Prologue: A Quiet Man in a Loud City (Mumbai, 2016)
Mumbai never slept.
It screamed, negotiated, hustled, and survived—every second of every day. Trains breathed fire at peak hours, glass towers rose like arrogance incarnate, and dreams were bought, sold, or crushed between traffic signals.
And in the middle of all that noise lived Vikram Choudhary—a man who wanted nothing more than peace.
At twenty-five, Vikram had what society called a good start.
He was a graduate of NIT Pune, Class of 2013–14. A name that made relatives nod approvingly and neighbors whisper expectations. For most NITians, that pedigree was a launchpad into corporate warfare—late nights, fat paychecks, and even fatter egos.
Vikram had opted out.
Not because he couldn't compete.
Because he didn't want to.
Low Ambition, High Peace
By 2016, Vikram worked as a Junior Engineer in Mumbai. Entry-level. Stable. Predictable.
His monthly salary hovered between ₹25,000 and ₹35,000, depending on overtime he rarely bothered to take. Promotions passed him quietly, like trains he never tried to board. He arrived on time, left on time, did exactly what was required—and not one unit more.
His philosophy was simple:
Low ambition. High peace.
Why burn yourself out chasing targets when life could be… comfortable?
That comfort, however, was fragile.
His bank balance read ₹5,400.
In Mumbai, that wasn't savings.
That was a countdown.
One decent night out—₹1,500 gone.
One emergency—finished.
One bad month—panic.
Vikram knew the math. He just didn't feel the urgency.
Not yet.
The Choudhary Household
He lived in an old one-floor villa tucked inside a middle-class society—one of those rare pre-independence relics scattered across areas like Borivali.
The house had:
High ceilings that trapped heat
Thick Malad stone walls
Wooden trusses that creaked at night
In 2016, real estate agents called such homes goldmines.
Families living inside them called them maintenance nightmares.
The house belonged to the Choudharys.
Balvendar Choudhary, Vikram's father, was a government Mathematics teacher. Disciplined. Precise. A man who believed effort always equaled outcome—and secretly wondered where he went wrong with his son.
Malini Devi, his mother, taught Physical Education at a government school. Energetic. Strict. Awake before sunrise. A woman who could do fifty push-ups but couldn't push her son toward ambition.
Vikram was the only son, sandwiched between two sisters.
Pampered when young. Pressured when older.
Their careers, marriages, and responsibilities moved forward—silently reminding him that he was falling behind without anyone saying it out loud.
Friends Who Knew the Truth
Outside home, Vikram's world shrank to a small circle.
Gurpreet—"Goolu"—loud, emotional, and fiercely loyal. The kind of friend who covered for Vikram's laziness with jokes.
Imtiaaz—"Eizi"—street-smart, tech-aware, always trying to drag Vikram into the future.
"Bro, NIT Pune waste kar raha hai tu," Eizi often said.
Vikram would smile and sip his cutting chai.
Kareena and the Price of Influence
For four years, Kareena had been his anchor.
She knew his laziness. His philosophy. His lack of hunger.
She tolerated it.
Until she didn't.
The day she left, she didn't raise her voice.
She just stated facts.
"I'm marrying an IAS officer."
Not handsome.
Not fit.
Not kind.
But powerful.
In 2016 India, IAS didn't mean a job.
It meant influence.
Security. Authority. Protection from uncertainty.
Everything Vikram's quiet life could never guarantee.
He watched her walk away, understanding something painfully clear:
Love bows to influence when survival is at stake.
The Day the System Chose Him
That same evening, fate added insult to injury.
A flower pot fell.
Direct hit.
Thirty minutes unconscious on a Mumbai roadside.
No ambulance. No crowd.
Just another man lying still in a city that had places to be.
Morning: Unlimited Liquidity
When Vikram woke the next day inside his old villa, the world looked unchanged.
Until he blinked.
A blue holographic panel ignited inside his vision—clean, minimal, unreal.
[ WEALTH REBATE SYSTEM INITIALIZED ]
HOST: VIKRAM CHOUDHARY
CURRENT SAVINGS: ₹5,400.00
LEVEL: 1
A soft digital chime echoed.
Blink Rate: ₹2.00 per blink
Base Rebate: 100% (Instant)
At the center:
₹ BALANCE: 5,400.00
He blinked.
Ting.
+₹2.00
He blinked again.
Ting.
The number climbed.
Not fast.
But endlessly.
In a city ruled by power, connections, and influence—
The system had given him the only weapon that bypassed all of them.
Unlimited Liquidity.
Every blink inside that crumbling old Mumbai villa was now a step toward something far greater than peace.
Something even an IAS officer couldn't command.
Vikram smiled slowly.
For the first time in years, the city felt… negotiable.
End of Prologue