The rain in River City didn't feel like water; it felt like liquid lead, cold and heavy, soaking through the thin fabric of Charles Reed's three-year-old hoodie. He stood outside the "Gilded Lily," a high-end French bistro where the scent of truffle oil and expensive wine drifted out every time the valet opened the door.
Inside, the lighting was warm and amber. Outside, Charles was shivering.
He checked his phone. The screen was cracked, a jagged spiderweb obscuring the notification he had been staring at for ten minutes. It was a text from Sarah, his girlfriend of three years—or rather, his ex-girlfriend as of 6:14 PM.
Sarah:Don't come inside, Charles. I've already settled the bill. My things are in a box at your place. I'm moving on. I need someone who can provide a future, not someone who's perpetually "between jobs." Please don't make this harder than it has to be.
"Between jobs," Charles muttered, his breath hitching. He had worked two shifts a day at the warehouse to pay for her nursing certification. He had skipped meals so she could have the "aesthetic" life she posted on social media.
The roar of a precision-tuned engine broke his thoughts. A sleek, matte-black Maserati Levante pulled up to the curb. The door opened, and Sarah stepped out of the restaurant. She looked radiant in a dress that probably cost more than Charles's monthly rent. Beside her was a man in a tailored charcoal suit—Bradley, the junior partner at the firm where Sarah had just started interning.
Bradley didn't even look at Charles as he handed a twenty-dollar bill to the valet. It was a casual gesture, a throwaway amount of money that represented three hours of Charles's life in the warehouse.
"Sarah!" Charles stepped forward, his shoes splashing into a puddle.
She stopped, her eyes flashing with a mix of pity and irritation. "Charles, go home. You're making a scene."
"Three years," Charles said, his voice cracking. "I gave you everything."
"And 'everything' wasn't enough," she said coldly. Bradley leaned in, whispering something in her ear that made her giggle—a sound that twisted like a knife in Charles's gut. They climbed into the Maserati, the door closing with a heavy, expensive thud that seemed to seal Charles out of her world forever.
As the car sped off, splashing muddy water onto his jeans, Charles felt a hollow emptiness in his chest. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. It was frayed at the edges. Inside was a single five-dollar bill and some loose change.
He walked aimlessly for blocks, his body numb. He ended up at a 24-hour convenience store, the neon sign flickering with a dying buzz. He needed something—anything—to take the edge off the cold.
He walked to the back of the store and grabbed a bottle of the cheapest, generic-brand water and a small bag of salt-and-pepper peanuts.
Total: $3.85.
He handed the five-dollar bill to the cashier, an elderly man who didn't even look up from his tabloid. As Charles's fingers touched the change being handed back, a sudden, searing heat ignited behind his eyes.
[DING!]
A sound like a crystal bell ringing in a vacuum echoed in his skull.
[Wealth Integration Initializing...]
[Host Identity Confirmed: Charles Reed]
[Status: Desperate/Bankrupt]
[Condition Met: 'The Final Cent' – Making a purchase with less than $10 in total assets.]
Charles staggered back, clutching his head. "What the hell..."
"You okay, kid?" the cashier asked, squinting.
Charles didn't answer. In his field of vision, a translucent, golden interface shimmered into existence. It looked like a high-tech stock ticker, but far more elegant.
[Welcome to the God-Tier Rebate Multiplier System!]
[Current Level: 1]
[Perk: Every purchase made by the Host triggers a Rebate Spin. Multipliers range from 1x to 5x at current Level.]
[First Purchase Detected: $3.85 (Groceries)]
[Commencing First Spin...]
In the center of his vision, a magnificent, virtual roulette wheel appeared. It was divided into five segments, glowing with a faint ethereal light. The wheel began to spin with a blur of gold and silver.
Charles held his breath, his heart hammering against his ribs. The wheel slowed... it ticked past the 1... past the 2... it lingered on the 3... and then, with a heavy thunk, it landed on the 5.
[Multiplier Result: 5x!]
[Calculation: $3.85 x 5 = $19.25]
[Processing Rebate...]
Bzz-bzz.
His cracked phone vibrated in his pocket. With trembling hands, Charles pulled it out. It was a notification from his banking app.
Mobile Deposit Confirmed: $19.25. New Balance: $20.40.
