Barry lived in a two-bedroom apartment situated in the district zone.
The district zone contains individuals with D ranks. People in D ranks were regular folks, earning average salaries and holding common positions. They're literally average Joes. But Barry, who was an E Rank, had no hopes of paying the rent nor enrolling his sister in school all by himself. As Barry headed home, his head was spinning with the additional responsibilities on his hands. With his benefactor, dead, there was no one to support him anymore. The Raven family would only pay him $200 if he continued to slave for them. But $200 was barely enough to feed himself, pay the rent or see his younger sister through school. Standing outside his apartment, Barry took a deep breath before knocking on the door. The door opened to reveal a cute sixteen-year-old high school girl wearing shorts and a sweater. “I'm home, Snow,” Barry said, forcing a wide smile on his face. “Here, I bought us dinner.” He stretched out a bag of groceries he bought from the nearby store. Snow rushed at him and embraced him tightly. “Big Brother,” she called excitedly. “Welcome home. It's been lonely without you this week.” Barry stroke her hair. Since Evelyn's death, he hadn't been home for a while. “I'm sorry I couldn't be here with you,” Barry said. “Let's go inside. Tell me all about school while we make dinner together.” * * * * An hour later, Barry tucked Snow in her bed and returned to his room. He laid up on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He had just spent his last $200 in grocery shopping. After tonight, there would be nothing left to eat. What's more troubling, they have not paid the landlord in months. Their rent was way overdue. Barry gritted his teeth as he thought about how the Raven family had abandoned him. He sat up, his rage boiling over. If he ever gets the chance, he would make each of them regret ever treating him like trash. Just then, he received an inbox text message on his small phone. Barry stared at his phone as he opened the text. It was his Forex trading account details and password. Barry recalled the accountant mentioning this Forex trading account was fully funded with $10,000. This was all they left him with after losing the White mansion to Laura in their divorce settlement. Unfortunately, the Forex market has been awful for the past three years. There was hardly any money to be made these days from trading. Barry sighed. “This is better than nothing.” Snow still had a laptop Evelyn gifted her years ago. Barry retrieved the laptop from the living room and booted it on. Fortunately, the Wi-Fi was free around this part of town. Barry could log in to his Forex trading account smoothly. When the site interface appeared, Barry's eyes widened. $10,000,000.00. “What the…?” He muttered, rubbing his eyes just to make sure he was seeing clearly. “How I'm I seeing $10 million instead of $10,000?” The amount was still there, $10 million, staring back at him. “No way,” Barry's jaws dropped. “It can't be. I don't believe it. This has to be a mistake.” He refreshed the page over and over again, thinking it was a glitch somewhere, but the amount was right there. $10,000,000.00. Barry scrolled to the transaction history and to his shock, he discovered the amount was deposited in his account a month ago before Evelyn's passing. Barry sat back, his jaws hanging. His mind drifted back to his second year in college before he dropped out after Evelyn's illness became worse. He had been friends with a self-proclaimed Forex guru named Matthew. Matthew had a knack for reading the market like a book. Everyone ridiculed Matthew, proclaiming he couldn't make any real money in Forex. But Barry followed Matthew everywhere. Barry spent countless hours absorbing everything Matthew could teach him about Forex trading — strategies, risk management, patterns, and timing. After Evelyn's illness struck, Barry had to drop out of college in order to care for her, but he was more knowledge about Forex than anyone could imagine. He shared his experience with Evelyn during their late night talks. She used to tease him about his ambition. Barry never thought she was making arrangements behind his back to prepare this account for him to trade. She believed in him more than anyone else. Still, this Forex trading account seemed too good to be true. "There's no way Madam Evelyn could entrust me with all that money to trade with," Barry sighed, his throat tightening. "$10 million is a lot of money. No one is stupid enough to risk putting all that money into Forex for a beginner to trade with." Barry rubbed his temples as he studied the screen displaying his account. "My suspicion is correct. This is a demo account," Barry