feeling as though a festival was taking place.
People filled the streets, vendors advertised their goods and food, while a variety of other activities went on throughout the city.
Walking around together, Bruce and Summer decided to visit a number of places.
Most of which involved getting snacks and sweets.
At one point, Bruce eventually got dragged into participating in an eating contest, where the losers had to shoulder twice the cost of the meal they consumed, while the winner received a free mini trophy and didn’t have to pay at all.
The results were obvious. Bruce easily defeated the rest hands down, with those who had immediately quit upon seeing his sheer size grateful they hadn’t participated.
Upon winning the mini trophy, however, Bruce’s stomach suddenly began rumbling, causing him to immediately dash to the bathroom, where he spent quite some time before they eventually moved on.
As they did, they were offered free samples from food stalls and street vendors.
Well, more accurately, Summer was offered free samples while Bruce had to deal with most of them either claiming he was a man and should work for himself, or outright refusing him because they found his presence detrimental to the delicate "flower" beside him.
Making him wonder how shameless someone could be to clearly state something was free two seconds ago, only to suddenly switch to full business mode the moment it reached his turn.
Some even doubled the price simply because they didn’t like him.
"How is that even fair?"
Chuckling upon seeing Bruce sigh in resignation, Summer replied.
"I guess that’s one of the perks of being beautiful."
Flicking her hair dramatically, Summer slowly ate the skewers she’d been given for free with a victorious smile, while holding a handful of other snacks and treats as well.
Shaking his head, Bruce couldn’t help but mutter as he looked at the supposed delicate "flower" everyone had been gushing over moments ago.
"What a drama queen."
Despite saying that, Bruce couldn’t deny the fact that she was indeed mesmerizing to look at.
With a smile that made it feel as though the entire world slowed down whenever she smiled, just so it could admire it a little longer.
A laugh so gentle, yet surprisingly contagious, that he always found himself laughing alongside her.
Her entire personality somehow finding a way to make his body react in ways he never knew were possible.
Making it seem as though she was a weapon specifically designed to repeatedly destroy his heart.
’Damn! Bro’s practically obsessed at this point.’
Sighing upon realizing most of these emotions belonged to the former Bruce, who had practically worshipped her in his mind, he couldn’t help but wonder.
Whether they were entirely someone else’s feelings, or if some of his own had begun mixing into them over time, Bruce wasn’t sure.
Either way, he found spending time with her genuinely enjoyable.
As they continued exploring the city, Bruce subconsciously noted that other than the occasional glances people threw at the odd pair that looked like the embodiment of Beauty and the Beast, security throughout the city was surprisingly high despite its extremely low crime rate.
There seemed to be a police officer every few blocks or so.
Making him wonder why such heavy security was necessary.
’Maybe that’s why the crime rate stays so low in the first place.’
Either way, Bruce decided to head towards a more secluded area so he could focus on the true objective behind their stroll through the city.
Having intended to spend as much as possible before the daily Rebate expired, Bruce was pleasantly surprised to discover that the system only registered purchases made directly for Summer using Kepto as a daily Rebate session.
Not to mention, as long as he didn’t conclude the session, he could continue buying things from multiple locations and have it all count as a single Rebate.
This was something he’d discovered earlier after purchasing snacks without immediately receiving a notification.
As such, he devised a plan.
Upon noticing that the system hadn’t registered the session yet, he decided to maximize his gains as much as possible.
Because of this, after completing the eating competition, he had feigned an upset stomach and slipped away ahead of Summer.
During that time, he’d gone around paying nearby vendors in advance and instructed them to give as much food as possible to Summer.
In some cases, he even paid more than the amount they ultimately ended up giving her.
Hence why they had all been so eager to "gift" her free samples despite the scarcity of things, while not bothering to give any to Bruce.
As Bruce knew she wouldn’t have accepted it if he’d directly bought everything for her. Or worse, she might’ve started asking questions he couldn’t answer.
As a result, he’d ended up spending far more than he’d initially expected.
Eventually, after distancing themselves from the food district and mentally deciding he’d spent enough for the time being, a notification finally appeared.
[Congratulations on another successful splurge on Bonded Target]
[x10 Rebate has been awarded on total amount spent during splurging session]
[Amount Spent - 115,000KPT]
[Reward - 1,150,000KPT]
[Bonus Reward: 40 Rebate Coins has been awarded for a successful Spoil on Bonded Target]
{5% has been deducted from amount earned}
{Current Rebate Coins: 52.25}
{Daily Rebate Session: 2/3}
Looking at the amount spent and what he received in return, Bruce couldn’t help but be amazed every single time.
Still surprised he’d managed to spend that much on mere snacks and sweets, he quickly arrived at a conclusion.
’Considering I practically bought out nearly everything in all the food vendors regardless of whether they were actually able to sell everything to her or not, I guess it makes sense.’
Recalling how he’d spent an absurd amount on something Summer had barely even been able to take half of food, he couldn’t help but realise just how frightening the system actually was.
As he’d barely even been able to afford a mere luxury milkshake before, yet now he’d practically bought nearly all the food in the vendors around these parts.
Not to mention, most of the vendors there were reserved for the wealthy, as the meat were far more expensive than plain ones, being made with Mutants, as such were rich in nutrients far more than regularly meat, with some even able to randomly grant minor stat increase when consumed.
Though he was also somewhat surprised by the number of Rebate Coins he’d received this time. He ultimately concluded that it was likely because either the amount spent was higher than before, or Summer’s Affinity Level towards him had increased.
Either way, he was more than pleased with the results.
Having already decided what he intended to use the final Rebate session on, Bruce headed towards a quieter area with Summer close beside him.
As the two quietly made their way toward their destination, a figure turned around after passing them.
His eyes lingered on Summer’s figure for slightly longer than necessary as he softly muttered.
"Hmm. Interesting."
As he spoke, a dark glint flashed through his eyes while he stared at the duo’s receding figures.
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