Chereads / Cyber Touch / Chapter 7 - The Great Shopping Spree

Chapter 7 - The Great Shopping Spree

Pete sat up wide awake in bed. He had just been woken up by three jolts of that Immortal ability sensation. That user is at it again! Pete thought excitedly. The final jolt had lasted for a few seconds. It was enough for Pete to narrow down the location to a small part of a neighbourhood across the country.

'Umm honey, what's up?' Pete's wife, Rebecca, mumbled sleepily beside.

'Nothing, go back to sleep.' Pete said.

'You sensed some ability or something again?' Rebecca asked, with her eyes still closed.

'Yeah, kind of. Never mind it's gone already. Let's go back to sleep.' Pete replied, and saw that Rebecca had already dosed off before he even finished his sentence. Unlike Pete, Rebecca did not have any abilities. It was difficult hiding these kind of things from one's spouse. Luckily, Rebecca was a very understanding wife.

Although she had some problems believing it at the start, she did not freak out. Instead, she quickly adapted to this new ability her husband suddenly had. Over time, she learnt not to ask too many questions about it, something Pete appreciated a lot. The Organisation was better off kept as secret as possible.

Too excited to go back to sleep, he reached for his phone and opened up the Maps application on it. Soon, he had located that area on his phone and took a screenshot of it. Pete also saved the location in the maps application. There was quite a large bunch of residential buildings in that area. Pete did consider going door to door for a moment but figured out it was probably a bad idea. It was similar to looking for a needle in a haystack.

Now, all he could do was to wait again. Nevertheless, this was some progress.

Alycia woke up the next morning with a start, recalling last night's events on her computer. After that solitaire game she had manipulated, tiredness suddenly overcame her. Alycia could remember vaguely stumbling to her bed in a sleepy daze before falling on it. She look to the side and saw a blood stained tissue paper. Her nose had bled again yesterday after testing out her ability.

Today, Alycia made up her mind to try and test out more of her ability. Before doing that, she had a very good idea in mind. This time, Alycia magicked another $20 000 into her bank account using her smartphone. Okay, so it works on smartphones, computers and payment systems of restaurants then, she thought. Isn't that almost all electronics? She wondered if it would work on CCTVs or electronic passcode door locks. It would be interesting to find out but she would leave that for another day. Heading out, she withdrew the $60 000 from a nearby ATM machine. There was an error. The ATM did not have enough cash in it so she withdrew $20 000 instead.

Before leaving the machine, Alycia quickly placed her finger on it to erase the record of the withdrawal, and then stuffed the money hastily in her bag, using her body to shield the cash from the sight of the CCTV.

Alycia then went ATM hopping around her neighbourhood until she withdrew all the $60 000. The money felt very heavy and bulky in her handbag.

Then, Alycia embarked on the greatest shopping spree of her life. She had lunch at an expensive fine dining restaurant, ordering the most expensive items on the menu, then she bought those branded bags, clothes and shoes she had always had her eye on but was unable to afford them. By dinnertime, her hands were carrying so many shopping bags that it was getting a little difficult to walk.

Dinner was at another fine dining restaurant up on the highest floor of The Marina hotel. It was a place known for it's exorbitant prices and usually only wealthy businessmen or celebrities were able to afford to eat there. Service was also excellent. Upon seeing Alycia carrying so many shopping bags, the service crew immediately ran over to help her carry them to her table,all the while addressing her as 'Maam'.

She had a main set course and an expensive bottle of wine all by herself. Alycia made a note to bring Fiona here next time. That girl would love this place. Then, she would probably tell Fiona that she knew the restaurant owner personally in order to explain how she was able to afford to dine in an expensive place like this.

After dinner, she took a cab home to place her shopping at home, and then headed out to the casino. Before that, she magicked another $50 000 into her account, withdrawing it at the same ATM near her place. She was starting to feel quite tired from all the ability usage but it was still bearable.

Alycia had a fun time at the high stakes table, drawing stares from fellow gamblers when she bet batches of chips after chips. After a while, she got bored of it. Not much luck in gambling. She was left with only about $10 000 after her losing streaks. Feeling so tired, she headed back home but not before magicking and withdrawing more money from the ATM. There was one thing she had to remember and that was to erase the record of the withdrawal. Alycia did not want questions raised by the bank.

She was starting to get used to the tiredness. Alycia did not feel as tired as she did the first day she discovered this ability. She also did not feel tired as fast as Day 1. This time, she was able to last an entire day with using her ability several times. It seems like she could decrease the negative effects of using her ability with more practice.

Alycia passed out on her bed, dead tired. Testing more of her ability would need to wait until tomorrow.

Across the country, Pete sat staring into space, dejected. He felt several jolts the whole day but nothing could be done as they did not last long enough each time. At this rate, he would never be able to find that user unless he or she used the ability long enough.