Chapter 1: The Silicon Slums
The air in the Sector 4 tenement was a thick soup of metallic dust and the smell of cheap synthetic grease.
Leo Thorne sat on a hard plastic chair, his eyes fixed on the "Data-Slate" in his lap. To anyone else in this world, this device was a pinnacle of engineering—a translucent, flexible screen capable of processing millions of calculations per second. But to Leo, it was a Ferrari being used as a paperweight.
The screen displayed the world's most popular game: "LOGIC-GRID V.12."
Objective: Sort 500 colored cubes into their respective bins based on weight.
Active Players: 120 Million.
"Tragic," Leo whispered, his voice raspy from the dry air.
He had been in this body for exactly six hours. In his previous life, he was the Lead Architect for a global gaming conglomerate on Earth. He had mastered the art of the "Dopamine Loop," the psychological triggers that made billions of people addicted to their screens.
But this parallel world was a paradox. Their hardware was a century ahead of Earth—Full-Dive VR was commercially available, and Neural-Links were as common as smartphones—yet their entertainment was a desert. There were no heroes, no high-stakes narratives, and certainly no "fun." Everything was designed for efficiency, logic, and productivity.
"Leo? Are you still staring at that thing? Come eat."
The door to the cramped cubicle slid open. A woman entered, carrying a tray with two bowls of grey nutrient paste. This was Sarah Thorne, his mother. She was only thirty-eight, but the grueling shifts at the coolant factory had carved lines of exhaustion into her face. Even so, she possessed a refined, classic beauty—sharp cheekbones and deep, intelligent eyes that the slums hadn't quite managed to extinguish.
"The factory gave us an extra ration tonight," she said, offering a small, tired smile. "Eat while it's warm."
Leo looked at her, then at the bruised skin on her wrists from the heavy industrial gloves she wore. A cold, sharp resolve settled in his chest. In his past life, he was a shark. He didn't care about anyone. But the memories of this body—the way Sarah had skipped meals so he could have data-credits—hit him with a visceral force.
"Thanks, Mom," Leo said, his voice deeper than she remembered.
"You've been... quiet since you hit your head at the docks," Sarah said, her hand lingering on his shoulder. She felt the tension in his frame, a strange, new intensity. "Just don't worry about the debt. Elena said she's working on a legal loophole."
Elena Thorne, his aunt. A disbarred lawyer who was currently working as a data-entry clerk just to keep the debt collectors from the "Physical Lien" office at bay.
"I'll handle the debt, Mom," Leo said firmly.
Sarah chuckled sadly, kissing his forehead before leaving. "Just focus on passing your Technician Exams. That's our only way out."
As the door hissed shut, Leo turned back to the Slate. He didn't have the hardware for a VR masterpiece yet. He needed seed capital. He needed something that required almost no processing power but offered infinite addiction.
He opened a raw coding terminal. His fingers moved across the haptic keyboard like a blur. He wasn't just typing code; he was architecting a psychological trap.
He began to build "FLAPPY NEON."
He spent the next eight hours tweaking the gravity physics by 0.01 increments. On this Earth, people were used to "fair" and "logical" games. He was giving them a game that was frustrating, unpredictable, and brutally simple.
Tap. Score: 1. Die.
Tap. Score: 0. Die.
"Perfect," he muttered, his eyes bloodshot but glowing.
Suddenly, a digital chime echoed directly in his brain.
[OMNI-MEDIA CREATOR SYSTEM: INITIALIZED]
Attribute Value Status
Host Leo Thorne Level 1
Physique 0.8 (Frail) Human Avg: 1.0
Cognition 2.5 (Superior) Soul-Merge Bonus
Creative Points 0 Earned via Emotional Resonance
[Current Mission: The First Spark]
Goal: Generate $5,000 in revenue within 72 hours.
Reward: [Physique Optimization V.1] + [Server Stealth Encryption].
Failure: System Unbinding (Host returns to previous state of physical collapse).
Leo didn't hesitate. He uploaded the game to the "Open-Source Hub" under the developer pseudonym 'MONOPOLY.' He didn't set a price; he set a "Challenge Bounty."
"If you can reach a score of 50, you win nothing. If you can't, you'll try until you do."
He shut down the terminal and fell into a dreamless sleep.
He was woken up four hours later by a loud, rhythmic thumping. He sat up to see his younger sister, Maya, standing in his room. She was seventeen, athletic, and usually ignored Leo in favor of her "Logic-Grind" studies.
"Leo! Look at the school forums!" she shouted, shoving her wrist-comm in his face. "This game... this 'Flappy Neon'... it's spreading like a virus! The Student Council President broke his tablet because he died at a score of 49! Everyone is freaking out!"
Leo looked at the screen. The forums were a mess of rage and excitement.
[User: LogicMaster99]: This game is illogical! Why is the gravity so heavy?! I've been playing for three hours! I MUST BEAT 50!
Leo checked his private account.
[叮! Notification:]
[Emotional Resonance Detected: Rage (High), Obsession (Extreme).]
[Current Revenue: $1,200 (Donations/Ad-Revenue).]
The numbers were ticking up every second. The world that had been starved of "Fun" was currently devouring the first dose of digital poison he had offered.
"Leo? Why are you smiling like that?" Maya asked, her brow furrowing. She looked at her brother, noticing for the first time that his eyes weren't dull anymore. They were sharp. Predatory.
"I'm just getting started, Maya," Leo said. He reached out and patted her head, a gesture he hadn't made in years.
Maya's face flushed red, and she swatted his hand away, but she didn't leave. "You're... you're acting weird. But whatever. Can you show me how to beat the level with the double pipes? I'm stuck at 12."
Leo smirked. "That'll cost you, little sister."
[Mission Progress: $1,200 / $5,000]
[Estimated Time to Completion: 14 Hours]
The Silicon Slums were about to witness the birth of a God.