Chapter 3: What One More Year Means

The first thing that crossed Ryan’s mind was how to get ready.

He couldn’t simply start selling time when he didn’t even know how the process worked. There was a sense of urgency building inside him, especially with Emily’s condition and the landlord’s three-hour ultimatum hanging over his head, but Ryan had learned through countless years that composure was one of the most important things a man could possess.

He might have already found a possible way out of the mess this body had fallen into, but he hadn’t been educated about the procedures yet.

No matter how many years he had lived, Ryan was still a complete novice whenever it came to the new systems and rules Soly introduced in every world.

And apparently...

He was a hundred-and-three-million-year-old novice here, too.

"So, Soly. How do we get on with it?"

A familiar notification immediately appeared before him.

[Stats:]

[Ryan Calender]

[Profession: Time Merchant.]

[Age: 20.]

[Net Worth: $5.]

[Available Lifespan: 103,000,000 Years.]

[Contracts: 0.]

Ryan stared at the information for a moment.

The status panel was nothing new to him. It was one of the most basic features Soly had always provided after every transmigration, giving him a general overview of his current condition and progression.

The only thing that caught his attention was his net worth.

Five dollars.

Ryan stared at it for a few seconds before quietly sighing.

"Five dollars..."

He had once possessed kingdoms, treasures capable of destroying worlds, and enough wealth to make entire civilizations kneel.

Now, he had five dollars.

A magnificent retirement indeed.

Soly continued before he could complain.

[To sell time, there must first be a contractual agreement between the seller and the recipient.]

[Once the contract is signed, it can only be terminated through the agreement of both parties. A single party cannot terminate it alone, not even the seller.]

Ryan’s expression became slightly more serious.

[Once the duration of the contract is reached, it will automatically expire. The recipient may then apply for a renewal or allow the contract to end.]

[Whether you are paid for selling time is not part of the contract’s requirements. That decision is entirely at your discretion.]

[You may charge any amount for the lifespan you provide.]

Ryan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Hmm..."

"Interesting."

He thought about it for a moment before a small smile appeared on his face.

"So, I can choose to give time away for free to whoever I want?"

[Correct.]

The first person that immediately appeared in his mind was Emily.

His little sister had fourteen days left.

Fourteen days.

Ryan could give her a hundred years without even noticing the difference in his own lifespan.

His lips parted into a small smile, and a deep sense of relief settled within his heart.

For the first time since arriving on Earth, he knew that Emily’s death wasn’t something he had to accept.

However, despite how eager he was to return to the apartment and grant her all the time she needed, he knew that wasn’t the right thing to do yet.

There were still too many unknowns.

And more importantly...

He had to learn how this business worked.

"The clear priority should be finding my first customer."

Ryan nodded to himself.

"Someone who can pay enough for me to settle the rent."

That was the first step.

The problem was...

He had absolutely no idea how to take it.

There were countless people wandering the streets in this part of the city. Evening had already arrived, and most people were returning home from work, filling the sidewalks with a steady stream of pedestrians.

Ryan casually walked among them, his eyes drifting from one person to another.

[52 Years... Remaining.]

[27 Years... Remaining.]

[34 Years... Remaining.]

[11 Years... Remaining.]

The golden countdowns continued floating above their heads.

Some had decades left.

Others had only a handful of years.

Ryan could tell immediately who was nearing the end of their lives.

But knowing that didn’t mean he could simply walk up to them.

He couldn’t exactly approach a random stranger and say:

’Hello. I can see the remaining years of your life, and I can sell you more.’

That would be the stupidest way possible to introduce himself.

Ryan had lived too long to make such a rookie mistake.

He needed something more formal.

Something that would allow people to approach him willingly.

He needed a proper way to introduce himself to this society, something that would make people believe him and, more importantly, respect him despite his young age and current status.

A business.

A name.

A reputation.

Those were the things he needed.

Ryan continued walking while quietly thinking about it.

Then...

WOOOOOOO-OOO!

