2026-01-20 20:11:48Ryan 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 was a cool, refreshing feeling. It felt like ice water flowing into a hot desert.
The coolness traveled up his hand. It went up his wrist. It moved into his arm.
The heavy darkness in his mind began to thin. The fog was lifting. The "neuro-toxin" was breaking down.
Ryan felt a change. Before, his body felt like dead weight. Now, he could feel the sheet under his legs. He could feel the itch on his nose. He could feel the beat of his heart, strong and angry.
He was not just a prisoner anymore. He was fighting back.
But the relief was short.
"Okay, I look perfect," Clara said. She turned around.
She walked back to the bed. She stood over him. Her eyes were cold and hard. She looked at his face. Then, she looked down at his right hand.
Ryan’s heart hammered. Beep... beep... beep... The monitor sped up slightly.
Clara frowned. She tilted her head.
"That's strange," she whispered.
She leaned closer. Her face was inches from his.
"I thought your hand was flat," she murmured to herself. "Why is your finger curled?"
Ryan felt a spike of fear. She noticed. She saw the pinky finger.
She reached out again. She grabbed his wrist. Her grip was tight. She was checking for resistance. She was checking for life.
"Mark," she said into the phone, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Hold on. Something is wrong."
She stared intensely at Ryan’s face. She was looking for a sign. A twitch of the eye. A change in breathing.
Ryan used all his strength to stay limp. He had to play dead. If he moved now, it was over.
The blue screen appeared again. It was flashing red this time. A warning.
[ALERT: HEART RATE INCREASING.]
[ENEMY IS SUSPICIOUS.]
[NEXT MISSION LOADING...]
Clara’s eyes narrowed. She squeezed his hand hard. Her fingernails dug into his skin. It hurt, but Ryan did not flinch.
"Maybe it was just a muscle spasm," she said, but she did not sound convinced. "Or maybe..."
She let go of his hand and reached into her purse. Ryan could not see what she was doing, but he heard a click.
It was the sound of a small knife opening.
"Let's see if you can feel this," she whispered.
She brought the small blade toward his arm. She was going to cut him. Just a little. To see if he reacted.
The System screen flashed bright and fast.
[NEW MISSION: OPEN YOUR EYES.]
[TIME LIMIT: 3 SECONDS.]
[REWARD: ACTIVATION OF VOICE COMMAND.]
Ryan panicked. Open his eyes? If he opened his eyes, she would see him! But if he didn't, she would cut him, and he might flinch anyway. Plus, the System said "Failure means Death."
He had no choice.
Three. The blade moved closer to his skin.
Two. Clara’s grin was wicked. She wanted to hurt him.
One.
Ryan poured all his new energy into his eyelids. The antidote had given him strength. He pushed against the heavy weight keeping his eyes shut.
“Open!”
His eyelids fluttered. Then, they snapped open.
For the first time in weeks, light flooded his vision. It was blurry. It was bright. But right in front of him was Clara’s shocked face.
Her eyes went wide. She gasped and dropped the knife. It clattered onto the floor.
"You!" she screamed, stumbling back.
Ryan stared at her. His vision cleared. He saw the fear in her eyes. He saw the phone in her hand.
He tried to speak. His throat was dry. It felt like sandpaper. But the System had promised a reward: Voice Command.
A warm energy flowed to his throat. The paralysis in his vocal cords shattered.
Clara was shaking. "Mark! Mark! He's awake! He's looking at me!"
She reached for the pillow. She was going to smother him. She was going to finish the job before he could talk.
"No, you don't," she hissed, lunging at him with the pillow.
Ryan summoned every bit of air in his lungs. He did not scream for help. He did not beg.
He looked at the blue screen floating next to Clara’s head and spoke his first words.
"System," Ryan rasped, his voice sounding like grinding stones. "Lock the door."
Clara froze. The pillow hovered over his face.
Click.
The electronic lock on the hospital room door slammed shut.
Clara whipped her head around to look at the door. She tried the handle. It wouldn't move. She was trapped.
She turned back to Ryan, terror filling her face. The man in the bed was not a vegetable anymore. The look in his eyes was not sleepy. It was the look of a predator.
Ryan smiled. It was a small, weak smile, but it was dangerous.
The blue screen flashed one last message for the chapter.
[WELCOME BACK, PLAYER ONE.]
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
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
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 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 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 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 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
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