2025-05-20 03:22:17[ The System is Activating ]
[ 10% 30% 55% 80% 100% ] [ The system has successfully activated] [You will receive a mission after 17 hours] Darkness swallowed the corners of Eliot’s room as he lay still, staring at the ceiling. The soft wheel of the ceiling fan was the only sound keeping him company. The screen had long vanished, but the words still glowed in his mind like neon tattoos. You will receive your first mission in the next 17 hours. The clock ticked. 11:14 PM. He turned onto his side, pulling the blanket higher as if it could protect him from the storm unraveling in his mind. “Maybe I’m going crazy,” he whispered to himself. The glowing blue screen. The words. The... system. It was too real, too vivid. But who would believe him? No one. Not even he did—not fully. He took a shaky breath and let his eyes flutter shut. Eliot Reyes had known trauma long before Lana broke his heart. It had started the day he lost his parents in that fire. He was only nine. Flames lit up the night like hell’s curtain rising, and in a matter of minutes, the only home he’d ever known was reduced to ash and black smoke. The silence that followed—the cold, permanent kind—had never really left him. Sometimes, he wondered if his mind had fractured that day. Maybe the blue screen, the “system,” was just a symptom. A new kind of break. He’d read about such things: people who created alternate realities to survive the unbearable. “Maybe I need help,” he muttered, brushing his hand over his face. “Someday… when I have money, I’ll go see a doctor.” But not now. Right now, all he had was a ticking clock and a heart too heavy to rest. He set his alarm, slid his cracked phone onto the nightstand, and turned to face the wall. Even in the dark, he could see the bouquet falling. Hear Lana’s voice. See Marcus’s smirk. The sting of that slap. The laughter. He clenched his fists and tried to shut it all out. The blaring sound of the city came alive through the morning sunlight. Eliot jerked upright, groggy and confused. His eyes widened as they shot to the clock. 9:42 AM. “What the—!?” he scrambled for his phone. The alarm hadn’t gone off. Instead, he was met with 12 missed calls—all from his boss. “No, no, no... This can’t be happening,” he muttered, tapping the most recent call and pressing the phone to his ear. It rang once. Twice. Then— “Reyes,” the voice snapped on the other end. “Don’t even bother coming in.” “Wait, please—sir, I can explain. My alarm didn’t—” “You missed the morning shift and the lunch prep. We’re already short-staffed. You're fired.” The line clicked off. Eliot lowered the phone slowly, the dead tone still ringing in his ears. He sat there, hollow and stunned. Another piece of his already-cracked world crumbled. He had nothing now. No job. No girlfriend. No family. Just... silence. Then it happened again. That soft chime. The faint glow. [SYSTEM UPGRADE COMPLETE.] [Congratulations, User Eliot Reyes.] [Current Funds Uploaded: $1,000,000] [You have 72 hours to spend this amount. Failure to do so will result in termination.] **[A debit card has been issued in your name. PIN: **] [Card delivery: Complete.] As if on cue, a black envelope slid itself through the crack of his door, landing on the floor with a crisp flutter. Eliot stared, frozen. He crawled toward it, slowly, like approaching a bomb. Inside: a sleek, matte black debit card. His name was etched in clean silver letters: Eliot Reyes. He flipped it over. The pin was printed on a small sticker. Everything about it screamed real. His hands shook as he stared at it. “Spend a million dollars in three days,” he whispered. “Or die?” He laughed. Short. Bitter. “Of course. This isn’t madness at all.” He needed proof. He needed reality. Ten minutes later, he was outside the nearest ATM booth, breathing heavily. The card was clenched in his fist, damp with sweat. His heart hammered in his chest as he stepped into the small cubicle. Sliding in the card, he punched the pin. The screen loaded. Available Balance: $1,000,000.00 Eliot stumbled back. His breath caught in his throat. “Jesus…” His knees nearly gave out. Then the worst voice possible slithered into his ears. “Well, look what the stray dog dragged in.” Eliot turned slowly. Marthar Lana's friend stood by the glass door, holding Peter’s arm like it was her prize. Her lips curled into a