One Click Billionaire

He had to know for sure. His hand was shaking slightly but his resolve was firm. He tapped the blue and white icon of his official banking app. The application opened to a login screen. His thumb moved over the digital keypad. He typed his four-digit password. He had used the same password for years. It was his mother's birthday.

The loading circle spun for a second. It felt like an eternity. Then the screen refreshed. His available balance was displayed in large black numbers at the top of the screen.

$143.00.

Adam's breath caught in his throat. It was real. The money was actually there. It was not a dream. It was not a hallucination. He sank down onto the edge of his bed. His legs felt weak. He scrolled down with his thumb. He had to see the transaction history. He saw the list of his recent activities. There at the very top were two new lines.

DEPOSIT: $2.50

DEPOSIT: $2.50

His eyes widened. He shot up from the bed. He felt a surge of energy so powerful it was like an electric shock. He started pacing back and forth in the tiny room. He ran a hand through his hair. A loud shout escaped his lips. It was a mix of terror and exhilaration.

"Who was that man?" he yelled at the empty apartment. "And what did he give me?"

Some time passed. Adam was standing against the wall far from the bed. His phone lay on the thin mattress. The screen was still lit up. The banking app with its impossible numbers was still open. Adam had his arms crossed over his chest. 

He was leaning against the cool plaster of the wall. He was just staring at the phone. He was staring at it like it was a venomous snake.

In that time he had thought through every possible scenario. He had tried to find a logical explanation. But nothing made sense. He did not know who the man was. He did not know how a person could create such a thing. A phone that could just generate money out of thin air. Was such a thing even possible for a human to make?

He had looked deeper into the banking app. He had clicked on the transaction details. The two deposits had come from two different accounts. They were random account numbers he had never seen before. 

This discovery made him even more afraid. This was not a gift from some billionaire. The money was being pulled from other places. From other people. He stared at his phone and felt a profound sense of dread. He did not know if this was legal. He did not know if it was illegal. He did not know anything.

His mind was at war with itself.

One part of his mind screamed at him. It told him that this was a trap. It was dangerous. This phone could get him killed. It could get him arrested. He should walk out of this apartment right now. 

He should go to the nearest police station. He should give them the phone and tell them the whole story. The man in the suit. The dissolving phone. Everything. It was the only safe thing to do.

But another voice answered. It was a colder more practical voice. It showed him the face of his landlady, Mrs. Gold. 

She was a woman with a hard face and no sympathy. If he missed his rent by a single day she would kick him out. She would not care about his reasons. She would not listen to any explanation. Without money he would be on the street.

Then another face appeared in his mind. It was Sophia. He saw her in the hallway. He saw her small smile. He thought of the quiet warmth he had felt when she said his name. 

He could not bear the thought of being humiliated in front of her. He could not let her see him as a failure who was kicked out of his own apartment. The shame of that possibility was a physical pain in his chest.

He pushed himself off the wall. The debate was over. He had made a decision. He would try it. He would use this app for one month. Just one month. He would earn enough to pay his rent. He would earn enough to feel secure. After one month he would decide what to do next.

He walked to the bed and sat down. He picked up the phone. His hand was steady now. He closed the banking app. He opened the One-Click Billionaire app. The simple black and white interface appeared. He looked at the gray button at the bottom of the screen.

He tapped it.

Instantly his phone buzzed. It was another text message from his bank. He did not need to read it. He knew what it said. He looked at the balance inside the app. It had gone up by another $2.50.

The last remnants of fear and confusion were still there. They were a cold knot in his stomach. But a new feeling was growing. It was a raw desperate hope. It was a hunger. He had been powerless for so long. Now power was in his hand.

He began to tap.

His thumb moved like a piston. 

Tap. Tap. Tap. 

He did not look at the balance. He did not look at the notifications from his bank. He just tapped. 

The gray button on the screen was his entire world. He tapped with a frantic rhythm. He was pouring all his frustration and all his desperation into the screen. He was running again. Not with his legs but with his thumb.

After some time he stopped. His thumb was sore. His arm ached. He was breathing heavily. He looked at the number at the top of the screen. It had so many digits he had to look twice to understand it.

$10,010.

He had ten thousand dollars. He had earned ten thousand dollars in a few minutes of frantic tapping.

Just as he was processing this impossible number a new box appeared on the screen. It was a pop-up with a simple question.

[Do you want to increase your level?]

There was a single button below the question. The button said 'YES'.

Adam was confused. "Increase my level?" he said aloud. "What will happen if I increase the level?" He stared at the pop-up. Would he get more money per click? Would something else change? The app was a complete mystery. There were no instructions. There were no rules.

He did not think for long. The ten thousand dollars sitting in his bank account made him feel bold. It made him feel powerful. He had nothing to lose. He had already gained everything.

He pressed the 'YES' button.

The money was gone.

The pop-up vanished. Adam quickly switched back to his banking app. The screen refreshed. The number at the top of the screen, the one that had shown $10,010, now read $10.00.

A cold dread washed over him. It was a brutal shock that stole his breath. His blood ran cold. He felt like he had been plunged into ice water.

"What? What happened?" he gasped. The words were a choked whisper. His voice rose to a frantic shout. "My ten thousand dollars!"

His mind was reeling. He did not know the money would be taken from his bank. He did not know leveling up had a cost. He thought it was a free upgrade. Fear spiked in his chest sharp and painful. He had held a fortune in his hand for a few minutes. Now it was gone.

He scrambled to switch back to the One-Click Billionaire app. He had to see what had happened. He looked at the familiar simple interface. But something had changed. He stared at the line of text just below his balance.

Where it had once said '$2.5 per click', the text now read:

'$4 per click'.