Bitcoin Billionaire: I Regressed to Invest in the First Bitcoin!

Chapter 282: Romance Radar



This was indeed the most awkward quest he had ever gotten from the system.

It was so strange that Darren had waited till the next morning to go through it, wanting a calm mind as he tried to understand whatever the system meant by: ┏Secure your relationships with the women in your life.┛

Now, it was finally morning. The sun of the new day sliced through the windows of Darren's office, bathing the sleek mahogany desk in a golden glow.

Los Alverez woke up like it usually did beyond The Steele Complex; bright, busy and beautiful. But none of that was in Darren's mind except the mischievous system that now whispered like a devil on his shoulder.

He leaned back in his leather chair, nursing a black coffee, wearing a sharp gray suit that his housekeeper had ironed.

Darren's mom moved out finally over the weekend to the house he got her. And after kisses and hugs, and a promise to get her a daughter-in-law soon, Darren left her in the beautiful new mansion with security guarding 24/7.

That last part of the promise though was his present problem.

Castle Cottage's fallout still burned in his chest: Penelope's tear-streaked face, Sandy's quiet exit, the untouched roast duck. He'd messed up. Badly.

But he was Darren Steele, king of deals and destroyer of rivals. He'd fix this. He always did.

There wasn't anything he couldn't handle. Not even... this.

But what exactly was this?

┏New Quest: POLYCODE PROTOCOL┛

'Polycode protocol?' Darren thought. 'What a way to turn harems into a science project.'

The rest of the details followed:

┏Objective: Secure your relationships with the women in your life by establishing a balanced harem dynamic.┛

┏Deadline: 14 days left┛

┏Failure Penalty: Collapse of all romantic relationships, -25 Charisma, permanent loss of romantic progression with all involved parties, and massive reduction in ALL ally trust.┛

┏Reward: [Harem Route Established], [Legacy Companion Perks Unlocked], [Loyalty Fusion Buffs], ALL Ally trust stats buffed by x50, +50 Charisma, [Unique Title: Heartbroker].┛

┏System Note: You've built an empire, Darren, but empires fall without trust. Prove you can balance the hearts in your orbit or lose them forever.┛

Darren's jaw dropped. The system — one that was supposed to be about investments — could not be serious.

"It really wants me to create some kind of harem? Are you kidding me?" he hissed, glancing around the empty office as if someone might overhear his argument with an invisible AI. "Or is it trying to make me choose one?"

Darren thought for a moment. "Who am I kidding? The quest is literally called Polycode Protocol."

Another panel suddenly appeared.

┏Growth in women's affection and loyalty will be measured using a Romance Radar┛

Darren's brow lifted. 'A Romance Radar?'

List of names with glowing bars lined up below the header, pulsing like heartbeats. They were names of all the women he'd been entangled with in one way or the other.

Even the ones he'd never kissed!

┏Romance Radar: Current Loyalty Status┛

┏Rachel: 45% (Warning: Declining due to Ileana's presence)

Kara: 75% (Stable: Happy but unpredictable)

Olivia: 55% (Cautious: Seeking more of your attention)

Amelia: 60% (Neutral: Desires deeper connection)

Cheyenne L. Bordeaux: 30% (Critical: Skeptical, dominant and dangerously attracted to you)

Penelope: 55% (Fragile: Hurt but hopeful)

Sandy: 40% (Unstable: Reeling from betrayal)

Miranda Sloane: 20% (Tentative: Shy but curious)

Daisy Chen: 25% (Formal: Attracted but reserved)

Tamara Johnstone: 30% (Admiring: Distant but thinks of you a lot.)

Ileana: 65% (High: Infatuated but naive)┛

Darren stared wide-eyed and in disbelief. 'All of these women like me?'

┏System Tip: Increase Loyalty through quests. Reach 80%+ for each woman to unlock [Polycode Compatibility]. Below 20% risks permanent relationship failure.┛

Darren's hands gripped the desk, his knuckles whitening. "This is insane," he muttered.

He'd never really thought of some of these women in any romantic context. Amelia? Miranda? Fucking Cheyenne Lamb Bordeaux?! Daisy Chen?!!

How did the system even know that they liked him at all? And what exactly was it trying to get him to do here? To make all these women agree to being his girlfriends?

All of them?

And in two weeks?!

This had to be the most merciless quest from the system so far.

Ding!

His head snapped up. 'What is it now?'

┏Act I Objective: Damage Control┛

┏Task: Prevent catastrophic fallout as your romantic entanglements collide. Events are about to occur that will cause competitive interaction between the women. Survive the chaos and begin rebuilding trust.┛

┏Immediate Challenge: A critical company meeting is happening right now and will place Rachel, Sandy, and Ileana in direct conflict. Prevent a public meltdown.┛

┏Reward: +5 Charisma, +5 Loyalty with affected parties.┛

┏Penalty: -5 Charisma, -5 Loyalty across all affected parties.┛

Darren's heart thudded like a war drum. "What?" he stared at the screen. "This makes no sense at all. How could it even know that this is going to happen?"

He slumped back into his chair. "And the quest is fourteen days," he muttered. "So it ends exactly on my birthday. That was definitely intentional. My own birthday is the detonation day for my love life"

Why was the system focusing on his emotional and romantic life all of a sudden. The only time it offered anything emotional was when it gave him details of how people felt towards him in particular moments.

Was it because of last night?

Did the system see that he desperately needed help handling his romantic life and stepped in to sort it out?

Darren sighed. This was overwhelming.

But suddenly, he got a call on his office phone. It was Amelia, and she let him know that something was going on in the meeting room.

Darren quickly turned on his company and he was taken straight to the private company website where Kara's page had a livestream link.

'Office Drama. Haha' was the title.

Darren's stomach dropped. He clicked it, and his computer screen showed the boardroom in real-time, from Kara's BlackBerry camera.

Rachel stood at the head of the table, her arms crossed, her dark eyes blazing. "I don't care how 'talented' she is, Sandy. Darren brought her in without asking us. You okay with that?"

Sandy, seated with a forced calm, replied, "I'm not okay with any of this. You think I don't see how she looks at him?" Her voice cracked, that wasn't what she intended to say.

"What?" Rachel squinted her brows. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Ileana, flustered in between the two women, stammered, "I— I'm just here to help. I didn't mean to—"

"Help?" Rachel cut her off, her voice like a whip. "You're a walking reminder of the people who tried to kill us, Ileana. And Darren just lets you waltz in?"

The room was silent and noisy at the same time. Kara exchanged a glance with Amelia before laughing as her camera panned with gleeful chaos. "I think I'll need some popcorn for this one!"

Darren's eyes widened. "The system was right," he muttered, rising to his feet. "How the hell did these three end up bickering about this in the first place anyway?!"

The system chimed in his mind, like it was mocking his earlier skepticism:

Ding!

┏Warning: Critical Emotional situation concerning three women. Act now, or face the consequences.┛

Darren cursed under his breath, grabbed his coat and rushed out of his office.


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