All Chapters of Rebound: The CEO'S Revenge System : Chapter 1
- Chapter 10
10 chapters
Chapter 1A: The Nightmare Ends
The room was black. It was not just dark; it was a heavy, thick blackness that felt like a blanket over his face.Ryan lay on the bed. The bed was soft, but to him, it felt like a stone slab. He tried to move his finger. Nothing happened. He tried to move his toes. Nothing happened. It was as if his body did not belong to him anymore. He was trapped inside a broken shell.For six months, this was his life.Beep. Beep. Beep.The machine next to his bed made the same sound, over and over again. It was the only thing that told him he was still alive. Sometimes, he wished the machine would stop. If the beeping stopped, the pain would stop too.Ryan felt a sharp ache in his back. He had been lying in the same spot for hours. He wanted to turn over. He wanted to scream. But his mouth would not open. His throat was dry, like sand. He was the CEO of Capital Wonderful, a massive company. He used to have power. He used to tell people what to do. Now, he could not even scratch his own nose.He w
Chapter 1B: The Nightmare Ends
Mark reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He lit one. The smoke filled the room. Ryan started to cough weakly, but he couldn't turn his head away. The smoke burned his nose."Hey," Clara said, "don't smoke in here. The fire alarm might go off.""Relax," Mark said. His voice was rough and deep. "So, when do we get the money? I am tired of waiting, Clara. I did my part."Ryan’s mind started to race. “Money? What part?”"Be patient, babe," Clara said. She walked over to Mark and put her arms around his neck. She kissed him.Ryan stared. His eyes felt like they were burning. His wife. His Clara. She was kissing this stranger. She was kissing him right in front of her dying husband.The pain in Ryan’s heart was worse than the pain in his broken spine.Mark pulled away from the kiss. He looked at Ryan and smirked. "You know," Mark said, "I was worried that night. It was raining hard.""You did perfectly," Clara said softly, stroking Mark's arm."I saw his fancy car
Chapter 2A: The First Mission
The world was dark. It was a heavy, thick darkness. It felt like black water filling a deep hole. Ryan was floating in it. He could not feel his legs. He could not feel his arms. He tried to open his mouth to scream, but his lips were sealed shut like a heavy door.Ryan was a prisoner in his own body.He could hear sound. It was the slow, steady beep... beep... beep of a heart monitor. The sound was annoying. It was the only thing that told him he was still alive."Am I dead?" he thought. "Is this hell?"Suddenly, the darkness broke. A light appeared. It was not the sun. It was not a lamp. It was a strange, glowing blue square. It floated right in the middle of the blackness behind his eyes.Ryan was confused. He had never seen anything like this. White letters appeared on the blue screen. They were clear and bright.[SYSTEM ACTIVATED][HOST STATUS: CRITICAL]Ryan stared at the words in his mind. A System? Like a video game? This was crazy. He remembered the car crash. He remembered
Chapter 2B: The First Mission
Ryan gathered every ounce of his will. He forgot about the pain. He forgot about the darkness. He imagined his right hand. He imagined the smallest finger. The pinky.He pushed his mind down his arm. It felt like pushing water through a blocked pipe. It was hard. It was exhausting.“Move,” he gritted his mental teeth. “Just one inch. Move!”He felt a spark. It was tiny, like the zap of static electricity. The signal hit his finger.His right pinky twitched. It curled inward, just a little bit. It scraped against the bedsheet.Scratch.The sound was tiny. It was quiet. But in the silent room, it sounded loud to Ryan.Did Clara hear it?Ryan stopped breathing mentally. He waited.Clara was still looking in the mirror. She was applying red lipstick. She smacked her lips together. She did not turn around. She did not hear.Ding!A beautiful sound rang in Ryan’s mind.[MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.][ADMINISTERING ANTIDOTE...]Suddenly, a sensation washed over him. It started at his fingertip. It
Chapter 3A: The Evil Plan
The room was cold. It smelled like old medicine and bitter lemon. Ryan lay on the big bed in the center of the room. He did not move. He could not move. His body was like a heavy stone, sinking deep into the mattress. His eyes were closed, but his mind was wide open. He was awake inside the darkness.Beep... beep... beep...The heart monitor was the only sound in the room. It was a slow, steady rhythm. It was the music of his life. It told the world that Ryan was still alive, even if he looked like he was already gone.Ryan felt a small itch on his nose. He wanted to scratch it. He tried to send a signal from his brain to his hand. Move, he told his fingers. Just move one inch. But his hand stayed still. It lay limp on the white bedsheet. He was a prisoner in his own skin.Suddenly, the heavy wooden door creaked open. A slice of yellow light cut across the dark floor.Footsteps entered the room. There were two sets of footsteps. One was heavy and loud—thump, thump, thump. The other w
