I flinch, the insult hitting me harder than I would have liked or had even expected.
But what did I expect?
I'm muse to myself, thinking back on how Kaylee has always treated me as if I was nothing more than a wallet or a toy she can easily crush beneath her feet.
Dragging my mind away from Kaylee, I look at the hovering, bright blue translucent panel holding the message I had seen earlier. If this is real, I think to myself, highly skeptical, then that would mean that I can potentially be an engine for wealth, never losing money and only gaining it with every purchase.
It was a notion as absurd as it was exciting.
Logging into my Cash App once more, I see the balance remains at the two dollars I had spent previously.
However, there is now an icon of a mind with a dollar symbol in the upper right-hand corner, one that definitely hadn't been there before. Driven by curiosity, I click it.
The screen shifts, opening a pitch-black interface with the words: Infinity Holdings Account.
My eyes widen. I instantly check the balance and, to my shock, it reads:
$5,002.06.
Below the balance, an option allows me to transfer money from my IHA to my regular bank account.
Hesitantly, worried I might still be in a dream, I opt to transfer $555 into my regular Chase checking account. Almost instantaneously, the money goes through. My balance now holds$557.06.
"Oh my god," I whisper. The realization of the sheer magnitude hits me—this system I had apparently just gotten by luck was legit. Seeing that $557 was undeniable proof.
A weak, delirious chuckle escapes me, rapidly evolving into a full laugh. "Ha ha ha ha ha!" A hysterical laugh overtakes me until tears run down my cheeks and I'm clutching my sides, gasping for breath. Realizing this might be a psychotic break, I try to steady myself.
"Oh man," I say, wiping a tear away. "All these years, all these sufferings. 'Cassian do this, Cassian do that.' Those gold-digging whores have no idea what they're going to have to deal with now, do they?" I chuckle. "I wonder how they'll react when I start making it big time. But the first order of business is turning this $5,000 into a landslide of wealth that no one could spend even in multiple lifetimes".
Since freshman year starts in a little under two months, I decide to do a little online clothes shopping. I log onto Amazon to hook up my credit card, but a thought hits me: What if I can use the UBC to connect the account straight to Amazon? Using my Chase account would likely draw suspicion if I started spending large amounts with an account that previously held next to nothing.
I summon the card from the system space. It appears in my hand, making me smile; it is the final proof that my life has turned around forever. With a giddy grin, I punch the card number and CVV into Amazon.
The screen flashes: Card Approved.
Cracking my knuckles dramatically, I look at my reflection in the screen. "Let's get down to business".
I decide to start small. I don't want to waste all my funds on the off chance this is a fluke, so I test the method by adding a pair of $20 aviator sunglasses to my cart. I proceed to checkout, buying them successfully.
In my mind, I hear a [Ding]!
followed by a system message:
[Detected user has deployed an expenditure of personal assets totaling $19.99. $199.90 has been forwarded to the host's IHA. Congratulations, host.]
I freeze before a huge smile blooms on my face. In a flurry of impulsive spending, I begin buying everything I've wanted for as long as I can remember—the clothes and shoes I never had the funds to afford.
"This is why it's nice to be rich," I say with a laugh, quickly adding more than 10 different items to my cart.
Three hours pass. I have worked my way up in batches, testing the system's scaling.
My first purchase was under $199, then I moved to items under $1,000, each netting a 10-times expenditure cashback. By the end, I had spent over $13,000, netting $130,000 in my IHA while leaving only the original $2.06 in my Chase account to avoid suspicion.
A notification arrives, smappimg my attention to it. It's just Amazon telling me that due to my Prime subscription, the items will arrive within the week.
This is perfect timing. My approval for emancipation is due within that same timeframe.
My stepmom had greedily signed the forms just to avoid taking care of me, and while I had originally planned to prove my income through a traditional job, the system has made the process effortless, although I'd still retain the corner store job for appearances.
I will still have to attend school with my stepsisters, but they will soon see I'm not the same person they can bully. In fact, I'm not the same person at all. No one can touch me now.
I decide to spend the remaining summer time relaxing, so I order an Xbox from GameStop for next-day delivery. "Might as well pass the time, right?".
Thinking of the future, I also remember an article from a billionaire magazine stating that discipline is key to success.
I decide that taking care of my body will be my new obsession. I drop down to do push-ups, but it's hard with my noodle arms and weak frame.
Still, fueled by euphoria, I push through 50 reps until I'm stuck on the floor, forced to use the edge of the bed to haul myself up.
I never thought I'd be Superman overnight. These are just the first steps, but they will damn sure not be the last. Mark my words...