Leaving the campus, Evan followed the GPS on his phone toward University Town. Ten minutes later, he walked into a Samsung store near campus.
Inside, the store wasn't overcrowded, but it wasn't empty either. A steady flow of customers moved between display tables, testing phones and talking quietly with staff.
The moment Evan stepped through the door, a salesperson approached him with a practiced, professional smile.
Since Evan had already decided on the model he wanted, the process was quick. He tapped his card at the counter, completed the payment, and within minutes, the brand-new phone was handed to him.payment, and within ten minutes, the brand-new phone was placed into his hands.
Efficient. Clean. No complications.
After transferring his SIM card and syncing the data from his old phone, a familiar mechanical voice echoed inside his mind.
"Ding! Host has completed the Novice Task: Purchasing a New Mobile Phone. Conditions to activate the Car Lottery Ticket have been met."
"Would the host like to proceed now?"
"Note: The host will receive a randomly selected vehicle valued between $30,000 and $150,000."
Evan's heartbeat instantly sped up.
A car.
A free car.
Even the lowest-tier prize—thirty thousand dollars—was already a luxury beyond what most college students could ever dream of. If luck wasn't on his side and he pulled the minimum, he could still accept it without complaint.
But if luck was on his side…
That thought alone made his fingers tighten around the phone.
He casually glanced around. The salesperson who had helped him was now assisting another customer, and everyone else was busy with their own business. No one was paying attention to him.
Perfect timing.
"System," Evan murmured silently, steadying his breathing.
"Use the Car Lottery Ticket."
"Ding! Car Lottery Ticket activated."
"Generating vehicle…"
The brief pause felt unbearably long.
Then—
"Ding! Congratulations, Host."
"You have received: Top-Spec BMW X5."
"Configuration: 2023 Executive M Sport Dark Edition, Skyscraper Grey."
"All purchase, registration, taxes, and insurance have been fully completed."
"The vehicle may be collected at the Downtown BMW Dealership at any time with valid identification."
Atop-spec BMW X5.
For a second, Evan simply froze.
He actually got it.
His pulse hammered in his ears. Even with electric vehicles rapidly taking over the market, traditional luxury brands like BMW still represented status and success. And this wasn't just any BMW—it was a fully loaded X5.
He quickly searched the price.
Official listing: $120,000.
After factoring in taxes, insurance, and optional features, the final cost easily exceeded $125,000.
And he hadn't spent a single dollar.
Evan let out a slow breath, trying—and failing—to calm himself.
A luxury SUV worth over a hundred thousand dollars, dropped straight into his lap.
It didn't feel real.
After standing there for a moment, he finally regained control of his emotions. He didn't have his ID on him, so he decided to return to the dorm first, grab it, and then head straight to the dealership.
Fortunately, he already had a driver's license. He'd earned it during the summer after graduating high school, thanks to a family friend who gave him a discounted rate on lessons.
Still, if he were being honest with himself…
He had never once imagined driving during college.
And certainly not a top-tier BMW worth more than $120,000.
------
Ten minutes later, Evan returned to campus and headed into the male dormitory. His room was on the third floor—Room 606.
He pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Connor and Jack were sitting side by side, completely absorbed in a game on their phones.
The dorm housed four students in total. The fourth, Zach, was a local. His family background was the best among them, and he usually carried himself with a quiet sense of superiority.
Connor, tall and broad-shouldered, came from out of state. He had a faint beard already forming, which looked oddly mature on an eighteen-year-old. Jack, on the other hand, was thin, wore glasses, and came from a small town in another state.
"Hey, Evan, back already?" Jack looked up.
"Wanna jump in for a round? Connor and I are almost done with this game."
"Yeah, come on," Connor added. "We've got the whole afternoon free. Not like Zach—he's out shopping with his girlfriend again."
There was a trace of irritation in Connor's voice.
Zach had started dating less than a month after school began. His confidence—backed by family money and local connections—made him hard to like sometimes.
Evan shook his head. "You guys go ahead. I've got something I need to take care of."
"Something to take care of?" Jack's eyes immediately lit up. "Don't tell me you're secretly seeing someone behind our backs. That'd be a betrayal of our sacred brotherhood."
Connor leaned over, clearly interested as well.
Fresh out of high school, college guys had an endless curiosity about relationships.
"Relax," Evan said with a laugh. "No girlfriend. Just some personal stuff."
He walked over to his locker and pulled out his ID.
Jack slumped back onto his bed. "Figures… Guys like us aren't like Zach anyway. Rich, confident, willing to spend money—of course girls notice him. Ordinary guys like us? Who'd even give us a second look?"
