2026-01-22 07:02:32Kai woke up to someone shaking his shoulder.
"Dude, you alive?"
He opened his eyes. His roommate Trevor stood over him, looking worried. The basement room was dark except for the glow of a laptop screen.
"What time is it?" Kai's voice came out rough.
"Three AM." Trevor held up his phone. "Kai, you need to see this."
Kai took the phone. The video was everywhere. "Silvercrest's Dog Janitor" was trending on every platform. The footage showed everything. Him on his knees. Barking. Chase kicking him. Rebecca laughing so hard she had to wipe her eyes.
The comments were worse than the video.
"This is the saddest thing I've ever seen."
"Put this animal down already."
"His girlfriend is way too hot for him. She upgraded to a real man."
"Three jobs to pay for her and she still cheated. What a pathetic loser."
Kai handed the phone back. He felt nothing. The humiliation was so complete it had circled back to emptiness. He stared at the ceiling, wondering if this was rock bottom.
Then something impossible happened.
A blue screen appeared in the air in front of him. Text scrolled across it like a computer interface.
[SEARCHING FOR WORTHY HOST...]
[REQUIREMENTS MET: Maximum Despair. Pure Heart Corrupted. Unbreakable Will. Righteous Fury.]
[SUPREME LAVISH UPGRADE SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
[WELCOME, CHOSEN ONE: KAI RIVERS]
"What the hell?" Kai sat up fast. His head spun.
"What's wrong?" Trevor asked.
"You don't see that? The blue screen?"
Trevor looked around the room. "What blue screen? Man, did you hit your head?"
The text changed.
[HOST CONFIRMED. INITIALIZING.]
[I AM THE SUPREME LAVISH UPGRADE SYSTEM. I EXIST TO GRANT POWER TO THOSE WHO HAVE SUFFERED BETRAYAL WHILE MAINTAINING PURE INTENT.]
[YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BECAUSE YOUR SUFFERING REVEALED A PURE HEART CAPABLE OF SELFLESS LOVE. YOUR BREAKING POINT AWAKENED RIGHTEOUS FURY. YOU ARE ONE IN EIGHT BILLION.]
[CORE FUNCTIONS:]
[LAVISH RETURNS: When you spend money on righteous purposes, you will receive 100 times the amount back within 24 hours. Righteous purposes include helping others, self improvement, building legitimate businesses, and confronting injustice.]
[UPGRADE POINTS: You earn these through righteous actions and successful missions. Use them to upgrade any aspect of yourself. Skills, attributes, opportunities, even fate itself can be upgraded.]
[MISSIONS: I will generate tasks based on your circumstances. Complete them for rewards.]
[STARTER PACKAGE: $10,000,000 USD HAS BEEN DEPOSITED IN YOUR ACCOUNT]
[CHECK YOUR BANK ACCOUNT FOR PROOF]
Kai stared at the screen. Ten million dollars. This had to be a hallucination. Stress induced psychosis. His mind breaking under the weight of humiliation. But the screen stayed there, waiting.
"This is insane," Kai muttered. His hands moved on their own, opening his banking app.
The balance showed: $10,000,327.43
The $327.43 was his real money. Everything left after Rebecca's gala ticket. The rest was ten million dollars.
"Holy shit." The words barely came out.
"What?" Trevor leaned over.
Kai turned the phone. Trevor's eyes went huge.
"Is that real? That can't be real."
"I don't know." Kai's hands shook. "I don't know what's happening."
[IT IS REAL. TO PROVE THE SYSTEM WORKS, SPEND MONEY ON A RIGHTEOUS PURPOSE. THE RETURN WILL ARRIVE WITHIN 24 HOURS.]
The system was still there. Still waiting. Kai felt like he was losing his mind. But the bank balance didn't change when he blinked. Ten million dollars sat in his account, impossible and undeniable.
Someone pounded on their door. Hard, desperate knocks that echoed through the thin walls.
Trevor opened it. Their neighbor Marcus stood there. The guy lived two doors down, another scholarship student Kai recognized from the cafeteria where they both worked. Marcus looked terrible. Eyes red, face pale, hands shaking.
