CHAPTER 157: SURPRISE!

Gray kept looking through his monitor, half-refreshing the VaultFox app every few minutes.

Since he saw it in the morning, he hadn’t taken his eyes off it.

The dip had slowed throughout the day. Then, slowly but surely, Solarbyte began to climb again.

For the thousandth time of the day, Gray glanced at the live chart. The value was now inching above $51.

A quiet breath escaped his nose. His shoulders eased slightly.

"That’s it... just a little more..."

And then—

[Ding!]

A familiar satisfying chime rang out in his ears.

Gray’s phone vibrated softly in his hand, and at the same time, a holographic window appeared right before his eyes.

[Mission Complete!]

[Total Wealth Reached: $100,312.24]

[+1 Influence gained.]

[+1 power gained.]

[You have been granted Golden Fingers.]

[Golden Fingers (Passive) – A rare investor-type skill that enhances all future investments for the Host. Even without special knowledge or timing, your investments will now begin to perform better than average. Your gut instincts will subtly align with profitable outcomes.]

Gray’s jaw dropped slightly as he stared at the notification.

It was done...

It was finally done!

The number he’d been chasing for the past months had finally been crossed!

"Golden Fingers..." he said softly. "That sounds insane."

He wasn’t sure exactly how it would work. But if it was anything like the rest of the system’s rewards.

This time, the skill had value for him.

It was a hidden advantage that would grow more the longer he kept investing.

His lips tugged upward into a grin.

"That’s one more mission down," he muttered. "And one hell of a reward."

The system’s window faded after a second, but that satisfied feeling still lingered in Gray’s chest.

For a moment, he just sat there.

Silent.

Then, slowly, he leaned back in his chair and let out a soft breath. He was smiling so widely that he could feel the side of his lips aching.

After a moment, Gray opened the VaultFox app again.

He wanted to test his new skill almost immediately.

Golden Fingers.

It was a passive skill that boosts investments, so he needed to know how that worked in practice.

"Alright," Gray murmured. "Let’s try something small."

He tapped on the search bar in the app and began scrolling through the market.

He didn’t look at the trending stocks or the top earners.

Instead, he filtered for the bottom.

He was searching for the failing ones. The companies that had dipped hard in the past few months.

He knew that most people wouldn’t even glance at these.

But Gray did.

One after another, he read the headlines, checked the one-month trend, and skimmed through comments on the internet.

First, he found a small renewable energy company called VIRENCO. Their value had dropped 70% after a failed government contract. But the company was still alive.

Next, he picked a small logistics startup, CARRYTECH. They had been in the red for months after a scandal involving misreported deliveries. But the CEO had stepped down, and the new one had already begun working, so there might be changes soon.

Those two were risky; they were cheap.

It was just perfect. Gray added a small investment to each. Just around $3000 to $4000 each.

That was all he was willing to use, since this was just a test.

Once the purchases went through, he sat back in his chair again.

"Alright, Golden Fingers," he muttered. "Let’s see what you can really do."

The numbers were small enough that it wouldn’t hurt even if they dropped further. But if they rose?

He knew he’d actually earn something from it.

Gray closed the app and dropped his phone onto his desk. He rubbed his hands together slowly, then let them rest behind his head.

"I wonder how long I have to wait?"

[Ding!]

Just then, the system answered him.

[Host, please wait patiently. Just watch closely.]

Gray blinked at the floating message.

"Ah," he muttered. "I see."

It made sense.

Of course, it wouldn’t magically make things skyrocket in a few minutes. That would’ve been too broken, even for the system.

"Alright, I get it," Gray said, nodding slightly. "I’ll keep an eye on it."

He opened his phone for a moment and added alerts for small price movements and set a reminder for himself to check daily.

"I guess I’ll be checking on these more often than," he murmured, before setting the phone aside again.

Just as he reached for the report on his desk, a quiet knock echoed from the door.

Gray paused. He looked up toward it, brow furrowing slightly.

Joel was in the grocery store. He doesn’t have a meeting with Owen today. Marcus was also out, so he didn’t know anyone who would come knocking on the door.

Curious about it, "Who is it?" he loudly called out.

There was a second of silence before a soft voice answered from the other side.

"It’s me."

Gray blinked when he heard the answer. The voice was familiar... so familiar to him.

"Come in."

The door creaked open slowly after the words left his mouth.

And there she was.

Chloe.

Gray froze for a moment.

Chloe was dressed differently today. She wore a white blouse tucked neatly into a dark plaid skirt that stopped just above the knee. On top of that, she wore a slim blazer that framed her shoulders, and she had her hair tied in a neat ponytail, with soft strands curled slightly at the ends.

Her usual makeup was subtle, but it polished her look in a way Gray hadn’t seen before.

She looked so formal and mature.

Gray blinked once and then twice.

"...Wow," he muttered before he could even think. "You look... so formal."

Chloe’s lips twitched at his reaction, then, without warning, the polite and reserved expression on her face changed in an instant.

Her smile turned real. They were bright and playful.

"I knew you’d say that," she chuckled, stepping closer with zero hesitation now.

"What are you doing here?" Gray smiled at her.

"I’m working at the company now!" she said with a grin in her voice. "Surprise!"