Jack balanced on the edge of his rickety chair, a burnt-out bulb dangling precariously above him. The entire dorm room smelled faintly of instant noodles and stale coffee. His phone, glowing bright in his left hand, held his full attention.
[New Notification: "Susan posted a new story!"]
"Just one more scroll," Jack muttered, thumb flicking across the screen. "Changing bulbs can wait."
He was twenty years old, lanky, perpetually broke, and chronically glued to his phone. His girlfriend Susan his first love science campus had posted another selfie. He should've been paying attention to the live wire above his head. He wasn't.
A spark cracked.
Jack blinked. "Huh?"
Then everything went white.
⚡ ZAP!
Pain, pure and electric, ripped through his body. His phone vibrated violently, screen fracturing into spiderweb cracks. But as the current coursed through him, something else happened—something no one could explain.
---
Far away in a dimension invisible to human eyes, a wandering program floated. It wasn't just any program. It was a system—lost, powerful, hungry for a host. Jack's electrocution created a beacon. The system darted forward like a moth to flame.
But the current was too strong. Instead of bonding with Jack directly, the system slammed into his phone, embedding itself in circuits and code.
The phone glowed an eerie blue. Lines of code streamed across its shattered screen, rewriting reality in microseconds. Then—silence.
Jack hit the floor.
---
Hospital Room
He woke up to beeping monitors and the sterile smell of disinfectant. His head pounded like a war drum. His phone lay on the bedside table, screen still cracked but faintly glowing. He blinked at it.
"Ugh… my brain feels fried…" Jack muttered.
The door creaked open. Susan stepped in with long hair flowing black silk hair, face pale from worry, eyes bright like emeralds. She was beautiful in that natural, effortless way that made Jack's heart stumble.
"Oh thank God!" she gasped, rushing to his bedside. "Jack, what happened? You were unconscious for hours!"
Jack tried to smile but winced instead. "Changing a bulb… I think I… electrocuted myself."
Susan sighed, relief mixing with frustration. "You're impossible sometimes you know just thank your luck star you didn't die."
She sat beside him, brushing his hair back gently. For a moment, Jack felt warmth and the softness of her hands a flicker of peace.
Then his phone buzzed.
ding
Susan glanced at it. A notification had popped up on the cracked screen. Her brows furrowed. She picked up the phone without thinking.
It was a picture—Jack lying in the arms of a strange woman.
Her heart clenched. "Jack…" she hissed.
Jack blinked. "Wha—?"
She pinched his cheek. Hard. "Who. Is. She?!"
Pain jolted him awake. "Ow! Wait, what picture?!"
He grabbed the phone but saw exactly what she saw. His mind blanked. He'd never seen that woman in his life.
"Babe, my phone's brain is fried!" he blurted. "It's not—"
Another message popped up, written in a teasing, sultry font:
> "Babe, when are we going to do it again? Last time was amazing ❤️"
Susan's face turned red—part fury, part heartbreak. "Unbelievable!" she shouted, throwing the phone at Jack's face. Then she stormed out, slamming the door.
The phone bounced off his forehead. Jack stared at it, stunned. "I'm definitely hallucinating…"
He slumped back, covering his face with his hands. "This shock really fried my brain."
Then—
A voice, soft yet sharp, filled the room. "Fried my brain, you mean."
Jack froze. "Who's there?"
No one. Only his phone, glowing brighter now. The cracked screen pulsed like a heartbeat.
A female avatar appeared on the display with silver long hair of glowing code, eyes like neon fire. Before Jack could react, the avatar stepped out of the phone as a shimmering hologram.
Jack's jaw dropped. "What the fu..k"
The hologram smirked. "Finally awake, weakling?"
"I'm… dreaming," Jack whispered.
"Nope. You're conscious. Name's Eve." The hologram flipped her hair. "Thanks to your idiotic electrocution, I'm stuck here. Inside your phone. Inside you."
Jack blinked. "Eve? Like… the Bible?"
"Like 'Even your dog is smarter than you,'" she snapped. "Congratulations. You're now the proud host of a system. A stubborn, proud, female system. Me."
He gawked. "System? Like those game things?"
Eve's eyes glowed. A sleek, futuristic interface unfolded in the air futuristic one a transparent screen showing stats:
[ Host Status: Jack K. ]
Stamina: 20/20 – can't even perform well on bed. Pathetic. How do you even have a girlfriend?
Strength: 4 – even a kid can trash you, weakling.
Speed: 2 – huh, so weak.
Intelligence: 8 – even a dog is smarter than you.
Luck: 2 – so unlucky.
Charm: 2 – so ugly.
Skills: None. Go acquire some, weakling.
Quest: (Kiss your girlfriend)
Reward: 10 stat points. Use them well, idiot.
Penalty: Electrocution. Again.
Jack's mouth went dry. "What… is this?"
"Your new life," Eve purred. "Complete quests. Earn Photon Coins. Get stronger. Or else."
"Or else?"
Eve grinned. "You don't want to know what 'penalty' feels like."
Jack swallowed hard. "This is insane…"
"Insane?" Eve tilted her head. "This is just the tutorial."
The interface flickered. Another screen popped up system shop AKA Photon Shop:
[ Photon Shop – Starter Items ]
🍬 Muscle Candy – +3 Strength (50 Photon Coins)
🩳 Boxer Shorts of Endless Energy – +5 Stamina (60 Photon Coins)
🤓 Glasses of Unimaginable Swagger – +5 Charm (80 Photon Coins)
🤖 Dummy Clone Training Partner – +2 Strength, +2 Speed, +2 Stamina after training (100 Photon Coins)
🦶 Fluffy Pink Shoes – +12 Charm, +2 Speed (120 Photon Coins)
🪵 Unbreakable Stick – +10 Attack Power, +1 Strength (90 Photon Coins)
Jack blinked. "Candy? Boxer shorts? This is some kind of joke, right?"
Eve's smirk widened. "Do I look like I'm joking?"
Jack rubbed his temples. "This is crazy. I have a jealous AI hologram trolling me, my girlfriend hates me, and now I'm being threatened with electrocution if I don't… kiss her?"
"Better hurry," Eve sang. "Timer's ticking."
A countdown appeared on the screen: [00:59]
Jack stared. "You're kidding me."
"Nope," Eve said cheerfully. "Fifty-nine seconds or I give you a nice jolt. Maybe your hair will curl cute this time."
Jack's heart pounded. "I'm dead…"
Cliffhanger: The countdown hits [00:05]. Jack's phone glows brighter, electricity crackling around the room. Eve leans in, eyes glinting.
"Your move, weakling," she whispers. "Kiss her—or fry."
---
(End of Chapter 1)