Chapter 2: At Least the Coffin Has Air Conditioning

Nero stared at the floating window before him, struggling to understand what was happening.

He was supposed to be dead. He still remembered the truck hitting him, the sound of his bones breaking, and the blood pooling beneath his body.

Yet somehow, he was still conscious, surrounded by a world where time had completely stopped.

And now, there was a golden window floating in front of him.

[Ultimate Choice System Successfully Bound]

[Initiating First Choice...]

"What is this?" Nero muttered with a weak voice.

Before he could figure anything out, the window changed, displaying three options.

[Choice Detected: The Crossroads of Fate]

[Option 1: Accept death and fade away peacefully.]

[Reward: Air-Conditioned Coffin (Common)]

[Option 2: Stand up and change your life. Transform from a coward into a man of courage and confidence.]

[Reward: Hormonal Change Injection + Full Heal (Rare)]

[Option 3: Cling to life but remain unchanged. Return to your old ways.]

[Reward: Victim Card (Common)]

Nero stared at the options for several seconds before his attention settled on the second one.

A Rare reward?

He didn’t know what the difference between Common and Rare was, but the second option was obviously the most appealing.

More importantly, it offered something he needed right now.

A Full Heal.

"I don’t know what this thing is..." Nero muttered, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "But if it can save me, I’ll take it."

He immediately selected the second option with his mind.

[Option 2 Selected]

[Distributing Rewards...]

[Hormonal Change Injection acquired]

[Full Heal: Activated]

The moment the notification appeared, a strange warmth spread throughout his body.

Nero could feel his broken bones shifting back into place. The wounds covering his body began closing, while the blood he had lost somehow returned to his veins.

Within seconds, all the pain he had been experiencing disappeared.

"Hah!"

Nero gasped as his lungs filled with air, and for the first time since the accident, he could breathe properly again.

He slowly pushed himself off the ground and looked down at his body.

There wasn’t a single injury left.

[System Goal: Help the Host Grow as a Person]

As the final notification appeared, the golden window faded from his vision.

At the same time, the world around him began moving again.

The wind resumed blowing, and the sounds of vehicles returned to the streets.

A red line suddenly appeared around Nero and the truck that had struck him, marking off the accident site as the emergency protocols activated.

The truck’s door swung open, and a middle-aged man hurried out.

His face was pale, and he looked visibly shaken as he approached Nero.

"Kid! Are you okay? Why did you jump in front of my truck?"

Nero didn’t answer immediately.

He was still trying to understand what had happened to him.

Looking down at his hands, he touched his chest and stomach, checking the places where he remembered being injured.

There was no blood, no pain, and not even a scratch.

"I really am alive..." Nero muttered, his voice trembling slightly. "Holy shit."

He glanced at the floating window, which only he seemed capable of seeing, before looking back at the driver.

He had been given another chance at life!

And if he understood the situation correctly, he had also awakened something called the Ultimate Choice System.

For some reason, Lyris’s face appeared in his mind again.

He remembered her smiling at Richard, the confession, and the moment she agreed to become his girlfriend.

Nero felt his mood worsen, but he quickly shook his head.

What was the point of thinking about it anymore?

She had already made her choice.

He had always tried his best to make her happy, hoping that one day she would return his feelings. Unfortunately, all those little gestures meant nothing when she had feelings for someone else.

Besides, he had just nearly died because he was too busy feeling sorry for himself.

Wasn’t that pathetic enough?

Before he could continue thinking about it, a small flying bot descended from the sky.

It was a sleek silver machine, roughly the size of a basketball, with a single red glowing eye in the center.

[I’m the supercool artificial intelligence, Enis!]

A cheerful mechanical voice came from the bot.

Nero blinked in surprise, but before he could respond, another golden window appeared.

[Choice Detected: First Impressions]

[Option 1: Be polite. Give a 180-degree bow and greet it formally.]

[Reward: $50 Cash (Common)]

[Option 2: Say out loud "Penis?"]

