Wren was honestly surprised.

"Umph... how many squats are we doing?" Diana asked as she was in the backyard alongside him squatting next to him with her hands on her knees.

"We’re doing 50." Wren replied as he lowered himself for another one.

He was surprised that Diana was actually talking with him normally after sucking him off yesterday.

A part of him had expected it to be like the novels Leah used to recommend to him constantly... that after this sort of thing would happen and then the two of them would spend the next week walking on eggshells around each other, being overly formal and pretending nothing occurred while dying of embarrassment every time they were in the same room.

Diana had apparently not read those novels.

’Real life women and novel women really are different...’ Wren thought with a smile on his face.

Diana whimpered beside him saying that 50 was too much for her however Wren told her to keep trying and so they did.

After a few minutes Diana collapsed onto the grass just like yesterday and Wren sat down next to her.

The backyard was quiet and the sky was still dark as well, the only sound was the distant chatter of something in the trees at the far end of the garden.

Neither of them brought up the previous night, probably because it was embarrassing for both of them and neither one knew which words to use for it.

"So uh..." Diana started, clearing her throat.

She was the more mature one between them so it fell on her to say something. "About yesterday..."

"Yes?" Wren replied, still looking up at the dark sky. He couldn’t go for a run until the sun came through and it would be here soon enough.

Diana took a deep breath.

"If you’re ever feeling pent up or sexually frustrated like that again..." she said carefully, not quite looking at him. "You should come meet me, I’ll do my best to satisfy you."

Wren smiled slightly.

He genuinely could not believe it... He had come to Harlow with nothing going for him and somehow within a week Diana was sitting on the grass next to him making offers like this with a straight face.

Did he had some kind of godly rizz all of a sudden?

He turned to look at her.

"What about now?" Wren asked. "What if I feel stiff down there because I watched you do squats?"

Diana’s cheeks went red though the darkness of the early morning hid most of it and she could look composed enough.

’So what should I do now...’ Diana thought, taking a slow breath.

She had brought this upon herself. Though what concerned her more was the realization that Wren had apparently been watching her the entire time she was doing squats.

She reached over and her hand touched against his crotch, making Wren inhale sharply. She looked ahead as she continued.

"If you’re hard because of me then it’s my responsibility to continue where we stopped from yesterd—"

"What are the both of you doing?"

Rita’s voice came from the door.

Diana removed her hand from his crotch immediately but se wasn’t sure if Rita had seen anything.

"Morning exercise." Wren answered immediately as Rita stepped into the backyard.

The woman was still wearing the green dress from yesterday and in the morning darkness Wren couldn’t see her face properly.

"Exercise?" Rita said, stepping further out. "Let me in on the fun."

"We already finished." Wren said.

"Oh okay." Rita said, then she paused and pressed a hand to her temple. "My head is killing me from all that drinking."

"Then stop drinking so much..." Diana said flatly.

Rita turned to her with an expression of deep offense.

"Stop drinking?" Rita said. "Diana my dear friend. Do you understand what drinking does for the soul?"

She pressed both hands to her chest. "There is nothing in this world like the warmth of a good drink settling into your stomach after a long day... Nothing... not even good sex, The way it loosens the shoulders, clears the mind of everything that was weighing on it... the way the world just becomes a little softer and a little kinder. Drinking is not a habit, Diana. It is a practice. It is self-care. It is medicine for the heart that no doctor can prescribe and no pharmacy can bottle properly."

She pointed a finger at the sky.

"The best conversations I have ever had in my life happened over a drink... The best laughs... The best memories... You can’t tell me to stop drinking because you would be telling me to stop living."

Did she seriously compose a whole speech on how much she loved drinks?

Wren sighed. "You and Cara would get along very well."

"Cara is the one that taught me the best drinks in the first place." Rita said immediately. "And I heard she defended her position at the club yesterday too, good for her. It’s as expected..."

Diana raised an eyebrow. "What position?"

"You would know if you came to the club more often." Rita said simply.

"I’ll go the next time Wren goes." Diana said and then turned to Wren expectantly and Rita looked at him too.

