2025-06-21 09:19:13The line between life and death had blurred. And in that liminal space, something ancient—and powerful—had chosen him.
Dustin stared at the blue lights that had just shot through his body. For a heartbeat, he thought he was dreaming again. But the sting of his cracked ribs and the burning throb in his forehead said otherwise. His body was still broken—but alive. Somehow.
BING!
System: "Whopping Tycoon System successfully paired. Host life functions temporarily stabilized. Emergency protocol in standby."
"What the hell is going on?" Dustin muttered.
His heart rate sped up. He wasn’t just hallucinating—the system was real. And it was talking to him.
System: "Host authorization required. Say: 'System, I authorize you.'"
He hesitated. It sounded ridiculous. But after what just happened, was anything still normal?
"System, I authorize you."
System: "Authorization accepted. Host has officially activated the Whopping Tycoon System. Initializing basic starter pack."
Suddenly, a rush of warmth flooded his chest, like a second heartbeat awakening inside him. A glowing interface appeared in his mind’s eye:
--- SYSTEM INTERFACE ---
Host: Dustin Ryan
Level: 1
Reputation: 0
Wealth: $0
Skills: [Locked]
Missions: [1 Pending]
Bonuses: [None]
*****
BING!
New Mission Unlocked: Rise from the Ashes. Objective: Escape the hospital. Reach a safe location. Time Limit: 45 minutes. Reward: $10,000 starting capital + Ability Unlock: "Minor Heal."
Dustin blinked. "Escape the hospital? Why? What’s going on?"
System: "Warning: Host location compromised. Assassins en route. Target elimination confirmed within 45 minutes."
His heart skipped. "Assassins?!"
Almost as if on cue, the room lights flickered. He pushed himself upright, biting back a scream as the pain screamed through his bones.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway. Heavy. Unrushed.
The nurse who had panicked earlier rushed back in with a doctor. But the moment they saw Dustin sitting up, both froze.
"It—it can't be," the nurse whispered.
The doctor, a stern man with gray at his temples, walked up with cautious steps. "Son, who brought you back?"
"I woke up," Dustin replied.
"No. You were clinically dead. Your ECG flatlined."
"Guess I got better," Dustin grunted, eyes darting toward the door. "Listen, are there any back exits here? Service stairs?"
The doctor frowned. "Why?"
"Because I need to leave. Now."
System: "30 minutes remaining. Target lock confirmed on hospital ward. Three hostiles identified."
"Hell," Dustin cursed under his breath.
Suddenly, a loud bang echoed in the hallway.
Screams followed.
Dustin didn’t wait.
He threw the blanket off and stood, staggering. His left leg refused to move properly, and the pain blurred his vision.
System: "Emergency Skill Unlocked: Minor Heal. Would you like to activate?"
"Yes! Now!"
BING!
A soft, golden glow spread from his chest down to his limbs. The stabbing agony in his legs dulled, his cracked ribs felt less sharp, and his vision began to clear.
"Whoa..." Dustin flexed his hand. He wasn’t fully healed, but enough to move. Enough to survive.
The doctor was too stunned to stop him. Dustin grabbed a pair of crutches, bolted past them, and limped toward the fire exit.
A bullet ripped through the main door just as he exited into the stairwell. He tumbled halfway down the first flight, rolled onto a landing, and sprang up despite the agony.
The System pinged again.
System: "Host resilience increased. +1 Physical stat."
Three floors. That’s what separated him from the basement.
Gunfire echoed above. They were coming.
As Dustin reached the bottom floor and burst into the emergency corridor, he heard a voice crackle in his ear. No, not his ear. His mind.
System: "Bonus Mission: Retrieve Secure Bag hidden under Hospital Parking Lot Drain. Reward: Investment Portfolio Seed Funds + Weapon Unlock."
He didn’t stop to question it.
He pushed through the basement door, eyes scanning for anything that looked like a drain. There—beside a stack of broken pipes.