cruel smile. Peter was wearing designer sunglasses, even though they were indoors. “You really brought that card here to withdraw your life savings?” Peter sneered. “I told Marthar you’d come back to Lana crawling.” Marthar gave a mocking pout. “Still in your cheap suits, Eliot? I hope you got a good discount this time.” Eliot's jaw tightened. “Just leave me alone.” “Or what?” Peter stepped forward. “You’ll cry again? Maybe punch someone like last time?” People walking by had begun to pause, some whispering, some smirking. The words stung, but it was the look in Martha's eyes that dug deepest—like he was nothing more than garbage Lana had tossed away. Eliot turned to leave. Peter stuck out his foot and shoved him. Eliot fell. Hard. He hit the ground in front of the ATM, palms scraping against the concrete. Laughter erupted around him. Someone even recorded it on their phone. He lay there, breathing hard, his face pressed against the dirty floor. His pride lay crushed beneath boot soles and mocking laughter. Then— [SYSTEM ALERT INITIATED.] A blue screen shimmered into view. [No one else sees or hears me. Only you do.] [User Eliot Reyes, humiliation level critical.] [What would you like to do to punish the offender?] Eliot blinked. His eyes shifted to Peter, still chuckling. His mind buzzed with rage. “What... what do you mean?” Eliot whispered under his breath. [Be specific. Your wish shall be executed.] Eliot stared. His lip trembled. His fists clenched. Images of fists, slaps, laughter, and crushed daisies flashed through his mind. And then it came to him. “Bees,” he whispered. [Confirm: You wish for a swarm of bees to attack the offender? Y/N] Eliot hesitated. Then—Y. For a moment, everything went still. Then Peter flinched. Swatted the air. “What the hell—?” A faint buzzing sound filled the air. It grew louder. Stronger. Sharper. A cloud—black and angry—descended from the sky, funneling toward him like a living nightmare. But only Eliot and Peter could see it. People scattered. Marthar screamed. “Peter?!” Eliot stood slowly, brushing dust from his pants. He watched, silent. The laughter was gone now. And Eliot Reyes smiled for the first time in a long while.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Let the Hunt Begin
The factory looked smaller from a distance.But up close, it was a monolith.Its walls loomed high, weathered by time, streaked with rust and soot. The chain-link fence that once surrounded it had long since collapsed in places, and what remained stood like the ribs of a long-dead beast. Nature had tried reclaiming it—vines curled along cracks in the concrete, and weeds sprouted defiantly from the pavement. Yet there was something about the place that felt untouched, like time itself had chosen to avoid it.Aria stopped just before the gate.Her fingers brushed the metal, cold and rough under her skin. She looked through the rusted frame, past the cracked asphalt lot, to the building that had once held her captive. The weight of memories tightened around her chest, but she stood tall.Eliot came up beside her. “Still want to do this?”She didn’t hesitate. “I have to.”Max let out a soft whine and nosed Aria’s hand. She bent down, fingers curling into his fur for strength.Then, withou
Aria's Fight Back
Aria stood in front of the bathroom mirror, fingers trembling as she tried to fasten the button on the borrowed shirt Eliot had given her. The fabric felt too clean, too whole, too much like it belonged to someone else. Her face stared back at her—tired, bruised, and older than she remembered. But her eyes… her eyes were steady.She took a deep breath, but it caught in her throat. Her mind pulled her back, unwillingly, to the past.“You think you're something now?”His voice was sharp, cruel.SLAP.Her cheek had burned for hours after that one.“You wear what I tell you to. You speak when I allow it. Do you hear me?”She had nodded. Not because she agreed, but because saying no had consequences.She remembered the cracked plates, the way her body had flinched every time his boots hit the wooden floor. The insults. The silence. The way he stared at her like she was an object—just another asset he had purchased and owned.A small sound escaped her lips. It wasn’t a sob. It was something
Echoes in The Code
