1-STAR TRASH: Bad Review System

2. Hate Hunter

Night air. Neo-Jakarta.

It smelled like wet metal and burnt synth-oil.

Dane crashed into a pile of discarded crates in Alley D, Block 9. His knees nearly shattered.

Above him, sirens screamed. Red light from Reputation Police drones swept across peeling walls like a blood tide.

[BAD REVIEW SYSTEM]

Level: 10. Hate EXP: 1,513 / 2,000 --> Level 11. Skill: Insult Wave level 2, Sarcastic Retort level 1.

He ran.

Holes in his shoes slapped dirty water. Behind him, hologram boots pounded concrete.

“TARGET MOVING TO ALLEY 9! BLOCK ALL EXITS!”

No plan. No money. No safe place.

Only one thing: people who hated him.

“Good,” Dane whispered, taking a sharp turn into a narrow gap. “Hate me harder.”

[+2 EXP: Drone Detected Target]

[+3 EXP: Officer Shouted Your Name]

A small green panel flickered in the corner of his vision. New strength flooded his calves. His ragged breath smoothed out.

Insane. Six days ago he’d shake climbing 200 meters. Now he was sprinting under targeting lasers and getting stronger.

Alley 9 was a dead end.

Four-meter wall. Graffiti screamed across it: 5-STARS SUCK. At the end, two Reputation Police officers waited. Blue vests glowing. Scores on their chests: 4.2 and 4.3. Faces flat. Like AI.

“Stop, Dane Mercer,” the left one said. Voice flat. “Your Adoration is 3/100. You violated Article 17: Inciting Mass Disdain. Come with us.”

Dane stepped back. Wall behind. Drone above. No exit.

“I have a question,” Dane said. His voice was still gravel, but something new rose under it. A sharp edge that appeared every time someone cursed him. “If I go with you, what happens to Mira?”

The officer frowned. “Who’s Mira?”

“My sister. The one you just saved because three million people hated me. Remember? Or did 4.2 erase your heart?”

The officer’s face shifted. Not anger. Not pity. Confusion.

Enough.

[+5 EXP: Target Showed Doubt]

[Skill Insult Wave Lv2 Activated]

Air trembled around Dane. Thin red energy spilled from his chest, washing over the two officers. They staggered. Blue vests flickered. Scores dropped to 4.1.

“What ...”

Dane didn’t let them finish. He darted left, kicked an oil can, jumped onto a stack of pipes. His hands grabbed the top of the wall. Muscles that trembled lifting five kilos last week now pulled four meters of bodyweight like feathers.

On top of the wall, wind bit colder. Below, an officer barked into his radio: “Target shows anomalous ability! Requesting Hate Hunter backup!”

Dane paused.

“Hate Hunter?”

He’d heard it in underground forums. 4-Star predators. Their job: bully 1-2 Star citizens. Every tear they forced, their score climbed 0.1. Official monsters.

“Good,” Dane muttered. “Send me the one who hates me most.”

He jumped to the next rooftop.

Neo-Jakarta at night looked like a giant circuit board. Blue neon from 5-Star towers in the distance. Red glow from Block D below. A levitation train slid silently through the middle. Dane ran across corrugated roofs, breathing steady, feet light. Three weeks ago he’d fainted climbing three flights.

[+1 EXP: Drone lost target temporarily]

[+2 EXP: Civilian saw you jump roofs]

“Hey! That’s Dane!” someone shouted from below. “The 1-Star!”

Phones came out. Recordings. Streams. Curses.

[+10 EXP: Mass Stream Detected]

[Total EXP: 1,540 / 2,000]

Dane laughed while running. Insane. He was hunted, and he was evolving.

He ducked into an abandoned building roof. Inside: darkness. Smell of mold and oil. He needed ten seconds to breathe. Only ten.

The door below shattered.

“Dane Mercer!” A new voice. Different from the officers. Enjoying this. “Come out. I’m bored of hide and seek.”

Dane peeked through a vent hole.

The man was tall, thin, wearing a black leather jacket. Score glowing bright on his chest: 4.8. Almost 5-Star. In his hand, hologram handcuffs buzzed like saws.

4.8. That meant he’d broken hundreds of 1-Stars.

“Hate Hunter,” Dane whispered.

The man looked up. Eyes locked with Dane’s through the vent. He smiled. Wide. Like meeting a new toy.

“Found you,” he said.

The roof above Dane exploded.

The man didn’t use stairs. He leapt six meters, kicked the corrugated roof until it caved, landed in front of Dane with bent knees. Movement clean. Efficient. 4.8 was different.

“Name’s Kade,” he said. “I hunt trash like you. Every time I make a 1-Star cry on stream, my score goes up 0.1. Wanna know how many 1-Stars I’ve made delete themselves?”

He held up three fingers.

“Three,” he said proudly. “You’ll be number four.”

Dane stepped back. Heart pounded. Not fear. Panic. Because the Bad Review System panel in the corner flashed yellow.

[WARNING: Target Kade shows low adoration]

[Kade doesn’t hate you. He enjoys you.]

Shit.

Bad Review System only worked if people hated Dane. If they just saw him as entertainment, no EXP.

Kade stepped forward. Hologram cuffs buzzed louder.

“I love my job,” he said. “I’ll give you a choice. Cry now, on my stream, or I break your legs one by one.”

