Chapter 18: Searching For New Potentials

Chloe lifted her hair out of the way, her cheeks flushing slightly as I stepped up behind her. I unclasped the thin gold chain, leaned down, and fastened the diamond pendant gently around her neck.

When she let her hair fall back over her shoulders, the diamond caught the soft ambient lighting of the penthouse, resting perfectly against her collarbone. She turned toward the floor-to-ceiling mirror, reaching up with a delicate touch to run her fingers over the cool, brilliant stone.

"It’s... it’s breathtaking," she murmured softly, her eyes wide as she admired her reflection. "I’ve never owned anything remotely like this. It feels like a dream."

"It suits you," I said smoothly, standing behind her with my hands in my pockets, the new watch gleaming on my wrist. "Consider it a baseline. Every elite scholar needs a little ice to match her brainpower."

She let out a soft, genuine laugh, turning around to look at me with a radiant, confident smile that completely transformed her face. She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me into a warm, tight hug.

"Thank you," she whispered against my shoulder, her voice full of quiet, sincere affection. "Seriously. For everything."

She pulled back just enough to look up at me, her eyes lingering for a second as she ran a hand over the lapel of my new jacket. "Now, go show me this legendary study setup you had installed before I lose my focus completely."

I smirked, taking her by the hand and leading her down the marble hallway toward the penthouse’s newly furnished study wing.

---

Next day,

I pulled out of the garage the next morning, my head still practically throbbing from the non-stop wall of academic jargon Chloe had been hurling at me since we woke up.

She was sitting in the passenger seat, absolutely glowing with energy, clutching her tablet and reading off complex research theories, statistical data, and high-level analytical frameworks without taking a single breath. The new private database setup had unleashed a full-blown academic monster, and her brain was running at a hundred miles an hour.

"So if you analyze the cross-variable correlation models within the secondary dataset..." she said, gesturing wildly with her pen.

"Chloe," I cut in, clutching the steering wheel with one hand and rubbing my temple with the other. "I love the enthusiasm, I really do. But if you hit me with one more paragraph of high-level textbook jargon before I even get a dumbbell in my hand, my brain is literally going to explode right here in the driver’s seat."

She paused mid-sentence, looking over at me before bursting into a bright, uncontrollable laugh.

"Sorry!" she giggled, hugging her tablet to her chest and leaning back into the leather seat. "I just... I’ve never had access to tools like this before. It’s like a whole new world opened up. I can’t turn my head off!"

"Save the brainpower for the gym," I smirked, glancing over at her glowing face. "We’re going to sweat out the textbook overload."

I pulled the supercar up to the city’s most exclusive, private fitness club. The glass-fronted building looked more like a high-end resort than a gym, packed with top-tier equipment, private trainers, and elite members.

We stepped out into the morning sun, both of us styled in fresh, high-end athletic gear. Chloe was still radiating that sharp, effortless confidence, completely unbothered by the quiet glances from the people walking past us toward the entrance.

I swiped my card at the front desk, securing full-year executive memberships for both of us right on the spot.

[Transaction: VIP Executive Gym Memberships (x2)]

[Amount Expended: $10,000.00]

As we walked onto the pristine, marble-accented gym floor, I pulled up my banking app on my phone to check the fallout from yesterday’s madness.

[Current Liquid Balance: $586,500.00]

I stared at the screen, letting out a small sigh. Five hundred eighty-six thousand.

It was still a crazy amount of cash for anyone else, but seeing my balance drop out of the seven-figure mark bugged me. I liked seeing those extra zeroes sitting in my account—it gave me total control. The sooner Chloe smashed her exams and unlocked that $500,000+ locked cashback reward, the sooner my balance would skyrocket back past a million where it belonged.

"I’m going to hit the cardio zone and run through my study notes on the screen," Chloe said, giving my arm a light squeeze before heading toward the high-end treadmills.

"Go crush it," I nodded, tucking my phone back into my pocket.

With Chloe busy, I moved over to the free-weights section to get some real reps in, keeping my eyes open as I worked out. Now that Level 2 of the system was active, I wasn’t just here to bench press—I wanted to scan the room and see if I could spot any hidden, raw talent waiting to be unlocked.

While Chloe was over on her treadmill, powering through her run while still muttering crazy textbook formulas under her breath, I swept my eyes across the main gym floor to let the system scan the rest of the room.

A few women flashed green indicators, but most were coming up with basic numbers—3.5 ratings paired with mediocre potential. Nothing worth dropping real capital on.

Then, my eyes landed on a treadmill a few rows down.

A heavy-set girl with messy hair was sweating through a faded oversize tee, struggling to keep her pace on the running belt. She looked completely out of place in a private club full of snobbish elites, and the people around her weren’t making it any easier. A group of fake-tan gym-goers kept brushing past her machine, throwing dirty, dismissive looks in her direction and chuckling quietly amongst themselves. She just kept her head down, biting her lip and trying to push through the embarrassment.

I focused my gaze on her, and the system interface suddenly flared with a bright, gold-tinted window that completely eclipsed everyone else in the room.

[CRITICAL DISCOVERY: HIGH-YIELD DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH]

Current Status / Aesthetic Rating: 3.0 / 10 (Overlooked, low confidence, severe public anxiety, zero support)

Untapped Potential: 9.5 / 10 (Generational beauty, extreme athletic adaptability, high-tier charisma)

System Multiplier: 30X CASHBACK BONUS

Condition: Trigger complete transformation & unleash hidden potential.

My breath hit a wall. A 9.5 potential hiding under a 3.0 current rating, backed by a massive 30X cashback multiplier.

If I invested in her transformation and unlocked that 9.5 rating, the return on investment wouldn’t just put me back over a million—it would completely shatter my bank account into absolute wealth.

I set my dumbbell down with a heavy clunk, resting my hands on my hips as a slow, cold smirk spread across my face.

Just then, one of the guys who had been snicker-laughing intentionally bumped his shoulder into her treadmill handle, causing her to stumble, lose her rhythm, and fly off the back of the belt onto the floor.

A few snorts of laughter erupted from the guys nearby as she sat on the rubber floor, her cheeks burning bright red as she tried to gather herself in absolute humiliation.

I adjusted my new $50k watch, straightened my fit, and started walking straight over to her.