Chapter 54: 54: System Penalty.
[ There has been a mistake from the system during the last cycle. ]
That was the notification Benny woke up to.
For several seconds, he simply stared at the floating text.
Only then did he realize he had somehow fallen asleep on the display mattress.
Looking around, he found that the showroom was still open.
Apparently Annie had simply left him alone after noticing he had dozed off.
At least the mattress passed the test, it was comfortable enough to knock him out almost instantly.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, another system notification appeared.
[ The mistake from the previous cycle is to be reverted. ]
Benny frowned.
Reverted? What is the system on.
Before he could think further, another line appeared.
[ The host balance is insufficient. A penalty will be imposed. ]
"Huh?"
Benny sat upright immediately.
"What are you talking about?"
His heart skipped a beat.
"What penalty? Why is there a penalty?"
His sudden outburst immediately attracted attention.
A nearby customer who had been browsing nearby jumped slightly before quickly leaving the section.
Benny didn’t care.
His eyes remained fixed on the floating screen.
Then another line appeared.
[ The penalty will be a reduction in the conversion rate. ]
Benny froze in spot and then he felt his soul leave his body.
Fortunately, before it could drift too far away, another notification appeared.
[ In the event the company makes a profit: ]
[ Conversion Rate — 1,000 : 1 (System Funds → Personal Wealth) ]
Benny blinked and then he blinked again.
That was it?
The conversion rate had changed from one hundred to one thousand.
Technically speaking, it was a massive reduction.
But Benny had never cared about that conversion rate from the very beginning.
Profit? Who cared about profit?
The real treasure had always been the loss conversion.
The hundredfold return that had transformed a loss of ¥561,680 into more than ¥56 million.
With renewed hope, a smile slowly returned to his face.
Then his eyes drifted downward.
A new line appeared.
[ In the event the company incurs a loss: ]
[ Conversion Rate — 1 : 10 (System Funds → Personal Wealth) ]
The smile on Benny’s face slowly disappeared.
"Oh."
For a moment, he simply sat there and then understanding finally dawned on him.
So that was the mistake.
It had never been a hundredfold return.
The system had accidentally calculated the previous settlement incorrectly and rewarded him at one hundred times the loss instead of ten times.
In other words...
The fifty-six million yuan had never been the intended amount in the first place.
Benny suddenly felt wronged, extremely wronged.
"It was your mistake."
He stared accusingly at the floating system screen.
"You were the one who gave me fifty-six million instead of five million."
The system remained completely silent.
"How is this my fault? You should compensate me instead."
He muttered the words internally as his heart ached.
Do I have to return the excess amount?
Hopefully not.
Honestly, he didn’t even care if the penalty remained forever.
After experiencing what it felt like to have more than fifty million yuan sitting in his account, the thought of losing it all was genuinely heartbreaking.
Just then, footsteps sounded nearby.
The customer who had hurried away earlier returned.
This time, Annie was following closely behind him.
The customer pointed toward Benny.
"It’s him."
Annie glanced at Benny before smiling professionally.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Benny."
She noticed he was no longer lying on the mattress.
"You’re awake."
Then she gestured toward the display model.
"How do you like the mattress?"
Benny immediately nodded.
"I love it."
The answer came without hesitation.
"I’ll take it."
Annie’s smile brightened.
"Excellent."
The customer beside her looked relieved.
Apparently, the strange man talking to himself was simply a customer.
Not a lunatic, at least, probably not.
Annie quickly guided Benny back toward the front counter.
Along the way, she helped him finalize the details.
Everything was arranged smoothly.
Several minutes later, the final invoice was printed.
Annie handed it over.
"Would you like to pay by card again?"
"Yes."
Benny nodded confidently.
His personal account still contained more than four million yuan.
Paying for a bed wasn’t a problem.
At least, that was what he thought when he took out his card and scanned.
Transaction Declined.
Benny blinked.
"That’s strange."
Annie maintained her professional smile.
"It may be a network issue."
Benny nodded.
That sounded reasonable, so he tried again.
Transaction Declined.
The smile on Annie’s face became slightly strained while Benny frowned.
Then he tried a third time.
Transaction Declined.
Silence slowly descended over the counter.
Benny stared blankly at the declined message.
His brain slowly processed the information, then his expression changed.
"No way."
Across the counter, Annie was still waiting patiently.
"Mr. Benny?"
Benny forced a smile.
"I’ll have to buy it another time."
Annie blinked.
Another time?
Just moments ago, he had looked completely satisfied with both the bed frame and mattress.
Still, professional employees didn’t question customers.
She simply nodded.
"Of course. If you’d like, I can reserve the model for you."
Benny immediately shook his head.
"No need."
After offering a brief apology, he quickly left the store.
Annie watched him leave with a puzzled expression.
Outside the store.
Benny had barely taken a dozen steps when his phone suddenly rang.
Looking down, he immediately recognized the caller to be Lin Mei.
Benny accepted the call.
"Hello?"
On the other side, Lin Mei’s professional voice quickly sounded.
"Mr. Benny."
"Yes?"
"I apologize for disturbing you."
Her tone remained calm and courteous.
"However, our system detected a transaction involving 4,600,659 yuan a short while ago."
Then, right on cue, a familiar system notification flashed before his eyes.
[ Tell the person yes. ]
[ Failure to comply will result in an additional deduction of 50,000,000 yuan. ]
Benny nearly choked on his own saliva.
Cough!
His eyes widened.
The system was threatening him! It was actually threatening him.
Fifty million yuan!
What the hell!
The system seemed to be in a very bad mood today.
On the other end of the line, Lin Mei sounded concerned.
"Mr. Benny?"
Benny immediately straightened himself.
"Yes."
Lin Mei continued.
"I simply wanted to verify whether the transaction was authorized by you."
Benny looked at the system notification again.
The threat remained floating before his eyes.
His heart filled with indignation yet in the end, he could only grit his teeth.
"...Yes."
The word practically squeezed itself out of him.
"That was me."
The system notification immediately disappeared.
Only then did Benny quietly release the breath he had been holding.
Meanwhile, Lin Mei sounded relieved.
"I see. Thank you for confirming.
It triggered an alert due to the amount involved. Since you’ve verified it, everything is fine. Have a pleasant day, Mr. Benny."
The call ended shortly afterward.
Beep.
Benny slowly lowered his phone and stood there in silence.
A gentle breeze passed by and for the first time since receiving the system correction notice, he felt a tiny bit of comfort.
At least the fifty million yuan was no longer in his account.
The money was with Selena.
At that moment, Benny suddenly realized something.
Transferring fifty million yuan to his sister might have been the greatest financial decision he had ever made.
If he had kept the money himself...
He didn’t even want to imagine what the system would have done.
Thinking about it now, Selena had unknowingly saved his life.