A piercing siren suddenly tore through the evening air.

Ryan’s eyes shifted toward the road.

An ambulance came racing past him at an alarming speed, its red lights flashing violently as the siren wailed through the streets.

WOOO! WOOO! WOOO!

Cars hurriedly moved aside as the ambulance weaved through traffic, barely slowing down as it rushed toward the hospital in the distance.

Ryan watched it disappear down the road, quite triggered.

And while he was still momentarily staring...

[Recommended Deal Identified!]

Ryan immediately raised an eyebrow.

"Recommended Deal? What does that mean?"

[Yes, Brother.]

[There is a potential good customer inside that ambulance.]

Ryan’s footsteps immediately stopped.

"A good customer? You mean not all customers are going to be good?"

[I mean... One who stands out.]

[I’ll always help you identify potential customers with suitable circumstances. However, the final decision remains yours.]

[And that doesn’t mean you can’t identify a customer by yourself.]

Ryan looked toward the disappearing ambulance.

"And the person inside?"

[Follow it.]

Ryan’s expression changed slightly.

"Why?"

[Because his remaining lifespan is worth seeing.]

Ryan didn’t need to hear anything else. He immediately turned around and began moving after the ambulance.

He didn’t run because it first seemed like there was no need.

He simply walked with steady steps while following the direction it had taken.

A few seconds later, Soly’s voice sounded again.

[Possible Customer Information:]

[Name: Andrew Lincoln.]

[Remaining Lifespan: 3 Minutes, 48 Seconds.]

Ryan’s eyes narrowed.

Three minutes.

And this was when he realised that there was a need to run... And so he did.

The countdown continued falling.

[3 Minutes, 41 Seconds.]

[3 Minutes, 40 Seconds.]

[3 Minutes, 39 Seconds.]

Less than four minutes.

Ryan already understood what that meant.

Whatever condition Andrew Lincoln was suffering from, the doctors at the hospital wouldn’t have enough time to save him.

"He won’t make it."

[Correct.]

Ryan didn’t hesitate anymore as he followed the ambulance all the way to the hospital.

By the time he arrived, the ambulance had already stopped at the emergency entrance. Several medical workers rushed toward it as the back doors opened, immediately pulling out a stretcher.

A quite aged man lay on it.

His face was pale, his breathing shallow, and several wires and tubes were already connected to his body.

"Move! Move!"

"Get him into emergency!"

"His blood pressure is dropping!"

Ryan followed from a distance.

He wasn’t entirely sure how he would get inside, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him.

The medical workers pushed the stretcher through the emergency doors and disappeared inside.

Ryan wasn’t concerned with anything else around him and immediately decided to follow up without looking back.

But before he could enter, three men suddenly stepped directly into his path.

There came three giant silhouettes before they even showed up, triggering Ryan right away.

These men were dressed in black suits. All three were large, muscular, and alert.

He didn’t have to be told that they were bodyguards.

Ryan glanced past them with his eyes glinting like candlelight.

The fact that three bodyguards had immediately surrounded the patient told him enough.

Andrew Lincoln wasn’t an ordinary man. He was wealthy.

Maybe very wealthy.

Ryan looked at the men again and calmly attempted to walk past them.

And at this time, one of them immediately grabbed his shoulder.

"Stop."

Ryan looked down at the hand.

Then at the man.

"Uhh... Trust me, I need to see him."

"Who are you? And why did you wish to see the Grandmaster?"

Ryan didn’t answer immediately.

Before he could say anything, a doctor suddenly rushed out of the emergency room.

His expression was grim.

A man in an expensive suit also followed up immediately and approached him.

"Doctor?"

The doctor had shaken his head, like someone who had lost hope with no trace of it coming back.

"We’ve done everything we could the previous time. I don’t think we can do anything this time."

The man’s face immediately paled.

"What do you mean?"

"The internal bleeding is too severe. His heart is failing, and his blood pressure has dropped beyond what we can stabilize."

