The Ferrari SF90 Stradale slipped through Halcyon City, its silver body catching the morning sunlight with every turn. Pedestrians slowed to watch it pass, while drivers in neighboring lanes stole glances whenever they thought no one was looking.
At one intersection, a young woman watched the Ferrari disappear down the street before sighing to her husband.
"Why can’t we drive something like that?"
"If you earned Ferrari money," he said mildly, "you wouldn’t be asking me."
He kept walking.
"And if you stop to stare at every expensive car, we’re going to be late."
...
Inside the Ferrari, soft music played through the speakers. Adrian kept one hand on the wheel, still slightly dazed by the fact that the car was actually his.
Jacob sat in the passenger seat, running his palm over the leather as though he needed physical proof that none of this was a dream.
"I still can’t believe this is your car."
"I’m having trouble believing it myself."
They stopped at a red light on the edge of downtown. Rows of cars stretched ahead of them, their brake lights glowing beneath the morning sun.
Adrian stared through the windshield. Something stirred in the back of his mind.
It was a familiar feeling, the same instinct that had once taken over whenever he sat down at a card table. Patterns. Timing. Tiny details that most people ignored but that somehow connected in his head.
"Hey," he said. "How long would you say it takes to get to the Halcyon Grand Galleria from here?"
Jacob looked through the windshield.
"Ten minutes. Maybe a little more with traffic."
"Ten."
Adrian pulled out his phone and opened Routely. He zoomed the map in and out, studying the traffic lights along the main avenue. Average timings, current congestion, traffic density, and the little pulsing indicators representing moving vehicles all filled the screen.
His expression became still and intensely focused. Jacob recognized it immediately. He’d seen that look hundreds of times in their university dorm. It usually meant trouble.
"What?"
"How much would you bet that I can get us there in under seven minutes?"
Jacob burst out laughing.
"You’re joking. Even with empty roads, that’s going to be tight. And we’re in a city full of traffic."
"So you’re saying it’s impossible."
"I’m saying..." Jacob stopped.
Back in college, they’d bet on everything. Who would leave class first. Whether it would rain before noon. Which professor would show up late.
Adrian had been right often enough that the jokes eventually stopped being funny. Then they became funny again because of just how ridiculous his accuracy had become.
"Fine. A hundred." He reached for his wallet, then paused. "No. Two hundred. If I’m going to lose, I at least want the story to be worth telling."
"Deal." Adrian put his phone away.
"And..."
"Yeah?"
"No speeding. Not even one mile over the limit." Jacob stared at him. "That isn’t how you win a bet like this."
"Watch me."
[Ding!]
[A Grade Gamble Detected.]
[Skill-Based Gamble: Fortune’s Edge is disabled for this wager.]
Adrian’s lips almost curved into a smile.
So the system wanted to see what he could actually do.
That was new.
It also answered something he’d been wondering about since the previous night. When the outcome depended on pure chance, Fortune’s Edge could tilt the odds in his favor. But this wasn’t a game of luck.
This was timing, observation, and patience.
The system wasn’t going to help him with any of that.
The light turned green.
Adrian didn’t move.
Jacob stared at him.
"What are you doing?"
The cars around them began pulling away. A driver behind them immediately leaned on his horn. Adrian ignored him. He counted quietly.
"One." The horn sounded again. "Two."
"Adrian..."
"Three."
"Are you seriously..."
"Four." Only then did Adrian ease his foot onto the accelerator.
The Ferrari rolled smoothly into the intersection at a perfectly legal speed.
Jacob looked at him in disbelief.
"That’s it? You just wasted four seconds."
"I bought four seconds."
"What does that even mean?"
"There’s a wave of green lights coming."
Adrian kept his eyes on the road.
"The lights along this avenue are timed together. Most people take off the moment the light turns green, so they reach the next intersection before the next cycle and get caught at the red. But if we leave four seconds later and maintain thirty-eight miles per hour, we hit the next light as it turns green."
Jacob stared at him.
"And you’re sure?"
"Watch."
