NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 22: CHAPTER 22 – The Forgotten Seed
The boy who once ran barefoot through these fields, chasing dragonflies and gathering fallen mangoes in a rusted tin pail, was gone. In his place walked a man carved by loss, honed by war, and tempered by a quiet rage that burned with every breath he took.
The dirt road was quiet that morning, lined with flowering weeds and leaning bamboo fences. Farmers walked past with bundled rice stalks balanced on their shoulders, nodding to him with silent respect. Roosters scratched the ground, clucking softly, while children's laughter echoed faintly from a nearby yard.
As he neared Aunt Colleen's house, his phone buzzed repeatedly in his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at the cracked screen. The signal flickered in and out, but notifications streamed down like falling rain.
Missed calls. Spam promos. Loan offers. Event reminders.
He scrolled through them absently, dismissing each one with a flick of his thumb until a subject line made his chest tighten unexpectedly.
[BITX ACCOUNT UPDATE]
He paused mid-step, brows furrowing as memories slithered back into his mind like distant shadows. BITX. The obscure cryptocurrency he had stumbled upon years ago, back when he still worked in Velmont City. He could almost see his younger self again, hunched over an outdated smartphone during lunch break, eyes heavy with exhaustion.
He remembered that day vividly. His hands shook as he entered his card details, his chest tight with anxiety. It was nearly all he had saved. Ten thousand dollars from overtime pay, side hustles, and skipped meals.
He had called himself naive.
Back then, he believed it was a foolish mistake, another reckless grasp at a life he thought would never welcome him. Eventually, he had buried the memory under the debris of daily survival, forgetting about it entirely after enlisting.
Aaron tapped the notification.
The email opened sluggishly, black text loading against a glaring white background.
BITX ELITE NOTIFICATION
Dear Mr. Aaron San Agustin,
We are pleased to inform you that due to BITX's recent market restructuring, market value has been changed drastically, your shareholder account has been upgraded under the Black Investment Beneficiary Program. Your current share value has reached a qualifying threshold for exclusive holder benefits and legacy inheritance protection.
Please review your updated portfolio and confirm identity verification to receive your Black Diamond Card.
Your verified net worth under BITX portfolio: BITX coin: 400,000
Market Value: 336k$ 📈 +34% in 24hrs
:$134,591,280,000 USD (approximate)
He read the number again, eyes tracing each digit as if it were a code he couldn't decipher. The phone trembled slightly in his grip. Sweat pooled at the back of his neck. His pulse pounded in his temples like a war drum.
Suspicions. Doubt.
A billion dollars!
He muttered under his breath, "I'll try then."
His thumb hovered over the confirmation button before pressing it.
The screen flickered, prompting an identity verification protocol. A loading icon rotated as instructions appeared.
Step 1: Fingerprint Scan.
He pressed his thumb to the screen's cracked sensor.
Beep. Verified.
Step 2: Iris Scan.
He lifted the phone to eye level, feeling the device vibrate as it scanned his iris with a faint red beam.
Beep. Verified.
Step 3: Account Password.
His fingers hesitated slightly before typing the old password he barely remembered, hands trembling.
Beep. Verified.
Unable to suppress his suspicions, Aaron navigated to the withdrawal menu. The screen asked:
[Enter Withdrawal Amount]
He stared at the blinking cursor for a long moment, then typed:
2,000,000,000 USD
His thumb hovered once more before pressing Confirm.
The screen flickered, showing a spinning icon that seemed to rotate endlessly. Due to Crestfall's poor network coverage, the process dragged on, each second stretching taut like an old rope about to snap.
He waited, barely breathing.
Waited until finally—a notification buzzed.
[WITHDRAWAL SUCCESSFUL. Confirmation Email Sent.]
His breath caught in his chest. He quickly opened his email. The subject line read:
[BITX Withdrawal Confirmation – $2,000,000,000 USD]
He read it twice, eyes locked on the screen.
$2 billion.
But he didn't feel happiness. No rush of adrenaline. Only a cold quietness settling into his bones.
His gaze flicked to his banking app. He refreshed the page.
Nothing.
Five minutes passed.
He refreshed again.
Still nothing.
No follow-up notification. No bank alert. No system update.
Slowly, he exhaled, bitterness twisting in his chest. The old familiar voice rose in his mind:
Another scam. Another fantasy.
He locked the phone and slid it back into his pocket, staring blankly at the distant rice fields swaying under the morning sun. The children's laughter from nearby felt like an echo from another lifetime.
For a moment, hope had flickered in his chest like a candle in the dark.
But hope, he reminded himself, was a dangerous thing for a man like him to hold.