The doctor’s voice became heavier.

"We can try to keep him alive with medication and machines, but..."

He hesitated.

"...I don’t think he has much time left."

The man stared at him with a frown that held a sense of fear and sorrow.

"How much?"

The doctor looked toward the emergency room and turned back to him.

"Minutes."

There was a strange silence in the area as Ryan’s eyes narrowed.

Minutes...?

Exactly what Soly had told him, and it was expected after all.

He looked toward the emergency room to grasp an image of the dying man. Andrew Lincoln had less than three minutes left, which was pretty much alarming.

The bodyguard’s grip on his shoulder tightened the moment they noticed his movement, and he was about to cause a scene again.

"You heard the doctor. Leave, young man!"

"I can save him."

The three bodyguards immediately looked at him, all red-eyed as if they would punch him all at once the next moment.

The man in the expensive suit turned around, as his attention was caught while he wiped his watering eyes.

"What did you say, young man?"

Ryan finally turned to look directly at him.

"I said I can save Andrew Lincoln," he said with a smirk.

The man stared at the young man for several seconds.

There was no confidence in Ryan’s appearance that suggested he was a doctor.

No medical equipment. No credentials.

Nothing...!

How he got there was still a mystery, but no one just had the time to think straight, because if they did, he would have been thrown out a long time ago.

Yet Ryan wasn’t joking.

The man looked toward the doctor with a dark face, and what the doctor returned was a sharp look of disregard.

"Who is this?" the doctor suddenly asked.

"We don’t know," one of the bodyguards answered. "He just suddenly... showed up. And he tried to get in."

The investigation was going before he interrupted immediately, like a man who knew exactly what he was doing.

"I don’t need to know what caused his condition."

"You don’t?" The man’s eyes narrowed as he got even more interested.

Ryan shook his head.

"Because I know what I can do."

The doctor looked at him suspiciously, biting his lips.

"Young man, if you’re trying to make a joke out of this situation, I suggest you leave immediately."

At that time, Ryan didn’t even bother giving him a glance.

His eyes remained fixed on Andrew Lincoln’s family member.

"You have less than three minutes."

The man’s expression changed, as Roman stared into the room and caught the update on the countdown.

"Okay... Two now..." Ryan continued.

"If you want him to live, let me see him."

The man might be so tempted to save the life of his uncle, but it didn’t mean he would be convinced just like that.

Everything about this young man was strange.

But Andrew Lincoln was dying.

And when a person was standing at the edge of death, even the smallest possibility became worth considering.

He finally raised his hand after a long while of hesitation, not one that had been enough to eat up the two minutes he was told to have been remaining.

"Let him through."

The bodyguards immediately released Ryan as he pushed on right at once.

The doctor immediately looked like he wanted to object, but the man stopped him.

"If there’s even a chance..."

His voice trembled slightly.

"...let him try."

Ryan stepped forward.

The moment he entered the emergency room, the noise of the machines immediately reached his ears.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Andrew Lincoln lay motionless on the hospital bed, his face almost completely drained of color.

Above his head...

[1 Minute, 11 Seconds.]

Ryan’s eyes settled on the countdown.

He walked closer with no trace of fear or hesitation.

He had seen people beg gods for their lives.

He had watched kings kneel before him.

He had once stood before a dragon whose wings covered an entire city.

Compared to those things...

This was almost peaceful.

Ryan stopped beside Andrew Lincoln’s bed, looking at the dying man for several seconds.

Then his eyes shifted toward the few people that could care about him, and the thought about the family he could have.

"Living with worth it," he muttered. "To anyone. It will."

He didn’t immediately mention money.

He didn’t mention contracts.

He didn’t mention the fact that he could sell him more time.

Instead, Ryan simply smiled and lowered his head.

"Tell me, old man..."

His voice was calm.

"What is one more year of his life worth to you?"

And suddenly, after a few blinks of seconds, a soft, weak voice was heard just right close, faint and slow.

"M... My... My... Granddaughter..."