The next light was green.
Then the one after that.
And the one after that.
Cars that had raced away from the previous intersection were now sitting at red lights ahead of them.
The Ferrari simply kept moving.
Adrian never needed to slam on the brakes. He never exceeded the speed limit. He just maintained the right speed and followed the rhythm of the traffic lights.
Jacob slowly turned toward him.
"It looks like every traffic light in Halcyon City was programmed specifically for you."
"It’s not that complicated."
"You’re making it look complicated."
Adrian smiled.
"It’s just boring. Most people aren’t patient enough to wait for boring."
Five minutes passed.
The white towers of the Galleria soon appeared above the surrounding buildings. Adrian turned smoothly into the parking structure and followed the signs toward the upper levels before pulling into an open space.
He glanced at the dashboard.
Six minutes and eleven seconds.
Jacob slowly turned toward him.
"You actually did it."
Adrian leaned back in his seat with a lazy smile.
"A master gambler never reveals his secrets."
"You’re not human." Jacob shook his head, laughing. "You’re a calendar with a face."
He pulled out his phone.
A moment later, Adrian’s own phone buzzed. Two hundred dollars had been transferred. Then the system chimed.
[Ding!]
[Genuine Gamble Confirmed.]
[Victory Detected.]
[Cashback Activated.]
[Cashback Multiplier: 608%.]
[Reward: $1,216.]
[Victory Bonus Activated]
[Congratulations, Host.]
[Reward Obtained: 100% Ownership of Halcyon Grand Galleria. All encumbrances cleared.]
Adrian’s hand froze on the door handle. His eyes remained fixed on the notification.
’What?’
He slowly looked through the windshield.
The massive shopping center stood directly in front of them, its glass entrance glittering beneath the morning sun. Flags fluttered near the entrance while hundreds of shoppers moved in and out of the building.
Adrian had expected money. Maybe a watch. Perhaps another car. He hadn’t expected an entire shopping mall.
"Everything okay?" Jacob asked.
Adrian forced his expression back to normal. "Yeah." He opened the door. "I think I stepped on some gum."
Jacob looked down at the ground, then glanced inside the car.
"Inside the vehicle?"
Adrian ignored the question.
"Let’s go shopping."
Jacob stared at him for a second before grinning.
’I have absolutely no idea what goes on in his head.’
They stepped through the Galleria’s main entrance and were immediately hit by a wave of cool air and expensive perfume.
The Halcyon Grand Galleria was one of the largest shopping centers in the city, spanning three levels beneath a massive glass roof. Luxury boutiques sat alongside electronics stores, jewelers, restaurants, and designer outlets. Even on a weekday morning, the corridors were filled with shoppers.
Adrian slowed slightly as he took it all in.
There was something deeply strange about walking through a place he had just become the owner of. Every square foot belonged to him. Nobody here had the slightest idea.
A promoter approached them almost immediately with a stack of flyers.
"Sir, would you be interested in..."
"Thank you," Adrian said politely, taking a step around him.
Another promoter tried from the other side.
Jacob laughed as they escaped the growing crowd.
Eventually, they stopped in front of an upscale boutique.
The sign above the entrance read Maison Delacroix.
Behind the glass windows, perfectly tailored suits stood beside cashmere overcoats and polished leather shoes, each piece displayed beneath carefully positioned lighting that made the entire collection look more like an art exhibit than clothing.
Jacob nodded approvingly. "This looks perfect."
They stepped inside.
A saleswoman wearing a crisp white blouse and black pencil skirt looked up immediately. Her professional smile appeared almost instinctively.
Then her eyes moved over the two men.
One looked like an ordinary office worker.
The other was wearing a faded jacket, worn jeans, and shoes that looked as though they’d seen more bus stops than luxury boutiques.
For a brief moment, she seemed unsure whether they’d entered the store by mistake.
Before Adrian could say anything, Jacob stepped forward and straightened his jacket.
"We’d like to see your finest collection," he announced confidently.
He glanced around the boutique.
"The most luxurious pieces you have."