3 Days After Release
Sigh…
So it's real.
I really did go back in time.
If it weren't for that dream… I probably wouldn't even realize it.
Now what?
I'm in my twenties again. A graduating student.
This is my starting point.
But how do I even begin my political path… when I barely studied politics?
Back then, the only thing I was ever good at… was economics.
Then
An idea hit me.
Funding.
If I want power in the future, I need money first.
But my schedule…
It's packed.
"Should I drop out…?"
I paused.
"…No."
Bad idea.
I still need a degree. My family already spent too much just to get me here.
I can't waste that.
Then suddenly
"Wait…"
If I remember correctly…
Around this time
I won a scratch-it ticket worth 77,000 pesos.
My eyes widened.
"Let me check the time…"
I looked at my broken wristwatch.
12:00 noon.
"…Oh."
"…Ohhh."
"It's today."
A grin slowly spread across my face.
I immediately left.
I rode a jeep heading toward the central district—the same place where I won the lottery in my past life.
If I really came back in time…
Then I should remember the winning outcomes.
Right?
"Heh… looks like I'm about to become the richest student alive."
After twenty minutes, I arrived at Luna—the busiest part of the city.
Without wasting time, I headed straight to the lottery stall.
Then
I waited.
1:00 PM.
Exactly.
I took out 40 pesos.
"Two tickets."
Each one cost 20.
I received them.
For a moment, I hesitated
Then scratched the first one.
I expected nothing.
Just like before.
But
"…Huh?"
My hand froze.
Every square…
Every single one
Was a 7.
All rows.
All columns.
Complete.
"…What?"
My breath caught.
That meant
Not just 77,000
But all bonus rewards combined…
₱164,244.
"…That's not…"
"That's not the same as before…"
My heartbeat sped up.
My fingers trembled.
This wasn't what happened in my past life.
Something had changed.
Swallowing hard, I quickly hid the ticket in my sling bag.
Then
I scratched the second one.
"…No way."
Another full set of 7s.
Another ₱164,244.
My vision blurred slightly.
Adrenaline surged through my body.
Everything felt… unreal.
Greed took over.
Without hesitation
I bought more.
Ten tickets.
All my remaining cash—around 200 pesos.
Two days' worth of allowance.
Gone.
I didn't care.
I started scratching them one by one.
Grinning like a madman.
Thankfully, no one was watching.
And then
One.
Two.
Three.
All the same.
Every single ticket
Filled with 7s.
"…This is impossible…"
It felt like cheating.
Like the world itself was bending in my favor.
Twelve tickets total
Nearly ₱2 million pesos.
Money I couldn't even dream of earning back when I was just a corporate slave.
My heart pounded harder.
Faster.
My excitement surged uncontrollably.
The vendor glanced at me.
Probably thinking I just won a small prize.
₱40.
₱70.
Something insignificant.
She had no idea.
I didn't show anything.
I kept it all hidden.
Then
I bought ten more tickets.
But this time
The banana version.
More expensive.
Higher stakes.
I used my online CashG account.
Every last peso.
Didn't even think about dinner anymore.
I went straight home.
Skipped university.
I needed time.
Time to process everything.
When I arrived
No one was home.
Perfect.
I sat down.
Took out the tickets.
And began scratching again.
Faster.
More aggressively.
Almost desperately.
Then
It happened.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Every ticket
A win.
Banana tickets had a max reward of ₱500,000.
With a 5x multiplier
That becomes ₱2,500,000 per ticket.
And somehow
Every single one
Hit.
"…No…"
"That's…"
"…₱25,000,000…"
Plus the earlier winnings
Almost ₱27 million pesos.
My breathing became uneven.
My chest tightened.
My mind couldn't keep up.
"This… this isn't luck anymore…"
It felt like fate.
Like something beyond logic was forcing this outcome.
Like the world itself was pushing me forward.
My vision darkened.
My body gave in.
And just like that
I collapsed.
About ten minutes later…
I woke up.
"Argh…"
A sharp headache throbbed through my head.
Slowly, I sat up
And then I saw them.
The tickets.
Right in front of me.
My eyes widened.
"…Woah…"
"It's real…?"
My voice cracked slightly.
Then louder
"IT'S REAL?!"
I quickly grabbed them, my hands moving almost frantically, and stuffed them into my sling bag.
My breathing was still uneven.
My heart hadn't calmed down.
"I need to claim this…"
I muttered to myself.
But just as I was about to rush out
I stopped.
"…Wait."
Reality hit me.
Winning this much money
Was dangerous.
This wasn't just luck anymore.
This was attention.
Envy.
Suspicion.
And possibly
Death.
I forced myself to think.
Calm down.
Think properly.
"…I can't claim everything at once."
Each ticket had a one-year validity.
That meant
I had time.
"I'll claim them… slowly."
One at a time.
No patterns.
No attention.
No risk.
I took a deep breath.
Then separated one ticket.
Just one.
The rest
I hid carefully.
Out of sight.
Out of reach.
With only a single ticket in my bag
I left the house.
I walked.
I had no money left for transport.
As I moved through the streets, my senses felt sharper than usual.
Every glance.
Every passerby.
Every movement
Felt suspicious.
Paranoia crept in.
"…Are they looking at me?"
"…Do they know?"
The more I thought about it
The worse it became.
At some point, I stopped walking.
"…Calm down."
I exhaled slowly.
"You're overthinking."
After a moment, I steadied myself
Then continued.
Forty-five minutes later
I arrived at the town center.
From there, I headed north.
The same direction as my university
The University of Luna.
But I didn't go there.
Instead, I took a separate path.
Ahead stood a building.
Triangular in design.
Around twelve floors high.
Modern
But oddly quiet.
I asked around.
"Where's the Scratch-It headquarters?"
They pointed me toward the building.
"…Basement."
The basement.
Of all places.
As I made my way down
The atmosphere changed.
The hallway narrowed.
The lighting dimmed.
Each step felt heavier.
"…Why does this feel so hidden?"
A slight chill ran down my spine.
I let out a small, nervous laugh.
"Ha… this is kinda creepy…"
At the end of the hallway
A door.
A guard stood nearby.
He looked at me briefly.
Then said:
"Knock three times."
"…Three times?"
I hesitated.
Something felt off.
But
I still did it.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The door opened.
Inside
Two people.
A man.
And a woman.
Both seated in front of computer monitors.
Behind them
Stacks.
And stacks
Of scratch tickets.
I stepped in.
"Good afternoon…"
I introduced myself
But not with my real name.
Just a nickname.
Safer that way.
They nodded.
Business-like.
No unnecessary reactions.
I sat down.
They handed me a form.
I filled it out.
They took a photo of it
Then returned it.
Minutes passed.
Then
"Your ticket."
I handed it over.
The man examined it.
Then
"…Holy—"
He leaned closer.
"Yo… this is huge."
He immediately showed it to the woman.
Her eyes widened.
"…Wow."
Both of them looked impressed.
Then
They smiled.
"Congratulations."
The ticket was handed back to me.
Then came the question:
"Where did you get this?"
I gave them the location.
The exact stall.
They exchanged a glance.
Smiled again.
Like they already knew.
Like nothing surprised them.
"…We'll prepare the money," the man said.
"For now, you can head back."
"We'll contact you once it's ready."
"…That's it?"
I asked, slightly surprised.
He nodded.
"That's it."
For a moment
I thought something else would happen.
Interrogation.
Complications.
Something.
But
Nothing.
I left.
As I walked home
My mind was already moving ahead.
Planning.
Calculating.
"This is just the beginning…"