Ethan stared at the cracked screen of his phone as if it were a loaded gun.
The message from the future had arrived only minutes ago.
It was short.
Too short.
Future Ethan:
Helios Technologies. Buy before Thursday. It explodes Friday.
Ethan frowned.
Helios Technologies?
He had never heard of it.
His laptop hummed quietly on the desk beside him. The tiny apartment smelled faintly of instant noodles and cheap coffee — the signature scent of a broke university student.
Ethan quickly opened a browser and searched the company.
The results appeared instantly.
Helios Technologies — renewable energy startup.
Stock price: $0.78
Ethan blinked.
Less than a dollar.
He scrolled through news articles.
Most of them were brutal.
"Helios Technologies Struggles After Failed Solar Prototype."
"Investors Losing Faith in Helios."
"Company Expected to Collapse by Q4."
Ethan leaned back in his chair.
Everyone thought this company was dying.
Which meant one thing.
If the future message was right…
Something huge was about to happen.
His eyes drifted toward his trading account.
Balance: $49,382
Just three days ago he had only $214.
The number still felt unreal.
His heart pounded.
"What if the message is wrong this time?"
But another thought pushed its way forward.
What if it's not?
If Helios jumped even a few dollars, the profit would be massive.
Ethan pulled up the stock chart.
The line was almost depressing.
Flat.
Barely moving.
A forgotten company drifting toward bankruptcy.
Perfect.
Nobody was paying attention.
Ethan's fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Buy.
Don't buy.
Buy.
Don't buy.
He remembered the rule he had learned quickly since receiving the mysterious phone.
The future messages were never long.
Never detailed.
Just one push in the right direction.
He had to decide the rest himself.
Ethan inhaled slowly.
"Alright," he muttered.
"If future me says it explodes… let's see how big the explosion is."
He entered the trade.
Buy: 60,000 shares of Helios Technologies
Price: $0.78
Total cost: $46,800
Nearly everything he had.
His finger hesitated over the confirmation button.
This was insane.
If the company collapsed like analysts predicted, his money would evaporate overnight.
Forty-six thousand dollars.
Gone.
But Ethan's lips slowly curled into a grin.
Three days ago he had been eating instant noodles and worrying about rent.
Now he was betting tens of thousands on whispers from the future.
His finger pressed down.
Trade Confirmed.
The order executed instantly.
Ethan leaned back in his chair.
"Well," he said to the empty room.
"No going back now."
The next morning, Ethan woke up earlier than usual.
Not because of class.
Because of Helios.
He grabbed his phone before even getting out of bed.
Stock price:
$0.79
Ethan sighed.
"One cent?"
He refreshed again.
$0.78
Back where it started.
He rubbed his face.
"Relax. The message said Friday."
Today was only Tuesday.
Still.
The waiting was torture.
Later that afternoon Ethan sat in the back of his economics lecture.
Professor Grant droned on about market volatility while Ethan stared at his laptop.
Helios.
Still $0.78.
Nothing.
The student next to him leaned over.
"You trading again?"
Ethan quickly minimized the window.
"Just checking something."
The student laughed.
"Bro, penny stocks are scams. My cousin lost like five grand."
Ethan forced a casual shrug.
"Yeah, probably."
Inside, his stomach twisted.
What if he's right?
The lecture ended.
Students packed their bags.
Ethan refreshed the stock page one more time before leaving.
For a moment he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
The price had changed.
$0.82
His heart skipped.
Four cents.
Not huge.
But it was movement.
Real movement.
Volume numbers were rising too.
Someone was buying.
Ethan's pulse quickened.
Maybe the explosion was starting.
That evening Ethan returned to his apartment.
Rain tapped softly against the window.
The small room was quiet except for the ticking of the wall clock.
He opened the trading screen again.
Helios had climbed further.
$0.89
Ethan sat up straight.
That was a 14% increase.
In a single day.
The forums were starting to notice.
Comments were flooding in.
"Anyone know why Helios is pumping?"
"Probably a short squeeze."
"Dead company bounce."
Ethan smiled.
They had no idea.
But as he watched the price flicker on the screen…
Something strange happened.
His mysterious phone vibrated again.
Not the normal phone.
The future phone.
Ethan slowly picked it up.
Another message appeared.
Future Ethan:
Good.
But be careful.
This trade will make enemies.
Ethan frowned.
Enemies?
He stared at the glowing words.
A cold feeling crept up his spine.
How could making money in the stock market create enemies?
Before he could think further—
Another line appeared.
Slowly.
Like someone typing in the future.
And Ethan…
This is only the beginning.
Outside, far across the city…
In a quiet office building filled with glowing monitors…
A man suddenly looked up from his screen.
One of his analysts spoke nervously.
"Sir… someone just bought sixty thousand shares of Helios."
The man frowned.
"Who?"
The analyst swallowed.
"We can't trace the identity yet."
The man's eyes narrowed.
Helios was supposed to stay quiet.
Hidden.
Until Friday.
Yet someone had moved early.
Very early.
And they had bet almost fifty thousand dollars on it.
The man leaned back slowly in his chair.
"Find them."
His voice was calm.
But cold.
"Anyone who knows about Helios right now…"
"…is a problem."
Back in his apartment, Ethan had no idea someone was already looking for him.
He simply stared at the glowing numbers on his laptop.
Helios Technologies — $0.91
His investment had already grown by thousands.
And Friday hadn't even arrived yet.
Ethan whispered quietly to himself.
"Just how big is this explosion going to be?"
The answer…
Was only three days away.