Ethan Zhao stared at the trading screen.
His entire bank account was now sitting inside a single Bitcoin purchase.
$214.36
Every cent he had left.
The number blinked beside the chart.
Bitcoin price: $48,720
The line kept moving.
Up.
Then down.
Then up again.
Ethan leaned forward in his chair, elbows on the desk.
"This is insane."
Just ten minutes ago he had clicked Buy.
Now there was no going back.
His phone lay beside the keyboard, silent.
Future Ethan had stopped sending messages.
Which somehow made things even worse.
"Some guidance would be nice," Ethan muttered.
He refreshed the chart again.
The price dipped slightly.
$48,300.
His stomach tightened.
"Great. Perfect timing."
Maybe the prediction had already happened.
Maybe he bought too late.
Maybe—
The number jumped again.
$49,100.
Ethan blinked.
"Okay…"
The graph climbed steadily.
His balance updated.
$223
He stared at it.
Nine dollars profit.
Not life-changing, but still.
His heart beat a little faster.
Maybe this was real.
Maybe—
The price suddenly surged.
$50,000
Ethan's eyes widened.
"Whoa."
His balance updated again.
$239
Then $252
Then $270
The graph looked like a rocket launch.
Ethan sat frozen in front of the screen.
This was happening way too fast.
His phone vibrated.
He grabbed it instantly.
A new message appeared.
Do nothing.
Ethan frowned.
"That's helpful."
Another message arrived.
Sell in exactly six hours.
He glanced at the clock on his laptop.
10:07 AM
Six hours.
That meant 4:07 PM.
Ethan leaned back in his chair.
"So I just… wait?"
No response came.
The phone went silent again.
Outside, the city moved on like nothing unusual was happening.
Cars passed.
People walked along the sidewalks.
But inside Ethan's tiny apartment, everything felt different.
He refreshed the chart again.
Bitcoin price: $51,200
His balance updated.
$283
Ethan exhaled slowly.
This was starting to feel unreal.
Less than an hour ago he had been worrying about rent.
Now his money was growing by the minute.
Still…
He forced himself to close the trading window.
Watching every movement would drive him crazy.
He grabbed his backpack.
"I still have class."
Ten minutes later he was sitting in the back row of a lecture hall.
But his mind wasn't there.
His phone sat on the desk in front of him.
Screen brightness turned low.
Market app open.
The chart continued climbing.
$310
Ethan swallowed.
He tried to focus on the professor talking about algorithms.
But the numbers kept pulling his attention back.
$327.
$346.
$372.
Every few minutes his balance jumped higher.
By noon it had already doubled.
$428
Ethan stared at the screen.
His original investment was $214.
Now it was twice that.
And the six-hour timer wasn't even halfway finished.
His heart raced.
"Is this really happening?"
A vibration interrupted his thoughts.
Another message from the future.
Don't panic if it drops.
Ethan frowned.
"Drops?"
As if on cue—
The chart suddenly plunged.
$51,800
$50,900
$49,700
His balance dropped rapidly.
$410.
$395.
$368.
Ethan's stomach twisted.
"Seriously?"
Students around him were calmly taking notes.
Meanwhile Ethan felt like he was riding a roller coaster.
Another message appeared.
Hold.
He stared at the word.
His finger hovered over the Sell button.
But he forced himself to stop.
If the messages were real…
He had to trust them.
Minutes passed.
The price stabilized.
Then slowly…
It began climbing again.
$50,200
$51,400
$52,100
Ethan let out a long breath.
"Okay… okay…"
The next few hours passed like a blur.
The price kept rising.
Every refresh brought a new number.
By 3:30 PM, his balance had passed a number that made his heart skip.
$1,028
Ethan stared at the screen.
"One thousand dollars."
From two hundred.
In a single day.
He laughed quietly.
"If this keeps working…"
His phone vibrated again.
A message appeared.
Prepare to sell.
Ethan sat up straight.
The clock read 4:02 PM.
Five minutes left.
The chart was still rising.
Bitcoin price: $53,900
Balance: $1,163
His palms felt sweaty.
The seconds crawled by.
4:05 PM.
4:06 PM.
The phone buzzed again.
A new message appeared.
Sell now.
Ethan didn't hesitate.
He clicked Sell.
The order executed instantly.
The numbers refreshed.
Final balance:
$3,041.72
Ethan stared at the screen.
For several seconds he didn't move.
His brain struggled to process the number.
Three thousand dollars.
From $214.
In six hours.
"Holy…"
He leaned back in his chair, stunned.
The phone vibrated again.
Another message appeared.
Good.
Ethan shook his head slowly.
"Good?"
That was all future Ethan had to say?
Another message appeared.
Now we can begin.
Ethan frowned.
"Begin what?"
The next message appeared.
Short.
Chilling.
Saving the future.
Ethan stared at the screen.
His small apartment suddenly felt very quiet.
His bank balance now read over three thousand dollars.
But for some reason…
The last message made him uneasy.
Because if the future really needed saving—
Then something terrible was coming.
And somehow…
It was his responsibility to stop it.