2026-01-27 19:25:15The world did not end with a dramatic big bang. For Mark Miller, the apocalypse began with the long, continuous beep of a jammed photocopier and the pungent stench of burning human flesh.
Mark lay beneath the ruins of a shattered concrete desk. His left ribs were no longer in their proper place. Every time he tried to draw a breath, a sharp pain, like the stabbing of a thousand hot needles, pierced his lungs. A thick, warm fluid flowed from his temple, seeping into his right eye and casting a red filter over the horrific scene before him.
"Cough! Uh... dammit," Mark cursed.
Blood spilled from his mouth, soaking his now-tattered white shirt. The world did not look okay at this moment. For some reason, this strange atmosphere had suddenly manifested right before his eyes.
In the middle of the destroyed meeting room stood The Shredder. The creature was an insult to the laws of nature. It was three meters tall, its skin pale and dry like old parchment, and where its fingers should have been, there were slowly rotating paper-cutter blades, smeared with the remains of human organs.
The monster had just ripped through the shoulder of the poor HR manager. Mark could see the manager’s eyes still flickering in horror before the blades crushed his skull.
It was a truly gruesome sight, but Mark had to escape before the creature could make him its next target.
"I should have... taken a sick day today," Mark whispered hoarsely.
Suddenly, a faint blue light flickered before his eyes.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: END-OF-DAYS CUSTOMER SERVICE]
[User Status: Mark Miller – Near Death (Critical)]
"What... what the hell is this? Am I hallucinating? Am I dead?"
[System: "Negative. You are currently in a reality transition probationary period. We have detected your stress levels reaching the 'Highly Profitable' threshold. Would you like to file a complaint?"]
Mark coughed again; the pain in his chest made him want to pass out, but his survival instinct refused.
"A complaint? Yeah... I’ve got a complaint! There’s a monster... eating my boss... and my ton-weight desk is crushing me! Stop talking nonsense and help me!"
[System: "Complaint accepted. Searching for solutions... Found: 'Contract Employee Promotion Package'. Would you like to borrow low-level combat power?"]
"What did you say? What package was that?"
[System: "Repeating: 'Contract Employee Promotion Package'. Would you like to borrow low-level combat power?"]
Mark saw The Shredder begin to turn toward him. The creature's eyes were milky white, without pupils, yet Mark knew he was being hunted.
"Whatever it is, I don't care. Can it save me from that monster or not?"
[System: "Complaint accepted. Searching for solutions... Found: Not yet confirmed whether it can save you. Would you like to borrow low-level combat power?"]
"How much does it cost? I don't have any cash!"
[System: "We do not accept cash. Administrative f*e: 99% of your remaining lifespan as collateral, plus a 300% physical pain interest. Do you agree?"]
"Three hundred percent? Are you joking?! I can't even breathe—"
The monster roared. The sound was like the ear-piercing screech of grinding metal. It leaped, the blades on its hands spinning at high speed, creating a storm of dust and concrete shards. At a time like this, there was nothing left for Mark to do but agree to the terms.
"AGREED! DAMMIT, I AGREE!" Mark screamed.
[System: "Transaction Successful. Activating: 'Illegal Adrenaline'. Please endure the pain. The Company is not responsible for ruptured blood vessels."]
At that exact moment, Mark felt as if boiling gasoline was being injected directly into his bone marrow. The muscles in his legs, which were pinned by the desk, suddenly tensed by force. A terrifying crack echoed—not from the desk, but from Mark's leg bones being forced to move beyond their anatomical limits.
"AAAAAAGH!" Mark shrieked as he kicked the concrete desk, sending it flying.
He rolled to the side just as The Shredder’s blades slammed into the floor where his head had been a second ago. The concrete floor shattered into pieces. Mark tried to stand, but his legs trembled violently. His muscles were torn internally due to the system's coercion.
"Hey, system! Why do my legs feel like they’re being ironed?! I can't move them at all!"
[System: "That is a side effect of the power loan. Your body is too weak to contain this energy. Suggestion: Do not stop moving if you do not want your heart to explode."]
"Very helpful suggestion! You're just like the management at this office! I hate you!"
Mark grabbed a broken iron support beam. His hands blistered as he gripped it—an effect of his body temperature rising drastically from the 'Illegal Adrenaline'.
The Shredder attacked again. Mark evaded with clumsy movements. Every time he leaped, he could feel the ligaments in his knees nearly snapping. He struck the monster's back with the iron beam. Mark attacked with all his might, even though he knew his strength was no match for The Shredder's.
Unfortunately, Mark's fears came true. A mere pole would not be enough to fight that deadly monster. The iron simply bent. The monster's skin was as hard as steel.
"You've got to be kidding..." Mark gasped. His lungs felt like they were on fire. "System, give me something that can kill it!"
[System: "Available: 'Critical Attack Upgrade'. Cost: Break three fingers on your left hand as an energy sacrifice."]
"Are you insane?! How am I supposed to hit it if my fingers are broken?"
[System: "The choice is yours, Customer. The monster will attack in 1.2 seconds."]
Mark saw the shadow of a massive blade swinging toward his neck. Without a second thought, he slammed his left hand against the concrete wall with all his strength. This time, he could only howl at the unimaginable pain.
"AAAKHHH!" Mark howled.
The pain was so pure that his vision momentarily went black. However, at the same time, his right hand, which was holding the iron beam, was suddenly enveloped in a throbbing black aura.
"My god, my head! What's happening?"
With the last of his strength, Mark lunged the beam into the monster's neck.
This time, the iron pierced the monster's pale flesh. Hot black blood sprayed out, hitting Mark's face and burning the skin of his cheek. The monster thrashed, its blades slashing Mark's arm before it finally collapsed and went still.
