Noah sits in the car, listening to the engine's quiet hum. He's behind the wheel but not driving. Not yet. The interior is all rich, dark leather and cool metal. He feels out of place, a street rat in a luxury den.
Slowly, he takes out his phone.
With $70,000, his debts could vanish into thin air...
The thought filled him with anticipation, but also trepidation.
He could do it.
But at what cost? What was the catch? Because there was always a catch.
He knew that. The world had taught him that.
Everything had a price. Especially things that seemed too good to be true.
Noah looked at the sleek sports car he was sitting in, the one that had appeared out of nowhere. It was an impossible gift, an improbable fortune.
A trap?
A test?
He didn't know. But he knew better than to take it at face value.
There was more to this than met the eye. There was always more than met the eye.
His hand shook slightly as he tapped the banking app on his phone. The balance glowed on the screen. $70,000. More money than he'd ever seen in his life.
It felt unreal. Like a dream. Or a nightmare. He wasn't sure which.
The sound of a siren in the distance brought him back to reality.
A harsh, shrill reminder that this wasn't a dream.
That this was his life.
The life that the System had given him. Or was about to give him. He still wasn't sure. And he didn't like being unsure. It made him nervous. It made him wary. But he didn't have a choice. Not really.
He looked at the screen again. The balance was still there. The money was still there. Waiting for him to claim it. To make it his. To use it to pay off his debts and start a new life. A life he'd never imagined possible. A life he wasn't sure he wanted.
He took a deep breath. Inhaled the new car smell. Let it fill his lungs. Let it reassure him. Let it ground him. He was in control. He was in charge. He was the one making the decisions. The choices. The moves. He was the one in the driver's seat.
He tapped the button on the screen. Confirmed the payment. Watched the balance drop to zero. Felt a weight lift off his shoulders. And another one settled onto them.
The debt was gone. The slate was wiped clean. He was free. Free to start over. To build something new. To become someone new.
"Hah..."
A laugh, broken and half-formed, escaped his lips. He didn't know if it was relief or hysteria. Probably both. He leaned back in the seat, the leather creaking softly. The engine's purr was a constant backdrop. A promise of power. A reminder of the System's gift.
He gave the throttle a gentle tap-
*VrrrEEEUMM~*
An odd giddiness flooded his senses.
A smile crept across his face. He felt like a kid in a candy store.
The steering wheel felt solid in his hands, the pedals responsive under his feet. He eased out of the parking lot, the car gliding onto the street with a whisper of tires on pavement.
...
Meanwhile, Omnibank, Lower Sector.
"What... He paid it off?"
A man in a suit stared at his screen, his brow furrowed in confusion. The figure on the screen was unmistakable. Forty-three thousand dollars. Paid in full. This didn't make sense. Noah Bell was a nobody, a zero. He had no job, no assets, and no connections. He shouldn't have been able to pay off his debts. Not in a million years.
An interest farming machine soon to be turned into a...
"Damn it!"
"Dig deeper. Find out how he did it. And who's backing him. I want answers."
"Yes, sir."
The man in the suit turned back to his screen, his fingers flying over the keyboard. He would find the truth. Even if it killed him. Or someone else.
***
The Lotus is a blur of motion, slicing through the night like a knife. The cityscape blurs past, neon lights smearing across the darkness like wet paint.
Noah is alone in the cockpit, the only living thing in a machine built for speed and precision.
The engine snarls, a beast unleashed, and the tires grip the road with predatory focus. He's alive, more alive than he's ever been, the adrenaline flooding his veins like a drug.
It's a dangerous high, and he can't help but crave it. He can't remember the last time he felt this way.
Maybe he never has. Maybe this is what it's like to be truly alive.
The world around him fades into a haze, the lines of streetlights and buildings merging into a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes.
There's only the road, the machine, and the man.
Noah's hands remained steady on the wheel, his foot on the gas pedal, and his eyes sharp, cutting through the darkness like twin lasers. He's in control, even as the world around him spins out of control.
That's how it always had been. He never had the chance to go with the flow, to spin out with the world.
No.
Ever since his parents left him with that mountain of debt, Noah had to lock his head straight and ignore the blurring world around him.
But now, he was free.
Or was he...
Noah slowly pulled over, looking at the car's clock. 11:50 PM. Ten more minutes before the day was over, and his life would change once again. He leaned back, watching the digital numbers tick by. 11:51. 11:52. 11:53. Time seemed to slow down, the seconds stretching into hours, days, years.
Outside, the city was quiet, a lull between the bustle of day and the revelry of night. Streetlights cast long shadows across empty sidewalks, and the air was filled with the distant hum of traffic, a constant reminder that he was not alone, no matter how isolated he felt. The car's engine purred softly, a gentle reminder of its presence and power.
He closed his eyes, letting the darkness envelop him, letting the silence wrap around him like a cloak
11:59.
Noah's heart thumped.
What if it didn't reappear? What if this was all some elaborate hoax? Some cruel joke? What if he were left with nothing? Again. Left with the ashes of his hopes, the shattered remnants of his dreams?
He didn't know if he could survive that. Not again. He had barely survived it the first time.
11:59.
The clock ticked over to 12:00.
A chime sounded in his mind, a soft, musical note that seemed to echo in the silence of the car. A blue screen materialized in front of his eyes, its glow casting a soft, otherworldly light on his face.
─ System Reminder: Daily Sign-In Available.
Noah silently stared at the prompt before him, a slow smile tugging at his lips.
It was awkward and unfamiliar, this sensation of... hope? He didn't know if he was ready for it. He didn't know if he wanted it. But it was there, nonetheless.
He sighed softly, then finally spoke.
"System, Sign In."