FIFTY METERS UNDERGROUND
Doctor Travis walked hurriedly across the hall in the underground base, his footsteps echoing faintly against the cold metallic floor. The dim lights above flickered occasionally, casting long shadows that stretched across the corridor.
He stopped abruptly at Room 1AB and pressed his hand firmly against the scanner positioned beside the two gigantic titanium doors. A soft mechanical hum followed as the system processed his identity.
A moment later, the heavy doors slid open with a low hiss, allowing him to step inside.
Darkness.
The entire room was swallowed in it.
Only one thing stood out.
At the center of the room was a faint blue glow.
Doctor Travis walked closer, his eyes fixed on the source. In the middle of the chamber stood a small glass tube, glowing with an eerie blue light. The tube wasn't large at all—it stood at about thirty centimeters tall—but something about it felt unnatural, almost alive.
The liquid inside shimmered softly, casting a dim glow that gave the entire room a mysterious and unsettling atmosphere.
"Hey, how has the future virus been coping?" Doctor Travis asked calmly, his voice breaking the silence.
(Beep. All variables stable. No signs of reaction.)
A melodic female computer voice responded instantly, smooth and emotionless.
Doctor Travis nodded slightly, as if satisfied with the answer. He circled the tube slowly, observing it from different angles before performing a brief routine inspection. Everything appeared normal.
At least, on the surface.
After a few more seconds, he turned and walked out of the room. The doors closed behind him with a heavy thud.
Silence returned.
Then—
A faint crack appeared on the surface of the glass tube.
***********
WARNING. WARNING.
High radiation virus detected.
WARNING. WARNING.
High radiation virus detected.
The piercing alarm blared throughout the underground base, loud and relentless. Red lights began flashing along the hallways, replacing the once dim atmosphere with urgency and chaos.
Scientists abruptly stopped their work, startled by the sudden alert. Doors slid open as they stepped out of their respective labs, confusion written all over their faces.
"What's going on?"
"What is happening?"
Questions filled the air, overlapping and unanswered.
But then they saw him.
Doctor Travis.
He was running.
The moment they noticed the direction he was heading—Room 1AB—their confusion turned into dread.
Something was terribly wrong.
Within seconds, Travis arrived at the entrance of Room 1AB. This time, he was no longer dressed casually. His entire body was covered in a protective suit, designed specifically to resist exposure to the virus.
The suit was blue and slightly translucent, wrapping around him from head to toe like a second skin.
After years of studying the virus, Travis had gained a partial understanding of its nature—and more importantly, how dangerous it truly was.
He didn't hesitate.
Instead of using the main entrance, he activated a hidden emergency door he had personally installed for situations like this.
His hand hovered briefly over the control panel before pressing it.
Click.
The emergency door unlatched.
Slowly, cautiously, he pulled it open.
Then, in one swift motion, he flung it wide.
Nothing.
There was absolutely nothing inside.
The room was completely empty.
The glowing tube that once stood in the center had vanished without a trace.
Travis froze.
For a moment, his mind struggled to process what he was seeing.
Or rather… what he wasn't seeing.
Then—
Crisp… Crisp…
A strange sound echoed behind him.
His body tensed instantly.
Slowly, he turned around.
"AHHHHHHH!"
A blood-curdling scream tore through the underground base, echoing through every corridor and chamber.
Panic erupted instantly.
Scientists rushed frantically, grabbing whatever research they could carry. Some abandoned everything entirely, choosing survival over years of work.
The once controlled environment descended into chaos.
************
TEN YEARS LATER
The incident at the underground base marked the beginning of one of the darkest periods in human history.
What followed was not just a disaster—
It was a global catastrophe.
A pandemic unlike anything the world had ever seen spread rapidly, infecting millions within a short period of time.
But what truly shocked humanity wasn't just the spread of the virus.
It was what the virus did to people.
Those who were infected didn't simply fall ill.
They changed.
They mutated.
On the outside, they still looked human.
But something about them was different.
Something unnatural.
They developed a strange and terrifying ability—the power to predict the future.
At first, it was dismissed as coincidence.
Luck.
Delusion.
But as more cases emerged, the truth became undeniable.
The infected could see ahead in time.
However, this ability came at a devastating cost.
Their lifespan.
Scientists across the world conducted extensive research, risking their lives to understand the phenomenon. After years of study, they reached a conclusion.
The virus allowed individuals to project their consciousness into the future.
There, they could gather information, skills, or knowledge—and bring it back with them.
But every use of this ability consumed a portion of their life force.
The more they took from the future…
The shorter their remaining time became.
This revelation caused global chaos.
Instead of fear, many people felt desire.
Power was within reach.
And for some, the cost didn't matter.
Countless individuals willingly exposed themselves to the virus, hoping to gain its abilities.
But not everyone survived the transformation.
In fact—
Most didn't.
The death toll rose rapidly.
************
Inside a rugged, worn-down home, far from the cities…
A man and a woman lay side by side on a thin mattress.
Their breathing was weak.
Their bodies fragile.
They were both at the brink of death.
Between them stood a young boy, tears streaming down his face as he clutched their hands tightly.
"Mom… Dad… don't leave me," he cried, his voice trembling with fear.
The man and woman looked at their son, their eyes filled with love—and sorrow.
They knew their time had come.
The virus had taken too much from them.
There was nothing left to fight with.
"Son…" the woman said weakly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Please… promise us… that you'll keep living."
The boy shook his head desperately.
"I don't want to promise! Please… don't die!"
"Survive… these times…" she continued, struggling to speak. "And live a good… and prosperous life…"
"Please… promise me…" she added faintly.
Tears fell endlessly from the boy's eyes.
"I promise… Mom… Dad…"
A moment later—
Their hands loosened.
Their grip faded.
And just like that…
They were gone.
The boy stood there, frozen.
Alone.
**************
Three years later, the pandemic finally came to an end.
Or at least—
It was brought under control.
From the ashes of the old world, a new power rose.
An organization known as Star Tech.
They made a groundbreaking discovery.
A way to bypass the fatal cost of the virus.
They introduced something revolutionary—
Future Points.
With Future Points, individuals could access the future without directly sacrificing their lifespan.
It was safer.
Controlled.
Predictable.
But it wasn't free.
Future Points quickly became the most valuable resource in the world.
People fought for them.
Worked for them.
Killed for them.
Star Tech, holding exclusive control over their production and distribution, rose to unimaginable power.
They didn't just dominate the system—
They became the system.
And before long…
Future Points became the new global currency.