"W-what?" Vector blinked a few times, staring at the check as if it might vanish any second. Then, without wasting a moment, he turned and hurried straight toward the nearest bank. He wasn't about to take any chances.
Once inside, he went straight to one of the deposit machines. He'd read enough novels to know how these situations usually went—some arrogant clerk or security guard accusing him of stealing the check, turning things into a mess he didn't need. No, he'd keep this simple. He inserted the check, followed the prompts, and watched as the machine confirmed the deposit into his account.
Only then did he finally take a breath, still half in disbelief at how drastically his luck had turned.
"Wait right there!" a sharp voice called out.
Vector turned, his eyes narrowing slightly as the bank manager stepped out from behind the counter, adjusting his suit jacket as he approached.
"How does someone like you get six hundred million?" the manager asked, his tone laced with suspicion as he looked Vector up and down. The moment the system alerted him to a deposit of that size, he had come to see for himself who had made it—and what he found clearly didn't fit his expectations.
Before him stood a young man dressed in plain old clothing that had holes, carrying nothing that suggested wealth or influence. To the manager, it was obvious something was off. There was no way someone like this could have access to that kind of money… right?
Vector, however, just sighed, already knowing exactly where this was going.
"It was given to me," Vector said calmly, not even breaking stride as he turned away from the manager and started walking toward the exit.
But before he could take more than a few steps, everything happened at once. The sound of boots and shouting filled the air, and in the blink of an eye, cold metal clamped tightly around his wrists.
Vector barely had time to react before he realized he was in handcuffs, surrounded by uniformed officers who moved, pulling him along. Without a single explanation, they pushed him toward the exit and led him outside.
Moments later, he was seated in the back of a police car, staring out the window in silence. For the first time that day, he was completely speechless—arrested for the simple crime of being lucky.
"What? You arrested him?" Mark's voice thundered through the room, his aura flaring as lightning sparked around him. The sudden outburst made the bank manager flinch, his body trembling under the weight of Mark's killing intent. He had come to report this matter, hoping to build connection with the guild master—but he hadn't expected this.
"You bastard!" Mark roared, slamming his hand down on the table. "I gave him that money!"
The bank manager's face went pale instantly and his knees nearly buckled as the full gravity of what he'd done sank in. Around these parts, Mark wasn't just a guild master—he was one of the most powerful men alive. Someone like him could kill a person on the spot and face no real consequences.
Cold sweat ran down the manager's back as fear took hold. He had made a mistake—a massive one—and now he could only pray that Mark's anger wouldn't be the last thing he ever saw.
"I—I'm sorry, I didn't know," the bank manager stammered, his face pale and his body trembling.
Mark didn't bother responding. He simply grabbed the man by the hair and began dragging him along, lightning faintly crackling around his hand as he pulled him toward the prison. The terrified manager stumbled behind him, barely able to keep up with Mark's pace.
Meanwhile, just a few minutes earlier, Vector sat in a small room opposite a young Chinese man… though on closer look, it was clearly a girl dressed as one.
"Why are you dressed as a male?" Vector asked calmly, his tone even and unbothered.
The question caught the girl completely off guard. Her eyes widened in shock—she hadn't expected him to see through her disguise so easily. Panic flickered across her face as she searched for an excuse, but her hesitation only confirmed what Vector had already noticed.
"Please… don't tell anyone," she said quietly, lowering her head as her voice trembled with worry. It was a plea more than a request.
"Sure," Vector replied with a light nod. "But may I know why?" he asked, his curiosity mild but genuine as he waited for her answer.
"Well… my father doesn't value females," she admitted softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "So, I changed my identity to get an equal chance at running the family business."
Vector nodded slowly, piecing it together before speaking with a faint smirk. "Oh, let me guess—you're dating yourself?"
Her cheeks flushed slightly as she gave a small, awkward nod, clearly embarrassed but not denying it. Vector simply raised his hand and gave her a casual thumbs-up, which only made her even more embarrassed.
"So," he said after a brief pause, his tone returning to calm curiosity, "why are you here?"
"My brother framed me for attempting to rape his girlfriend," she said with an annoyed expression, her tone filled with frustration. "I highly doubt I'll be able to get out of this without revealing that I'm actually a girl."
Vector blinked once, then gave a faint, amused smile. "Wow, you must've really scared him for him to go that far. You must be good."
Her eyes widened slightly before a proud grin spread across her face. She puffed out her chest, her earlier frustration melting away as pride took over. It was clear she took the compliment seriously—she was confident in her own skill and enjoyed being pressed by someone who didn't care for her gender.
"If my father weren't so sexist, I'd already have the job," she said with a proud grin. "My brother doesn't even hold a candle to my capability."
Vector nodded slowly, genuinely impressed. Her confidence wasn't unfounded, and the way she said it made it clear she knew exactly what she was worth.
"So," she asked after a moment, curiosity slipping into her tone, "why are you here?"
Vector sighed lightly, his voice calm and careless. "I went to the bank to deposit a check," he said, "but the amount caught the manager's attention. He thought I stole the money or something, and before I knew it, I was arrested."
"It might end up getting in the way of me starting my business," he admitted softly, unsure if this mess would leave him with a criminal record hanging over his name.
"Really? From simply depositing a check?" she asked in shock.
"I mean, I was broke, so putting in 600 million dollars into my account all of a sudden would cause alarm bells. I don't blame him for his reaction, but still…" Vector said with a sigh.
"6-600 million?" she stammered, jumping to her feet in disbelief, her eyes wide at the sheer amount.
Thanks to the rise of mana and the sudden shift in global systems, the economy had changed drastically. The value of money wasn't what it used to be. Before, one dollar could buy a loaf of bread; now, a mere ten cents could do the same.
Of course, getting even ten cents had become incredibly difficult. The world's economy had collapsed and reshaped itself after mana appeared, turning every coin into something valuable. For Vector to have five hundred million dollars was like having six billion in the old world—an amount so staggering that it was hard to comprehend. So yes, her shock was more than justified.
"How did you get so much?" she asked, still unable to believe what she'd heard.
Vector simply shrugged. "The guild master of the Lightning God Guild formed a deal with me. I plan to use that money to start my business… but I have no idea what type of business I want to create. So, what type of business is your family running? If it's worth it, I would love to have you be my vice president." Vector said with a light smile.
"My family is well known for the farming," she explained. Her family name was the Fu Clan, one of the few families whose entire bloodline shared a similar ability—farming. Every member possessed a skill or system connected to cultivation, growth, or harvest, making their clan unique even among the powerful.
In the past, people with farming systems were considered exceptionally rare, almost mythical, as their abilities directly influenced the world's food supply. But over the years, that scarcity had been resolved. More and more farming systems emerged, and with them came an abundance of food—at least for those who could afford it.
Yet new problems came that made it impossible for world hunger to end. The strong consumed far more than normal humans ever could. Their mana-enhanced bodies demanded vast quantities of energy-rich food, and as their power grew, so did their appetite. This is what kept thier family in business, for the powerful needed food, and with their high tier systems, they were able to farm plants rich in energy.
So, those with farming talents had become extremely important. They were capable of cultivating land that could produce food rich enough in energy to satisfy the enormous appetites of powerful beings. Normal crops couldn't sustain system users for long, but these specially grown foods could provide the immense calories needed to fuel their strength.
Because of that, the food market had become one of the most profitable industries in existence—something that could easily make Vector a fortune if he chose to step into it.