Chapter 3

After the brief lunch break, I gathered my things and headed back to the campus cafeteria to help out.

The morning portion of the alumni event had already wrapped up, and the university administrators, prominent business leaders, and distinguished alumni who had been invited were all making their way to the cafeteria for lunch.

The cafeteria was packed and buzzing with activity.

High-profile guests, along with countless students and faculty members, had attended the event. The enormous dining hall was packed, with everyone carrying trays and lining up for food and soup. The atmosphere was lively and chaotic.

During a brief lull in my work, I quietly opened my mobile banking app.

My balance was empty.

Just as I expected.

It had worked.

I suppressed every emotion rising inside me and continued serving food and soup to the university administrators, alumni, and students as calmly as ever.

By two in the afternoon, the lunch rush had gradually died down. Everyone began making their way to the school’s main auditorium for a guest speech by a distinguished alumnus.

I changed out of my cafeteria uniform and followed the crowd into the auditorium. Mia and Rachel were seated not far from me.

Halfway through the speech, the alumnus onstage was speaking confidently while the audience listened attentively.

Then, several hushed voices suddenly broke the silence.

“That’s strange. Why can’t I make any payments? Something I ordered online last week arrived today, but my account says I don’t have enough money.”

A girl in the row ahead lowered her voice as she stared at her phone in confusion.

The person beside her immediately chimed in, her voice filled with panic.

“Me too! My parents transferred two hundred dollars to me for living expenses yesterday. I just tried to order a drink, and there’s not a single cent left in my bank account! What happened?”

More and more confused whispers began spreading throughout the auditorium.

Then, a sharply dressed businessman seated in the VIP section suddenly shot to his feet.

He gripped his phone tightly, his face turning deathly pale.

His trembling voice rang clearly through the microphone, instantly silencing the entire auditorium.

“How is this possible...? You’re telling me every cent in my account disappeared in an instant?”

His words struck the room like a thunderclap.

Everyone stared in shock.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, the auditorium erupted into chaos.

Shouts of panic and frantic questions echoed from every direction.

“I just checked! My tuition money is gone too! I worked part-time all semester to save that money!”

“My living expenses are gone too!”

It wasn’t just the students.

Several faculty members hurriedly checked their phones as well, their faces turning grim.

“My salary was deposited this month, and it’s all gone!”

One professor’s voice trembled as she stared at her screen in disbelief.

Several university administrators immediately pulled out their phones and checked their accounts.

Their expressions grew increasingly serious, their brows furrowing deeply.

“What’s going on? There were hundreds of thousands of dollars in the university’s event fund. That’s gone too!”

Panic swept through the entire auditorium.

The orderly guest lecture descended into complete chaos.

I sat quietly among the crowd and glanced sideways at Mia.

When my scholarship money had first arrived, she had struggled to hide her smile. Her eyes had been filled with excitement at the thought of getting her hands on my money.

But when she realized that the balance in her own account was skyrocketing, with money pouring into it from countless different accounts, the smile slowly disappeared from her face.

Her complexion turned pale before my eyes.

[What’s happening? Why is there so much money?]

[Did all the money that disappeared from their accounts get transferred into mine?]

Mia turned toward me in disbelief, panic written all over her face.

I smiled at her.

Just as the chaos in the auditorium reached its peak, the sharp sound of police sirens came from outside.