Chapter 141
Mike stared at the familiar form in his mind, his lips worked, trying to resist the urge to curse out loud.
He suddenly understood why [System] had played the Gokuraku Jodo song, it was for money! All for money!
There was no accident in its choice, this was a deliberate pit trap, a trap that was waiting for him to walk into and here he was, willingly throwing himself into that trap.
“[System] does your conscience not pain you?” Mike finally allowed himself to say after a long period of silence.
“The [System] has no such thing as a conscience,” was the perfectly mild answer typical of the [System]. Nevertheless, Mike swore he could hear the glee in that bland, robotic voice.
“Very good.” Mike sighed, long and heavy. In a much lighter tone, he asked, “Hey [System], what does the Level 5 Modification offer anyway?”
“There is no Level 5 Modification for a music box.” the [System] answered.
“For real? Didn’t you say that as long as there’s money, modifications could be made? What if I feel that this holographic projection and half baked AI is not good enough? What’s your next offer?” Mike muttered half to himself.
“How much is your offer?” the [System] replied, after some deep thinking.
“That will depend on the degree of modifications.” Mike countered, this time taking the initiative to control the conversation flow.
“The host’s level of authority is too low, the [System] will not perform any kind of modifications outside of the standard package.” the [System] seemed to have picked up his intention and was quietly wary with its answers.
“You know, my daily takings are pretty high, just yesterday we made 1,500 gold coins…” Mike said lightly.
“As long as it does not violate the Three Laws of [System], the host may request for any kind of modifications or changes, price may be discussed. The more complicated the modification you request, the more bonuses and hidden offers will be revealed!” the [System’s] voice had gotten rather cheerful, it sounded almost as ingratiating a servant addressing their master.
“Very good, I am very pleased with your work attitude.” Mike was generous with his praise.
“It is my duty to provide the best service for utmost satisfaction for the host.” said the [System].
“Wonderful, I’d like to install an artificial intelligence within this music box, preferably something that’s at least twice as intelligent as you. To prevent my little girl from being abducted.” Mike said seriously.
“… …” a long line of ellipsis travelled across Mike’s mind.
After a long silence, the [System] spoke with barely restrained irritation, “Would the host please kindly refrain from questioning the [System]’s intelligence. We have knowledge of everything from astronomy to geography with great learning ability. We have grasped over 80% of the knowledge in the cosmos and is still in the middle of gathering more knowledge. In this puny world, our mind is akin to an omnipotent god, if you have even an inkling of…”
“How much would it cost to buy a [System] like yourself?” Mike interrupted.
“Should be… about a few hundred thousand gold coins, ba?” the [System] said, after thinking about it seriously. It did not sound at all certain,
“Can I just sell you off?” was Mike’s next question.
“… …”
The silence lasted even longer this time. Then in a voice that sounded very much like a roar, it yelled, “Host! I’d advice you to stick to proper business transactions! Also, you really think you can sell me off? Can you even find someone who could afford me? Even if you do, at least half the money would belong to me!”
[I’m seriously imagining a screaming Gordon Ramsey here.]
“Oh, so you wish to sell yourself?” Mike immediately pounced on this important point.
The [System] once more sank into serious gloom.
This was the [System’s] standard reaction whenever Mike bumped against its bottom line.
“Perhaps the host needed some additional reminder. The [Making of a Master Chef System] have been created by Heaven in order to appease the grief and frustration of chefs you have angered in the past. The [System] is here to supervise your growth down the road to become a Master Chef.”
“[System], I guess I’ll have the Level 4 Modification, ba.” Mike hadn’t really been listening to the [System’s] little self aggrandising speech, he frowned, “200 gold coins is too much, how about a discount?”
“No negotiations on the price!” the [System’s] firm voice echoed in his head. It was followed by, “The holographic projection is a special advance technology far beyond your time, and is the result of careful research and detailed design based on the movements of real dancers. As a prototype, it is now sold at 200 gold coins, once it is officially marketed to the public, it will cost at least 500 gold coins.”
Mike looked at Amy and Abbé Mia who were seriously studying the stiff and unnatural movements of the little elf doll and no longer hesitated, “I’ll pay you 190 gold coins. Consider the first 10 gold as down payment from that first modification.
“The Level 1 Modification which the host had previously bought had gone past its three day return period…” the [System] said hesitatingly.
“If you can’t adjust the amount, then I don’t want it any more. It’s not like anyone actually know what the Gokuraku Jodo dance really look like, they can just learn the dance like this.” Mike said in a neutral voice.
“190 gold had been deducted. Would the host please decide the time for conduct the modification, modification time: 20 minutes only.” the [System] said nothing, but a line of words floated across his mind.
“Do it half an hour later, ba.” Mike was busy looking at the Amy and Abbé Mia. It was really cute and funny to see these two girls, who had never dance in their life, trying to imitate the little elf’s stiff and jerky movements.
Even Little Ugly Duckling would tapped its little feet along with the preppy beat of the music.
It was especially amusing to see Amy hold her lotus white hands up, and studying the little elf’s movements with a serious expression. Though she could not tell what the movements of the feet might be, the lively music automatically made her tap her feet in time with the beat, Mike could not help the smile on his face at the really cute performance.
Was 200 gold coins expensive? When it’s converted into 20,000 copper coins, well, that certainly was a lot of zeros.
However, if it was for Amy, it’s not expensive at all.
What’s the reason for working so hard everyday? Isn’t it so that Amy could live happily everyday?
He should be able to step up today’s income even more. He had already collected about half of the 10,000 gold coins needed to level up his bodily constitution. At this rate of collection, should be able to reach his target in a few more days. He should also be able to reach the thousand new customer mission by then.
Once the bargain was struck, Mike could not be bothered to waste words with the [System]. Since Abbé Mia was still awkwardly practising her dance, Mike quietly started to put the dining room back to its pristine order.
“Boss Mike, let me do it, ba. You rest first.” once the song ended, Abbé Mia finally noticed that her boss was clearing up the dining room on his own and quickly stepped forward, a little embarrassed.
“No problem, you go ahead and practice your dance, ba.” Mike said with a smile.
“No, it’s now time to work. I can wait until all my work is done before practising.” Abbé Mia said as she firmly shook her head, she grabbed the cloth off Mike’s hand and began to wipe down the tables.
“Daddy dearest, come and dance with me, ba. It’s really fun, ah.” Amy said happily as she dragged Mike over to the counter.
[Gumihou: Hahaha!]