concluded. "It's the only logical explanation. Madam Evelyn may be a generous woman, but she's not stupid to fund $10 million for me to trade with." The more Barry thought about it, the more convinced he felt Evelyn Raven created this simulation account to test and hone his skills. Now, the money in a demo account isn't real. Barry could carry out his strategies without bearing any risks, so any profits or losses he made from the demo account won't affect his actual finances. Barry glanced at the time. It was 9:20.pm. The market was active by this time and fluctuating. The Forex market wasn't what it used to be before. Many people had given up on it a long time ago. "I guess I'll give it a try and make my first trading," Barry said. "I still have all the knowledge and strategies I acquired from Matthew. Even if it's a demo account, I'll give it my all." With renewed determination fueling him, Barry opened a chart and started analyzing it. A surge of adrenaline rush through his entire body as he executed his first-ever trade like a seasoned trader. Barry got so caught up in the moment he didn't know when he ended up trading the entire $10 million–every penny. Since it's a demo account, it wouldn't matter. * * * * Barry's apartment was quiet except for the soft hum of the laptop and rustling of the curtains as breeze passed through the window. Barry lay slumped over the small wooden table, his head resting on his folded arms. For two days, He had deprived himself of sleep after Evelyn's funeral. His exhaustion took its toll, causing him to drift into a deep sleep without him knowing it. The laptop was still on, with charts and candlesticks flickered across the screen. Suddenly, at the stroke of midnight, magic happened and hundreds of notifications started popping up on the screen. Barry's trades took off in a way that defied all logic, with profits soaring on a larger scale. He was earning billions of dollars per second. After the first second, he earned $10.42 billion. After a minute, he made $625 billion. After an hour, Barry made over $37.5 Trillion. Barry continued to sleep, unaware his laptop was blowing up with unimaginable wealth.The first cock crow woke Barry up. He groggily lifted his head, blinking against the light coming from his laptop. Barry was startled his laptop was still on. The time was 5.am. Expecting to see a modest gain or a loss, Barry peered into the laptop screen. “Let's look at how much I've earned today.”Suddenly, Barry froze as he saw his account balance. $375 TRILLION!Barry staggered back away from the laptop as if it had suddenly turned into a cobra. He backed himself against the wall, his heart pounding wildly against his ribs, but not for once, did his eyes left the numbers on the screen:$375 trillion. “I don't believe it,” he muttered, his breathing laboured. “This is a dream. It has to be a dream.”Barry pinched his arm, hard and twice. The pain he got told him he was wide awake, and this wasn't some dream. He slowly approached the laptop, his legs wobbling. When he was close enough, he peered at his account. The balance ticked up again:$375,010,420,000,000.00Barry gas
Veronica Phoenix took her private jet from headquarters and flew to North Hills as soon as she received Jeremy's message. When her private jet finally landed in North Hills airport, she rushed over to the Phoenix Bank. A staff was waiting to welcome her. They all inclined their back at angle 90 to greet her as she walked past them. When she was ushered into Jeremy's office, she was surprised to find a shabbily dressed young man seated opposite Jeremy. “What's this about, Jeremy?” She demanded, oozing an aura of confidence that overpowered the room. Jeremy stood up, bowing respectfully before her. “Miss Veronica. Allow me to introduce you to Barry. Barry, here, came into my office with his Forex account, which he thought was fluctuating. But after examining it… You need to see this for yourself.”Veronica moved to the desk as Jeremy spun the laptop towards her. The balance read: $450.144 Trillion. Veronica stiffened in shock. Are those numbers real?Another second passed, and th
The landlord revealed he sold Snow to the Nightingale family at an underground slave auction. He revealed Reeves Nightingale ran the transaction, buying Snow in cash. Barry almost went nuts as the thought of Reeves claiming ownership of his sister's life filled him with cold dread. “You cold-hearted bastard,” Barry bawled at Barnes' face. “How could you do this to me behind my back? You didn't have to sell my sister just because we owe you rent.”Barnes was scared of the viciousness in Barry's eyes that he lost most of his colour. “I-It's not my fault,” Barnes retorted nervously. “A member of the Nightingale family needed a heart transplant. They took your sister to the Central hospital, and she was a perfect match. I couldn't resist the price Reeves offered me.”Barry smacked a blow to the side of Barnes' face, dislocating his jaw. “You're evil,” Barry said breathlessly, his voice laced with malice. “When I get back, I promise you, I'll have this apartment torn to the ground. Ma