"Trevor, man, I'm sorry to bother you. Do you have any money? Anything at all?" The words tumbled out fast and desperate. "My mom, she's sick. Really sick. The hospital called and said she needs medication tonight or she might not make it till morning. It's five hundred dollars and I don't have it. I called everyone. Nobody has that kind of money. I don't know what to do."
His voice broke on the last word.
Trevor glanced at Kai. "I'm sorry, Marcus. I'm completely broke."
Marcus put his hands over his face. "She's going to die because I can't come up with five hundred dollars. What kind of son can't even save his own mother?"
Kai stood up. His head throbbed but he ignored it.
"I have it."
Marcus looked up. "What?"
"I have five hundred dollars. I'll give it to you."
"Kai, are you serious?" Marcus stared at him. "I can pay you back, I swear. It might take months but I'll pay back every cent."
"You don't have to pay me back." Kai pulled out his phone and opened his banking app. "What's your account number?"
Marcus rattled off the numbers, his voice shaking. Kai transferred five hundred dollars. Marcus's phone dinged a moment later. He looked at the screen and his knees buckled. He caught himself on the doorframe.
"Oh my God. Oh my God, thank you. Thank you so much." Tears streamed down his face. "You just saved my mother's life."
He ran off down the hallway, already calling someone.
The blue screen updated.
[EXPENDITURE REGISTERED: $500]
[PURPOSE: SAVING A LIFE. HIGHLY RIGHTEOUS.]
[PROJECTED RETURN: $50,000 IN 18 HOURS]
[UPGRADE POINTS EARNED: +10 UP]
[SKILL UNLOCKED: KINDRED SPIRIT DETECTION (PASSIVE). YOU CAN NOW SENSE PEOPLE'S TRUE INTENTIONS AND LOYALTY.]
Trevor stared at Kai. "Did you really just give away five hundred dollars?"
"Yeah."
"Kai, that was most of your money. How are you going to eat?"
Kai looked at the system screen. At the promise of fifty thousand dollars returning. At the ten million sitting in his account.
"I'll be fine."
An hour later, Kai's head was pounding worse. The spot where Chase had kicked him throbbed with each heartbeat. His vision kept blurring at the edges.
"You need to see a doctor," Trevor said. "You might have a concussion."
"I'm fine."
"You collapsed earlier. You're not fine. Go to the hospital."
Kai knew Trevor was right. The pain was getting worse, not better. He took an Uber to Silvercrest General Hospital. The emergency room was nearly empty at four in the morning. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, too bright and harsh.
Kai walked up to the reception desk. A middle aged woman sat there, scrolling through her phone. She looked up when he approached. Her eyes swept over him. His janitor uniform, stained and wrinkled. His cheap sneakers with holes in the soles. The bruises on his face. Her expression shifted from neutral to disgusted.
"Can I help you?" The words came out cold.
"I need to see a doctor. I hit my head and I think I might have a concussion."
She looked back at her phone. "Do you have insurance?"
"No, but I can pay."
"Uh huh." She didn't look up. "And how exactly do you plan to pay? Because if you're here looking for charity care, you need to fill out forms and wait for approval. That takes three to five business days."
"I said I can pay. Right now."
The woman finally looked at him again. Her lips curled.
"Listen, we don't have any toilets for you to clean here. No vomit to mop up either."
