Chapter 4: Countdown
Nolan's heart didn't just race. It pounded against his ribs like a caged animal trying to break free. He stared at the red-bordered warning floating in front of his eyes, the words seared into his brain.
[WARNING! New Condition Activated!]
[Emergency Directive: Spend Entire Remaining Balance.]
[Time Limit: 10 Minutes]
[Failure Consequence: System Shutdown (Permanent).]
[Remaining Balance: $90]
Ten minutes. Ninety dollars. His whole body felt hot with panic. This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not when he had just started to understand that this system was real, that it could actually change things. The thought of losing it, of going back to being ordinary Nolan.
He needed something practical to spend quickly. Something fast.
Then it hit him. The campus canteen. At lunchtime, it was packed with students. Dozens of people are buying food. If he could pay for them, the money would disappear in minutes. Seconds, even.
Without another thought, he pushed off the wall and ran.
His shoes slapped against the concrete path as he sprinted toward the main building.
Students jumped out of his way, some shouting annoyed comments behind him. He didn't care. He couldn't care. Every second mattered.
He glanced at the timer in the corner of the system screen.
[Time limit: 08:58]
He burst through the side door of the academic building and into the long hallway that led to the cafeteria.
The corridor was busy, students walking in both directions, chatting, laughing, staring at their phones. Normal life. Nolan was not living normal life right now.
He weaved through the crowd like a running back dodging tackles. "Sorry! Excuse me! Coming through!" he gasped, not slowing down.
And then, just as he rounded a corner near the cafeteria entrance, it happened.
A girl stepped out from the side, right into his path. He tried to stop, tried to swerve, but his momentum was too strong. He clipped her shoulder, stumbling sideways and barely catching himself on the wall.
"Ouch--", a voice sounded.
Nolan looked up, his breath still uneven. The girl he had almost knocked over was standing there, slightly off balance but unharmed.
For a moment, he froze.
Of course he knew her.
Everyone on campus knew her.
Emma Lane.
The campus belle.
Nolan had seen her many times from a distance—walking across the courtyard, sitting in the front rows of lectures, or passing through the halls while people unconsciously made space for her.
Up close, she looked even more striking.
Her long dark hair fell neatly over her shoulders, and her warm brown eyes were wide with surprise from the sudden collision. She wore a simple cream sweater and jeans, yet on her it somehow looked effortlessly elegant.
For a brief second, Nolan forgot what he was supposed to say.
Her friend, a shorter girl with fierce eyes and a sharper voice, stepped forward, jabbing a finger in Nolan's direction. "You almost knocked her over! What is wrong with you? Running in the hallway like a maniac!"
Emma touched her friend's arm. "Maya, it's okay. I'm fine. It was an accident."
Nolan shook himself back to reality. The timer. He looked at the screen. [Time limit: 06:35]
"Sorry," he blurted out, his voice rushed. "Really sorry. My fault completely. I just—I have to go. Emergency."
And then he was off again, sprinting the last few meters to the cafeteria entrance, leaving Emma and her friend staring after him.
Maya frowned. "What's his problem? That's the Nolan guy, right? The one who got dumped last night? He looks like he's lost his mind."
Emma didn't answer. She just watched his retreating back, a tiny crease forming between her eyebrows. There was something in his eyes when he'd looked at her.
Not the usual look guys gave her. This was panic. Real, genuine panic. Like something terrible was about to happen if he didn't get wherever he was going.
"Come on," Maya said, tugging her arm. "Emma, you said your treat. let's go cafeteria."
Emma nodded and let herself be pulled toward the cafeteria, but her mind stayed on that brief moment. On the desperate look in his eyes.
Inside the cafeteria, the noise hit Nolan like a wall. Hundreds of students crowded around tables, chatting, laughing, and eating. The food counters had long lines snaking in front of them. Perfect. More people meant more spending.
He pushed straight to the front of the main counter, ignoring the annoyed looks from students waiting in line. The cashier, a tired-looking middle-aged woman with a hairnet, raised an eyebrow at him.