“You rotten piece of trash,” Reeves roared, slamming his fist on the desk. “How dare you ignore us and make such an outrageous demand? I'll have you skinned alive.”Before Reeves could make a move at Barry, Kane Nightingale stood up and raised a hand, stopping him immediately. He gazed at Barry with growing interest. “Don't push it, Reeves. Barry, you've piqued my interest. Do you really think you can buy this hospital which is owned by the government?”Barry looked straight into his eyes. “I will. Once I acquire it, the surgery won't happen.”Kane threw his head back and laughed as loud as he can. “This is just remarkable. You? Buy Central hospital? You're the same broke bastard who couldn't pay rent without the assistance of a dead woman.”Barry gritted his teeth. “Don't make mockery of Madam Evelyn.”Kane's smile widened into a smirk. “This is really entertaining to say the least. I'll humour you, Barry. Here's a deal. If you acquire this hospital this very night and prevent the s
Barry didn't want to reveal the entire truth. “I made a call to someone I knew.”He made it sounded so simple. As if he just pressed a few buttons. “Bullshit!” Kane Nightingale bawled angrily at him. “There's no way you could have pulled that off. Not only was the hospital bought out, but the government also forbade us from proceeding with the surgery. How did you pull it off?”Barry dug his hands in his pockets and gazed down at Kane. “What's this? I thought we had a deal? If I'm able to prevent the surgery, my sister leaves. That was the deal, or are you backing out on your words?”“You bastard!” Reeves yelled at Barry. “You had better start talking, or I'll rip you apart right here.”Barry frowned. “You can't do anything to me, Reeves. We had a deal and that's that. I won't disclose how I pull it off. I owe no one any explanation.” Barry approached the doctor in charge of the surgery and placed both hands on the desk. “About my sister, doctor. Where is she?”The doctor cleared hi
“Take it easy, that's painful,” Barnes groaned as his wife tended to his busted jaws. His wife hissed as she removed the ice bag from his jaw. “How could you let your tenant hit you that hard? And Barry for that matter.”“I didn't expect such a reaction from the kid,” Barnes barked, feeling humiliated at being punched by his tenant. “I can't believe you'll let that bastard get away with it,” his wife ranted. “You're a disgrace if you allow Barry to walk freely around without fixing him.”Barnes knew his wife would talk about this for weeks. She would definitely gossip to her friends and her friends would in turn tell their husbands.Soon, word would circulate and Barnes would end up becoming a laughingstock. His other tenants won't respect nor fear him. If Barry, a nobody could punch him and get away with it, the other tenants could feel the need to do the same when Barnes demands for his rent money. No, he can't allow that. No matter what, he must find Barry and make an example
Barnes heart skipped a beat when his wife delivered the bad news. “What do you mean they destroyed our house?” Barnes asked, grabbing her shoulder and giving her a little shake. His wife snapped angrily at him. “Are you deaf? Our home was demolished five minutes after you left. They said they were given orders and permission to demolish all our properties. As at this moment, they're currently demolishing our shopping complex. Do something, Barnes. They'd ruin us all.”Barnes eyes widened in shock. He glanced at Barry and saw the seriousness in his eyes. That was when he realized Barry wasn't fooling around. “Barry, what have you done?” Barry wore back his dark glasses. “I kept my promise to you, landlord. You never should have sold my sister in the first place. This is your punishment for your wickedness.”Barnes owned the block of apartments which his twenty tenants lived in. He also owned a small shopping complex and a private house. If what his wife was telling him was true,