He activated his own stream. Viewer count: 1.2 million.

“Hello everyone,” Kade said to his camera. “Today I got a new toy. Name’s Dane Mercer. The 1-Star who thinks he can fight me.”

Kade’s chat exploded.

@FansKade: destroy him

@AdoredFanGirl: I hate Dane

@NeoFlex: 1 star for Dane

[+3 EXP]

[+3 EXP]

[+3 EXP]

Okay. Still hate. Still fuel.

Kade attacked.

Speed unnatural. One second he was in front of Dane, next second his fist slammed into Dane’s ribs.

Dane flew three meters, crashed into a wood pile. Rib cracked. He coughed blood.

“Slow,” Kade said. “I want you crying on camera. Tears are good for my score.”

He lifted his foot, aiming for Dane’s chest.

Dane had no time to think. Only one weapon.

“You know what,” Dane said through blood, “why your score’s stuck at 4.8?”

Kade stopped.

“Because you’re a coward,” Dane continued. “You only bully people who can’t fight back. You never touch 5-Stars. You never expose corruption. You’re just the system’s pet dog.”

Kade’s eyes changed. From amusement to rage.

“What did you say?”

“I said you’re trash,” Dane said. “4.8 trash that’ll never touch 5-Star because you have no guts.”

[+15 EXP: Personal insult detected]

[+20 EXP: Target enraged]

[Total EXP: 1,578 / 2,000]

Red waves burst from Dane’s chest again. Stronger this time. Kade staggered. Hologram cuffs flickered.

“I ...” Kade tried to speak, but voice caught.

Dane stood. Ribs still hurt, but he could stand.

“You know the difference between us?” Dane said. “I get hated for exposing rot. You get worshipped for bullying the weak. You think you’re strong? You’re a parasite.”

[+25 EXP: Insult went viral on Kade’s stream]

[Level Up! --> Level 11]

The world sharpened. Colors brighter. Pain in his ribs faded 40%.

Kade roared. He charged again, this time aiming to kill.

But Dane was different now.

He twisted, dodged Kade’s punch, then kicked the back of Kade’s knee. The 4.8 knee made a crack. Kade dropped to one knee.

“I don’t want to kill you,” Dane said. Standing over Kade. “I want you alive. I want you to see yourself in the mirror every day: you’re only 4.8 because you’re scared.”

Then he ran.

Behind him, Kade screamed: “I’ll Kill You, DANE!”

[+50 EXP: Death Threat Detected]

[Total EXP: 1,653 / 2,000]

Dane dropped from the building into the chaos of Sector 9 night market. Smell of fried food, music, hanging lights. Worst place to hide. Best place to farm EXP.

“Look!” someone shouted. “It’s Dane!”

Hell broke loose.

People pulled out phones. Curses. Bottles thrown. “Die!” “1-Star!” “Traitor!”

Dane ran and laughed.

[+5 EXP]

[+5 EXP]

[+10 EXP]

[Total EXP: 1,683 / 2,000]

He turned into an alley, burst into a public toilet, locked the door. Breathing ragged. Ribs still hurt, but he was alive.

He opened the hologram. Checked notifications.

Message from unknown number: “Kak, it’s Mira. I borrowed the nurse’s phone. Where are you? Police are looking for you.”

Dane’s heart stopped for a second.

Mira wasn’t blocked on the hospital line.

The Bad Review System panel flashed red instantly.

[WARNING: GENUINE AFFECTION DETECTED]

[SOURCE: Mira Mercer]

[EFFECT: -40% POWER]

It felt like someone yanked a cable from his chest. Legs gave out. He collapsed onto the wet toilet floor.

“Don’t,” he whispered. “Not now.”

But Mira kept typing: “Dane, you’re the best person I have. Thank you for saving me.”

[-20% POWER]

[-20% POWER]

[TOTAL LOSS: -80%]

Dane vomited. Black blood. Skill Insult Wave level 2 cracked in the air, shattered into particles.

He was weak. Weaker than yesterday.

The toilet door slammed.

“Dane! Come out!” Kade’s voice. Hoarse with rage.

Dane couldn’t run. Couldn’t fight. He could only...

He opened Mira’s chat. Typed one sentence. Hand shaking.

“Never contact me again. I hate you.”

Send. Block.

Red panel vanished.

Strength returned. Not 100%, but enough to stand.

Dane opened the toilet door.

Kade stood there. Hologram cuffs fully active.

“Found you,” Kade said.

Dane smiled. A real smile.

“I just realized,” Dane said. “I don’t need all of you to like me. I just need you to hate me.”

Then he shouted to the crowd outside: “HEY! I’m Dane! The 1-Star! I’m right hERE!”

The crowd exploded.

[+100 EXP: Mass provocation detected]

[Level Up! --> Level 12]

Red energy burst from Dane’s body. Kade flew back, slammed into a wall.

Dane ran again. Faster this time. Unburdened.

Behind him, Kade screamed, “I’LL CHASE YOU UNTIL YOU’RE DEAD!”

Dane didn’t answer.

He was busy reading a new notification from Bad Review System:

[New Mission: Survive 24 Hours without blocking anyone]

[Reward: Tier 3 Skill – Mass hate conversion]

Dane ran into the darkness of Sector 9. Sirens behind. A city that hated him ahead.

And for the first time in six months, Dane wasn’t afraid.

Because the more they hated him, the more he lived.