His tone was bitter.
Before college, Jack had asked more than a dozen girls for their contact info. Every single time, he'd been rejected. The frustration hadn't faded.
"Hey! Focus!" Connor suddenly snapped. "Your hero's about to die!"
"What—wait!" Jack panicked, scrambling to save his character.
Evan glanced back at them, smiled faintly, and slipped his ID into his pocket before heading out.
Today was different.
Very different.
And he could already feel it.
The college district was some distance away from downtown, so after leaving campus, Evan pulled out his phone and called a rideshare.
A few minutes later, a white Volkswagen sedan pulled up in front of him.
After confirming the license plate, Evan opened the rear door and got in.The driver was a middle-aged man in his forties. After Evan settled into the seat, the driver casually confirmed his name before pulling back onto the road.
"You look like a freshman," the driver said with a chuckle as he drove. "Heading to the BMW dealership downtown? Planning to take a look?"
"Yeah," Evan nodded, not mentioning that he wasn't just looking—he was there to pick up a car.
"Nothing wrong with checking things out," the driver continued, clearly enjoying the conversation. "But cars like BMW? They're not something regular folks can afford. Even the cheapest models start around thirty grand."
He shook his head.
"Most people make what—three, four thousand a month? Even if you saved everything, it'd take years just to buy the car, not counting gas, insurance, and maintenance. That stuff adds up fast."
He laughed lightly.
"Don't listen to all those people online saying anything under six figures isn't a real luxury car. In real life, most of them couldn't even afford a used one."
The driver talked for a while, but when he noticed Evan wasn't responding much, he stopped and focused on driving.
About half an hour later, the car pulled up in front of a BMW dealership downtown.
Evan paid the fare, stepped out, and walked inside.
The dealership was spacious and brightly lit, with spotless floors and sleek displays. Luxury cars lined the showroom like works of art.To be honest, Evan felt a bit nervous as he stepped in.
Even after gaining the System and becoming far more confident, this was still his first time walking into a luxury car dealership.
Some nervousness was unavoidable.
BMW, Mercedes, Audi—these brands still carried a certain weight in people's minds.
Fortunately, the feeling didn't last long.
"You here for a test drive?"
A young woman in a light gray BMW uniform walked over. Her tone carried a hint of resignation, as if she'd asked that question one too many times today.
She looked about twenty-two or twenty-three, likely a recent graduate.
She was quite attractive—more than enough to turn heads on a college campus. The tailored uniform fit her well, accentuating her figure and making her stand out even more.
Her name tag read: Lena Wright .
Lena stopped in front of Evan, already assuming he was just another student here to kill time.
After all, he looked young—probably just started college—and his clothes were clean but unbranded.
"Do you have a driver's license?" she asked politely. "If so, I can get you registered for a test drive."
She smiled, but inwardly, she sighed.
She'd only started working here recently, hoping to make good money. Instead, most of her days were spent entertaining people who had no intention of buying—and dealing with uncomfortable attention she never asked for.
Sometimes, she wondered if a regular office job would've been better.
"Uh…"Evan could tell what she was thinking. Honestly, he didn't blame her.
An eighteen-year-old college student walking into a BMW dealership didn't exactly scream
'buyer.'
"I'm not here for a test drive," Evan said calmly. "I'm here to pick up a car."
Lena froze.
"…I'm sorry?" she asked, thinking she'd misheard him.
"I said I'm here to pick up a car," Evan repeated.
She laughed awkwardly. "You're joking, right? You look really young. Even the entry-level models here start at—"
Before she could finish, Evan took out his ID.
"This is my ID," he said evenly. "I purchased a fully loaded BMW X5 online. It's already paid in full."
The smile on Lena's face slowly disappeared.
A fully loaded BMW X5.That was a six-figure car.Her fingers tightened slightly around the ID.She still wanted to believe he was joking—but his expression was calm, steady, confident.
Not even a trace of embarrassment.
"Y-you can follow me," she said quickly. "I'll check the system."
She suddenly felt nervous.
If this was real, then Evan wasn't just a customer—he was a major client.
And she'd been calling him "kid" in her head this whole time.
Lena led him to a computer terminal and entered his information.
The screen refreshed.
Her eyes widened.
Payment: Complete.
Model: BMW – Fully Loaded.
Time of Purchase: One hour ago.
Itwas real.
He'd paid in full.
Lena swallowed hard.
She glanced at Evan, then back at the ID card in her hand.
The birthdate was unmistakable.
Eighteen years old.