Ethan woke up choking.
Air rushed painfully into his lungs as his eyes snapped open. White light burned his vision. His head throbbed like it was being split apart from the inside.
He groaned and tried to move.
Pain answered immediately.
"Ah!!!"
His body felt heavy, weak, like it didn't belong to him anymore. Tubes tugged at his arm. Something beeped steadily beside him.
Hospital.
The realization came slowly.
Ethan blinked several times, staring at the ceiling. White tiles. Fluorescent lights. The sharp smell of disinfectant filled his nose.
"What… happened?" he whispered.
His throat was dry. His voice sounded wrong, distant.
Memories came rushing back all at once.
The hotel.
The chandeliers.
Lena's cold eyes.
Lucas's smile.
Security dragging him out.
Rain.
The bank alert.
Fourteen dollars.
His chest tightened painfully.
"I… collapsed?" he muttered.
He tried to sit up.
The moment he lifted his head, dizziness slammed into him. The room spun violently, and his stomach lurched.
Ethan grabbed the side of the bed, breathing hard.
Then—
A voice spoke.
Not out loud.
Inside his head.
[HOST CONSCIOUSNESS CONFIRMED]
Ethan froze.
His heart slammed against his ribs.
"What…?" he whispered.
The voice was calm. Flat. Emotionless.
Not human.
[LINKING SHADOW SYSTEM…]
Ethan's breath caught.
"No," he said quietly. "I'm hallucinating. I hit my head too hard."
A translucent blue screen flickered into existence before his eyes.
It hovered in the air.
Real. Solid.
Unmistakable.
[SHADOW SYSTEM SUCCESSFULLY LINKED]
Ethan's pupils shrank.
His hands trembled as he waved one through the screen.
It didn't disappear.
"…I've finally gone crazy," he whispered.
[TARGET ACQUIRED]
[IDENTITY CONFIRMED]
Name: Ethan Rowe
Balance: $14.27
Body: Below Average (Fatigue, Malnutrition detected)
Brain: Normal
Skills: Locked
Skills will be unlocked after missions are completed and points are earned.
Ethan stared.
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
This wasn't normal.
This wasn't possible.
"This has to be a dream," he said, voice shaking. "Or some kind of stress response."
[FIRST TASK AVAILABLE]
The screen shifted.
New text appeared.
MISSION ONE: PROOF OF WORTH
Objective: Spend $50,000 within 24 hours
Time Remaining: 23:59:41
Failure: Unknown
Reward: System Points + Skill Unlock
Ethan laughed.
A short, broken sound escaped his lips.
"Spend fifty thousand dollars?" he repeated. "I don't even have fifty."
This was ridiculous.
Cruel.
His own mind mocking him.
"I'm broke," he said out loud. "I just got kicked out of my marriage. I have fourteen dollars to my name. You expect me to spend fifty thousand?"
The system did not respond.
Ethan pressed his palms against his eyes.
"Okay," he muttered. "Okay. I've officially lost it."
He swung his legs over the side of the bed.
Before he could stand, a sharp ding sounded in his mind.
[TRANSFER COMPLETE]
Ethan froze.
His phone buzzed on the bedside table.
Slowly, hesitantly, he reached for it.
The screen lit up.
BANK ALERT:
Incoming Transfer: $100,000.00
Available Balance: $100,014.27
Ethan stopped breathing.
The phone slipped from his fingers and landed softly on the bed.
"…What?" he whispered.
His mind went blank.
He stared at the screen again.
The numbers didn't change.
His hands began to shake violently.
"This… isn't real," he said. "This can't be real."
Another message appeared.
[FUNDS PROVIDED BY SHADOW SYSTEM]
[COMPLETE MISSION TO RETAIN ACCESS]
Ethan swallowed hard.
His heart pounded so loudly he could hear it in his ears.
This wasn't a joke.
This wasn't a hallucination.
Something impossible had just happened.
And it had given him money.
A lot of money.
He leaned back against the bed, staring at the ceiling.
Images flashed through his mind.
Lena calling him nothing.
Lucas ordering security.
The way people had looked at him in the lobby.
Like he didn't belong.
Like he was invisible.
"…A second chance," Ethan whispered.
His jaw tightened.
"If this is real," he said slowly, "then maybe… maybe this is my way out."
The system didn't interrupt him.
Ethan exhaled.
"Fine," he said quietly. "I'll play along."
[MISSION ACCEPTED]
The screen vanished.
Ethan was discharged a few hours later.
Minor concussion. Dehydration. Stress collapse.
No visitors.
No one waiting for him.
He stepped out of the hospital into the afternoon air with nothing but his phone and the clothes he had been wearing the night before.
And one hundred thousand dollars.
He stood on the sidewalk for a long moment.
Then he laughed softly.
"Let's see what you can do," he murmured.
The hotel loomed ahead of him like a challenge.
The same luxury hotel.
The same one that had thrown him out like trash.
Ethan stopped at the entrance.
For a second, doubt crept in.
What am I doing?
Then he remembered the mission.
Spend money.
Prove worth.
He walked inside.
The lobby was just as grand as before. Marble floors. Gold accents. Soft music playing somewhere in the background.
A receptionist glanced at him.
Her polite smile faded slightly.
Ethan noticed.
He didn't react.
"I'd like to apply for the highest membership card," he said calmly.
The receptionist blinked. "Sir… that membership requires a large deposit."
"How much?" Ethan asked.
She hesitated. "Fifty thousand dollars."
Ethan nodded. "That's fine."
Her eyes widened.
"…Cash or transfer?"
"Transfer."
Minutes later, the transaction was complete.
[MISSION PROGRESS: 100% COMPLETE]
The system notification appeared briefly, then vanished.
Ethan felt something shift inside him.
Confidence.
Not arrogance.
Just… calm.
As he turned away from the desk, a familiar voice sneered behind him.
"Well, I'll be damned."
Ethan stopped.
He didn't turn around immediately.
He already knew who it was.
His ex-brother-in-law.
Lena's older brother.
The man who had never missed a chance to remind Ethan he was poor.
"Didn't expect to see you here," the man continued. "Did you get lost? Or are you cleaning floors now?"
A few people nearby chuckled.
Ethan slowly turned.
The man smirked, eyes scanning Ethan's worn clothes.
"Still pretending you belong with rich people?" he added. "Careful, Ethan. Places like this eat men like you alive."
Ethan said nothing.
The man frowned. "Cat got your tongue?"
Ethan lowered his gaze slightly.
And muttered, almost to himself—
"I'll show them all."
The man laughed. "Yeah? With what money?"
Ethan didn't answer.
He turned away.
And walked deeper into the hotel.
Behind him, the man scoffed.
He had no idea.