Daniel said, "No need to look further, I'll take this one. Can we sign the contract now?"
"Sign now?" Sophia asked, baffled.
"Yes," Daniel replied.
His expression indicated he was anything but joking.
Hurriedly, Sophia questioned, "You haven't even seen the house, are you sure you want to buy it?"
Daniel retorted, "Have you seen it?"
Sophia confessed, "Of course, it's the property I'm selling."
"And, what do you think?" Daniel probed further.
"Well, it's... it's very good. Given the high price, the decor, amenities, and furniture are all top-tier," Sophia admitted.
"Then, that's good enough. Let's finalize it," Daniel decided.
Seeing Daniel's resolve, Sophia informed, "For this property, you need to pay a 40% down payment, which is..."
She was about to pull out a calculator to work out the down payment and the monthly repayments on the mortgage when Daniel cut her off, "No need for that, I'll pay in full."
Stunned, Sophia stared at Daniel.
Although they hadn't seen each other for over a decade, they used to be close, so Sophia knew quite a bit about Daniel's situation.
His parents were ordinary workers.
While they weren't poor, they were just average wage-earners.
This was entirely inconsistent with the buying power Daniel was currently demonstrating.
"Dani, you're not involved in any illegal activities here, are you?" she cautiously asked.
After all, the ways to make a fortune were all written in the penal code.
Daniel rolled his eyes, "Thanks for the vote of confidence. Can't you wish me well?"
Embarrassed, Sophia chuckled and asked, "Then how did you get so rich? Did you win the lottery?"
Daniel nodded, "Close enough."
It wasn't entirely untrue.
The activation of the system and his current profession of finding bargains were almost as lucky as hitting the jackpot.
Astonished, Sophia agreed, "Well then, let's sign the contract."
In the span of a single coffee, the property acquisition contract was prepared and signed.
When it was time to make the payment, Sophia asked again, "Are you sure you don't want to see the house first? Or think about it some more?"
Daniel grabbed the POS machine, "Give it here. With your guarantee, why would I worry about the quality of the house?"
With those words, he paid the hefty amount of over two million.
Seeing the payment confirmation on her phone, Sophia was speechless.
In all her years of selling property, she had never encountered such a unique buyer.
"Tomorrow I'll bring all the paperwork and keys to you. You can move in right away."
Daniel nodded. It couldn't have been better.
Ever since he had attended an orgy at the Abel brothers' villa, he had yearned for a villa of his own.
Sultry bombshells, attractive MILFs, girl-next-door types...
A lineup of women with different styles in front of him, ready for his embrace.
The thought of that scene made Daniel hot under the collar.
He lifted his head and downed the coffee.
Only after the strong, rich coffee hit his stomach did he realize his mistake.
Damn, this wasn't a bar.
Following that, Daniel and Sophia got into a deeper conversation.
Sophia shared that, like him, she had come here to study and got accustomed to living abroad, so she decided to stay for a while.
She also revealed that she didn't live nearby.
She was here because she had planned to meet friends at a local bar, but the plans fell through when everyone else suddenly got busy.
Daniel confessed he had been to the bar they had planned to meet at, "Their bartenders are skilled. I always end up having an extra drink or two."
Sophia grimaced slightly and said, "What a pity I didn't get to taste it tonight."
Then her eyes lit up, "How about we go together?"
Daniel paused for a moment, then agreed, "Sure."
They paid their bills and left the cafe.
Daniel went upstairs to put his skateboard away first, then came back down and hailed a taxi.
The bar was nearby and they arrived shortly.
Under the night sky, the neon sign of the bar was especially dazzling:
Wilson Bar.
Daniel led Sophia into the bar, walked straight to the counter, and ordered, "Two martinis, as usual, shaken, not stirred!"
Sophia looked at Daniel in surprise, "You have special requests, seems like you are no stranger to alcohol."
Daniel chuckled, "I drink often, but not much. They even gave me a nickname, 'One-and-done'."
"Really?" Sophia teased with a sly grin, "What a coincidence, I'm known as 'Thousand-drink drunk', looks like someone is going to be embarrassed tonight."
Daniel scratched his head, "Less is more."
Soon, the bartender mixed two golden drinks and pushed them toward them.
Daniel lifted his glass, "This is my favorite drink, give it a try," and downed his drink.
The taste of alcohol mixed with the unique sweetness of the martini washed over his taste buds, creating an unprecedented clarity.
He pushed his empty glass back, "Perfect, another one, please."
Sophia mimicked Daniel, tilting her head back and pouring the drink down her throat.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
The strong alcohol and heady power made her cough uncontrollably.
Daniel couldn't help laughing, "First time drinking this?"
Sophia wiped her mouth and shook her head.
As the queen of cocktails, she often drank martinis, but never like this, all at once.
A rosy blush appeared on Sophia's fair face after just one drink.
Seeing this, Daniel asked, "Are you okay, or do you want to switch to yogurt?"
Getting too drunk at such a place wasn't ideal.
Sophia was already attractive with her fair and beautiful face, shoulder-length hair, and commendable figure.
When she walked in, many men's eyes followed her.
Rolling her eyes, Sophia retorted, "Drinking milk in a bar, you do have some imagination."
"Bartender, another round." Shortly, two more drinks were served.
Sophia lifted her glass, "I thought we would never cross paths again in this lifetime. Never imagined we would meet again in such a place."
Daniel smiled, "Yeah, I remember back in elementary school, you were so adorable, but you always had two noodles hanging from your nose."
Sophia's face turned crimson, "You dare to bring that up?"
"You're the one who put a caterpillar in my clothes, scaring me until my nose bubbled. Since then, everyone at school started calling me 'Snot Bubble'."
After saying that, she glared at Daniel and finished off the drink in her glass.
The bartender, having keen observation skills, took away her empty glass and poured in the pre-prepared cocktail.
Seeing Sophia's resentment, Daniel felt a bit guilty, "We were young and naive, let me have a penalty drink."
Sophia immediately retorted, "Three drinks!"
Daniel, feeling guilty, didn't dare to refuse, so he helplessly laughed, "Alright, alright, three drinks it is!"
He lifted his glass to his mouth when a familiar prompt sounded in his ear.
[Detected one Martini (cocktail).]
[Proceed with buyback?]
He could do a buyback on this too?
Daniel was a bit flabbergasted.
He looked at the detailed information about the martini presented by the system, including ingredients, the bartender's name, and the cost price, etc.
He attempted to let the system perform the buyback.
Almost simultaneously, the system's voice resonated once more.
[Acquired Master Level Mixology Skills.]
[Acquired Master Level Wine Tasting Skills.]
[Alcohol tolerance increased tenfold.]
Daniel was stumped.
He was merely surprised by the first two skill-based rewards.
However, the last reward, which altered his alcohol tolerance, was truly shocking.
It belonged to the kind of reward that could change one's physical attributes!
Being able to change alcohol tolerance implies that the system can modify strength, speed, reaction time, intelligence... essentially everything related to physical condition and functions.
This was like walking on the path to superhuman evolution!
Daniel was suddenly exhilarated.
He initially thought that the so-called 'Universal Appraisal System' could only shine in the area of appraisal and, at most, lead him on the road to wealth.
Now it appeared that he had underestimated the system's capabilities.
Anything that the system can buyback could result in any relevant reward chosen at random by the system.
This was the truly awe-inspiring aspect of this system!