Red light. It pulsed in Dane’s face like a warning. Like a countdown to execution.[ADORATION: 12/100] [WARNING: DELETION IN 7 DAYS 04:12:33]“Nice,” he muttered. The word tasted like ash. Two by two meters. That was his universe. Block D, Sector 9. Paint peeled off the walls in dirty flakes. The AC had been a corpse for three months. Hot air stuck to his skin, thick and stale. The only light came from the floating stream screen, hanging in the air like a ghost. It showed him back to himself. Hollow eyes. Black bags under them. A smirk carved crooked on his lips. The smirk he wore when he was about to break.Viewer count: 8.Three bots. Five people who clicked by accident. Perfect audience for a dead man.Seven days. That’s all I have. Seven days before they wipe me.“Good evening, losers,” Dane said to the camera. His voice scraped. Seventy-two hours without sleep did that. “Tonight I’m gonna tell you why you should hate me.”The chat exploded. @StarQueen5: die already Dane @

Sirens still screamed behind Dane as he plunged into Sector 9 night market. Neon red-yellow-blue light reflected off pools of cooking oil. Smell of grilled fish, sweat, and synth exhaust made his nose burn. Good. More people. More hate. [BAD REVIEW SYSTEM] [Level: 12. Hate EXP: 1,753 / 3,000 --> Level 13. Skill: Insult Wave Lv2, Sarcastic Retort level 1] Active Mission: Survive 24 Hours Without Blocking Anyone. “Hey! That’s him!” shouted a meatball vendor. His phone came out instantly. “Dane Mercer! The 1-Star!” In 10 seconds, 20 phones aimed at Dane. Streams. Recordings. Curses. “Criminal!” “Traitor!” “1 star!” [+5 EXP] [+5 EXP] [+10 EXP] [Total EXP: 1,773 / 3,000] Dane ran and laughed. His ribs still hurt from Kade’s hit, but Bad Review System had already closed 60% of the wound. He jumped onto a siomai cart, kicked a tent, then darted into a narrow alley behind the public toilet. Behind him, Kade kept chasing. His leather jacket was torn, hologram cuffs flas

Reputation Prison Sector 1 had no iron bars. No need.Dane sat on a hologram chair in the middle of a white room. Golden cuffs on his wrists. Ahead, a transparent screen displayed his face from 12 camera angles. In the corner, Adoration score: 3/100. “Welcome to the end of your record, Dane Mercer,” an AI voice said from the speaker. “Your score is 3. You will be deleted in 48 hours.”Dane didn’t answer. He was busy opening the Bad Review System panel.[BAD REVIEW SYSTEM]Level: 11 Hate EXP: 2,641 / 4,000 --> Level 15. Skill Locked: Mass Hate Conversion. Status: Shield Down, Liora’s “Genuine Love” effect still active. Damn. Liora’s effect was still draining 70% of his power. He was weak. Weaker than when he first got the system.The room door opened. Two officers pushed Dane’s chair out. Destination: Block Z. Block for 1-Star inmates waiting for deletion.Elevator dropped 20 floors. Smell of disinfectant, sweat, and despair.Block Z door opened.First sound Dane heard: laughter.“

Dane woke up in darkness.Smell of mold. Smell of dried blood. Smell of his own body that hadn’t showered in three days.His head was heavy. Chest empty. Like something had sucked all strength from his bones.[BAD REVIEW SYSTEM]Level: 5. Hate EXP: 1,204 / 1,500 --> Level 6. Active Skill: Wave of Insults level 1. Locked Skills: Sarcastic Retort, Mass Hate Conversion. Five.He dropped from Level 15 to Level 5 because of one hug.“Damn,” he muttered. Voice hoarse.“Still alive, idiot?”Voice came from the corner. Rara.She sat leaning against the wall, eyes swollen, hand holding a knife. On the floor beside her, dried bloodstain.“How long was I out?” Dane asked.“Three days,” Rara answered. “I kicked Mira out. She cried outside for two days, only left this morning.”Dane closed his eyes. “She’s okay?”“Hospital came to pick her up earlier. Said surgery was delayed because of riots. But her Adoration score went up to 28. So they accepted her.”Dane felt relief. But relief was instant

The alarm screamed. Red lights flashed without stopping. The stench of ozone and burnt metal filled the underground station. The black creature stood at the threshold of the door. Liquid, but it had a shape. Two meters tall. It had no face. Only a dark hole where its voice came from. “Target: Dane Mercer. Execute.” Three hundred ninety-two people stepped back. It wasn’t because they were cowards. It was because instinct told them: run from this thing, or die. Dane stepped forward. Level 15. His new skill, Mass Slander level 1, had just unlocked. His hands were trembling, but it wasn’t from fear. It was from EXP. “So this is The Core?” he said. “You’re sending a liquid golem to catch me?” The creature tilted its head. A hundred voices piled on top of each other: “Anomaly must be erased.” It moved. Fast. It had no legs, but it glided forward like smoke. Dane activated Enhanced Strength level 1. His fist shot out. _Thud._ His fist passed right through it. There were no bon