The fortune's deadline
In a gritty urban world where dreams drown faster than the desperate, Jason Hale is a forgotten orphan with no family, no future, and now just 60 days to live. Diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, his only light is girlfriend Stephanie Scott—the woman he plans to marry before the end. But when he discovers her betrayal with a wealthy rival, despair drives him to leap into an empty hotel pool, clutching his grandfather's mysterious cross necklace.
As water fills his lungs, the cross activates: a holographic system screen materializes, binding him to "Fortune's Deadline"—60 days to amass riches or perish. Complete meaningful tasks for wealth and lifespan extensions; fail, and penalties strip away time, memories, and secrets. With clear rules (no exploits, strategic growth only), hidden costs (erased pasts tying to his unknown parents), and escalating rewards (millions and months added), Jason rises from penniless delivery boy to empire-builder.
But as fortune flows, betrayers close in, and the system's true source whispers of a larger conspiracy. Will Jason rewrite his fate, reclaim his love, and uncover his orphan origins before the clock hits zero? In this high-stakes progression tale of empowerment and suspense, every decision buys time—or buries it forever.
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Chapter: chapter 9: legacy threatThe night outside Jason’s window was still, almost too still. The city’s pulse, the one that usually roared with sirens and laughter, felt muted—like the world itself was holding its breath for him.Malik’s words wouldn’t leave his head. Victor is your father. The phrase looped again and again until it lost all meaning and then came back sharper, more painful. He sat there in silence, gripping the cross that had started everything. It felt heavier now—as if the metal had absorbed his shame.He wanted to scream, to punch something, to destroy every wall that kept the truth hidden all these years. But the only sound in the room was the slow beeping of the holographic screen and Stephanie’s uneven breathing beside him.Her body was getting weaker. The extensions she had gained by sharing his tasks were fading. Her skin had gone pale, lips cracked, hands trembling even when she tried to smile at him.“Jason…” she whispered. “You’re shaking again.”“I’m fine.”“You haven’t eaten.”He laugh
Last Updated: 2025-10-14
Chapter: chapter 8: rekindled alliance The night Malik betrayed him, the city didn’t sleep. Neon bled across the puddles, and Jason walked without feeling his feet. Every light seemed to whisper a different version of his failure.He had given everything — his last days, his last strength — to a cause meant to outlive him. And now, before dawn, the fund that carried his name was about to vanish into the same dark that had taken his parents.He stopped at a bridge and stared down at the black water. The cross against his chest glowed faint red, like a heartbeat that didn’t trust itself.> INTEGRITY BREACH DETECTEDACCOUNT COLLAPSE IN 06 HOURSJason’s reflection trembled in the water. “Why do you keep giving me hope just to take it back?”The screen flickered once more:> Resolve Test Active.He laughed under his breath. “Then watch me resolve.”He turned from the bridge and headed toward the one place he swore never to go again — the glass tower of V Industries, Victor’s domain. If Malik worked for Victor, maybe the damage
Last Updated: 2025-10-14
Chapter: chapter 7: the million gambit The morning after the storm, the city smelled of wet dust and diesel. Jason crossed the empty street with a cheap umbrella and the weight of the holographic cross pressing against his chest. The screen had flashed its cruel reminder at dawn:> TASK: Amass and spend $500 000 in meaningful aid within five days.REWARD: +15 days of life.PENALTY: Emotional erosion — Stage 2.Five days. A number so small it felt like an insult.He rented a desk in a shared workspace that still hummed from the previous night’s power cut. The ceiling dripped. His laptop fan wheezed. He named his page The Orphan Horizon Project—one sentence of code, a blank donate button, and a mission that sounded impossible.By noon he had called everyone he’d ever met—former co-workers, small charities, classmates who barely remembered him. Most answered with sympathy, none with help.Then a stranger’s voice came from behind him, low and confident.“Maybe what you need is presentation.”Jason looked up. A man stood there
Last Updated: 2025-10-14
Chapter: chapter 6: strategic resolve The rain followed him home, whispering like an echo that refused to die.Jason walked with his hood up, every step heavy, every breath tight. The city still looked the same — neon lights, tired streets — but he wasn’t the same anymore.The system had changed him. Money had changed him. Pain had carved new steel into his bones.And yet, beneath all that, a quiet ember still glowed — a memory of what he once was.He reached his apartment, dripping on the floorboards, and pulled out the glowing cross.“Grandpa,” he whispered, “you said faith marks blood. Maybe this… this is my mark.”The holographic screen flickered awake.> System Notice:Stability restored: 78 %. New potential detected.Generate long-term task?Jason exhaled. “Yes. Something that matters.”> Task Generated – ‘Build Meaning From Pain’Objective: Create a self-sustaining platform that helps at least one hundred orphans within thirty days.Reward: +10 days life, Wealth multiplier unlocked.He stared at the glowing words.
Last Updated: 2025-10-14
Chapter: chapter 5 : hidden costsMorning came, but the sky stayed dark.Jason hadn’t slept.He sat on the rooftop of the old hostel, soaked to the bone, staring at the glowing city that never cared he existed.Victor’s words replayed in his mind over and over like poison on repeat.> “Your mother always said your eyes looked just like mine.”It didn’t make sense.How could Victor know anything about his parents when Jason had been told they died when he was just three?He tried to remember their faces, but all he saw were silhouettes behind smoke — flashes of gentle laughter, the smell of old perfume, and then nothing. Just cold emptiness.His chest ached.And deep inside that ache, the screen pulsed awake again.> System Log:Warning – Emotional stability below threshold.Processing trauma response.Task queue recalibrated.Jason wiped his wet face, muttering, “What now?”The holographic text formed slowly, almost softly, like the screen itself pitied him.> New task: “Transform loss into value. Invest meaningfully.
Last Updated: 2025-10-14
Chapter: chapter 4: penalty painThe city was gray that morning — a dull, merciless gray that felt like it had been painted just to match Jason’s chest.Rainwater gathered in the cracks of the street as if even the sky couldn’t stop crying for him.He sat on the bus, silent, staring out through a window smeared with fog and fingerprints. In his pocket, the holographic screen rested against his thigh like a silent bomb. It hadn’t glowed since midnight, after the task, but its presence made his pulse quicken every few seconds — the memory of its voice echoing in his mind.> “Task failed. One day deducted. Memory penalty initiated.”He didn’t understand what it meant until morning, when he woke up and tried to remember something that wasn’t there.Something small.Something human.He sat up, hand pressed to his head, trying to recall the face of a boy — his only childhood friend at the orphanage. But when he tried to picture him, all he saw was a blur. He couldn’t remember the boy’s name, his voice, or even what they us
Last Updated: 2025-10-14
