As he stepped back out into the rain, the weight of the envelope was gone, replaced by a strange, light electricity in his chest. The price might go up tomorrow, or it might go down, but as he walked toward the bus stop, Elias felt like he was finally speaking a language the future understood.

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He hit "Confirm." For a few agonizing seconds, the screen displayed a spinning circle. Then, a green checkmark appeared. "Transaction Sent."

With the final bill, the screen updated. It didn't show a large number; it showed a fraction. 0.00945 BTC. To anyone else, it looked like a rounding error. To Elias, it looked like a lifeboat.