A foot massage parlor opened downstairs at Hero Tower.
The yellow neon sign, pink lighting, and half-covered curtains created a suggestive atmosphere.
Inside the shop were several beds.
Every day, two or three young women waited on them for the lucky ones to walk in.
Most of them dressed provocatively, wearing black stockings, either sitting, lying, or leaning on the massage beds, playing on their phones and showing off their enticing figures.
Whenever a man walked in, they would obediently stand up and greet him with a warm smile.
No matter if it was the man's first time there or not, they would gently bring a basin of water to wash his feet, cleansing away the dust of his worldly travels.
Shy and sweet, they'd inquire if he was cold or warm.
Who could resist a No. 8 technician who didn't care about cars, houses, or dowries?
Even though it only lasted a short 60 minutes, she could take care of him in her youthful bloom, massaging his shoulders and easing his burdens.
Love rose with the ticking clock, yet when it stopped, it left a lingering emptiness.
When James walked out of the shop, his face was filled with melancholy. He lit a cigarette, squatted at the door, and silently inhaled and exhaled smoke.
His gaze was empty, as if his soul had been drained.
Adult love came fast and left just as quickly.
Today, the No. 8 technician was not there.
The other girls in the shop said she had returned to her hometown to get married.
James silently wept.
When he had finally resolved himself, summoning the courage to heal her broken heart, she was gone.
There was no greater pain in the world than this.
The No. 8 technician was beautiful and bore a slight resemblance to a girl James had pursued before.
A few days earlier, he had asked about her ratesâonly $298.
That stirred his heart.
Why not enjoy life while you can?
Earn by day, spend by night, leaving not a penny to take home.
After all, he wasn't planning to marry or buy a house; there was no need to push himself so hard.
His father had passed away early, and his mother remarried.
There was no one to restrict him; he could live however he pleased.
But when he realized this, he was already 26.
Previously, he had been blinded by a deceitful woman, determined to make her happy, so he worked tirelessly.
He held down two jobsâblocking delivery drivers as a security guard by day and breaking through security barriers to deliver food by night.
He was at war with himself.
Until a few nights ago, while delivering food, he saw the girl he cared for sitting in a middle-aged bald man's car, acting intimately.
That broke him.
He questioned her on WeChat, but there was no reply.
The next day, she finally responded, saying she was too busy with work the previous night to see his message.
James spent a sleepless night with red eyes, wanting to scold her but unable to.
Because she wasn't his girlfriend.
So it was her freedom to be with whoever she wanted.
Thus, James decided to give up and head to a foot massage shop, seeking a taste of debauchery and the thrill of being a "bad guy."
But the No. 8 technician was also gone, leaving him heartbroken.
After finishing his cigarette, he looked around blankly, unsure of what to do next.
Just then, the sound of a door opening came from behind him.
A fairly attractive girl walked out, squatted beside him, and waved her cigarette, saying:
"Hey handsome, got a light?"
Her smile was flirtatious, her figure enticing, stirring desire in those who saw her.
James immediately snapped out of his confusion, his mind flooded with inappropriate thoughts.
He pulled out a lighter, leaned closer, and lit her cigarette.
The flame illuminated her cleavage.
Her snow-white shoulders made it hard to look away.
The girl lit her cigarette, noticed James' dazed expression, giggled, and teased:
"What's wrong? Didn't you say you only wanted No. 8 just now?"
James mumbled, "I just wanted some closure."
The girl, seeing the delivery guy looking clueless, took a drag and blew the smoke in his face, laughing:
"Closure, huh? You men are so dramatic. You come here and still make excuses, finding all sorts of reasons to back out."
Girls in her line of work were usually bold and great talkers, able to chat with anyone.
Seeing James' awkwardness, she continued persuading:
"I've seen you delivering food and sneaking glances every day. We even placed bets on when you'd finally step inside. Who knew it'd be tonight?"
"How about you come in with me? I'll give you a full-body massage, okay? I'll even give you a discount."
"Forget about No. 8. Let me tell you, she's got a whole bunch of gynecological issues. Customers even came back to complain. She wasn't getting married; she was kicked out by the manager to go get treatment..."
Hearing the gossip, James was stunned.
He never imagined that the No. 8 technician he had been pining over was in such poor shape.
At that moment, the girl leaned closer, pressing herself against his arm and said,
"Handsome, I'm new to this business, and I'm very clean. Want to give it a try?"
James felt his body heating up, hesitating slightly.
He wanted to see if she was "clean."
Just then, a "ding" sounded in his mind, followed by a series of codes flashing by. A small line of text appeared:
"Assistive scanning feature activated."
James was startled at first.
Then he was overjoyed.
Could this be the legendary system?
Was he about to "cheat" like in the stories?
The thought of becoming a "hacker" thrilled him.
He almost wanted to kneel and thank the system.
"Please make a purchase for a female with a charm rating of 90 or above to activate the system."
Before James could react, a blue scanning window appeared in his vision, able to be turned on and off with his thoughts.