“Get on your knees and kiss my boots!” Reeves commanded. Everyone was watching the scene in silence, all eyes fixed on Barry. Barry plastered his hand on his face, his eyes misty. He had just been slapped across the face from Reeves Nightingale, first son of the Nightingale clan. It was Laura's birthday party and the entire North Hills had turned up to celebrate with her. Among the guests were eligible wealthy bachelors who clamoured around Laura, hoping to be the lucky guy she might consider to marry. Reeves was more aggressive than the rest of the other bachelors. He followed Laura everywhere like a dog, bothering her with his loud, boring stories. Barry couldn't take it anymore and interjected when he shouldn't have. “You're bothering my wife, Reeves, give it a rest already,” Barry said, standing between Reeves and Laura. That was when Reeves slapped him. “How dare you speak to me like we're equals?” Reeves snapped at him. “You're nothing but a cheap loser who got lucky
Barnes heart skipped a beat when his wife delivered the bad news. “What do you mean they destroyed our house?” Barnes asked, grabbing her shoulder and giving her a little shake. His wife snapped angrily at him. “Are you deaf? Our home was demolished five minutes after you left. They said they were given orders and permission to demolish all our properties. As at this moment, they're currently demolishing our shopping complex. Do something, Barnes. They'd ruin us all.”Barnes eyes widened in shock. He glanced at Barry and saw the seriousness in his eyes. That was when he realized Barry wasn't fooling around. “Barry, what have you done?” Barry wore back his dark glasses. “I kept my promise to you, landlord. You never should have sold my sister in the first place. This is your punishment for your wickedness.”Barnes owned the block of apartments which his twenty tenants lived in. He also owned a small shopping complex and a private house. If what his wife was telling him was true,
“Take it easy, that's painful,” Barnes groaned as his wife tended to his busted jaws. His wife hissed as she removed the ice bag from his jaw. “How could you let your tenant hit you that hard? And Barry for that matter.”“I didn't expect such a reaction from the kid,” Barnes barked, feeling humiliated at being punched by his tenant. “I can't believe you'll let that bastard get away with it,” his wife ranted. “You're a disgrace if you allow Barry to walk freely around without fixing him.”Barnes knew his wife would talk about this for weeks. She would definitely gossip to her friends and her friends would in turn tell their husbands.Soon, word would circulate and Barnes would end up becoming a laughingstock. His other tenants won't respect nor fear him. If Barry, a nobody could punch him and get away with it, the other tenants could feel the need to do the same when Barnes demands for his rent money. No, he can't allow that. No matter what, he must find Barry and make an example
Barry didn't want to reveal the entire truth. “I made a call to someone I knew.”He made it sounded so simple. As if he just pressed a few buttons. “Bullshit!” Kane Nightingale bawled angrily at him. “There's no way you could have pulled that off. Not only was the hospital bought out, but the government also forbade us from proceeding with the surgery. How did you pull it off?”Barry dug his hands in his pockets and gazed down at Kane. “What's this? I thought we had a deal? If I'm able to prevent the surgery, my sister leaves. That was the deal, or are you backing out on your words?”“You bastard!” Reeves yelled at Barry. “You had better start talking, or I'll rip you apart right here.”Barry frowned. “You can't do anything to me, Reeves. We had a deal and that's that. I won't disclose how I pull it off. I owe no one any explanation.” Barry approached the doctor in charge of the surgery and placed both hands on the desk. “About my sister, doctor. Where is she?”The doctor cleared hi
“You rotten piece of trash,” Reeves roared, slamming his fist on the desk. “How dare you ignore us and make such an outrageous demand? I'll have you skinned alive.”Before Reeves could make a move at Barry, Kane Nightingale stood up and raised a hand, stopping him immediately. He gazed at Barry with growing interest. “Don't push it, Reeves. Barry, you've piqued my interest. Do you really think you can buy this hospital which is owned by the government?”Barry looked straight into his eyes. “I will. Once I acquire it, the surgery won't happen.”Kane threw his head back and laughed as loud as he can. “This is just remarkable. You? Buy Central hospital? You're the same broke bastard who couldn't pay rent without the assistance of a dead woman.”Barry gritted his teeth. “Don't make mockery of Madam Evelyn.”Kane's smile widened into a smirk. “This is really entertaining to say the least. I'll humour you, Barry. Here's a deal. If you acquire this hospital this very night and prevent the s
