2026-01-25 18:09:08“No,” Evan whispered. “That’s... that’s a mistake.”
“Prices went up last month,” the man said, shrugging. “Supply and demand. Not many neuro-surgeons left. Most of them bet their licenses and lost.”
“I have twenty-two,” Evan said. He looked at his father on the floor. Arthur was twitching now. A small line of foam appeared at the corner of his mouth. “And he has fourteen. That’s... that’s thirty-six. We have thirty-six years total.”
The man shook his head. “We can’t drain the patient. If we take his fourteen years to pay for the surgery, he hits zero and dies on the table. You can’t pay with his life.”
Evan felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Of course. You couldn't spend the life of the person you were trying to save.
“So I need to pay it,” Evan said.
“You need fifty years upfront,” the man said. “You have twenty-two. You’re short.”
“I’m short by twenty-eight years,” Evan calculated.
“Thirty,” the man corrected. “There’s a transfer f*e.”
Thirty years.
Evan looked at his hands. They were shaking. He had spent his whole life being careful. He never bet on the weather. He never bet on sports. He never even played cards for fun. He saved every minute. He worked in the freezing rain while others played. He thought he was safe.
But the house always wins. And life was the cruelest house of all.
“I can get a loan,” Evan said desperately.
“Not for thirty years,” the man said. “Not with a delivery boy salary. The bank algorithms will reject you in a microsecond. You have no collateral.”
The man bent down and packed his drone into the case.
“I can give him a shot,” the man said. “It will stabilize him. Stop the shaking. But it only lasts for twelve hours. After that... the degradation speeds up. He won’t wake up.”
“Give him the shot,” Evan said. His voice was hollow.
The man pressed a silver injector into Arthur’s neck. Hiss. Arthur’s body relaxed. His breathing smoothed out. He looked like he was just sleeping.
“That’s fifty hours,” the man said. “I’ll deduct it from your account.”
BEEP.
Evan felt the vibration in his wrist. 22 Years became 21 Years, 11 Months, 28 Days.
“You have twelve hours, kid,” the man said. He walked to the door. He paused, his hand on the handle. “If you don’t have the years, say your goodbyes. It’s cleaner that way.”
The door clicked shut.
Evan was alone.
He sat on the floor beside his father. The apartment was quiet again. The only sound was the hum of the refrigerator and the soft rain against the window.
Thirty years.
He needed thirty years in twelve hours.
It was impossible. He made half a day per shift. To get thirty years, he would have to work for sixty years without stopping.
He looked at his father’s face. Arthur had raised him alone. Arthur had taught him to read paper books. Arthur had taught him that gambling was a trap for fools. “We work for our time, Evan,” he used to say. “Easy come, easy go. But what you earn, you keep.”
Evan stood up. He walked to the window.
Below, the city of Neo-Veridia glowed. It was a sea of light in the darkness.
He could see the giant screen of The Exchange in the distance. It was miles away, but it was so bright it lit up the clouds.
BET YOUR SECONDS. WIN A DECADE.
Evan felt a strange sensation in his chest. It was hot and cold at the same time. It was fear. But it was also something else. Anger.
He had followed the rules. He had done everything right. And it wasn't enough. The system didn't care about hard work. The system only cared about the gamble.
If he wanted to save his father, he couldn't be the boy who never bet. Not anymore.
He looked at his wrist.
21 Years.
It was a lot of time. It was a fortune to a beggar. It was a lifetime to a fly. But to the High Rollers at The Exchange? It was a single chip on a poker table.
Evan walked to the kitchen counter. He picked up his helmet. It was still wet.
He looked at his father one last time. Arthur looked peaceful. He didn't know that his son was about to do the one thing he hated most.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” Evan whispered.
He put on his helmet. He zipped up his jacket.
He didn't grab his delivery bag. He wouldn't need it. He wasn't going to work.
Evan walked out of the apartment. He locked the door. He ran down the four flights of stairs.
He burst out into the night air. The rain had stopped, but the streets were wet and slick. He jumped on his bike.
He didn't turn toward the depot.
He turned his handlebars toward the center of the city. Toward the bright lights. Toward the place where dreams went to die or to fly.
He needed thirty years.
He had twenty-one to gamble.
The math was terrible. The odds were against him. But for the first time in his life, Evan didn't care about the odds.
He pedaled hard, disappearing into the neon glow.