Focusing his mind, he looked at the girl beside him.
Her profile appeared:
Name: Linda
Age: 31
Charm Rating: 72
Number of Relationships: 349
Note: Number of relationships refers to the number of men she has been intimate with.
James froze.
This woman had been with 349 men? And she dared to claim she was new to the business?
One man a day, and she'd nearly hit a full year!
Without the system, he might have been completely in the dark.
Terrified, James quickly excused himself and left.
So many men surely meant the risk of disease.
He couldn't take such a gamble.
Standing up, he firmly declined her invitation and took off on his bike.
Ignoring Linda's desperate attempts to stop him, he focused instead on finding a way to activate the system.
He scanned his surroundings as he rode along the dimly lit streets, searching for a beauty with a charm rating of 90 or above.
But it was late at night, and the streets were almost empty. A few girls passed by occasionally, but they were all average at best.
After some trial and error, James discovered that as long as he could see someone's face and body, the system would instantly generate their details.
An idea struck him. He pulled out his phone, opened his photo album, and found a picture of a beautiful woman.
Using the scanning function, he was thrilled to see that it even worked on photos.
He swiped through the images one by one.
Eventually, he stopped at an especially stunning photo.
The system displayed the following information:
Name: Tailsa Evans
Age: 25
Charm Rating: 93
Number of Relationships: 1
Tailsa Evans. His college classmate. Universally recognized as the campus belle.
She was breathtakingly beautiful, the kind of woman who could bring any man to his knees. She was the unattainable dream girl in every guy's heart.
Tailsa wasn't just good-lookingâshe was a goddess. Her beauty was so radiant it left people speechless, unable to even entertain the thought of approaching her.
James had been no exception. He'd admired her from afar, convinced that he would never have a chance with her.
But now...
Now, this bizarre system gave him a shred of hope.
If he could just activate it, maybeâjust maybeâhe could stand a chance.
For the first time in his life, James felt bold. This time, he decided to go all in.
No matter what it took, he was determined to activate this system.
He dug out her number, which he had saved years ago, and searched for her profile to send her a friend request.
The verification prompt popped up:
[What's my name?]
[Tailsa]
James nervously sent the request, then sat on his bike, fidgeting anxiously. His legs wouldn't stop shaking.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this nervous.
What if she didn't accept his request?
What if the system disappeared?
What if this so-called system turned out to be a scam?
He'd read thousands of novels, and not once had he come across a system that required manual activation.
Aren't systems supposed to just pop up with a ding and get right to work?
Why did this one demand payment to activate?
Could this thing be... a simp system?
His thoughts spiraled until suddenlyâshe accepted his request.
Not only that, but she even sent him a message.
[Hi.]
James froze for a moment, overwhelmed with emotion. But he quickly snapped out of it, shaking off his messy thoughts.
If the system required him to "spend money," then a red packet should count, right?
He opened the red packet function in the chat and entered a modest amount: 1 dollar.
But as his thumb hovered over the send button, he hesitated.
Would 1 dollar be too cheap? What if she thought he was stingy?
What if she ignored him after that?
After agonizing over it for several minutes, he gritted his teeth and added a zero.
10 dollars.
It wasn't much, but at least it wouldn't make him look completely broke.
Finally, he sent the packet.
To his relief, Tailsa accepted it almost instantly.
And at that very moment, he heard the most beautiful sound in the world.
"Ding! Transaction successful. The Simp System has been activated."
A flood of notifications followed:
"When making purchases for women with a charm rating of 90 or higher, you may use the Simp Fund.""Current Simp Fund Balance: $0.""Every $1 of real money is worth $10,000 in Simp Fund credit.""Increase a woman's affection level to 80 (Admiration), and funds spent on her will be refunded in full as cash.""Increase her affection level to 100 (Devotion), and receive a special reward."
James stared blankly at the messages.
What the hell?!
It really was a simp system!
And it wanted him to spend real money!
James gritted his teeth in frustration. He had never been a spender.
He played pirated games, read pirated books, and avoided spending a single dime whenever possible.
Now, this system was forcing him to fork over his hard-earned cash? He felt like he was being scammed!
If it weren't for the fact that these messages were appearing directly in his mindâand that a golden card had materialized out of thin airâhe wouldn't have believed any of this nonsense.
Reluctantly, James followed the system's instructions.
After some hesitation, he recharged the card with 10 dollars.
"Ding! System balance: $10,0000 Simp Fund."
10 dollars. Just like that, he had 10,000 Simp Fund credits.
The whole process felt absurdly casual.
Not even a first-time recharge bonus? Not a single gift?
This system was starting to remind him of those trashy pay-to-win mobile games.
James sneered. He wasn't even sure if the 10,000 credits were usable.
Still, he followed the steps to link the golden card to his WhatsApp account.
Just as he finished, another message from Tailsa popped up.
[Who are you? And seriously, 10 dollars? That's all you've got?]