New York's mornings always carried a mechanical clamor. Alex Harper rubbed his eyes and climbed out of his cramped apartment bed. His life was like a poorly debugged code: repetitive, monotonous, and impossible to reboot. At 25, he was a bottom-tier programmer at a tech company, commuting daily from his Brooklyn rental to a Manhattan office building, tapping away at keyboards to fix other people's bugs. His salary barely covered rent and takeout, and social life? What was that, something edible?
He took his usual cold shower, staring at himself in the mirror: a mess of brown hair, slightly tired blue eyes, a slender build that wasn't quite frail. Alex wasn't the type to easily draw glances in a bar—he was more like an invisible man, buried in the world of code. Girlfriend? The last one was a year ago, that relationship crashing like a failed server, disconnecting silently.
"Another repetitive day," he muttered to himself, grabbing his phone and heading out. The subway station was crowded; he squeezed into a car, leaning against the door and scrolling through social media. His feed was full of others flaunting their lives: parties, travels, romantic dates. He sighed, swiping the screen, and stumbled into an underground forum—a place where programmers shared black-market software. There were always weird posts, like "cracked VR games" or "anonymous encryption tools."
One title caught his eye: "Desire Awakening APP—Change Your Life, Limited-Time Download." The post described it dramatically: an experimental app that "unlocks hidden potential," supposedly from some hacker group's VR project. Comments called it a scam or boasted it "upgrades life like a game." Alex chuckled, thinking: Why not try it? His life was boring enough anyway.
He clicked the download link, and his phone vibrated once. The installation was unusually smooth, no permission prompts. The app icon was a flickering red vortex, named "Desire System." He hesitated for a moment, then tapped to open it.
The screen lit up, a blue light scanning his face. Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit, as if something gently probed his brain. Alex shook his head, thinking it was subway signal interference. But then, a semi-transparent interface appeared before his eyes, like AR glasses, yet he wore none. The interface flickered unstably, glitching during loading—the screen twisted, showing eerie parallel lines, like shadows from another world. Crucially, it was invisible to others, perceptible only to him, ensuring secrecy.
**[System Activation: Welcome, Host Alex Harper. Binding successful, but reality glitch detected. Origin: Parallel world data stream. Your desires will be quantified, enhanced, and controlled. Initial Level: Lv.1]**
Alex's eyes widened. This wasn't a hallucination—the interface hovered on his retina; he tried blinking, but it remained, edges blurry like unstable signal. The subway passengers noticed nothing, continuing to scroll or nap. His heart raced: What black tech was this? A virus? Or last night's caffeine overdose? The glitch made him uneasy—the system seemed imperfect, but at least it was his secret.
**[Newbie Task Issued: Make eye contact with a female stranger on the subway and get her smile. Reward: EXP+50, Charm Value+1. Failure Penalty: Desire Thirst debuff (24 hours). Hint: Overcome social anxiety with multiple attempts.]**
Alex swallowed hard. Eye contact? A smile? Sounded simple, but for a socially anxious programmer like him, it was hell mode. The system panel flashed: [Target Locked: Lily Chen. Match Rate: 85%. Suggested Action: Look into her eyes and show a confident smile. Note: Target has hacker background, may trigger system interference, but details remain hidden.]
The car swayed forward, and Alex scanned around. In the corner, a young woman caught his attention. About 27, Asian descent, long hair cascading, wearing a stylish denim jacket and tight pants, reading a book. Her eyes were bright, lips slightly upturned, looking like a social media influencer—the type sharing New York life pics on Instagram.
He took a deep breath and casually turned toward her. Their gazes met. Lily looked up, slightly startled, but didn't smile—instead, she frowned: "What are you looking at?"
Alex's face flushed, stammering: "Uh, n-nothing." He quickly looked away, thinking: Failed.
**[Task Progress: 0%. Hint: Try again. Use confidence buff (temporary +1).]**
The system injected a warm flow, making him feel slightly calmer. He looked at her again: "Sorry, your book looks interesting. 'Desires in the Digital Age'? Sounds like something I'd read."
Lily glanced at him, expression cool: "Is it? But I don't like strangers hitting on me." She turned back to her book.
The awkward rejection made Alex want to disappear. But the system hinted: [Progress: 20%. Analysis: Target is wary. Suggestion: Share common interests, persist but don't push.]
