Three days.
That's how long it took for Drake Wayne to become completely obsessed.
He barely left the apartment except to buy instant noodles and cheap energy drinks from the corner store close to the apartment. The old couch became his "office," and his phone plus a borrowed laptop became his tools. The system fed him information constantly —market trends, small things about companies, patterns in trading volumes that somehow predicted price changes before they happened.
Drake slept maybe four hours a night, maybe less. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw charts and candlesticks patterns dancing behind his eyelids. His ribs still ached, the bruises on his side had turned a sickly yellow-green, but he barely noticed anymore.
All he could think about were the options he had bought.
The tech company would announce their earnings on Thursday after the market closed. Drake had bet everything — $800 in call options that would either explode in value or drop to zero.
On Wednesday night, he couldn't sleep at all. He lay on the stained couch, staring at the water-damaged ceiling, while doing mental calculations over and over in his head. If the earnings beat expectations by even a small margin, his options would triple in value. But if they missed, he'd be back to $50 while still leaving on someone else's couch.
The system had been mostly silent for the past two days, offering no reassurance. Just the faint blue glow at the edge of his vision, reminding him it was still there.
Thursday finally arrived. Drake refreshed financial news sites every thirty seconds. At 4PM, the market closed. At 4:30, the company would release their results.
At 4:27, Drake's hands were shaking so badly he could barely hold his phone.
4:30PM finally hit.
The headline finally appeared:
TECHVOLT CRUSHES EARNINGS EXPECTATIONS. REVENUE UP BY 18℅.
Drake's options contracts, worth $800 when he'd bought them, started rising before he even had time to refresh his trading app. $1,200. $1,600. $2,000.
He sold everything at $2,400, hitting the sell-bottom the second it appeared on his screen.
He placed his phone carefully on the table, like it was something fragile, and then put his head in his hands. His entire body was shaking.
from $800 to $2,400 . In just three days.
The system notifications appeared
[ Excellent execution. Your instincts are sharpening ]
"That wasn't instinct," Drake muttered "That was you.
[ I provide information. You make decisions. The courage to act is yours alone. ]
Drake wanted to argue with the system, but he was too exhausted. And too relieved. He'd done it. He'd actually pulled it off without losing anything.
But the system wasn't finished with him.
[ Next recommendation: Helix Pharmaceuticals FDA approval decision on their flagship drug expected Monday morning
Current prize: $6.23. Expected price after approval: $15-$18 ]
Drake's brief moment of relief evaporated seeing new recommendations by the system. This was a much bigger risk than the last. If he invested his entire $2,400 and the FDA rejected the drug, the stock could crash 40% or more in a single day.
"This is all my money," He said out loud, as if the system might reconsider.
[Risk creates opportunities. The approval will pass]
In no time Drake was pulling out everything he could find on Helix Pharmaceuticals. He found out the drug was a treatment for a rare autoimmune disease. The Clinical trials results were successful. Most experts expected approval. The FDA advisory Committee had voted 9-2 in favor. With his analytics skill guiding him, every sign showed that the approval would go through.
Everything looked positive.
But positive wasn't the same as guaranteed.
Drake stared at his account balance. $2,438 after the options profit. If he put it all in and the FDA ended up not approving, he'd be back to square one, or worse.
But if they approved...
"You know what, fuck it. Drake muttered as he pulled up his phone and bought 393 shares of Helix pharmaceuticals at $6.23 per Share, investing every dollar in his account except $38 for food.
And what came next was the longest week of his life.
Friday and Saturday blurred together. Drake read article after article, checking old FDA similar drug approval decisions, and comparing them to Helix, looking for any signal that might tell him he'd made a mistake in buying the shares.
By Sunday night, Drake's anxiety had reached a fever pitch. He couldn't eat. Couldn't focus on anything except staring at the clock and waiting for Monday morning to reach.
***
Finally at 8:45 AM on Monday, he was standing inside a convenience store when the news finally broke free —five minutes earlier than he had expected.
HELIX PHARMACEUTICALS RECEIVES FDA APPROVAL FOR BREAKTHROUGH AUTOIMMUNE TREATMENT.
For a heartbeat. The world around him seemed to freeze. Then his phone buzzed violently with an alert.
Helix was up 140℅ in pre-market trading, jumping from $6.23 to $14.96
His 393 shares were now suddenly worth over $5,879.
Drake stood there, motionless in the middle of the store, a red Bull in one hand and his phone in the other. A teenager brushed past him with an annoying "excuse me," but Drake barely noticed.
He'd done it again
He walked back to the apartment in a daze. He had sold his position at $15.12, watching his account balance settle at $5,899.
Then the system notification appeared:
[ Quest complete. ]
[ Reward: + $5,000 system credit for your first major investment ]
A new interface slide opened, displaying a balanced investment plan with suggested percentage for different sectors. But what caught his eyes most was the separate account labeled-system funds—a full $5,000 in credit saying he could use for only just investments completely separate from his real money.
Drake did a quick math in his head. $5,899 in his real account, plus $5,000 in system credit.
That gives him $10,899 in total.
Just one week ago, he had only $215 to his name. That same week, his girlfriend had been cheating on him with his best friend while he had been delivering pizza in a beat-up Honda Civic with a rattling engine.
But now, he is sitting on a couch with almost eleven grand and with skills and a system that made him feel like he could see the future.
Drake let out a joyful laugh filled with disbelief and wild hope.
He'd found a path forward. Finally, after years of failing at everything, he had a way out.