My Apocalypse Godhood Begins With A Gift

If You Really Want It

Rex stood frozen in the dining room as the blue screen hovered inches from his face. The glowing text blocked his view of Chase and Lucy sitting on the white leather sofa. He blinked several times to clear his vision, but the interface remained anchored in his line of sight. Another line of text scrolled across the translucent panel.

[Administrator detected to be experiencing skepticism.]

[Clarification: The 100x Rebate System is genuine.]

[Mission Objective: Assist the Administrator in surviving the Global Ice Age.]

[Administrator Privilege Unlocked: Infinite Dimensional Storage.]

Another screen unfolded before him.

[Storage Status: Unlimited Capacity.]

[Storage Type: Independent Dimensional Space.]

Rex's heartbeat quickened. Unlimited storage. If the frozen apocalypse truly arrived in thirty days, he could stockpile enough food, fuel, medicine, weapons, and equipment to survive for decades.

Before he could celebrate, the interface flashed crimson.

[Warning.]

[The following rules are absolute and cannot be violated.]

Rule 1: The Administrator cannot place physical items directly into the dimensional storage.

Rule 2: Once an item is withdrawn from the dimensional storage, it cannot be returned.

Rule 3: The Administrator must first gift an item or currency to another individual to activate the 100x Rebate.

Rule 4: Each successful gift generates a one-hundredfold rebate of the gifted item or currency.

Rule 5: The same individual can trigger rebates a maximum of three times. After the third successful transaction, that individual becomes permanently invalid.

Rule 6: The Administrator may activate a maximum of three rebates per day, regardless of the recipient.

Rule 7: The same category of item cannot trigger another rebate until seven full days have passed since its last successful rebate.

Rex read the glowing words twice to ensure he understood the bizarre mechanics. The system did not generate supplies out of thin air. It required him to give things away first. It was a gamble based on generosity, and he needed to know if it was real before confronting his cheating wife. He turned his back on the dining room and walked straight toward the front entrance.

"Where do you think you are going?" Mary shouted from the hallway. "Get the mop and clean this mess up right now."

Rex ignored her screeching voice and pushed the door open. He stepped out onto the paved driveway of Oakwood Drive. The summer sun hit his face, providing a stark contrast to the blizzard that still haunted his memory. He needed to test the rebate protocol immediately. He reached into his denim jeans and pulled out a wad of cash. It was exactly one thousand dollars. Mary had shoved the money into his chest earlier that morning, ordering him to buy imported wine and fresh salmon for her special guest. The guest turned out to be the man sleeping with his wife.

Rex gripped the money tightly as he scanned the affluent street. Manicured lawns stretched down the block, bordered by expensive sports cars parked in pristine driveways. He needed a target to accept his gift.

A young boy with a designer skateboard jogged down the sidewalk. Rex recognized the kid immediately. It was Toby, the neighbor from three houses down. Toby was twelve years old and had already adopted the condescending attitude of every other wealthy resident on Oakwood Drive.

"Hey, Toby," Rex called out, stepping into the middle of the sidewalk to block his path.

Toby stopped and rolled his eyes. He looked Rex up and down with obvious disdain, noting the faded t-shirt and the scuffed sneakers.

"What do you want?" Toby asked, crossing his arms. "My mom says I am not supposed to talk to the errand boy. You might ask us for a loan."

Rex ignored the insult. He held up the stack of bills in his right hand.

"Do you want a thousand dollars?" Rex asked.

Toby let out a loud snort. He looked at the money and then back at Rex's face, clearly amused by the situation.

"You are joking," Toby said. "Everyone knows you are broke. You probably stole that from Mrs. Clark."

Before Rex could reply, the sharp clicking of high heels echoed against the pavement. A tall woman in a silk blouse marched out of the neighboring driveway. It was Toby's mother, Mrs. Higgins. She grabbed her son by the shoulder and pulled him back behind her.

"Do not touch my son," Mrs. Higgins snapped, glaring at Rex. "Keep your bad luck to yourself. We do not want whatever poverty disease you are carrying."

"I am not touching him," Rex said evenly. "I am just giving him a thousand dollars."

Mrs. Higgins threw her head back and let out a shrill laugh. She eyed the cash in his hand with deep suspicion.

"You do not have a thousand dollars to your name," she mocked. "You are nothing but a parasite feeding off the Clark family. You need to return that stolen money to your wife before I call the police."

Rex looked at the arrogant woman and felt a familiar surge of anger. These people had treated him like garbage for three years. He decided to take a massive gamble right then and there. If the system was real, he was about to flip the entire neighborhood hierarchy upside down.

