106: Chapter 106: Professional Old Driver

As dusk settled, the sun dipping below the horizon, Fujino drove home from the Suzuki residence.

"This time, I really hit the jackpot..."

Fujino pushed open his bedroom door and flopped onto the sofa.

This commission to protect the Black Star was different from usual. Suzuki Tomoko had paid the entire fee upfront, right after ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they agreed on the terms.

Initially, Fujino had intended to maintain some professional integrity, maybe suggest payment upon completion. But then he saw the black card swipe through the POS machine, followed by the delightful chime confirming a five-million-yen cash deposit. At that point, professionalism went out the window.

The Suzukis operated on a different level; five million yen was probably pocket change to them.

"Dropping millions of yen like it's nothing... At this rate, I'll reach the pinnacle of life in no time."

Pondering this, Fujino sighed. "If only all clients were as wealthy and generous as the Suzukis."

Since arriving in this world, he couldn't recall a time when his finances were this flush.

It was all thanks to the Suzuki family.

As the saying goes, the amount one dares to spend reflects their power and influence.

Fujino felt the Suzukis definitely had influence.

Five million for a detective... what if one were to marry into the family...? Unthinkable.

Shaking off the thought, Fujino opened the system interface, contemplating how to spend this windfall.

Blowing it all on the gacha was out of the question. Dumping two or three million yen only to get nothing good would be disastrous.

After a moment's consideration, Fujino thought about his pocket dimension.

Currently, it was a one-meter cube. Having used it for a while, he was starting to feel it wasn't quite spacious enough.

After all, he'd been tossing all sorts of miscellaneous items into it.

"While I have the cash, might as well upgrade the pocket dimension."

Fujino focused his attention on the pocket dimension upgrade interface:

[Small Pocket Dimension: Allows storage of items anytime. Current Size (1x1x1m). Note: Upgradeable. Current Upgrade Cost: 2,500,000 Yen]

"Two and a half million?"

Fujino murmured, looking at the upgrade cost. "With my current financial situation, upgrading should be feasible..."

After brief deliberation, Fujino mentally confirmed the upgrade:

[2,500,000 Yen Consumed.]

[Pocket Dimension Upgrade Complete.]

[Small Pocket Dimension: Allows storage of items anytime. Current Size (2x2x2m). Note: Upgradeable. Current Upgrade Cost: 5,000,000 Yen]

[Current Balance: 3,800,000 Yen]

"Two meters?"

Fujino noted the increased size after the upgrade, surprised.

The previous upgrade went from 0.5m to 1m, now from 1m to 2m. It seemed each upgrade increased the length of each side somewhat proportionally.

And the price doubled each time.

Quite the system.

"It costs five million to upgrade now... Does that mean the next one will be ten million?"

Fujino shook his head. "The gacha nature of Golden items really reflects the system itself."

"But compared to the cost, the benefit is still worthwhile. A two-meter cubic space... that's enough to fit my motorcycle."

"Being able to summon my motorcycle anytime, anywhere... opens up possibilities. Makes certain things much more convenient."

Next, Fujino turned his attention to the Profession Orb gacha interface.

With 3.8 million yen, he could theoretically spend 3.6 million for forty pulls.

But he couldn't spend it all.

The Profession Orb system was a money sink.

It was wise to keep some cash on hand for emergencies.

Daily expenses like gas, food, clothes, and transportation all required money.

"Let's try thirty pulls first."

After some thought, Fujino made his decision.

He stood up from the sofa and walked slowly towards the balcony railing.

Taking out three Chunghwa brand cigarettes, he performed his usual ritualistic bow towards the opposite direction before activating the Profession Orb gacha.

Two million seven hundred thousand... pull!

[Congratulations Host! Rewards Acquired:

Purple Profession Card (Professional Driver),

Anti-Blue Light Glasses (Blue),

Batarang x5 (Blue),

Strength Enhancement Card (100%) x6,

Reaction Speed Enhancement Card (100%) x6,

Cream Pudding x3,

100,000 Yen x5,

Pink Children's Outfit x1,

Bulletproof Backpack x1.]

[Current Balance: 1,600,000 Yen]

"Professional Old Driver¹?"

Fujino immediately opened the system's profession interface to examine the newly acquired Driver profession skills:

[New Sub-Profession Added:]

Driver: Basic (0/100)

Profession Skills:

Old Driver (Basic driving techniques)

Overclocked Old Driver:

(Overclock Basic: Actively grant vehicle overclocked speed effect. Current Overclock: +50%)

(Duration Basic: Active overclock effect duration. Current Duration: 1 minute)

"Fifty percent overclock and basic vehicle handling knowledge?"

Fujino stroked his chin, looking at the Old Driver skills.

The "basic driving techniques" part was honestly a bit vague.

"Driving... probably refers to cars and motorcycles, right?"

"But the system doesn't specify what can be driven. Does that mean this skill could also apply to planes or ships...? If we take it to an extreme, could I even pilot a Gundam?"

"As expected of an Old Driver... this skill is pretty insane. Can drive anything."

After speculating about the Old Driver skills, Fujino looked at the other lower-quality items from this pull:

[Anti-Blue Light Glasses: Prevents eye discomfort caused by various factors. Be it flashbangs or blue light, the Host's eyes are the most precious asset.]

"Perhaps... this could be useful against that Kuroba Kaito kid?"

Fujino's eyes narrowed slightly as he read the item description.

With these glasses, he'd no longer fear Kaito Kid's flashbangs.

Unfortunately, they occupied the same slot as the Vision Enhancement Glasses, so their effects couldn't be stacked...

[Detected Host Profession Orb redemptions have reached 210 times. Intermediate Profession Orb redemption unlocked. Current Intermediate Profession Orb price: 1,000,000 Yen.]

Just then, the system's voice sounded unexpectedly.

Fujino paused, stunned, then quickly opened the Profession Orb redemption interface.

Upon opening it, he saw that next to the original 100,000 Yen orb, a new Intermediate Profession Orb option had appeared.

And the price for one Intermediate Profession Orb pull was one million yen.

Fujino looked at the new interface, slightly puzzled. "Since it's 'intermediate,' it should be better than the regular Profession Orb pulls, right...? But one million yen... that's still quite expensive. At least, I can't afford it right now..."

1. "Old Driver" - Lǎo Sī Jī - is Chinese internet slang for an experienced expert, often used humorously, especially regarding driving skills or mature topics.