[Reward: Enhanced Touch Sensitivity (Rare)]

[Option 3: Start breakdancing to assert dominance.]

[Reward: Master Dancer (Rare)]

Nero’s eye twitched as he read the options.

What the hell?

What kind of choices were these?

Was this system deliberately trying to embarrass him?

He looked at the third option again, wondering whether he had read it correctly.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t.

But he was in no situation to start breakdancing right now. Hence, his eyes fell onto the second option.

Compared to fifty dollars, Enhanced Touch Sensitivity sounded like a much better reward.

Besides, what was the worst that could happen?

He had already died once tonight. Surely saying something stupid to a powerful Artificial Intelligence couldn’t be any worse.

"Penis?" Nero said, looking at the bot with a confused expression.

The bot immediately jerked backward, its single eye widening.

[The heck did you just call me?!]

Nero kept his expression straight, although he was already beginning to regret his decision.

The bot stared at him for a moment before suddenly bursting into mechanical laughter.

[You are a strange one, aren’t you, Nero Martinez?]

[I’ve never been called that in my life. You are a funny guy!]

Nero didn’t know how to respond to that.

At the same time, he noticed a faint tingling sensation spreading through his fingertips.

[Choice Completed]

[Reward: Enhanced Touch Sensitivity acquired]

So that’s how it works...

He glanced at his fingers with interest before turning his attention back to the bot.

Meanwhile, the truck driver stood nearby, watching the entire exchange with a confused expression.

He had just hit someone with his truck, yet the victim was standing there without a scratch and joking around with an AI.

What was going on?

[Anyway, would you like to file a complaint?] Enis asked, floating closer to Nero.

[You can report this incident to the Awakener’s Bureau or the Public Security Bureau. You could even sue this guy and get lots of money! Young people and the elderly alike these days love using this trick to get free money.]

Nero stared at the bot with a speechless look.

Was a government AI really supposed to encourage that?

"No, I’m good. It was my mistake, so the driver wasn’t in the wrong."

The truck driver’s expression immediately relaxed.

"Thank you, kid. I really appreciate it."

He let out a relieved sigh before reaching into his pocket.

"I’m actually in the middle of something important right now, so you’ve really helped me out."

He took out his phone and looked at Nero.

"Do you have your phone with you?"

Nero nodded and pulled out his device, which had somehow survived the accident without being damaged.

The driver brought his phone close to Nero’s and tapped the two devices together.

A notification immediately appeared on Nero’s screen.

[Transfer Received: $1,500]

Nero stared at the amount as his eyes slowly widened in shock.

"What the heck?"

"Sir, isn’t this too much? I can’t accept this."

The driver shook his head with a smile.

"Consider it my thanks. You’ve saved me a lot of trouble tonight."

[How kind of you, Adrian!] Enis chimed in.

The driver named Adrian, gave the bot a small nod.

"I’m just doing my part."

He then turned back toward Nero.

"Anyway, thank you again, kid. Take care of yourself."

With that, Adrian returned to his truck.

Nero stepped aside as the vehicle started moving again, eventually disappearing down the street.

[Well, see you around, Nero Martinez!] Enis said cheerfully.

[I’m going to watch the World Cup now. Bye bye!]

Before Nero could say anything, the little bot flew into the sky and disappeared.

He stood there for a moment, trying to make sense of everything that had happened.

Just a few minutes ago, he had been lying on the road with broken bones, waiting to die.

Now he was completely healed, had a mysterious system, and had somehow earned $1,500 from the very person who had run him over.

And somewhere in between, he had called a government AI "Penis."

"...What a night."

Nero ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

At this point, he wasn’t even sure what he was supposed to feel anymore.

"Interesting."

A pleasant voice suddenly came from behind him.

Hearing it, Nero swiftly turned around and much to his surprise, a girl stood a few meters away, watching him with curious eyes.

The moment he saw her face, his eyes widened.

He recognized her immediately.

After all, there was hardly anyone in the Pride University who didn’t know her name.

Yuna Monroe.