Mark fell to his knees. His breath was short. His left hand hung limp, fingers bent in the wrong direction. His entire body was covered in a cold sweat and shaking violently.
"Did I... did I win? Cough... I did it?"
[System: "Combat finished. You have successfully survived with 1.5% remaining health. Congratulations, you have been promoted to 'Probationary Contract Employee' status."]
"Promotion... my ass," Mark whispered before darkness finally overtook him, and he fell unconscious beside the rotting corpse of the monster.
[System: "Warning: Your break time is 5 minutes before the second stage of the pain interest billing begins. Thank you for using our services."]
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CHAPTER 187: BOUNDLESS BURDEN
The pale, unconfigured atmosphere of the Cosmic Zero Point began to churn with a slow, mechanical hostility. A localized tremor rippled through the translucent foundation beneath Mark's feet, though there was no visible debris or structural architecture to shatter. The weightless sensation that had briefly filled his chest completely vanished, replaced by an internal, dense tightening that originated from his primary data signature. The absolute silent vacuum of the space was suddenly interrupted by a high-pitched, metallic hum that resonated directly from the system grids operating in the background of the empty realm. Mark stood frozen, his eyes narrowing as he felt his own physical presence vibrating in a jagged, irregular frequency that did not match the baseline properties of the area."The neutral processing phase of the Cosmic Zero Point has been officially terminated by the master server," Sarah announced, her voice breaking the tense quietude with an immaculate, synthetic p
CHAPTER 186: COSMIC ZERO POINT
The vibration under Mark's boots ceased with an abruptness that felt like hitting a wall of solid ice. The heavy, red-tinged numeric data streams that had been tracking his compounding deficit vanished entirely, swallowed up by a sudden, absolute stillness. Mark slowly opened his eyes, only to find that the bottomless black corridor of the lower system had dissolved behind him. He was no longer falling, nor was he standing on anything he could physically define. The space around him was a pale, translucent expanse that possessed no shadows, no walls, and no structural markers. It felt as though he had stepped completely out of the building's active layout, entering a vacuum where the basic properties of matter were entirely unconfigured. The air was perfectly odorless, lacking even the synthetic, processed quality of Floor 90, and every breath he took felt entirely weightless."The environmental transition has reached absolute stabilization," Sarah's voice cut through the pale silen
CHAPTER 185: ESCALATION OF THE DEBT BURDEN
The violent sensation of falling through the bottomless dark slowly transformed into a heavy, crushing stillness. Mark felt his boots touch an invisible foundation, though there was no sound of impact, no solid ground to look at, and no structural horizon to provide a sense of orientation. The endless void wrapped around him like a solid wall of absolute black, pressing tightly against the exterior of the silver perimeter. The air inside the shield had grown dense and freezing cold, carrying a sharp, metallic taste that made each breath feel like a deliberate effort. Mark stood straight, his eyes widening as he tried to pierce through the thick obscurity, but the lack of data in this space was total."The descent sequence has terminated within the primary holding corridor of the lower system," Sarah's voice broke the silence, vibrating smoothly from the fluid strands of information beside him.The digital tone was perfectly adjusted, clear, and immaculate, showing no signs of the e
CHAPTER 184: GATE TO THE VOID
The obsidian platform beneath Mark's feet shivered violently, a deep, mechanical groan echoing from the sub-structural layers of Floor 90. The oppressive darkness of the massive chamber began to fracture, revealing thin lines of harsh, absolute white that pierced through the empty gallery benches. The sterile, processed air grew thin, smelling sharply of ozone and dying circuits as the architecture itself prepared to dissolve. Mark braced his stance, his eyes scanning the widening fissures in the stone work while the silver shield around him hummed in a defensive cadence. The sheer scale of the destruction was breathtaking, as walls that had stood for cycles began to peel away like digital dust, revealing the terrifying emptiness that existed just outside the boundary of the formal tribunal rules."The structural integrity of Sector 90 has reached critical decompression threshold," Sarah's voice sounded from the shimmering pillar of fluid code beside him.The digital tone remained
CHAPTER 183: THE SEPARATION EFFECT
The fading grey light of the departed tribunal left Floor 90 wrapped in a profound, suffocating darkness. Mark stood completely motionless on the obsidian platform, his chest rising and falling in slow, heavy breaths as the silence of the massive, empty gallery settled over him. The sharp, mechanical hum of the system had vanished, leaving behind only the faint, rhythmic pulse of the silver barrier surrounding his position. The air inside the perimeter remained crisp and heavily processed, but to Mark, it suddenly felt entirely hollow, stripped of the vital warmth that had defined his journeys through the lower levels."The structural reconfiguration of this sector is now entering its secondary phase," Sarah's voice broke the silence, emanating directly from the shimmering silver wall beside him.The sound carried an immaculate, digital perfection that lacked the tiny variations of human breath and vocal strain. It was beautifully modulated, clear, and perfectly balanced, yet it re
CHAPTER 182: PARTIAL VERDICT
The echoes of Mark's final words slowly faded into the high, vaulted corners of the chamber, leaving behind a silence so dense it felt physical. On the obsidian platform, the shimmering silver perimeter of the Cosmic Data Shield maintained its immaculate shape, vibrating at a lower frequency as it stood ready to intercept any sudden systemic retaliation. The clean, synthetic scent of processed information remained trapped inside the barrier, contrasting sharply with the cold, sterile air of Floor 90 that filled the rest of the vast gallery. Mark kept his gaze anchored on the three towering Judges, his breathing slow and calculated, refusing to let the heavy atmosphere break his focus."The final arguments put forward by the human representative node have been successfully processed through the primary evaluation matrix," the central Judge announced, its massive circular components suddenly initiating a slow, backward rotation that emitted a deep, metallic groan. "The conceptual data
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