Idle Money System

Seeing the confidence in Alexander's face, Claire couldn't help but laugh, as if she had already won.

"I can't wait to see the look on your face when you taste this young lady's prowess," she imagined Alexander's look after losing, making her giggle.

"Yeah, yeah. So, what are the rules?" Alexander asked, wanting to stop her arrogant behavior.

"Are you so excited to lose?" Claire pursed her lips, feeling amused.

"Alright then, these are the rules of the game. We'll each have 10 coins to play, and the highest score wins," Claire said, flashing a grin.

Alexander didn't see anything wrong with the rules, so he decided to play her game. He was confident, of course.

"So, can you give me an introduction on how to play this game first?" Alexander said with a blank and emotionless expression.

Hearing this Claire could not hold her laugher, she let out a giggle that sounded like a string of tiny bells, her eyes twinkling with mischief. It was a laugh that could melt the coldest heart, a sound that promised pure joy and unadulterated happiness.

But to Alexander, it was a laugh of mockery. He only quirked a smile, letting her enjoy the moment. Claire, however, was still laughing, even holding her stomach as a tear escaped her eye.

"Are you done?" Alexander said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm done," Claire said, readjusting herself, but a few giggles still escaped her lips.

Sophie, seeing this, felt bad for Alexander. "If you don't know how to play, why did you accept the challenge?" Her lips twitched, but she only said this in her mind.

"Okay, now I'm going to explain it to you in beginner terms. This game is called 'Project: Z-Zero'. It's a game where you shoot zombies and gain power-ups when you kill a lot of them. So, first, you drop a coin, then you pick up this toy gun.

There's a wire attached to this magazine, which acts as a connector, so the indicator moves and you watch it," Claire said, picking up the toy gun with wires attached, moving it upside down.

The screen showed a crosshair moving, indicating where the bullets would be fired.

"When you fire the gun 10 times, it will reload for 2 seconds, then you can shoot again. You only have 3 minutes before the game ends, so you'll have to insert another coin for the character to move again for 3 minutes. Remember, you have to insert the coin after 1 minute has passed, or it will restart, and you'll lose your score."

"But we're not going to play that kind of game. We'll play the 20-minute game challenge. As you can see on the leaderboard over there, there are 10, 20, and 30-minute challenges. It depends on the player what challenge they want to play. You can even see my name on every challenge there," she said triumphantly, a victorious smile appearing on her face.

"Oh," Alexander said, a single word indicating his understanding.

"What's with that look of yours?" she said scornfully.

"Let's see if you'll have that expression when you lose miserably," she said smugly.

"Now let's start the challenge. Sophie, you'll act as the referee and the witness of this challenge. If I lose, then I'll do what he does, and if I win, he'll do what he does," Claire said, looking back towards Sophie.

"Sure, I'll act as the witness of your match. Whoever loses and doesn't take their words will be deemed a loser forever," Sophie said, resigned to her fate as the referee between these two.

Then the battle began. Claire inserted all of the coins and navigated to the 20-minute challenge. Alexander did the same, inserting all of his coins.

Claire grabbed the gun, and the level started. Gruesome-faced zombies appeared, and she expertly controlled the gun, firing at their heads. The gun on the screen moved, creating a blue light ray that hit the zombies' heads, killing them instantly and earning her 10 points.

She didn't stop there. She maneuvered the gun in her palm, shooting every zombie that appeared. Her movements were precise, hitting the zombies directly in the head. The zombies moved slowly, so before they could take a few steps, they were already dead.

Alexander watched Claire play from the side, his gaze fixed on her serious face. He was so engrossed in watching her that he didn't realize his own game had already started and a zombie was already biting his character.

"Umm, Alexander, you're being bitten!" Sophie exclaimed, unable to hold back her reminder.

Alexander was stunned by Sophie's words. He quickly grabbed the gun and fired at the zombie that was biting his player's arm. The bullet hit the zombie's head, killing it instantly. He earned 10 points.

Seeing Alexander's foolish actions, Claire couldn't help but laugh. Victory felt assured. Her points had already reached 300, while Alexander was stuck at a measly 30.

Alexander, struggling to control the gun, couldn't hit the zombies that were further away. He tried to center the crosshair on their heads, but the recoil was so strong, making him miss.

