Realizing that all the awesome choices he could have had were gone, upset Benjamin.
"Was I too slow in picking a system, and that's why I'm left with the scrap no other candidate wanted?" Benjamin asked himself.
He sighed and read the name of the system in an annoyed tone, saying:
"The Guide system? What's this supposed to be? Am I going to be a guide who takes people to places or something? You've got to be kidding me," Benjamin complained.
How on earth was something called the guide system going to help him accomplish his goal of providing for his family? Even worse, how was it going to help him in the upcoming event for the System Project?
He had failed in both areas and that was disheartening.
Just when he had thought that things were beginning to turn around in his favor, he was given another curveball that set him back.
When was he ever going to catch a break?
"With a name like this, no wonder the other candidates didn't want it. Fuck! I'm screwed", Benjamin said internally, then sighed.
"At this point, is there any use continuing to participate in the project or should I just count my losses and terminate this whole thing?" Benjamin thought and contemplated what to do.
He had to choose if he wanted everything to return to normal and for time to start moving again or continue with picking the only system he had available, but what choice should he make? He wondered.
If he terminated the entire registration process and everything returned to normal, he would have gained nothing from the whole ordeal. However, if he accepted the Guide System— although not as impressive or as beneficial as the other systems— at least he would have gotten something new, which was a lot better than nothing.
He had already been in the process of losing everything before time stopped, so was he sure he wanted to refuse this one thing being offered to him?
How much worse could things get if he accepted it? Probably not much—if at all—so why not?
With that, Benjamin knew the choice to make.
"I choose the guide system" he said, and the system was highlighted, showing that it had been selected.
"Confirm" he said and, for the first time after so many tries, his selection was successful and the display changed.
"Congratulations, Axel Blade. You have successfully chosen one of the one hundred provided systems. Please wait while the Guide System downloads", Benjamin read, then another message popped up.
"Download will take a couple of minutes to complete. In the meantime, you will be returned to your normal time"
Benjamin's eyes blinked multiple times in relief.
""Thank God. I don't have to wait for the download to finish before returning—" Benjamin began, but he stopped mid-sentence as everything around him was suddenly swallowed by darkness, and he found himself surrounded by numerous silhouettes arranged in a perfect circle.
Each silhouette differed in height, shape, and size—some resembling women, others men—yet none bore any distinguishing features that could reveal their identities.
Including Benjamin, there were exactly one hundred figures in the circle—matching the precise number of systems listed in the System Project.
"What the hell is this—?" Benjamin muttered, but before he could finish, the silhouettes vanished, and the darkness evaporated.
The very next moment, he was back in his home. Time resumed its flow, and everything that had been paused began moving once more, exactly as it had before.
Officer Winston dragged him to the exit while Officer Brook followed closely behind. Lucia kept coughing as she begged the officers to release him, while Gina tried to help their mother.
As for Benjamin, he was focused on the display only he could see, paying attention to the progress of the guide system's download.
The download was painfully slow, and by the time it finished, he would already be in jail. At the very least, he would finally get to see what he could do with the system, and maybe it would be better than he expected.
Fingers crossed.
Benjamin and the officers finally went outside the house and standing there, with a proud grin on her face, was Stella.
"Goodbye," she said to Benjamin, mockingly waving at him.
The officers continued to drag Benjamin to their car and, once there, forced him inside. Then, they got in and drove off.
Lucia rushed out of the house, screaming Benjamin's name as she tried to chase the car, but she was too slow, while Benjamin screamed for her too.
"Hey, kid! Shut the hell up! Your crying is disturbing my ears", Officer Brook yelled.
"You should have thought about all this before doing what you did, so keep quiet, or I'll personally make sure your arrest is a lot worse than it already is", Officer Winston warned, glaring at Benjamin through the rearview mirror.
Benjamin obeyed both officers and kept quiet.
"Good. Now just sit there while we take you to the station", Officer Winston said, then stopped paying attention to Benjamin.
With a sad expression, Benjamin turned to the car's back windshield and stared at his mother who was sitting on the pavement, trying to catch her breath as she dry coughed.
He then saw Stella walk up to her with some documents and a pen in her hand— most likely the divorce papers that she wanted Lucia to sign.
Knowing how despicable and disgusting Stella was, Benjamin had a feeling she would use his arrest as a bargaining chip to force Lucia into signing the documents.
Something along the lines of her dropping all the charges and releasing him from jail if Lucia agrees to sign the papers, which, once signed, would permanently revoke her claim to his father's compensation fund.
Knowing his mother, she wouldn't hesitate to make that trade. Her son's freedom and safety for seven million dollars and that pissed Benjamin off even more because it felt like he was the reason they would lose the money his father left them.
With that, Benjamin made himself a promise. He was going to find a way to use the guide system— no matter how useless it may be— to take revenge on all those who had wronged him and his family and he wasn't going to show any mercy.
The last thing he saw was his mother taking the documents and pen from Stella and crying as she started signing them.
Benjamin looked away and was taken to the police station.
A couple of minutes later, they arrived at the station, and forced Jeremiah out of the car. It was time to lock him up.