The night wind blew over the skyscrapers of Manhattan. Michael stood on the corner of Fifth Avenue and silently said in his mind: "System, receive the novice gift package."
[The novice gift package has been issued, please check. ]
The palm of his hand suddenly felt hot, and an obsidian-like pill lay quietly, exuding a faint sandalwood scent. He swallowed the pill without hesitation - a warm current instantly swept through his body, as if he had been soaked in a constant temperature swimming pool, the soreness of his muscles disappeared, and even his retina seemed clearer. He picked up a concrete block left by the roadside construction, applied force with his fingertips, and with a "click", the hard block broke into powder.
[Accurate rise and fall information of US stocks in the next ten days]
[The trend of the US dollar/euro exchange rate in the next month]
A huge stream of data poured into his mind: candlestick charts, Nasdaq codes, Federal Reserve interest rate expectations... and finally focused on a stock called "Blue Ocean Tech" (code: BOT). The system shows: This AI chip company will announce a quantum algorithm breakthrough in three days, and the stock price will rise for seven consecutive trading days. After the seventh day's peak, it plummeted due to rumors of patent litigation.
"Seven days, five times." Michael's pupils contracted. He stopped a yellow taxi and reported the address in Queens - there was a hardware store downstairs from the brownstone apartment where his parents lived.
Pushing open the door, Mary was wiping the hardware tools bought from Lowe's, while Robert was watching CNBC financial news. "Michael? Come back so late? Where's Sophia?" Mary put down the rag, and her smile froze on her face.
Michael sat on the IKEA sofa and took a deep breath: "Dad, Mom, Sophia and I are divorced."
"Divorce?" The Budweiser beer can in Robert's hand fell to the ground with a "clang", and the brown liquid splashed on the Persian carpet. Mary covered her mouth with her hands, and tears welled up in her eyes. Michael briefly explained Elena's harshness and Sophia's determination, hiding the existence of the system and saying only that "values are not compatible."
The living room fell into silence. Mary turned around and wiped away her tears, while Robert smoked one Marlboro after another. "That Elena, from the beginning..." Mary choked, "But how can Sophia..."
"Forget it," Robert put out his cigarette, "It's better to get divorced, we won't be bullied. Son, you still have us."
Michael felt warm in his heart and got to the point: "Mom and Dad, how much savings do you have at home now?"
Mary hesitated and said, "The hardware store plus savings, about 200,000 US dollars. What's wrong?"
200,000 US dollars, BOT's current stock price is 10 US dollars, and you can only buy 20,000 shares. Five times the return is only one million, which is far from his goal. "Dad," Michael looked at his father, "Can we mortgage the house and the hardware store to Chase Bank?"
"Mortgage the house?" Robert stood up suddenly, "Michael, you're crazy! That's all we have!"
"I found a sure-fire opportunity," Michael said firmly, "Ten days, no, seven days! I guarantee that I'll get my principal and interest back, several times over." He couldn't explain the system, so he could only use his eyes to gain trust, "It's the US stock market, Blue Ocean Tech, inside information, seven days of skyrocketing."
"The stock market?" Robert frowned, "How many people have lost their retirement savings! No!"
"Dad, this time is different!" Michael grabbed his father's hand, "Trust me this time! If I lose, I'll pay it back by washing dishes on Wall Street!"
Robert stared into his son's eyes - the man who had given up his job on Wall Street for Sophia, now had a sharpness in his eyes that he had never seen before. He looked at his wife, Mary bit her lip, and finally nodded.
"Okay," Robert took out H. Upmann from the cigar box, "but you have to remember what I said today. This is the only time our family will bet."
Michael looked at the white hair on his father's temples, his throat tightened: "Thank you, Mom and Dad."
Outside the window, the neon lights of Queens reflected in his eyes. The mobile phone in his pocket received the first system push: "Blue Ocean Tech (BOT) predicted increase in the next three days: +27%." He knew that this gamble with the house as a bet had begun from the moment the mortgage contract was signed. Elena was in the villa on the Upper East Side at the moment, cutting foie gras with the Wüsthof kitchen knife left by Michael, and she knew nothing about the coming storm.