Chapter 10

“You have one hour and one million dollars to prepare. Got it?”

Ernest's words pulled Steven back to reality. He nodded immediately.

“Yes, sir. We'll have done everything by the time you arrive!”

Now Steven wasn't the only one to be shocked. Everyone was, too, including Ashley and James, who had been standing in the crowd and witnessing from the beginning to the end of this event.

Ashley was recording that scene with his phone, intending to show Michael that he had trusted the wrong person. But, please, how the hell could the story twist this way?

James and Ashley looked at each other, seeing the same message in the eyes.

Ernest Eswaranski wasn't a scammer? Not kidding?

Ernest was a scammer, and Ernest himself admitted that in his mind. But he was satisfied with what he had just created. It was face-slapping, right? Just look at the woman employee’s regretful expression, as if she had thrown one million dollars away. Ah, yes, it was actually one million dollars, ha ha.

Though the money was given by the system and Ernest had to spend it as soon as possible, it didn't mean that he would stand right there, be scolded, and beg that woman to spend his money. Ernest was poor, and on the verge of death, but he wasn't stupid!

Steven was about to leave, but somebody asked him. “Sir, don't you mind me checking the black card? I've been working in the bank for a decade and I'm afraid that it's a fake one.”

“Yeah, let him do that! That guy can't have a black card! It’s impossible!”

“He’s right! Just check it out!” Even the employee supported that idea.

Ernest glanced at the crowd. Now he understood that there was nothing easy at the beginning, including spending money. Why didn't those people let him complete his mission in peace? Why did they want to be slapped in the face again and again?

Ernest allowed Steven to give the card to the guy, then he took his ID card, giving it to the bank officer who accused him of using a fake black card.

“Take this, and check out my ID card if it's fake too.” He said, raising his eyebrows at the employee who hadn’t left yet, “Remember to call the police to bring me to jail, or I'll do it for all of you.”

The bank officer stepped out of the crowd, taking both the ID card and the black card from Ernest, checking it properly. He wore his glasses, touching every single inch of the black card.

Everyone gathered, waiting for the moment he said that it was a fake card. Even Ashley and James came closer to see what the black card looked like, but three minutes had passed, and the bank officer was still holding the card in silence.

And they were no longer patient.

“Is it a fake card?”

“Just tell us, don't be silent, man! Is there any problem?”

Ernest stood aside with a disdainful smirk, adding a question. “Now can you tell me how fake my card is?”

Just keep in mind that the system gave Ernest the black card, so who the hell on this planet could recognize that it's fake? Who? Keep checking, bro, Ernest was waiting for the answer.

Hearing Ernest’s words and seeing his relaxed expression, the bank officer now realized what type of mistake he had just made.

The black card he was holding wasn't similar to anything he had ever seen. Its size was the same as any other card, but it was the only normal part there. There was an engraved pattern of a dragon flying around the word E with the name "Ernest J. Eswaranski” and the number 12 at the bottom.

More importantly, the dragon would move if changing the position. It would fly back and forth if you let the light shine in different directions.

Despite having been designed elegantly like an art masterpiece, that black card had no sign showing the bank or organization which had published it. The bank officer could find anything there, except for the name, the number, and the pattern which he had to learn at the first days of working in the bank.

And that pattern itself was what made him panicked. He thought that the beggar could have stolen the card, but when he saw the small portrait in the ID belonging to that young man, he was desperate.

The bank officer saw Ernest's mysterious smirk, then he suddenly bent his head, both hands giving the black card back. He said with a loud voice, which surprised everyone.

“Please forgive my silly mistake, Mr. Eswaranski! I deeply apologize for misunderstanding you!”

All the people who gathered there this afternoon now experienced a series of twists. At first they went to see a beggar being scolded, and now it turned out that he was not only a rich guy but also a man coming from some clan?!

Not kidding?!

Ernest looked at the guy. Having a black card wasn't something worth apologizing like that, right? Even if the card was somewhat different from the others, it’s just a card right?

He didn't understand what that guy was thinking, maybe there was some misunderstanding, but now Ernest had no time to find out what it was. He didn't know why they had to prove that he was a scammer, just to get slapped in the face that Ernesy himself could buy everything on his own.

Found it funny? Hah! Thanks to all those silly people, Ernest had wasted another hour. The night fell, and there was just about five hours left!

He took the black card, and replied with one eyebrow raised.

“Can I go buy things without any criticism now?”

“Yes, sir.” The bank officer said, “It’s a real card, and please forgive my stupid mistake.”

“Forget it, it's just a card, anyway.” Ernest waved his hand, leaving a sentence before heading to Aniston Stella shop. “But beware of your actions, other people won't be easy going as I am.”

Ernest had left the place but the bank officer didn't reveal how he knew that the black card—which only had the username—was real. He became the new center of that crowd. Other people asked him, including the employee who had just chased such a big customer away just because he looked like a beggar.

“How do you know that the black card is not fake?”

“There is no brand of any bank! It must be a fake card and that man was just a scammer!”

“What happened to you? You've just insisted that he used the fake card!”

Tons of questions poured into the bank officer, not letting him a minute to answer. But he didn't want to answer any of them. He stepped towards the employee, sighing.

“You shouldn't have chased that man away, miss.”

“What do you mean?” The employee asked. She herself could realize that she had already made a big mistake, bigger than chasing Ernest away, but she didn't know what it was.

“I can't tell you more because it's one of our field’s top secrets, but…” The bank officer said, “There are just a handful of people who have the right to use that black card, and the man whom you just scolded is one of them.”