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
#8#
Derek circled Kai like a predator sizing up prey. His phone was out, recording. Brandon and Justin flanked him, their expensive shoes crunching on broken glass from the taxi's shattered mirror.The crowd had grown larger. At least twenty people now, all of them with phones pointed at the scene. Someone in the back whispered loud enough for everyone to hear."Isn't that the guy from the video? The one who barked?""Oh shit, it is. This is about to go viral again."Brandon heard it and grinned wider. He held his phone up higher, making sure to capture everything. "The dog found his bark again, guys! This is going to be even better than last time! Make sure you all follow me for part two!"Justin stepped closer to Kai. Close enough that Kai could smell his cologne. Expensive and suffocating. He leaned in, his voice low and mocking."You remember what happened last time you talked back, right? Should we make you bark again? Right here in the street? I bet the views would be even higher th
#7#
Kai sat in the back of the worn out taxi, watching the city blur past his window. The morning sun cut through the buildings and painted everything gold. His phone was heavy in his pocket. Sixteen million dollars. The number didn't feel real yet.The driver was a middle aged man with graying hair and laugh lines around his eyes. His name tag said Chen. He had been talking since they pulled away from the hospital, mostly about his daughter."She's fifteen," Chen said, glancing at Kai in the rearview mirror. "Smart kid. Really smart. She got accepted into Silvercrest Prep on a scholarship. Can you believe that? My daughter, going to a school with all those rich kids."His voice was full of pride and worry at the same time.Kai thought about Mara. His own sister was fifteen too. She had that same scholarship. That same chance at something better."That's good," Kai said quietly. "You should be proud.""I am. I really am. But man, the expenses. They say it's a scholarship but there's still
#6#
The hospital waiting room had gone silent after Kai's card went through. Six thousand dollars, approved just like that.The receipt printed slowly, each mechanical whir sounding louder than it should have.Brett Harrison stood frozen near the administrator's desk, his phone still in his hand. He had been recording the whole thing, expecting Kai to be dragged out by security. Instead, everyone was staring at the receipt like it was some kind of miracle.Dr. Walsh cleared his throat and straightened his white coat. He looked at the receipt, then at Kai, then back at the receipt. His expression had changed completely. The smugness was gone. Now there was confusion and something else. Nervousness."Well," Dr. Walsh said with a forced laugh. "I suppose we can proceed with the examination after all."Brett's jaw tightened. He stepped forward and waved his hand dismissively at the whole situation. "Six thousand dollars? That's nothing." He pulled out his own card, a black credit card with go
#5#
Dr. Walsh stared at the screen. His smile vanished. His face went blank with shock.Brett stopped recording. His mouth fell open.The receptionist made a small choking sound.No one moved. No one spoke. They all just stared at the payment terminal like it had personally betrayed them.Dr. Walsh blinked hard. Once. Twice. He looked at Kai. Then back at the screen. Then at Kai again."This... this can't be right." His voice came out weak. Uncertain.He pressed a button. The transaction details popped up. Six thousand dollars. Approved. Successful. Already processed.The terminal started printing a receipt. The sound of paper feeding through was deafeningly loud in the silent room.Dr. Walsh grabbed the receipt as soon as it emerged. His hands were shaking slightly. He read it once. Read it again. His lips moved but no sound came out."It went through," he finally whispered. "It actually went through."Brett pushed forward, his confidence cracking. "Let me see that!"He grabbed the recei
#4#
Everyone froze.The laughter died in their throats. Brett stopped mid-chuckle, his mouth hanging open. The receptionist blinked like she'd misheard. Even the security guard looked confused.Then the laughter exploded back, louder than before."Double!" Brett slapped the reception desk, his whole body shaking with laughter. "Did he just say DOUBLE? Six thousand dollars? Is this dog having actual delusions?"The staff joined in. The nurse was wiping tears from her eyes. The orderly had to lean against the wall.Dr. Walsh smiled, but it wasn't quite as confident as before. His eyes had changed. Something calculating flickered behind them."Six thousand dollars?" he repeated slowly. "For a simple medical checkup?"Brett was still laughing. "Doc, come on. Look at him. He probably doesn't even have six dollars. This is sad. Actually sad."But Dr. Walsh was quiet now. Staring at Kai. Doing math in his head. Six thousand dollars for maybe an hour of work. That was a lot of money. Even for him
#3#
The receptionist looked at Kai like he was something stuck to her shoe. "Listen, we don't have any toilets for you to clean here. No vomit to mop up either. This is a hospital, not a homeless shelter."Kai's head throbbed where Chase had kicked him. His vision blurred at the edges. He needed medical attention."I understand," he said softly. "I just need to see a doctor. I can pay."The woman laughed. Actually laughed. "Sure you can, honey. They all say that. You know what? I'm calling security."She picked up her phone. Kai didn't argue. He just stood there, waiting quietly while she made the call. A security guard appeared a minute later, already looking annoyed."What's the problem?""This man is bothering patients. I think he's homeless or on drugs. Can you escort him out?"The guard looked at Kai's stained janitor uniform and bruised face. His expression said everything.Before anyone could move, the automatic doors slid open.Brett Harrison walked in.Everything changed instant
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