"How about tomorrow?" Rita asked.

Wren massaged his forehead. "I’ve had enough alcohol to last me the whole week, maybe next week."

"Anytime is fine." Rita said cheerfully. Then...

GRRRR~

Her stomach announced itself loudly, Rita looked down at it and laughed nervously.

"Diana, have you made breakfast yet?" Rita asked. "I didn’t eat before going out."

"I was going to do it after this." Diana said. "But if you want to eat even a little bit of my food, you have to help around the house first with chores."

"Wren is right here though—"

"Hey!" Wren said.

Diana stood up even though her legs ached from the squats, she walked over to Rita and pushed her firmly toward the door.

"Start now." Diana said.

Rita whined all the way inside and Diana followed her, glancing back at Wren once before disappearing through the door.

Wren lay back on the grass for a moment staring at the sky, which was beginning to lighten slowly at the far edges with a thin line of grey coming in from the east over the rooftops.

Then he sat up and muttered. "Alright, what am I going to wear to run?"

...

Wren ran across the roads of Harlow with his headphones in and the music playing at a comfortable volume... it was low enough that he could hear if a car came from somewhere unexpected.

The town was quiet at this hour.

A few lights were on in houses here and there but the streets were empty and the air still had that particular morning coolness that disappeared completely by midday.

No matter how strong his body had become since Nyx arrived, he was fairly certain he would not survive a full-on collision with a moving vehicle.

Some things transcended stat upgrades.

’Alright Nyx.’ He thought as his feet hit the pavement in a steady rhythm. ’Show me my System Bank balance.’

He was also planning to try out the stock market option while he was at it hitting at two birds with one stone.

...

[System Bank]

[Full Balance → 52,050 Credits]

[Withdrawal Tax: 1% — 520 Credits]

[Spendable if fully withdrawn: 51,350 Credits]

[Would you like to Withdraw?]

[From the System Bank you can purchase shares and stocks the System has flagged for growth. Visit the Stock Market?]

...

Wren gulped as the tab floated in his vision.

He had almost forgotten how chaotic the yesterday had been but having 50k sitting in his System Bank from all of it?

’As much as you’re a devil... I have to admit you’re a blessing too, Nyx.’ He thought.

[Ehehehehe~ You’re making me blush, Host.]

’You don’t even have a face... Seeing that in text is weird, you can’t speak either.’ Wren thought.

[Don’t worry, Host. I’ll be able to speak soon.]

That sounded ominous.

’Am I able to use the Stock Market now? What about new missions?

[Of course, Host. New missions will be generated for you soon as well.]

He needed to hit that 20 mission mark and unlock Nyx’s new functions. He had completed at least 13 so far... it wasn’t too far off now.

He kept running as the stock market tab unfolded in front of him, he kept one eye on the road ahead.

’Open the stock market.’

[THE STOCK MARKET]

[Nyx here. I provide stock recommendations based on internal market analysis. However, please note that no investment carries a 100% guarantee. Stocks can rise or fall at any given time due to unpredictable market conditions.]

[Invest wisely, Host.]

[RECOMMENDED TAB]

[Valdor Shipping Co.]

[Sector: Logistics & Freight]

[Current Price: 45 Credits per share]

[Trend: ↑ Rising steadily]

[Risk Level: Low]

[System Confidence: 78%]

[Lock-in Period: 5 Days]

[Projected Return: +18-22%]

[Harwick Foods]

[Sector: Food Distribution]

[Current Price: 30 Credits per share]

[Trend: ↑ Slow but consistent]

[Risk Level: Low]

[System Confidence: 71%]

[Lock-in Period: 7 Days]

[Projected Return: +12-16%]

[FULL MARKET TAB]

[Crestline Energy]

[Sector: Energy]

[Current Price: 120 Credits per share]

[Trend: ↑ Strong upward momentum]

[Risk Level: Medium-High]

[System Confidence: 65%]

[Lock-in Period: 4 Days]

[Projected Return: +25-35%]