He dropped to his knees and felt around until his fingers hit a cold metallic case buried in the drain grate.
With a grunt, he pulled it out.
BING!
Item Acquired: Beginner's Pack - Business Tycoon Series.
The box shimmered and opened in his hand:
$10,000 digital credit
Basic business license (Auto-generated)
Concealed pistol (9mm)
Skill Chip: "Negotiation Lv.1"
Fake identity: "Damian Knox"
"This is insane," Dustin breathed. "I love it."
System: "15 minutes remaining."
Suddenly, a red laser dot appeared on his chest.
"Shit!"
Dustin dove to the side as a suppressed shot cracked. The bullet pinged off a pipe.
From the shadows, a tall figure in a long coat stepped out, wielding a silenced pistol. "You weren’t supposed to walk out alive, kid."
"Tell the Wynnes I don’t die so easy," Dustin growled.
He raised his own weapon and fired.
BANG!
The assassin ducked. Bullets whizzed.
Dustin dashed for the back exit, grabbing a fire extinguisher along the way. Just before reaching the door, he turned and launched it at the assassin, then shot it.
BOOM!
The metal canister exploded in white smoke and pressure, throwing the man backward.
System: "Escape route cleared. Reward unlocked."
Dustin burst into the alley behind the hospital, gasping. Every muscle ached, but he was alive.
Just as he turned the corner, a sleek black car skidded to a stop beside him. The window rolled down. A woman in her late 20s with sharp green eyes and military posture stared at him.
"Get in if you want to live," she said.
Dustin paused. "Who the hell are you?"
"Your only chance."
System: "Warning: Another assassin approaching."
Without another thought, he jumped in.
The car sped off into the night.
As they disappeared into the city's dark arteries, Dustin's mind flooded with questions. Who was this mysterious woman? How did she know he was in danger?
And most importantly—
System: "New Primary Quest Unlocked: Infiltrate the Wynne Conglomerat
e. Expose their darkest secret. Reward: $5,000,000 and Reputation Boost."
Dustin clenched his fists. The Wynnes tried to kill him. Now, he was coming for everything they built.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Echoes in the Code
The air was still. Too still.Dustin Ryan sat motionless in the backseat of the armored SUV, eyes scanning the silent horizon through tinted windows. His heartbeat thudded in his ears, amplified by the System’s subtle background hum inside his mind.[System Alert: Terrain analysis complete. Area clear — 87% certainty. Remaining 13% indicates potential cloaked threats. Proceed with caution.]He flexed his fingers, the electric sensation still buzzing through them after the last System upgrade. Beside him, the encrypted tablet shimmered with blue glyphs and a newly unlocked interface — the "Asset Control" tab. Across from him sat Carla Quinn, a rogue hacker from the eastern sector with a data bounty of over 2 million crypton credits on her head. He had saved her life in the skirmish at WynneCorp’s smuggling bay last night. Now she owed him.“You sure this route is safe?” she asked, glancing nervously at the rearview cam feed. “Rumors say the Syndicate has started deploying ghost drones.
