Henry initially thought selling grilled cheese would be the easiest way to complete the task, but he doubts the college boys would buy his stuff that easily. Still, it's worth to try, since the other option seems to be more time consuming. After buying all of the ingredients, he brough his worn toaster with him to the park.
His apartment is located near a college dorm. Both buildings were only separated by a small park that has become a popular gathering place for the frat boys. The idea here is to set up a "tent" for cheap grilled cheese — offering late night snack to the drunken men.
After preparing his toaster, he sits in the bench as he toasted a single product in order to fill the air with melted cheese aroma. The smell was part of his strategy. He knows it would be far more effective than other methods.
He hunched over the toaster plugged into the park's free-to-use outlet. Using the outlet is not a problem, but his "business" was still a patchwork setup, barely legal, and probably unsafe—but who care about such thing. Its not like he plans to continue this work anyway.
This is just a one and done activity, at least that's what he plans to do.
The toaster clicked, and the slice of bread inside began to brown. Cheese hissed and sizzled between slices, garlic butter bubbling at the edges. The air around him filled with the unmistakable scent of comfort food.
Aromatherapy for drunk college students, he thought grimly.
It was close to midnight. The park was already starting to come alive—the distant thump of bass echoed from a nearby dorm window, and laughter bounced from the concrete paths as small groups of frat boys stumbled through, looking for their next thrill.
Henry adjusted his cardboard sign, hastily taped to the back of the bench:
"Midnight Melt – $3.50 Grilled Cheese"
Crispy. Hot. Fast. Cash or Transfer.
He'd only toasted one sandwich so far, letting it sit visibly on a paper plate beside the sign, steam rising from the golden crust. Like bait. The panel from the system hovered just inside his field of view:
[Objective in Progress: Sell $10 worth of grilled cheese]
[Tip: Engage passersby, highlight aroma and affordability.]
Henry sighed. "Easier said than done."
Then, after what feels to be an eternity, he saw them — four frat guys in hoodies and backward caps, one of them loudly recounting how he "totally owned that guy at beer pong." They turned the corner into the park, heading straight toward him.
Henry's heart pounded. Yes, this is it, he thought to himself.
"Yo, is that... grilled cheese?" oe of them asked, looking at the sandwich with his fuzzy eyes like it was gold.
Henry gave a small, practiced grin. "Yup. Garlic butter, real cheddar, $3.50 a pop. Hot and ready."
The others stopped, intrigued.
"You serious?" another asked. "You just selling that here?"
"Hey," Henry said, shrugging, "I figured you guys could use something besides stale beer and broken dreams."
Henry didn't think the joke was funny, but that earned a laugh, and more importantly—a sale. He wont complaint about it.
"I'll take one," said the first guy. "Make it crispy."
Henry quickly got to work. The toaster was slow, sure, but the smell kept the crowd hovering. By the time he handed over the first sandwich, a second guy had already sent a Venmo request.
"Dude" one of them said mid-bite, "this is actually fire."
Word spread faster than Henry expected. Over the next hour, he had a steady stream of customers—some curious, some buzzed, some flat-out wasted but craving carbs. People paid him in clumsy spurts. A few even tipped extra.
By the time his ingredients ran out, the sky was threatening dawn and the park had mostly emptied out. Henry wiped butter off his fingers, exhausted.
The system chimed softly.
[Objective Complete: $10 Flip Success]
[Total Revenue: $52.50 | Net Profit: $42.75]
[Reward Unlocked: Beginner Wealth Pack]
— Opportunity Intuition (Lv.1)
— Wallet Feature: UWAS Credit Vault Activated
— Passive Income Radar (Tier 1) Unlocked
[Next Mission Available]
Henry leaned back, staring at the fading stars above.
"That was easy."
Maybe this wouldn't be the case in the future. He won't be too sure it would be this smooth, and maybe it wouldn't be fast. Still, he was given an opportunity to turn his life around. Giving up is not a choice.
Tomorrow, he'd tackle the next mission. But tonight, for the first time in a long time, he fell asleep smiling.