The landlord revealed he sold Snow to the Nightingale family at an underground slave auction. He revealed Reeves Nightingale ran the transaction, buying Snow in cash. Barry almost went nuts as the thought of Reeves claiming ownership of his sister's life filled him with cold dread. “You cold-hearted bastard,” Barry bawled at Barnes' face. “How could you do this to me behind my back? You didn't have to sell my sister just because we owe you rent.”Barnes was scared of the viciousness in Barry's eyes that he lost most of his colour. “I-It's not my fault,” Barnes retorted nervously. “A member of the Nightingale family needed a heart transplant. They took your sister to the Central hospital, and she was a perfect match. I couldn't resist the price Reeves offered me.”Barry smacked a blow to the side of Barnes' face, dislocating his jaw. “You're evil,” Barry said breathlessly, his voice laced with malice. “When I get back, I promise you, I'll have this apartment torn to the ground. Ma
Veronica Phoenix took her private jet from headquarters and flew to North Hills as soon as she received Jeremy's message. When her private jet finally landed in North Hills airport, she rushed over to the Phoenix Bank. A staff was waiting to welcome her. They all inclined their back at angle 90 to greet her as she walked past them. When she was ushered into Jeremy's office, she was surprised to find a shabbily dressed young man seated opposite Jeremy. “What's this about, Jeremy?” She demanded, oozing an aura of confidence that overpowered the room. Jeremy stood up, bowing respectfully before her. “Miss Veronica. Allow me to introduce you to Barry. Barry, here, came into my office with his Forex account, which he thought was fluctuating. But after examining it… You need to see this for yourself.”Veronica moved to the desk as Jeremy spun the laptop towards her. The balance read: $450.144 Trillion. Veronica stiffened in shock. Are those numbers real?Another second passed, and th
The first cock crow woke Barry up. He groggily lifted his head, blinking against the light coming from his laptop. Barry was startled his laptop was still on. The time was 5.am. Expecting to see a modest gain or a loss, Barry peered into the laptop screen. “Let's look at how much I've earned today.”Suddenly, Barry froze as he saw his account balance. $375 TRILLION!Barry staggered back away from the laptop as if it had suddenly turned into a cobra. He backed himself against the wall, his heart pounding wildly against his ribs, but not for once, did his eyes left the numbers on the screen:$375 trillion. “I don't believe it,” he muttered, his breathing laboured. “This is a dream. It has to be a dream.”Barry pinched his arm, hard and twice. The pain he got told him he was wide awake, and this wasn't some dream. He slowly approached the laptop, his legs wobbling. When he was close enough, he peered at his account. The balance ticked up again:$375,010,420,000,000.00Barry gas
Barry lived in a two-bedroom apartment situated in the district zone. The district zone contains individuals with D ranks. People in D ranks were regular folks, earning average salaries and holding common positions. They're literally average Joes. But Barry, who was an E Rank, had no hopes of paying the rent nor enrolling his sister in school all by himself. As Barry headed home, his head was spinning with the additional responsibilities on his hands. With his benefactor, dead, there was no one to support him anymore. The Raven family would only pay him $200 if he continued to slave for them. But $200 was barely enough to feed himself, pay the rent or see his younger sister through school. Standing outside his apartment, Barry took a deep breath before knocking on the door. The door opened to reveal a cute sixteen-year-old high school girl wearing shorts and a sweater. “I'm home, Snow,” Barry said, forcing a wide smile on his face. “Here, I bought us dinner.”He stretched ou
Barry froze as he stared at the papers in her hand. "Laura, what is the meaning of this?" He whispered. "You can't divorce me.""Whatever gave you the stupid idea that I couldn't divorce you?" She laughed. "Everybody knows our marriage is a sham. I only pretended to be your wife for my grandmother's sake, but now that she's gone, I don't need to pretend anymore."Barry felt hot and cold at the same time. "But Laura.... I-I love you. I've always loved you since the day I set eyes on you. Please give me a chance. I made a promise to Evelyn.""Screw you and your love," Laura spat, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Don't tell me you love me. It makes my skin crawl. I hate you. I've always hated you since the day you walked into this family."Barry's heart broke in half after hearing her words. He wanted to say something but no word got out. Laura turned to face her family, waving the divorce papers in her hand. "Now that I'm divorcing this useless husband of mine, I'm entitled to 80% of w