Chapter 3B: The Evil Plan
Mark pressed buttons randomly. He punched the safe. He tried again and again.Eeeernt. Eeeernt. Eeeernt.Finally, Mark let out a loud roar of frustration. "It’s useless! This metal box is too strong. We can’t break it, and we can’t guess the number. It will lock permanently if we try one more time."Silence filled the room again. The only sound was Ryan’s heart monitor. Beep... beep...They walked back toward the bed. Ryan felt their eyes on him. He felt exposed, like a bug under a microscope."So, that’s it?" Clara asked. Her voice was trembling. "We lose the money? All those millions... just gone?""No," Mark said slowly. "We don't lose anything. We just change the plan."Mark sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped down. Ryan felt Mark’s heavy weight pressing against his leg. It was disgusting."What plan?" Clara asked."The safe is Step One," Mark explained. "But we forgot about Step Two. The insurance."Ryan felt a chill run through his paralyzed body. The life insurance
Chapter 4A: The Kind Nurse
The hospital room was dark. It was not a peaceful dark. It was heavy and thick. It felt like a heavy blanket that covered everything.Ryan lay in his bed. He was perfectly still. He looked like he was sleeping, but he was not. Inside his mind, he was wide awake. He was screaming, but his mouth did not move. He was running, but his legs did not move. He was a prisoner inside his own body.The only sound in the room was the machine. Beep. Beep. Beep.It was a cold, robotic sound. It counted the seconds of his life. Ryan hated that sound. It reminded him that he was alive, but he could not live. He stared at the ceiling. He could not close his eyes. He could not look away. He just stared at the white tiles. He counted them. One, two, three... a hundred.His body felt like stone. It was heavy and cold. He tried to wiggle his toes. Nothing happened. He tried to make a fist. Nothing happened. It was like shouting into a deep, empty well. No echo came back.Then, he heard a sound.Click.The
Chapter 4B: The Kind Nurse
That watch was from his father. His father gave it to him before he died. It was the most important thing Ryan owned. It was his lucky charm."He put it in his pocket," Lily said. "He stole it. I wanted to scream. But I was scared. Mark is... he is dangerous."Ryan was furious. The anger was hot and red. It filled his brain. It filled his chest. He wanted to jump up. He wanted to grab Mark by the throat. He wanted to yell, “Give it back! You thief!”But he was a statue. He was a stone in a bed. The helplessness washed over him. He wanted to cry, but his tear ducts did not work. “I am weak. I am nothing.”"I am sorry, Ryan," Lily said. She looked like she was going to cry. A tear slipped down her cheek. "I am so sorry I didn't stop him."Ryan looked at her tears. She was crying for him. She cared. The anger inside him turned into energy. It was a strange feeling. Usually, he felt numb. But now, the rage and the gratitude mixed together. It felt like electricity.He focused on his hand
Chapter 5: The Lawyer’s Visit
The morning sun came through the window. It was bright and harsh. It hit the white sheets of the hospital bed. Ryan lay perfectly still. He looked like a statue. His chest moved up and down very slowly. To the world, he was in a deep sleep. To the doctors, he was in a coma.But inside, Ryan was awake.His mind was a storm. He could feel his toes, but he could not move them. He could feel the itch on his nose, but he could not scratch it. It was a prison of flesh and bone.Ding.A blue screen appeared in the darkness of his mind.[System Status: Active][Energy: 15%][Recovery Mode: Ongoing]Ryan watched the screen. It was the only thing that kept him sane. He waited. He knew they were coming. He did not know when, but he knew Clara would not wait long. She loved money more than she ever loved him.Then, he heard it.Click-clack. Click-clack.High heels on the hard tile floor. Ryan knew that walk. It was fast. It was impatient. It was Clara.The door handle turned with a squeak. The d
Chapter 6: A Close Call
The sound of the door handle turning was loud. Click.To Ryan, it sounded like a gunshot.He was lying in his bed. He was supposed to be in a coma. He was supposed to be a "vegetable," a man who could not move, think, or speak. But he was awake. He had just been reading the blue System screen floating in the air.Panic hit him hard. His heart started to beat very fast. Boom-boom, boom-boom. If they saw his eyes open, it was over. If they saw him sweating, they would know. They would kill him for real this time."System!" Ryan thought loudly in his head. "Help me!"A blue box flashed in his mind.[Skill Available: Hibernation Level 1][Effect: Lowers heart rate. Lowers body temperature. User appears dead or in a deep coma. Pain is reduced by 50%.][Cost: 2 Energy Points]"Activate!" Ryan screamed in his mind. "Do it now!"The door began to open.Ryan shut his eyes tight. He let his body go loose. Suddenly, a cold feeling washed over him. It started in his chest and moved to his toes. I