System Fall
The night wind howled across the abandoned cityscape as Dustin stood at the rooftop's edge, drenched in sweat and blood, his eyes glowing faintly blue under the moonlight. Below, the Wynne Corporation’s private security units scoured the streets in tactical gear, their rifles sweeping across alleys and open lots like clockwork predators.[System Alert: Host's adrenaline levels peaked. Combat reflexes enhanced temporarily. Neural interface unlocked: TIER 1.]Dustin’s breath slowed. The pain in his side dulled, not because he healed—but because the system muted his sensory thresholds.“Scan all rooftop access points,” one of the guards shouted from below.[Warning: Host's location compromised. Enemy drones approaching.]With no time to hesitate, Dustin activated his first unlocked combat sequence.[Skill Unlocked: Phantom Leap. Description: Enhanced vertical and horizontal movement.]He bolted forward, launching himself off the building. For a second, time seemed to pause mid-air. The c
The Betrayer’s Code
Location: Rebel Ridge – Interior Command CoreZyra’s image glitched once.Then stabilized.Her voice came through the console like silk through a razor.// “Dustin. You always were so slow. Still chasing ghosts in systems that want you dead?”Dustin couldn’t speak. His breath caught in his throat. Beside him, Kael and Riven watched, weapons half-drawn but useless. This wasn’t a trap.It was a confession.“Zyra?” His voice cracked. “You’re alive?”She tilted her head, like she was analyzing him for weakness. “Alive. Enhanced. And beyond your pathetic rebellion.”“I saw you die.”“You saw what you were meant to see,” she replied. “A burning city. A false corpse. And your own guilt eating you alive. It made you soft, Dustin. Predictable.”Kael stepped forward. “Why broadcast now?”Zyra smiled.“Because I want you to know before it happens.”“What?” Dustin growled.Zyra raised her palm—and in the flicker of holo-code across her skin, he saw the symbol of the Omega Ascendant.She wasn’t ju
The Ghost in the Flame
Location: Ruins of Bastion Delta – West ExpanseThe rain fell black.Soot and ash still lingered in the clouds, drifting like ghost-smoke over the wreckage of the Leviathan. What was once the most feared warship of the Syndicate now lay in fragments across the plains—a graveyard of fire and steel.Dustin stirred beneath the collapsed wing of a cruiser.His ribs throbbed with every breath. His vision flickered between static and shadow.Lira was unconscious beside him, pale as frost.“Lira…”He dragged himself toward her, ignoring the pain screeching through his limbs. Her skin was cold, but a faint flicker pulsed beneath the curve of her collarbone—soft gold code lines, barely visible.Alive. But different.She wasn’t just connected to the Omega Core anymore. Something had merged. Something… ancient.“Dustin, do you copy?” Kael’s voice crackled through the comm.He tapped his wrist. “Alive. Barely.”“Hold position. We’re en route with a medical evac drone.”“No drones. Too easy to tra
System Collapse
Location: Syndicate Leviathan – Core Chamber Time shattered.Silver light spiraled through the chamber, distorting space itself as Lira opened her eyes for the first time in years. But this wasn’t just awakening—it was resurrection.The Echo Knights froze in mid-motion.Dustin staggered back, shielding his eyes from the sudden storm of data and psionic force rippling through the room.Lira floated inches above the ground, wires snapping off her body one by one. Her skin pulsed with ghost-code veins, glowing faintly beneath her flesh. Her voice carried the resonance of hundreds of stored memories, like a choir speaking through a single mouth.“Dustin…”He reached out. “Lira, don’t move. You’re—”But she raised a trembling hand.And the world around them began to bend. The Leviathan groaned. Walls cracked. Sparks rained from the ceiling.[System Warning: Core Integrity Unstable – Quantum Collapse Imminent]Dustin’s HUD flashed red as the Echo Knights rebooted midair, surrounding them a
Dream Kill Protocol
Location: Northern Sky Grid – Approaching Syndicate Leviathan WarshipThe sky was bleeding.Red lights flared across the clouds as the Syndicate Leviathan, a floating fortress over seven miles long, drifted silently above the ruins of Echo City. Covered in angular plating and protected by quantum cloaking, it pulsed like a sleeping god.Inside, thousands of Syndicate operatives, AI proxies, and internal weapon systems rotated in rhythm—waiting, learning, adapting.And now, it had a visitor.A shadow broke through the cloud cover.Kael’s stolen Raven-9 dropship, silent, cloaked, gliding straight toward the Leviathan’s underbelly.Riven glanced at Dustin, who stood at the rear bay doors. He hadn’t blinked in three minutes.“You sure you’re ready for this?” she asked.“No,” Dustin said. “But I’m going anyway.”Kael's voice crackled through the cockpit. “We’ve got one window. You drop in, find Lira’s chamber, and plug into the core. Once you’re inside, I’ll trigger a system spike to delay
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