"If he accepts this thousand dollars," Rex said, locking eyes with Mrs. Higgins. "I will give him one hundred thousand dollars right after."

Mrs. Higgins stopped laughing. Her eyes narrowed as she calculated the situation. She wanted to humiliate him in public to score points with the Clark family. If Rex had actually stolen a thousand dollars from his mother-in-law, they might just cover it up to avoid a neighborhood scandal. But if he somehow produced one hundred thousand dollars, it would be grand larceny. He would go straight to a federal prison.

"Fine," Mrs. Higgins said, a cruel smile forming on her lips. "Take his money, Toby. Let us see this big shot produce a hundred grand."

Toby stepped forward and reached out his hand. Rex looked down at the boy and extended the stack of bills. He needed to make the intention clear for the system to recognize the exchange as a valid transaction.

"Do you accept my gift of one thousand dollars?" Rex asked, keeping his voice steady.

"Yes," Toby said, snatching the money from his fingers. "Thanks for the free cash, loser."

A sharp chime rang in Rex's ears. The blue screen flashed into existence right above Toby's head.

[1000 USD gifted.]

[100x rebate applied.]

[100,000 USD added to balance.]

[Click here to withdraw to bank or as cash.]

Rex stared at the glowing letters, a massive wave of relief washing over him. The system worked perfectly. The dream was real, the apocalypse was coming in thirty days, and he had the ultimate tool to prepare for it. He did not need to scrounge for pennies or beg the Clark family for scraps anymore. He could generate infinite wealth with a simple exchange.

"Well?" Mrs. Higgins demanded, placing her hands on her hips. "We are waiting. Where is the one hundred thousand dollars you promised my son?"

"Give me a second," Rex said, keeping his eyes on the floating screen.

Mrs. Higgins let out a dramatic sigh. She turned to the street and waved her arms to attract attention. Two other neighbors walking their dogs stopped to watch the commotion. A delivery driver paused his truck near the curb and rolled down his window.

"Look at this," Mrs. Higgins announced to the growing crowd. "The Clark family's useless husband is out here making empty promises. He said he would give my boy a hundred grand. He is stalling because he is a liar and a thief."

The neighbors began to whisper among themselves. A few people chuckled, pointing at Rex. They all knew his reputation as the subservient son-in-law. They all expected him to break down and run back into the house under the pressure.

Rex focused on the translucent button hovering in his vision. He mentally selected the option to withdraw the funds as physical cash.

A strange, heavy sensation suddenly weighed down his jeans. His front pockets bulged outward, pulling tight against the denim fabric. He reached into his right pocket and felt a thick, compressed brick of paper.

He pulled his hand out. He was holding two stacks of crisp hundred dollar bills banded together in bank straps. Each stack was ten thousand dollars. He dropped the twenty grand onto the manicured grass at Mrs. Higgins' feet.

The whispering in the crowd stopped instantly.

Rex reached into his left pocket. He pulled out another two banded stacks. He tossed them onto the grass, adding another twenty thousand dollars to the pile. He felt a slight shifting sensation against his thighs as the system automatically restocked the empty space in his clothing.

He reached back into his right pocket and pulled out a third pair of stacks. He tossed them down on top of the growing mound. Then he emptied his left pocket again.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The sound of cash hitting the ground echoed down the silent street. Rex continued the mechanical motion, alternating between his left and right pockets. He pulled out bundles of hundred dollar bills until a small mountain of currency rested on the lawn. The final withdrawal brought the total to exactly one hundred thousand dollars.

Mrs. Higgins stood frozen like a statue. Her jaw hung open. She stared at the pile of money, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief. The delivery driver dropped his clipboard onto the pavement. The neighbors walking their dogs stopped breathing. The street fell into a dead, stunned silence.

Toby looked at the pile of cash and then looked up at Rex, his arrogant sneer entirely gone.

Rex felt the system interface chime again in his mind. He had just gifted one hundred thousand dollars to the boy by tossing it at his feet. According to the rules, he still had two valid exchanges left with Toby before the kid stopped yielding a rebate.

The blue screen updated with a new notification.

[100,000 USD gifted.]

[100x rebate applied.]

[10,000,000 USD added to balance.]

Ten million dollars. Rex had just secured ten million dollars in less than five minutes. He looked at the number glowing in his vision and felt a genuine smile form on his face. He possessed enough capital to buy out the entire Warehouse and secure enough supplies to outlast a thousand ice ages.

He looked down at the trembling boy.

"Hey, Toby," Rex said, his voice echoing loudly in the quiet street. "If you really want it, I will gift you ten million dollars next."