He checked his new banking app, which replaced his old one. It was linked with his new credit card, but surprisingly there was no payment system in the app, so he had to use the luxurious card in his hand.
The silver card in his hand had many diamonds, especially his name was embedded with tiny diamonds, which looked out of this world. Although he had never seen a luxurious credit card before, Max was certain this was not normal.
Sigh! I don't want a bread and banana as my last meal.
In his head, Max was still planning his last meal, so when he looked at the convenience store just opposite of the road, he shook his head, then turned to the food stall, which was just a few meters away from him and on his side of the road.
The kebab stall, famous for their chicken meat and smoky flavor, was fairly cheap, but it was still a lot more expensive for someone like Max, who usually ate a banana and bread from a discount store.
Pocketing his card and phone, Max tried to stand up, and surprisingly he was able to, his hands were not shaky anymore, and he still had some energy, it seemed.
Hope is a wonderful drug, it can make a dying man walk.
With a smile on his face, Max slowly walked towards the stall. He looked fearless because what more could happen to him? He was going to use the card, and if it works, he needs to plan a lot, but if it doesn't? Well, that's that.
"Hey, what can I get you today?"
"Let's see, give me that Doner Kebab. Do you take card?"
"Yes, sir, Visa & Mastercard both."
Max nodded his head in understanding and stood by the stall while the employee inside prepared his order. The smoky flavor, which he used to ignore whenever he came to the library, entered his nose, he can barely believe he is going to eat here.
[Unlock?]
[Yes/No]
What the fuck?
As he casually looked around, his eyes landed on the stall's small door, which was supposed to be locked, but a holographic pop-up came in front of his eyes, and he could unlock the door with just one click.
It's r…real? I can't do criminal activities now. Let's check this power later.
"Sir, your kebab is ready. Here, press your card to pay."
The food stall employee pulled out a payment terminal machine with 7.99€ written on top of its display. Max, with a smile, pulled out his newly acquired card with confidence. After this lock incident, he was almost certain his life had changed forever.
"That's a handsome-looking card."
"It's custom built with plastic."
*Ka-ching!!*
"Thank you for your patronage."
Max didn't even bother with a polite smile, he pocketed his card and took the kebab, which was wrapped with bread around it. The aroma it had was unimaginable for someone who mostly ate bread, bananas, and instant noodles all his life.
It's been two years, two years since I have eaten meat.
The government allowance was never enough for him to eat meat, if he ate once, he might have to skip 5 to 6 meals. He was not foolish enough to do that.
The kebab was finished within 5 bites, it felt heavenly. He wanted another one, but before that, he needed to settle something, so he went back to the bench he was seated on and pulled out his wallet.
My 8.12€ is still here, Card Balance.
[Current Legal Balance: 385,952.01€] [Level up the card by using 2,999,992.01 €.]
The system pop-up showed his current balance, which was, of course, €7.99 less. A big smile formed on his face, the unbelievable has happened. He has a system, a cheat tool to glide across the harsh, cold world.
After finishing the kebab, Max felt like he had a lot more strength than before. Cracking his head, he pulled out his phone, he wanted to know where he could withdraw cash from because in Germany cash is king, most people use cash for day-to-day transactions.
'Can be withdrawn at any bank ATM booths'
This was written in a small line inside the app, so of course Max went back to the kebab stall for another doner, this one he will eat and search for a nearby ATM booth. His phone didn't have the updated map app it was too old, so he had to do it in the old style.
"Sir?"
"Do you sell a slightly bigger portion of that kebab?"
"Yes, double meat doner is available."
"Alright, make me that and also a small bottled water, please."
So, I can level up the card by being extravagant. That's…that's actually the complete opposite of me. Let's try to press the card again in the night.
[Palladium Credit Card (Elite Tier): All the illicit assets in the 3-kilometer radius will convert to legal assets for the holder.] [Can be activated again in a new town or after 06:23:21.]
So, I can't spam it? Makes sense, so I will leave for Munich anyway. I think I will do it sooner.
"Sir, your double meat doner is ready, and here's the water bottle, and the total will be €11.59."
"Add a tip to it, make it 15€ whole."
"Thank you very much, sir."
As the employee was about to type in the amount in his payment terminal, Max interrupted him before he could do so, he wanted to help out the minimum wage worker, and this was also a bit of a morally correct way to squander his money.
*Ka-Ching!!*
"You have a nice day, sir."
"You too. Can you tell me where the nearby ATM booth is?"
"Which bank?"
"Nearby one, I have to meet someone there."
"The closest one is ten minutes from here, head straight, then take a right."
"Thanks."
Max took a big sip from his water bottle first, and then, eating his kebab with his head fixed on the ATM booth, he walked ahead. The employee was vague with details, so after finishing up the kebab, he asked another random person.
"Yeah, just take a right from here, you see that blue neon banner? That's Deutsche Bank's ATM booth."
"Thank you."
"Don't worry about it."
Finally, now I can withdraw real money, but how much should I? Is there a limit?
[Palladium Credit Card (Elite Tier): Has a limit of a million euro or is subject to the machine capacity]
God damn!! I'll withdraw ten thousand first, it's for the Munich stay, train fare, and also good food.
With a racing heart, he stepped ahead. When he tried to open the white, blurry glass door of the ATM, it didn't budge at all, but he could see the silhouette of a person inside.
[Unlock?]
[Yes/No]
Hmm, I don't want to do that, but why is this locked?
"Tap on the door scanner with your card. Today the bank is closed, so you have to use your card to enter."
When a nearby old person saw Max struggling, he understood that Max must be a new user of cards, helping out a young man doesn't take much.
"Oh! Thank you. "
Max smiled at the person who helped him out. Usually Germans are very grumpy, like his surveillance officer, but there are still nice people out there.
Now, the question is will my random card work?
He pulled out his card, and then, taking a deep breath, tapped it on the glowing scanner, it was here to protect random people from entering this booth.
*BEEP*
Gently the glass door automatically unlock, when he walked in the person inside, who was using the machine shocked him a little. She was his classmate from high school, Blanka. Although they were in the same class for two years, they have rarely interacted with each other.
What is she doing here? Well, whatever. Let's do my business first and move on.
Blanka looked at Max with surprise, she was sure Max was her classmate but unsure of his name. Max was average-looking and talked rarely in the class, as one of the prettiest girls in the school, she barely had any need to talk with him.
"Your name is Max, right?"
"Yes, Maximilian."
"It's nice to meet you, Maximilian."
"You too."
"I heard you're the only person from our school who got into LMU?"
"I don't know about others, but I did."
Blanka wanted to shake his hand, this was her style. She can be a really good friend in no time, but Max took a step back. He was concealing his weirdly luxurious card in his hand, and he barely even knew her to get familiar this much all of a sudden.
*Honk-Honk*
"I am Blanka, by the way. I got into TMU. That's my sister honking outside. We'll be studying in the same city, so see you later."
She hurried off. When the glass door opened, Max saw a red car standing there, with a woman seated inside.
If I am not wrong, that's a luxurious BMW. She's, as usual, rich and super pretty.
Shaking his head from the distraction, Max focused more on the machine, he didn't interact with people because it felt like a distraction in the past, but humans were social creatures after all, and his fluttery heart after meeting her was the proof of that.
Focus Max, €10,000.