He swallowed, trying a third time: "I'm a programmer, interested in tech and interpersonal books. Maybe we can chat about it?"
Lily hesitated, finally smiling—not warmly, but with caution: "Alright, but don't get too close. I'm Lily, you?"
**[Task Progress: 60%. Continue interaction. Warning: Target's hacker background may scan for anomalies, but system remains concealed.]**
Alex introduced himself, and they chatted a bit, from New York traffic complaints to tech's impact. Lily's guard slowly lowered, but suddenly, her eyes narrowed: "Wait, your phone... has a weird signal." As a former hacker, she sensed something off vaguely.
At that moment, the system interface twisted—glitch intensifying, flashing hallucinations before Alex: fragments of parallel worlds, desires swirling like vortices. He shook his head, steadying himself. She noticed but couldn't see the interface.
Lily noticed his oddity: "You okay? Looks like you got hit by a virus."
Alex forced a smile: "Fine, just signal issues." As the subway reached her stop, he mustered courage: "Can I get your contact? To continue the chat?"
Lily paused, nodding: "Okay, but don't rush it." She gave her number, but her eyes held doubt.
**[Newbie Task Completed! Rewards Issued: EXP+50 (Current EXP: 50/100), Charm Value+1 (Current Charm: 6/10). Warning: Glitch event logged; hacker interference may trigger backlash, but secrecy maintained.]**
Alex leaned back in his seat, his mind buzzing. This wasn't a dream, but the glitch made him question: Did the system have flaws? The Charm +1 effect showed—he felt more confident. On the way to the office, he noticed more glances from passersby.
In the company building, Alex sat at his desk, pretending to work while studying the app. The system had a shop, upgrade tree, even an AI assistant named "Desira."
**[Desira: Welcome, Host. Glitch repaired, but be cautious with hacker targets. Any questions?]**
"What is this? Who created you?" Alex thought silently.
**[Desira: Origin classified, from parallel worlds. But I know your desire index is high. Next task incoming.]**
Sure enough, the panel updated:
**[Daily Task: Invite Lily for coffee and achieve one intimate contact (e.g., hand-holding or light kiss). Reward: EXP+100, Unlock Skill "Mind Reading" (Beginner). Failure Penalty: EXP-50. Hint: Handle her hesitation with multiple interactions.]**
Alex's heart raced. Intimate contact? This escalated fast. But thinking of Lily's smile and her hesitation, he didn't resist. In the afternoon, he texted her: "Hey, Lily. Remember our subway chat? Free for coffee tonight?"
The reply was slow: "Not sure, I'm busy. And you seemed a bit off."
He persisted, system hints helping him reply cleverly. After a few exchanges, she agreed: "Fine, 'Urban Light' cafe in Manhattan, 7 PM. But don't expect much."
At 7 PM, Alex arrived early. Lily showed up wary, but the charm buff made her glance longer. They talked, from work to hobbies, but Lily hesitated: "I'm not casual, you know? Especially subway encounters."
Alex nodded, using system hints to share sincere stories. Gradually, she relaxed, their hands brushing accidentally. The system flashed: [Intimate Contact Progress: 30%.]
But Lily suddenly asked: "What's with your 'system'? I felt an odd signal on your phone." Her hacker background triggered a glitch, the interface twisting again, flashing desire hallucinations before Alex.
He steadied, partially explaining honestly: "Just an app experiment." Lily hesitated but was moved by his sincerity, allowing a light kiss. Their lips met, soft and tentative, with a coffee scent. But the glitch intensified the sensation—strong yet slightly unsettling. Expanded: Lips pressed, tongues tentatively exploring, her taste of coffee and desire flooding his senses, the glitch amplifying every tingle to electric waves, bodies pressing closer in building heat.
As they parted, Lily breathed: "That felt... weird but intriguing."
**[Task Completed! Rewards Issued: EXP+100 (Current EXP: 150/100, Leveled Up to Lv.2), Unlock Skill "Mind Reading" (Beginner). Note: Backlash risk increased, secrecy intact.]**
Alex felt the world change, but the glitch hinted at trouble. From ordinary programmer to desire controller—this was just the beginning, but Lily's doubts and the system's hidden flaws filled the future with uncertainty.