[⚠ Flagged as volatile... internal company matters unresolved]

[Aurex Digital]

[Sector: Technology]

[Current Price: 200 Credits per share]

[Trend: ↑↑ Aggressive growth]

[Risk Level: Very High]

[System Confidence: 52%]

[Lock-in Period: 3 Days]

[Projected Return: +40-60% OR significant loss]

[Pellan Motors]

[Sector: Automotive]

[Current Price: 75 Credits per share]

[Trend: → Stable, sideways movement]

[Risk Level: Low-Medium]

[System Confidence: 68%]

[Lock-in Period: 6 Days]

[Projected Return: +10-14%]

[Bostara United Bank (BUB)]

[Sector: Finance]

[Current Price: 95 Credits per share]

[Trend: ↑ Moderate growth]

[Risk Level: Low]

[System Confidence: 74%]

[Lock-in Period: 7 Days]

[Projected Return: +13-17%]

[Norther Construction]

[Sector: Real Estate & Construction]

[Current Price: 55 Credits per share]

[Trend: ↑ Growing with Unitas infrastructure expansion]

[Risk Level: Medium]

[System Confidence: 69%]

[Lock-in Period: 5 Days]

[Projected Return: +19-24%]

[Irongrate Pharmaceuticals]

[Sector: Healthcare]

[Current Price: 180 Credits per share]

[Trend: → Flat, awaiting regulatory approval]

[Risk Level: High]

[System Confidence: 48%]

[Lock-in Period: 10 Days]

[Projected Return: +50% OR significant loss depending on approval]

[You can invest in a maximum of 2 stocks per week, Host. Minimum investment is 500 Credits per stock. All returns are deposited directly to your System Bank upon lock-in period completion. Remember... even I am not infallible. I’m not a god after all.]

’Okay. I think I understand it.’ Wren thought while still running at a steady pace.

There were stocks across different risk levels and Nyx had flagged the two safest ones at the top of the recommended tab.

Low risk, decent projected returns, and reasonable lock-in periods. The others in the full market tab were available if he wanted to gamble more aggressively but Crestline Energy’s warning flag alone was enough to keep him away from that one.

He had heard enough about that company from Nyx already.

The lock-in periods were the main thing to understand... money in meant money locked. He couldn’t touch it until the period ended regardless of what happened to the stock in that time.

That was the part that required actual discipline.

’Alright.’ He thought. ’Nyx, I want to invest 5,000 Credits into Valdor Shipping and 2,500 Credits into Harwick Foods.’

Valdor had the higher confidence rating and the better projected return.

[INVESTMENT CONFIRMATION]

[You are about to invest in the following stocks:]

[Valdor Shipping Co.]

[Investment: 5,000 Credits]

[Shares purchased: 111 shares at 45 Credits per share]

[Lock-in Period: 5 Days]

[Projected Return: 5,900 — 6,100 Credits]

[Risk Level: Low]

[System Confidence: 78%]

[Confirm investment?]

[YES / NO]

[Harwick Foods]

[Investment: 2,500 Credits]

[Shares purchased: 83 shares at 30 Credits per share]

[Lock-in Period: 7 Days]

[Projected Return: 2,800 — 2,900 Credits]

[Risk Level: Low]

[System Confidence: 71%]

[Confirm investment?]

[YES / NO]

The projected returns weren’t bad. If these went well he would look at putting in more next week.

’Confirm both.’ He thought.

[Investment successful!]

[Total invested: 7,500 Credits]

[Valdor Shipping... returns expected in 5 days]

[Harwick Foods... returns expected in 7 days]

[Remaining System Bank Balance: 44,030 Credits]

’I hope I don’t end up regretting this.’ Wren thought.

He looked up from the tab and ahead of him on the road he saw someone waving.

It was Priya, standing outside a house with a tall fence around it, waving at him with a warm smile on her face.

She was wearing the dark hoodie again with her hair tied up and she looked like she had been standing there for a little while.

’Oh, very nice timing.’ Wren thought as he slowed his pace toward her.

It was time to complete another mission.