"No cutting in line," she said flatly.
"I'm not buying for myself," Nolan said quickly, his words tumbling out. He glanced at the timer. Five minutes.
"I want to pay for everyone. For anyone who orders food. However much is on this." He pulled out his phone, then realized he didn't have a card. Then he remembered. The system. Biometric scan.
He leaned over the counter and pressed his thumb to the card reader attached to the register. It was a newer machine, one that accepted fingerprint payments.
The cashier stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "You want to… pay for other people's food?"
"Yes. Just take the money from my account. I have ninety dollars left. Take all of it for whoever orders next."
The system screen flashed.
[Time limit: 05:56 ]
The cashier shrugged, too tired to question the weirdness of college students anymore. "Suit yourself, kid. I'll run the next orders against your tab until it runs out."
Nolan didn't wait. He turned and walked quickly toward the exit, not looking back. He could feel eyes on him, students whispering, wondering why that guy had just cut in line and then left without buying anything.
He didn't care. He just needed to get out, to find a quiet spot where he could see what happened when the timer hit zero.
He pushed through the cafeteria doors and walked fast, not running now but moving with purpose, until he reached a small bench near a quiet garden area behind the library.
He sat down, his heart still pounding, and watched the timer count down.
Back in the cafeteria, Emma and her friends finally reached the front of the line. They had a list. Their student group was hosting a small welcome event for new members, and they needed snacks.
Lots of them. Maya had calculated everything carefully—chips, drinks, cookies, enough for about Ten people. The total came to nearly fifty dollars.
Emma pulled out her wallet as the cashier started scanning items. "Okay, I've got the card here, just let me—"
The cashier held up a hand. "No need."
Emma blinked. "What?"
The cashier nodded toward the door. "Some kid came in a few minutes ago, acting all crazy. Paid for everyone's food. Said to use his tab until the money ran out. You're all covered." She pointed vaguely in the direction Nolan had left. "He went that way."
Emma turned and looked. Through the cafeteria windows, she could just see the path leading toward the library garden. A figure was sitting on a bench and staring at nothing.
Her friends erupted behind her.
"No way," Maya laughed. "That was Nolan? The guy who almost killed you in the hallway? He paid for everyone?"
"Maybe he's trying to impress you," another friend, Jen, said with a grin. "You know, buy food for the whole school, get your attention. Classic move."
"Classic crazy move," Maya corrected. "He got dumped last night and now he's throwing money at strangers? Dude's lost it."
"Or maybe he just has more money than sense," Jen added.
They laughed, grabbing their bags of free snacks, already moving on to the next topic.
But Emma stayed quiet, watching the distant figure on the bench. He wasn't moving. He was just sitting there, staring at something she couldn't see.
She thought about the panic in his eyes when they'd almost collided. The rushed, genuine apology. And now this. Paying for strangers. Not sticking around for thanks or attention. Just… leaving.
'Why would someone do that? What kind of person spends their money on people they don't know and then runs away?'
She didn't have an answer. But for some reason, she really wanted one.
Nolan screen changed.
[Payment Complete: $90.00 Spent]
[Condition Status: Completed]
[Verifying Final Balance…]
[Balance: $0.00]
Nolan let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He did it. The system was still there. It wasn't shutting down.
Then the screen went black for a terrifying second before exploding with new text.
[Emergency Directive Complete.]
[System Tier Upgrading…]
A loading bar appeared, filling slowly. Nolan gripped the warm coffee cup, barely noticing it.
[Upgrade Complete.]
[Tier 2 Activated.]
[New Features Unlocked.]
[You can see your stats now.]
[Balance Reloaded.]
The screen flickered and refreshed. New numbers appeared.
[Balance: $1,000]
Nolan stared. His mouth fell open. One thousand dollars.
Not a hundred. A thousand. He blinked, but the number didn't change. It just sat there, glowing softly, impossibly real.
"One thousand…?" he whispered to the empty garden.
'If I spend this thousand, will it give ten thousand?', He thought, looking calm, but inside his mind was racing.