Charles stared at the screen. The math didn't make sense. He had spent money, yet he now had more than he started with. He looked at the bag of peanuts and the water in his hand. He had the goods, and he had a "rebate" that was five times the cost.
"It's real," he whispered.
A manic energy began to surge through him, replacing the cold despair. If this worked for four dollars, would it work for forty? Four hundred? Four million?
He looked at the cashier. "Give me... give me all the scratch-off tickets in that row. The five-dollar ones."
The cashier raised an eyebrow. "Going for broke, huh?"
"Something like that," Charles said, his eyes gleaming.
He bought four tickets. Total: $20.00.
Again, the golden wheel appeared. Charles watched it with predatory intensity. Spin. Spin. Spin.[Multiplier Result: 3x!]
[Calculation: $20.00 x 3 = $60.00]
[Processing Rebate...]
Bzz-bzz.Mobile Deposit Confirmed: $60.00. New Balance: $60.40.
He hadn't even scratched the tickets yet. He didn't care if they were winners or losers. The System didn't care about the value of the item, only the expenditure. He was effectively being paid to shop.
Charles walked out of the store, the rain no longer feeling like a burden. He looked down the street toward the luxury district—the place where Sarah and Bradley had gone. The anger was still there, but it was being forged into a cold, hard ambition.
Sarah wanted a man who could provide a future? He would build a future that made her world look like a dollhouse. He would own the bank Bradley worked for. He would own the street the "Gilded Lily" sat on.
But first, he needed to scale.
He walked toward a 24-hour electronics boutique. His eyes fell on a high-end tablet in the window, priced at $1,200. He didn't have enough yet. He needed a bridge.
He spent the next three hours in a frantic loop. He bought a high-end designer jacket at a late-night boutique for $400 (hit a 2x multiplier, balance became $860). He bought a premium leather briefcase for $600 (hit a 4x multiplier, balance became $2,400).
By 2:00 AM, Charles Reed was no longer a beggar. He was standing in front of a luxury watch store that stayed open for the city's nocturnal elites. He looked at his reflection in the glass. He was wet, his hair was a mess, and his shoes were cheap canvas—but his bank balance now read $5,200.
He stepped inside. The clerk, a thin man with a monocle-like focus on a timepiece he was cleaning, looked up. He took one look at Charles's soaked hoodie and wrinkled his nose.
I'm afraid we're closing soon, sir," the clerk said, his voice dripping with condescension. "The items here are... an investment."
Charles didn't flinch. He pointed to a Swiss chronograph in the center display. "That one. How much?"
"That is a limited edition. Twelve thousand dollars." The clerk returned to his cleaning, dismissive.
Charles leaned over the counter. "I'll give you six thousand right now to let me put it on layaway or start a payment plan, provided I can pay the rest in an hour."
"We don't do payment plans for—"
Charles swiped his card.
The wheel spun. It was a blur of gold. Charles felt the System reacting to the larger amount. The air in the room seemed to hum with static.
Thud.
[Multiplier Result: 5x!]
[Calculation: $6,000 x 5 = $30,000]
[Processing Rebate...]
Bzz-bzz.
Charles turned his phone screen toward the clerk. The notification showed a pending deposit of $30,000.
The clerk's jaw dropped. He looked at the bedraggled young man, then at the bank statement, then back at the man. In the world of high-end retail, money was the only language that mattered. The condescension vanished, replaced by a frantic, oily smile.
"Sir! My apologies. I didn't realize... allow me to get you some sparkling water. Would you like to see the platinum series as well?"
Charles leaned back, a dark smile playing on his lips. "Actually, I'll take three of them."
As the clerk scrambled to assist him, Charles felt a new notification pop up on his System interface.
Milestone Reached: The First $10,000]
[Reward: System Level 2 Unlocked!]
[New Feature: 'Targeted Purchase' – Once per day, you may lock the multiplier to a minimum of 3x for a single purchase.]
[New Feature: 'Charisma Passive' – Your physical presence now radiates an aura of 'Potential.' People will find you naturally more intriguing.]
Charles looked at his hands. They weren't shaking anymore. He thought of Sarah, tucked away in Bradley's Maserati, thinking she had escaped a loser.
"The richest man in the world," Charles whispered to himself. "That's not a goal. That's an inevitability."
He walked out of the store twenty minutes later, wearing a watch that cost more than his father had made in a year, and a bank balance that was climbing into the stratosphere.