The market opened with chaos.
Ethan knew it the moment he refreshed the chart.
The Helios ticker exploded with movement.
Helios Technologies — $2.18
His eyes widened.
Just yesterday the stock had barely crossed two dollars.
Now it was climbing again.
And the volume…
The volume was insane.
Hundreds of thousands of shares were trading every minute.
Financial forums were losing their minds.
"HEL is flying!"
"Whoever bought early is rich now!"
"Is this a short squeeze???"
Ethan leaned forward in his chair.
His heart was pounding.
He opened his trading account.
The numbers updated.
Then updated again.
And again.
Finally the screen settled.
Total Account Value: $97,442
Ethan blinked.
That couldn't be right.
He refreshed the page again.
Same number.
His profit from Helios alone had passed $50,000.
In less than a week.
He leaned back slowly.
A quiet laugh escaped his mouth.
"Fifty thousand…"
One week ago he had started with $46,800.
Now the gains alone were larger than most people's annual salary.
His mind flashed back to the night everything started.
$214.
A mysterious phone.
One impossible prediction.
Now he was sitting in a tiny apartment staring at nearly six figures.
But the strangest part was this:
The explosion hadn't even finished.
The Helios chart kept climbing.
$2.31
$2.38
Ethan watched every tick.
Each small movement added hundreds of dollars to his account.
It felt unreal.
Like watching a video game score increase.
But this wasn't a game.
This was his life.
And the future was paying him.
Then his normal phone buzzed.
A message from Daniel.
"Dude… are you watching Helios???"
Ethan smiled slightly.
Daniel had laughed when Ethan mentioned penny stocks earlier.
Now the entire market was watching the same company.
He typed back casually.
"Yeah. It's crazy."
Another message came instantly.
"Crazy? Bro this thing doubled in days. Someone made a fortune."
Ethan glanced back at his account.
Someone definitely did.
He didn't reply.
Suddenly another notification appeared on his laptop.
Breaking Market News
Ethan clicked it.
The article headline made his pulse spike.
"Helios Technologies Rumored to Announce Major Energy Partnership."
His eyes narrowed.
Rumor.
The real announcement hadn't even happened yet.
Which meant something important.
The market was reacting to whispers.
Once the actual news dropped…
The price could explode even more.
Ethan remembered the research paper he had discovered.
The breakthrough energy storage system.
If a government contract or large energy company adopted that technology…
Helios wouldn't just be a small renewable startup anymore.
It would become a major player.
And everyone would want a piece of it.
His mysterious phone vibrated.
Ethan grabbed it instantly.
The screen lit up.
White text appeared slowly.
Future Ethan:
Good.
Ethan smirked slightly.
"Yeah, I noticed."
Another message appeared.
Your profit milestone was reached.
Ethan's eyes flickered to his laptop again.
$50,000.
The number still felt surreal.
But the next message erased the smile from his face.
Now the real game begins.
Ethan frowned.
"What does that mean?"
More text appeared.
Money attracts attention.
His stomach tightened.
He already knew that.
Victor Liang had noticed.
Aurora Capital was buying Helios.
And now the entire market was talking about it.
Another message appeared.
And powerful people are starting to ask questions.
Ethan's pulse quickened.
Before he could respond…
The phone buzzed again.
But this time it wasn't the future phone.
It was his normal phone.
Incoming call.
Unknown number.
Again.
Ethan stared at it.
The same thing had happened earlier in the week.
Slowly he answered.
"…Hello?"
The voice on the other end was calm.
Confident.
"Mr. Carter."
Ethan froze.
The voice continued.
"I believe we share an interest in Helios Technologies."
Ethan's grip tightened on the phone.
"Who is this?"
A short pause.
Then the man spoke again.
"My name is Victor Liang."
Ethan's heart skipped.
Victor Liang.
One of the most powerful investors in the country.
And he was calling him.
The voice continued smoothly.
"You've made a very impressive trade."
Ethan didn't answer.
Victor Liang chuckled softly.
"Relax. I'm not calling to accuse you of anything."
Another pause.
"I'm calling because people who make moves like yours…"
"…usually know something."
Ethan swallowed.
"What do you want?"
Victor's reply came instantly.
"A conversation."
Ethan's eyes drifted back to the Helios chart.
$2.44
His profit kept climbing.
But suddenly the numbers didn't feel as exciting anymore.
Because now…
The powerful players had entered the game.
Victor Liang's voice returned through the phone.
"You should be careful, Mr. Carter."
Ethan's chest tightened.
"Why?"
Victor answered calmly.
"Because the market is full of sharks."
Another pause.
"And right now…"
"…you're swimming in very deep water."