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Chapter 249
The rich man in the purple suit laughed loudly from his table. "Look at her! She knows her place! Take it from her, guard! She is nothing!"Maria heard the rich man’s laugh. She looked at her glowing green watch. Then, she thought of her daughter. She thought of her daughter crying from hunger yesterday morning. She thought of her daughter’s thin, pale face. If she gave this time back, her daughter would die in the slums. The fear in Maria’s stomach suddenly stopped. It did not go away. It changed. The fear turned into something hot. It turned into a burning, explosive fire. It turned into pure, blinding anger. Why should she bow? Why should she surrender? She was a human being. The Bank had stolen her life, her husband, and her happiness. And now, when a miracle had finally given it all back, this faceless monster in a silver suit wanted to take it away again. "Hold out your arm, worker!" the Captain yelled, raising the stick higher. Maria looked the Enforcer Captain right in t
Chapter 248
The Grand Lobby of the High Spire was a sea of solid gold. Millions of heavy, shiny time-tokens covered the beautiful white marble floor. They were piled up against the golden pillars. They were stacked on top of the broken card tables. The air smelled of sweet ozone, sweat, and the sharp scent of metal. For the people of the South District, this room had always been a nightmare. It was the place where they came to lose their lives. It was the place where the Bank stole their hours, their days, and their years. But right now, the nightmare was dead. The people stood in the gold. They looked at their wrists. The heavy, black steel bio-watches were no longer blinking with angry red numbers. They were glowing with a bright, beautiful, warm green light. Ping. Ping. Ping. The sound of the watches was like a gentle heartbeat. Every single poor person in the room had millions of years in their account. They were immortal. They were rich. They were free. Silas, the old dealer with gray
Chapter 247
Evan gritted his teeth. He let out a loud, raw roar of pure pain. He wrapped his bleeding fingers completely around the thick metal of the Master Gear. He squeezed as hard as he could. At the exact same time, Evan felt a massive, terrifying pain explode inside his own physical chest. His real heart skipped a beat. It felt like a giant, cold hand had reached inside his ribs and squeezed his heart muscle tightly. Thump. Evan fell to his knees. He kept his grip on the gear in the machine. He pulled back with all of his remaining strength. His vision went dark around the edges. He could not breathe. His heart was stopping. Thump... "Break!" Evan screamed with his last breath of air. He twisted his bloody hand. CRACK. A loud, sharp sound echoed through the server room. The purple Master Gear snapped in half. The roaring sound of the vacuum instantly died. The spinning stopped. The purple light flared brilliantly, blindingly bright, and then exploded outward in a shower of dark s
Chapter 246
"It... it is perfectly shielded!" Glitch cried. "I cannot hack it from here! The code is a closed loop! The only way to stop it is to physically destroy the gear!"Evan struggled against the foot on his neck. "Then I will smash it!""You cannot smash it!" Glitch screamed. Tears were streaming down his dirty face. "Evan, look closely at the gear! Look at the shape of the code around it!"Evan forced his head to turn. He looked at the glowing purple gear spinning in the server slot. He squinted through the bright light and the flying dust. The gear was glowing purple. But it was not just a solid piece of metal. There were tiny, almost invisible threads of black energy wrapping around it. The threads looked like dark smoke. They looked like the Void. "That gear is not just a copy, Evan," Glitch sobbed. "It is the Master Gear. The Architect built it using the data from your own body when you were Subject 04! It is quantum-linked to you!"The Architect laughed. It was a beautiful, terri
Chapter 245
Evan was thrown backward. His feet left the floor. He flew through the air and crashed into a pile of broken concrete that had fallen from the ceiling. He gasped, rolling onto his side. He coughed up a speck of blood. "You are surprised," the Architect said smoothly. He dusted off his white sleeve. "You think because I wear a nice suit, I do not know how to fight. Evan, I am over four hundred years old. I have bought the best combat training from every era of history. I do not need a cyborg body. I have perfected the human form using pure time."The Architect turned back to the server tower. "Now," the Architect said. "Let us reset the game."The Architect pushed the glowing purple gear into the square slot on the server tower. CLICK. The sound was sharp and heavy. It echoed through the massive cavern of Level 99. Instantly, the entire room changed. The golden light that was glowing on all the server screens suddenly vanished. The room plunged into deep, scary shadows. Then, a t
Chapter 244
The rich man in the purple suit stood up. He held two fistfuls of golden chips. "Guards!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Scorpions! Arrest these thieves! Shoot them! They are stealing our property!"Fifty Elite Scorpion guards stood around the edges of the lobby. They held their heavy kinetic rifles. The lead guard looked at the rich man. Then, the lead guard looked at his own wrist. Ping. The guard’s watch was also glowing green. The guard had two million years of life. He did not need to work for the Bank anymore. He did not need to take orders from cruel, angry rich people. He was completely free. The lead Scorpion guard smiled. He reached up and pulled off his heavy black helmet. He threw the helmet onto the floor. It rolled away, hitting a pile of chips. "I quit," the guard said loudly. He lowered his rifle. He dropped it on the floor. All around the lobby, the other Scorpion guards saw their leader. They looked at their green watches. One by one, they took off thei