After 5 minutes had passed, some zombies had even approached Alexander and bitten his arms. His health was reduced to just 1, putting him at risk of losing if he were bitten again.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

On the other hand, Claire's character still had full health. Upon reaching the maximum points, she unleashed a skill that turned her gun into a machine gun, unleashing a barrage of bullets at the zombies.

Their speed increased as time went on, but Claire remained unfazed, showing no signs of stress on her face.

Claire was so engrossed in her game that she had no time to spare for Alexander. Meanwhile, Sophie, standing behind them, glanced between Alexander's screen and Claire's. The difference between the two was like night and day.

Alexander's score was only 180, while Claire had already reached 770. The difference in score was immense, compounded by the fact that Alexander only had 1 health left.

As the zombies closed in on him, Alexander shot at their heads and took down multiple zombies in one swift motion. "Now I've got the hang of it," he exclaimed, flashing a grin.

A few minutes earlier, he had experimented with different ways to hold the gun properly. He discovered that even a slight lift caused the crosshair to move too high, and the slightest movement shifted the crosshair significantly.

After some practice, Alexander mastered the gun. His aim had improved, and he had learned to handle the recoil. With just one shot, he adjusted for the slight bend caused by the recoil, effortlessly lowering the gun and firing again as if there was no recoil at all.

The zombies rushing towards him were swiftly taken down, turning into experience points. As he reached the maximum points, he activated a random skill that granted him dual-wielding guns.

It is a two MP5s, one in each hand, their compact frames buzzing with suppressed fire. He aimed it with a deadly grace, a blur of motion and lead. The weight of the rifles felt reassuring in his character hands, since it allowed him to fire with pinpoint accuracy.

The wave of zombies appeared, running wildly. Some wore armor, shields, and there was even a fast-running zombie dog. However, with the gun in his hands, no zombie could get close to Alexander. Every shot he took was a precise hit to the head.

He aimed at the endless stream of zombies approaching, earning points with each precise shot. Meanwhile, Sophie looked solemn, her brows furrowed in a serious expression.

The difficulty level had increased significantly. The zombies were much tougher, wearing armor and helmets, and their speed had increased drastically. Her aim wavered because she could only kill them by targeting the neck or body, as they swarmed from every direction, earning her only half the points.

Sometimes, she was even bitten by dog zombies that appeared unexpectedly, causing her to lose health. With five minutes remaining until the challenge ended, the zombies became even stronger, their defenses increasing to the point where even headshots required at least three hits to eliminate them.

Alexander remained calm, gripping the gun in his hand as he skillfully shot down the zombies without letting a single one escape his sight. Every shot was aimed at the head, swiftly taking them down, even those who were fast enough to evade others were still shot.

Sophie standing behind, unable to hide her amazement as her eyes blinked rapidly in disbelief. Just moments ago, Alexander was on the verge of losing, yet now he managed to survive with only 1 health remaining, showcasing his true skills.

His movements were precise, his so focus and his eyes is so captivating. Sophie couldn't help but be momentarily entranced, her cheeks flushing before settling into deep contemplation.

She was curious if Alexander had tricked Claire, trapping her from imposing a condition on the game. His carefree demeanor suggested that the challenge wasn't particularly difficult for him.

Shifting her gaze to Sophie, she observed her struggling to keep up with the relentless zombies. Even with a 15-second power-up, it was still a struggle to slow them down.

Finally, after 20 minutes, the game ended. Claire breathed a sigh of relief and a proud look was spreading across her face as she checked her score.

It was '5732', a total that surpassed her previous score by over 200 points, demonstrating her improvement.

She glanced at Alexander, knowing she had won, only to find him standing behind her, feeling amused in his eyes as he observed her score.

"Don't tell me you lost so early that you came to watch me play," she said, a smug smile playing on her lips.

"It's okay to lose, Alexander. There's still room for improvement," Claire said, her voice dripping with playful teasing.

But when she met his gaze, it felt like he was looking at an idiot. Shifting her eyes towards Sophie, she saw a sly smile arching across her lips. A wave of fear washed over Claire, chilling her to the bone.

"That's impossible for him to win," she scoffed, then strode over to Alexander's spot to check his score. Her jaw dropped in as she looked at in silence.