"This is great!" Luther’s mother said, her face lighting up with pleasant surprise. "We’re almost out of seasonings. You should hurry and buy some."

"Buy me a pair of pants, too," Luther’s father said.

"I’ll go right now."

Luther called in sick to the factory and spent the entire morning at the mall, spending half of his remaining balance.

That afternoon, he slept with a prostitute he had long desired. A session with this particular lady cost 1,000 North Carolina Dollars, nearly a full month’s salary for a typical worker. In the past, Luther could never have afforded it, but now he was enjoying the service he had always dreamed of.

It felt like a dream.

’So this is what it feels like to have money... pure bliss,’ Luther thought as he floated on cloud nine.

Afterward, Luther left the shop feeling refreshed. The alley, bathed in a suggestive pink glow, was filled with the pungent smell of cheap cigarettes and even cheaper alcohol. Yet, he took a deep breath, thinking the air had never smelled so sweet.

Huh?

Just then, Luther froze. He turned around and saw a somewhat small, thin figure—it was his coworker, a dirt-poor wretch just like him.

But right before his eyes, the poor guy walked into the very shop Luther had just left. Before entering, he glanced around furtively. Whether from nervousness or excitement, he didn’t recognize Luther standing nearby.

Extremely curious, Luther snuck over and peeked through the glass. The poor guy, a lecherous grin on his face, had his arm around the 1,000-North-Carolina-Dollar lady as they headed deeper into the shop. The lights then went out, signaling it was occupied.

’That’s weird. Where’d that bum get the money?’ Luther frowned. 1,000 North Carolina Dollars was no small sum. Knowing how stingy the guy was, there was no way he’d be willing to spend that much.

Soon, a suspicion began to form—’Could he have come into a windfall, too?’

’We both hit the jackpot? It can’t be that much of a coincidence, can it? No, I have to ask him...’ Driven by curiosity, Luther waited at the shop’s entrance. Five or six minutes later, the guy emerged with a look of pure bliss. Luther grabbed him, winking knowingly. "What’s a guy like you doing in a place like this? Really splurging, huh!"

"Huh?" The guy jumped, startled. After seeing it was Luther, he stammered for a long while before finally speaking. "We’re in a state of war now. The Salvation Army might attack, and even if they don’t, the government might draft us. So I figured I’d have some fun now, in case I don’t get another chance. Giving this place some business has always been a dream of mine."

"That’s not right. Don’t you spend your whole paycheck every month? It’s not even the end of the month yet. Where’d you get the money?"

The guy flinched and mumbled an explanation, "Savings from before..."

Seeing his reaction, Luther knew. There was a ninety-percent chance the guy had come into a windfall just like him. He just wasn’t sure if someone had also made a mistaken transfer to his account. ’It couldn’t be that coincidental, right?’

"Come on, ’fess up. Did you find some money?" Luther pressed.

"No, it’s really money I saved up. My nest egg."

"Really?"

"Really! What would I get out of lying to you?"

"Alright, then." Seeing he couldn’t press him further, Luther changed the subject. "So, how was it?"

"So smooth."

「The next day.」

The first thing Luther did after waking up was check his bank balance on his phone. When he saw the money was still there, he clenched his fists in excitement.

’So free lunches really do exist!’

’There’s still so much left. How should I spend it?’

The gloom that had accumulated in his heart for years was swept away, replaced by hopeful dreams for the future.

During breakfast, Luther’s mother warned him, "You need to be more low-key lately. I was chatting with people last night, and they said a lot of folks are spending money everywhere like they struck it rich overnight. Someone even saw you on a shopping spree at the mall and asked me what was going on. I had to spin a whole story to cover for you..."

"What?" Luther froze. "A lot of people are spending money?"

"Yeah, and I heard several of those poor bums went to eat at the Black Pepper Restaurant and spent one or two thousand North Carolina Dollars..."

As Luther’s mother was speaking, her phone on the table suddenly buzzed with a notification. She picked it up, looked at it, and let out a gasp.

Luther’s father gasped as he looked at his own phone.

"What is it?!" Luther quickly leaned in.

"S-sixteen... over sixteen thousand North Carolina Dollars..." Luther’s father stammered.

"I... I got it too..." Luther’s mother stuttered.

"What?" Luther was dumbfounded. After seeing the text message from the bank, he was completely bewildered. ’Why did our whole family get so much money?’

Just then, countless shouts erupted from the street outside. He ran to the window and saw that everyone on the street was staring at their phones with expressions of shock, confusion, and disbelief... as if they had just witnessed the impossible.

"You got the bank text too?"

"Yeah, over ten thousand North Carolina Dollars!"

"It’s over sixteen thousand! Oh my god, did the banking system crash?"

"Are they going to take the money back?"

"So much money, so much money..."

The street erupted into chaos as countless people began chattering all at once. More than a few, overwhelmed with emotion, started screaming.

The lower class had never seen so much money in their lives!

At the same time, in the twenty-one Poverty Cities under the North Carolina Government’s rule, millions of lower-class North Carolinians received bank deposit notifications. Every single person had received over sixteen thousand North Carolina Dollars, equivalent to about 200 US Dollars.

This sudden fortune threw city after city into turmoil. Everyone stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on this single event.

They had only one question.

Could they spend the money?

"Of course we can spend it!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, "People got money yesterday! They bought clothes and food, and the money hasn’t been taken back yet! This is the second time it’s happened, so they definitely won’t take it back!"

Hearing this, many people recalled that a group of poor folks had indeed been on an uncharacteristic spending spree the day before.

Just then, someone else exclaimed, "It’s on the international news! Lots of cities got money! The total number of people might be in the hundreds of thousands... no, millions! A lot of people are saying this is the Salvation Army giving away money!"

"Screw it! I’ve been poor my whole life and never seen this much cash! Let’s fucking spend it! I’ve got nothing to lose! Once the money’s gone, the government won’t have anything to take back!" someone yelled, then rushed into a shopping mall without a second glance. Seeing this, many tempted onlookers followed suit.

"I’ve been poor my whole life! It’d be a crime not to spend this much money! Today, I’m gonna see what it feels like to be rich!" someone in the crowd roared. He violently shoved people out of his way and sprinted toward the mall as if he was afraid everything would be snatched up if he were a second too late.

The people were already itching to spend the money, held back only by the fear of government repercussions. But now that someone had taken the lead, what was there to be afraid of? Even if they spent it all, what could the government do?

When the number of people involved rose into the millions, a significant portion began to feel a sense of gambler’s luck. They figured the reckoning wouldn’t fall on them, that the North Carolina Government would be helpless against so many people. After all, the law can’t punish the masses.

Once one group started, the rest couldn’t resist the temptation—if they were late to the party, there’d be nothing left.

And so, within a mere half hour, twenty-one cities were paralyzed. Everyone rushed out to shop, eager to spend the money as quickly as possible.

"This is bad! We have a huge problem!"

「North Carolina Government, Banking Division.」

"Our banking system has been attacked by an unknown hacker! They sent 200 US Dollars to every lower-class person in North Carolina! The national treasury is empty!" someone shouted, bursting into the office to give an anxious report.

"What?!"

The head of the Banking Division shot up from his chair in astonishment and reacted instantly. "Activate the emergency response plan!

FUCK! What the hell is going on?"