**Chapter 3: Working is Absolutely Impossible!**

"All in on one million yen!"

[Congratulations, host! You have received the following rewards: three packs of instant noodles to fill you up, two very delicious pudding cups, one raccoon instant noodle pack, one portable mobile phone, one toy bear, one temporary ability boost card (increased strength and perception for one minute), and one purple profession card (Student).]

Damn it!

Fujino looked at the pile of items he had drawn and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

A million yen, and I only get a student profession?

He sighed and resisted his fifty years' worth of high blood pressure as he opened the system's profession panel:

[New secondary profession added:

Student: Beginner (100 proficiency points required for the next level)

New profession skill:

Student Discount (Beginner: Enjoy a 5% discount on all functions within the system!)

Remaining balance: 53,100 yen]

Oh boy, the student profession skill is pretty useful.

Looking at the student discount skill, Fujino couldn't help but exclaim.

A 5% discount means that he only needs to spend 950,000 yen for a ten-draw in the future!

Although it doesn't seem like much.

But accumulated over time, it can add up to a considerable amount.

Moreover, the profession can be upgraded, and it's hard to imagine how powerful the student profession could be in the later stages.

In short, although this draw seemed to yield a bunch of useless items, a growth-capable student skill has already made it a worthwhile investment.

At this moment, a pair of unfriendly eyes was staring at him from the other side of the classroom.

Sonoko, with a lovestruck expression, was looking at Fujino as if she was about to drool.

"Hey, hey, Ran, is that handsome guy sitting by the window a new transfer student?"

She poked her front desk, Ran, on the back and asked.

"Sonoko, we're still in class!"

Ran turned around and lightly complained, then softly replied, "Are you talking about Fujino-senpai? Sonoko, did you forget? He is the repeating student who was demoted to our class this year."

"Huh? How come I've never seen him before?"

Sonoko was puzzled.

"Fujino-senpai is now a full-time detective and rarely comes to school."

Ran explained, "Moreover, you were on sick leave every time he came to school."

"Another high school detective!"

Sonoko scratched her shoulder-length hair, complaining, "Fujino must be a deduction freak like Shinichi Kudo."

"No, he's not."

Ran waved her hand, explaining, "A year ago, Fujino-senpai lost his parents in an accident. Since then, he became a full-time detective, and it seems he's now supporting himself by completing commissions."

"I see! Senpai became like this out of necessity?!"

Sonoko sighed, her words full of regret, "If I had known, I wouldn't have taken so many sick leaves to go out and play. Damn it, I just discovered such a handsome guy now..."

"Ha...ha..."

Ran rolled her eyes at Sonoko's lovestruck look, feeling speechless about her friend's behavior.

"But back to the point, Ran, how do you know so much about this?"

Sonoko seemed to have realized something, suddenly becoming gossip mode and asking Ran all sorts of questions, "You usually don't care about these things, and you said you went to his house? Oh my gosh, don't tell me you've fallen for him!"

Ran's face turned bright red, and she quickly explained, "Sonoko, what are you talking about? It's not what you think... Fujino-senpai lives opposite my house, and the teacher asked me to check on him... Besides, Shinichi and I are just childhood friends!"

"Oh my, you're blushing!"

Sonoko laughed mischievously, "And I didn't even mention Kudo that brat."

"Anyway, it's not what you think!"

Ran was nearly frantic, and honestly, only Sonoko could push her to this point.

"Ahem! Quiet down!"

The middle-aged teacher on the podium cleared his throat.

Sonoko and Ran immediately sat up straight.

Meanwhile, Fujino continued to study his cheat system.

...

After school, driving back home from the parking lot, Fujino felt exhausted after a day of torment.

But fortunately, his day's efforts paid off.

The student's profession had reached fifty proficiency points.

It seems different professions have different ways to level up?

Seeing the remaining balance of less than fifty thousand yen, Fujino felt another headache coming on.

After spending a million yen on a ten-draw, he was left with so little, making his already tough life even harder!

Damn it, stupid gacha system!

He sighed and muttered, "I need to find a way to make money."

Currently, he had three ways to make money: work part-time, complete commissions, or solve cases.

Working is absolutely impossible; he'd rather starve than work a regular job.

As for commissions, those depend on luck.

"Looks like solving cases is the only way."

Fujino muttered, his hand on the steering wheel, rubbing his chin.

With his detective profession, even if the police don't pay, he can still earn a substantial reward by solving cases.

But cases aren't easy to come by.

He's not like some Grim Reaper high schooler who stumbles upon a murder case just by wandering around.

"New detective profession task detected, please check!"

Hearing the system prompt, Fujino braked sharply.

He opened the system interface, and the task list was displayed:

[Detective Profession Task: Haunted House Murder Case

Task Objective: Solve the haunted house murder case from five years ago

Task Time Limit: One hour

Task Reward: 500,000 yen, system starter equipment package]

"Haunted house murder case? 500,000 yen?!"

Fujino wondered aloud, then looked to the side and saw an eerie Western-style house.

He had a deep impression of this old, dilapidated house with its overgrown fence and the Yamada family nameplate hanging on the gate.

If he remembered correctly, this was the crime scene of the haunted house murder case from five years ago, where the mother and son who killed the head of the Yamada family were hiding in the basement.

Fujino frowned, pondering for a while, then decided to accept the task.

He parked his car in a nearby open space, then navigated to the house and found a secret entrance in the overgrown yard.

Seeing the small hole blocked by planks, only wide enough for one person, Fujino couldn't help but quip, "Feels like crawling through a dog hole."

Inside the yard, he pushed open the old door to see four devil statues.

In the setting sun, the statues looked especially creepy.

"These statues are probably meant to scare people."

Fujino muttered, then continued deeper into the house.

Skipping the dark corridor, he noticed a clean carpet at the end of the hall.

If he's not mistaken, this should be the secret entrance to the basement.

Taking a deep breath and holding the strength boost card, he lifted the stone slab covering the basement.