Karl was still chilling behind the cash register, staring at the holographic screen in front of him. Earlier, he had made people cross the street without waiting for the green light. But despite a little chaos happening, he managed to fix it before it got worse. Karl took a deep breath, proud of his ability to end the hijack quicker.
30 minutes later,
[ Quest Complete ]
- Reward: 200 HP, 100 XP.
"Alright," he muttered.
"Any new quests, bro?"
But thoughts of using the system for weirder and funnier things continued to haunt him.
"Sigh… no new quests?"
Karl waited for the panel to change.
[ DING ]
[ Host can make new common sense using Hijack Points at Common Sense Maker section ]
"Wait, what? Seriously?" Karl grinned widely.
[ Making common sense has different costs of Hijack points depending on the level of common sense ]
[ For Common Sense Duration ]
[ 1 Minute ] : 10 Hijack Points
[ 10 Minutes ] : 20 Hijack Points
- Multiples apply for longer durations
"Wow... Since I now have 240 Hijack points, I'll try make some common sense," Karl smirked.
[ Common Sense Maker ]
> Common Sense : { New Common sense.. }
> Duration : { Common Sense Duration }
The common sense hijack panel opened. He began to think of silly scenarios that might happen if he continued to use the common sense hijack system.
As he was busy with wild thoughts, the chime of the store door sounded again. Karl turned around, this time a middle-aged man in a fedora hat walked in. The man walked towards the cold drinks section and grabbed two cans of soda.
Karl eyed the man.
"Hmm... what can I do this time?" he muttered, his eyes narrowing as if targeting a new target. Then an idea hit him. Karl opened his panel again enthusiastically and started typing.
> Common Sense : People will feel super happy after buying a cold drink.
> Duration : 00:01:00
Without hesitating, he hit Enter, and shortly after, confirmation popped up.
---
[ Commmon Sense Has Been Made ]
- 40 Hijack points consumed
- Hijack Duration: 00:00:59
---
Karl held back laughter, imagining the man would dance in joy or maybe hop around when leaving the store with two cans of soda in hand. He couldn't wait for the reaction that would unfold.
The man approached the cashier, placed his sodas on the counter, and smiled widely. A too wide smile. Karl looked at him with hope.
"Please, these two cans of soda," the man said, handing over the money.
Karl felt excitement bubbling in him. He returned the change and waited, counting the seconds. The man took his sodas, then walked out of the store... chuckling? Not just chuckling, the man started whistling cheerfully, then did a little dance on the sidewalk like an overenthusiastic soda ad character.
Karl chuckled softly as he watched the man jumping around.
"This is pretty funny," he thought. "But just 1 minutes, hope nothing too weird happens." He glanced at the timer on the hijack screen, counting down.
But as the man got further away, Karl began to think about what could happen if this hijack was applied on a large scale.
"What if I make everyone in the city feel happy after buying a drink?" he thought, picturing thousands of people joyfully celebrating like the man earlier.
As Karl was lost in his fantasies, the store door chimed again. This time, a little kid entered with his mother. The mother seemed in a rush, probably picking up her kid from school. She headed straight to the snack aisle, while the kid quickly went to the ice cream machine. Karl observed the kid and brainstormed.
"Kids are always full of energy, but... what if they always want a nap after eating ice cream?"
Karl opened his hijack panel again. His fingers typed rapidly with a conspiratorial smile on his face.
> Common Sense : Kids will feel very sleepy after eating ice cream.
> Duration: 00:10:00
He stared at the screen and, after a moment of thought, pressed Enter. This time, he felt a little more at ease with his hijack. Besides, what could go wrong with making kids take a nap?
---
[ Common Sense Has Been Made ]
- 60 Hijack Points Consumed
- Hijack Duration: 00:15:00
---
The kid finished getting his ice cream, and Karl watched closely. The kid licked the ice cream with a bright smile, but slowly, the smile faded. The kid began to yawn, then rubbed his heavy eyes.
The mother turned to her sleepy child, her face showing surprise.
"Why are you so sleepy, honey? You just had ice cream!"
Karl chuckled softly.
"Bingo."
The mother held her child's hand, now starting to droop as if about to fall asleep on the spot.
"Well, let's just go home, alright."
She carried her half-asleep child out of the store. Karl smiled contentedly. He had successfully turned ice cream from an energy-booster for kids into a calming treat.
"If only there was ice cream like that when I was a kid," he mumbled, laughing to himself.
However, as he looked at the timer in the corner of the screen, Karl realized one important thing.
"Wait… it's only 15 minutes duration!"
And that meant... in 15 minutes, the kid would wake up. In the middle of the journey home with his clueless mother.
"Okay, maybe I shouldn't always mess around with little kids," Karl thought anxiously.
While Karl was still laughing to himself and thinking about the next possible hijacks, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. Karl took it out and looked at the screen. A message from his boss.
Boss:
"Karl, can you deliver a package to the main office now? It's urgent."
Karl sighed heavily.
"Ah, more chores."
Lazily, he glanced out the window and observed the streets. Then an idea struck him.
"Wait... I can use this system to make my life easier!"
He quickly reopened his hijack panel. This time, he had a very specific goal in mind.
> Common Sense : All drivers on the road will give priority to motorcyclists.
> Duration: 01:00:00
Karl pressed Enter and waited.
"If this works, I can reach the main office in no time!" he thought, imagining the smooth journey ahead of him.
---
[ Commmon Sense Has Been Made ]
- 70 Hijack Points Consumed
- Hijack Duration: 01:00:00
---
"Yo... That's quite a lot of Hijack points," Karl slightly regretted using them.
"Ah, it's no big deal, and there'll be a daily quest tomorrow anyway, hehehe.."
Karl quickly grabbed his helmet and rushed to his motorcycle parked outside. He zoomed out of the Convenience Store and headed straight to the main road. Once on the highway, Karl felt something extraordinary. Cars started yielding. Even big buses seemed to shift lanes to give him space.
Karl laughed in delight.
"This is incredible! Feels like I'm the king of the road!"
He sped up, overtaking vehicles with ease, without worrying about getting stuck in traffic. Everyone seemed to know he needed to pass, and they willingly made way. Karl felt like the main character in a racing game, only this time, he was in the real world.
However, his happiness didn't last long. As he approached a large bend on the highway, Karl saw a big convoy of police vehicles escorting a truck carrying precious cargo. Normally, they wouldn't give way to motorcyclists like him, but... thanks to the common sense hijack system.
Immediately, the convoy began to slow down their pace, making way for Karl! He slowed down and saw the police officers staring at him, puzzled, but none of them took any action. Karl sweated as he passed alongside the large truck, hoping no one would ask why they had to pull over.
After a moment, he finally arrived at the main office safely. Karl got off his bike, still shaking a bit.
"Okay, maybe I should be more careful when changing the rules on the road," he said with a wry laugh.