Julian hesitated as he stared at the smartwatch screen.
"Do I need to turn on Bluetooth for this?" he wondered.
But the moment he tapped Pair, his phone buzzed with a notification.
Pair to XN-03F1?
He frowned. No brand name, no manufacturer, just a string of random letters and numbers. Suspicion crept into his mind. Was this some cheap knockoff? A scam? Logic told him to unpair, to just leave it alone.
But curiosity won.
With a shrug, he tapped Yes on his phone.
The smartwatch vibrated. At the same time, another message popped up:
Paired.
Julian checked his phone, expecting to see a new app or some sign that the watch had synced. But there was nothing. Just as he was about to dismiss it as a fluke, another notification flashed across the smartwatch’s screen.
Pair to UNKNOWN?
His brows knitted together. Unknown? That didn’t sound right.
A tiny voice in his head whispered a warning, but he ignored it. It’s just a glitch or something… right?
"Eh, whatever," he muttered and tapped Pair again.
The moment his finger hit the screen—
A sharp pain stabbed into his wrist, like a needle piercing his skin from the back of the watch.
"Ah! What the hell?!"
He yanked his arm back, wincing. His vision blurred—then suddenly—
Darkness.
For a brief moment, everything vanished. No light, no sound. Just a void.
Then—
A gasp tore from Julian’s throat as the world snapped back into focus. His breathing was uneven, his heart pounding as he looked around. He was still in his room, still sitting at his desk. But something was different.
His gaze dropped to the smartwatch.
Successfully Paired to Human.
His stomach twisted.
"To human? What kind of device says that?"
Irritated, Julian grabbed at the watch, trying to yank it off. But no matter how much he pulled, twisted, or pried at the straps, it wouldn’t budge. It was as if the watch had fused to his wrist.
"What the hell?" he muttered, frustration mounting. He tried again—nothing. It was stuck.
For now, he had no choice but to ignore it.
A Walk That Changed Everything
Needing to clear his head, Julian decided to take a walk to the nearby mart. The night air was cool against his skin, but his mind was still buzzing with questions about the strange device.
He grabbed a siopao and reached for a bottle of Vitamin C juice before heading home. Just as he stepped outside, the smartwatch screen suddenly lit up.
1 km successful.
Julian barely had time to process what that meant when another message appeared.
Pairing to Cash App…
His steps slowed.
"What is this thing doing now?"
Feeling uneasy, he found a nearby bench and sat down, bracing himself in case the watch tried to knock him unconscious again. Another prompt appeared.
Enter phone number to pair.
His fingers hovered over the screen.
At this point, he was too intrigued to stop. Screw it. Without much thought, he keyed in his phone number and pressed Confirm.
The screen flashed.
Paired.
Then—
A notification popped up on his phone.
Cash Received: ₱500.00
Julian’s breath caught. His eyes darted to his Cash App balance. Before today, it had been empty. He was sure of it.
And now—this?
His heart pounded. No way. This can’t be real.
A wild thought crossed his mind. Maybe… the distance?
There was only one way to find out.
Without hesitation, he sprinted forward, pushing himself faster. The cool night air whipped against his skin, his breaths came in quick gasps, but he didn’t stop. He ran, and ran, and ran.
Then—
2 km successful.
The watch vibrated again. Another message appeared.
Cash Received: ₱1,000.00
Julian skidded to a stop, staring at his phone in disbelief.
"No freaking way…"
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
If this was real—if the watch actually rewarded him for every kilometer he ran—
Then what the hell had he just gotten himself into?
A Dangerous Game
By the time Julian reached home, his mind was a storm of thoughts. He glanced at the smartwatch, still strapped to his wrist, still impossible to remove.
"I just made ₱1,500 in a matter of minutes… just by running."
The realization hit him like a tidal wave. He stopped in his tracks, staring at the numbers on his phone.
"Does this mean… I don’t need my job anymore?"
No more long shifts. No more irate customers yelling in his ear. No more struggling to make ends meet.
If all he had to do was run, he could make money every single day without breaking a sweat—
Or at least, that’s what he thought.
Then a new, more unsettling thought crept in.
If I keep running all my life… won’t I just destroy my body?
Reality sank in. This wasn’t some infinite cash generator. His legs, his endurance—his health—they were the real limiters.
He needed to be smart about this. If the smartwatch truly worked this way, he had to find a way to maximize its benefits without collapsing from exhaustion.
The moment he got home, he flopped onto his bed and grabbed his phone, fingers flying across the screen.
He typed in a search: "Maximum daily walking or running for optimal health."
The results flooded in. The average person could walk around ten thousand steps a day without issue. Running long distances without proper training could lead to muscle fatigue, dehydration, and joint damage. Elite marathon runners averaged over forty kilometers in a race, but that took years of conditioning. A safe daily running limit ranged from five to ten kilometers for experienced runners—anything beyond that risked serious injury. Hydration, stretching, and a high-protein diet were necessary for endurance athletes.
Julian exhaled, leaning back against his pillow. So I can’t just sprint forever and expect to stay in one piece.
If he wanted to milk this opportunity without wrecking his health, he needed a strategy.
He decided he would gradually increase his running distance each day, allowing his body time to adapt. He would invest in proper running shoes to avoid injury, follow a balanced diet to support his stamina, and make sure he stayed hydrated at all times. More importantly, he would schedule rest days to prevent burnout.
Julian smirked to himself.
"If this watch wants me to run, then fine…"
But he wasn’t just going to run blindly.
He was going to train.
And if the smartwatch really had no limit to how much money he could make—
Then he was going to push it as far as it could go.