Rain tapped lightly against the windows now, soft and steady like a ticking clock. Eliot sat at the edge of the couch, elbows on his knees, eyes fixed on the wrist device that refused to speak. Max lay at his feet, ears perked, his body still as stone.Aria had fallen asleep again, wrapped in a blanket he’d tucked around her an hour ago. Her breathing had finally evened out, though her hand still twitched now and then, like it remembered pain.The phone rang.He picked it up on the first buzz.“Renna?”“I found something,” she said, and her voice sounded off—uneasy. “Eliot, this isn’t just about a collapsed factory or a rich investor with ties to Sentinel.”His stomach sank. “Go on.”“I kept digging into the shell company—Kelmere Holdings. You were right. They own the textile factory where Aria’s parents worked. But I traced the financials and found odd shipments listed under a fake division. The records are scrubbed clean, but I caught a few logs from two years ago.”“What kind of sh
Doubts on The System
Eliot stood by the window, arms folded as he watched the quiet street outside. Morning light filtered through the blinds, painting pale stripes across his face. Aria was still asleep on the couch, her breaths even, one hand curled under her chin, as if bracing against something even in dreams.Max lay close to her, unmoving but watchful.Eliot tapped the interface on his wrist—faint flicker, no response. Just as before. The silence unnerved him more than any words could have. He turned away, walked into the kitchen, and reached for his phone.“Renna,” he said the moment she picked up.“Took you long enough,” her voice was laced with concern and curiosity. “You disappeared last night. I saw your location flicker out around Westfield.”“I found her,” Eliot said flatly.There was a pause. Then, “The girl?”“Yes. She’s safe. But it’s worse than I thought.” He gripped the edge of the kitchen counter, grounding himself. “I need a deep dive. The textile factory her parents worked at. Every d
The Truth Behind Aria’s Miserable life.
The door clicked shut behind them. Eliot led Aria into the house without a word. Max trailed them, tail low, sensing the storm in the silence.Inside, the living room felt too quiet. The walls were lined with old books and monitors, but for once, Eliot didn’t head to the desk. He walked into the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and handed it to her.Aria sat on the edge of the couch, knees pressed together, hands trembling slightly as she took the glass. She didn’t drink. Just stared at the water, like it held all the answers she’d never found.Eliot stood across from her, arms folded, watching the flicker of pain in her expression. The bruise on her cheek was darker now in the warm light. He wanted to ask a thousand questions, but only one slipped out first.“How… how did this happen?” he asked quietly. “The sister told me you were adopted.”Aria blinked slowly. A tear slipped down her cheek, landing in the glass she still held.“I was,” she said, her voice rough. “Adopted by a kind
The Face Behind The Door
Eliot sat on the edge of his bed, the file still clutched in his hands. His eyes were fixed on the name—Aria Cross—and the address beneath it. It should’ve felt like progress, but instead, it felt like standing at the edge of a cliff.He picked up his phone and dialed."Renna," he said when the call connected.“Boss?” she answered, sounding half-asleep. “It’s 2 a.m.”“I need a favor. A big one.”Renna groaned. “Bigger than helping you ghost-hack that cartel leader’s safe files last year?”“Bigger,” he said. “I need you to find someone. Aria Cross. I have an old address—67 Maple Hollow Lane in Greenridge Township—but the people there said she moved.”Renna’s tone shifted immediately. “Got it. Give me fifteen.”The call ended. Eliot stood, heart pounding. He paced the room while Max curled up in the corner, eyes following him silently.Fourteen minutes later, his phone buzzed.“I got something,” Renna said. “Her name pops up in a community registry, rural area not far from Greenridge. P
You may also like
Penniless Man's Wealthy System
Calendula26.3K viewsBillionaire's Luck System
DarkGreey21.7K viewsReincarnated in Hell with System
DemonkingAK18.4K viewsLiving With The System
Jajajuba32.0K viewsWorld Domination System
Lucy Stone12.8K viewsFrostborne Returns: Invincible Snow Lord
OMNI-WRITER 445 viewsThe Richest Man Alive
DEKING30 viewsElementals: A New Dawn
Izoraquinn1.3K views