The King Of Steeze System

The Code That Changed Everything

I should have known better . When I stepped through those grand double doors. I should have just turned around and go home quickly but what was I supposed to do ? I was meant to deliver some boxes of pizza and bottles of wine. 

But no , I showed up for what ? To be kicked out like yesterday's trash.

The look on Sarah's face as she clung to her new husband burn like acid.

The same woman who promised me forever a year ago.

I hit the gas on my bike , wind whipping through my hair as I sped away from the flashing light of the reception hall.

Thoughts swirled in my head like a storm I couldn't escape. Why was I even there ? Just to witness my own failure?

Lost in the noise of my thoughts, I barely registered the blaring sirens behind me. The screech of tires . Flashing red and blue light in my mirrors.

"Crap."My stomach dropped . I glanced at the speedometer— faster than I should be going but not illegal .Why the hell were they chasing me ?

"Pull over!"The voice boomed through a megaphone.

I slowed down and veered to the side of the road, heart pounding.

The moment I stopped , two officers jumped down guns drawn

"Hands where we can see them!"

"What the hell is this about?"I raised my hands , confusion gnawing at me ."I didn't do anything!'

One officer shoved me against the side of my bike, while the other cuffed me

"You are under arrest for theft," the police officer said, his grip on my wrist like vice.

Theft?

"I didn't steal anything!" I shouted, but they weren't listening. Before I knew it, I was shoved into the back of a police car ,speeding away from the scene. My head spun. What had I gotten myself into ?

---

Hours later I sat in a dingy jail cell,the cold metal of the bench biting through my jeans. The fluorescent light flickered , making me pity myself . My mind raced as I tried to piece together what has just happened.

Theft ? Me ? The officer said something about a jewelry store robbery $40,000 worth of stolen goods ,but I wasn't anywhere near the store .He said someone called the cops and I heard George Whistle, that idiot.

It was like a nightmare , I couldn't wake up from

My lawyer— if I could even call him that —said I had to pay to bail myself. 

$40,000. The number rattled in my head like a coins in an empty jar. I didn't even have 40 bucks to my name.

A janitor shuffled past, mop sloshing in dirty water ,and for a split second , I almost envied him.

At least he had a job . Something steady. Something real . I had nothing just a failed career, an empty bank account and the memory of Sarah's cold smile at her wedding.

The janitor muttered under his breath and tossed a crumbled piece of chewing gum wrapper towards the trash can. 

Missed.

I don't know why I did it. Maybe it was boredom. Or curiosity. Or desperation. But I reached for that crumbled wrapper, stretching my fingers through the bars of the cell.

I caught it just before it reached the floor. 

It was nothing special —just a regular wrapper. Or so I thought.

A tiny string of numbers was printed on the inside in faded ink. 

A code.

Weird.

I glanced around . No one was paying attention to me, not other prisoners , not the guards. I pulled out my phone —thank God they hadn't confiscated it yet—and entered the code.

Maybe it was a promo ,something random. 

A distraction was all I needed

I hit "enter" .Nothing. Not a single thing happened.

Frustrated , I tossed the wrapper to the side. I leaned back ,closing my eyes , trying to shut out the endless thoughts of how I had gotten here , how I had sunk this low.

Ding.

The sound was soft, but in the silence of the cell, it might as well have been gunshots. I opened my eyes, heart thumbing

I looked down at my phone. 

There, on the screen ,was a message I had never seen before.

~Welcome, player.

You have entered the KING OF STEEZE LEGACY SYSTEM.~

"What the ....?"

I stared at the screen , my breath caught in my throat . This had to be some kind of joke . A game, maybe ? But there was no app like this on my phone. I hadn't downloaded anything new in weeks. 

A button appeared on the screen: 

~CONTINUE.~

I hesitated for a second ,but curiosity won out. What else did I have to lose ?

I tapped it. 

Immediately everything around me dissolved. 

The cold cell. The flickering the sound of my own breathing. In its place a swirling black vortex swallowed me whole , spinning fast and faster until—

Thud.

I hit the ground hard

I blinked, trying to adjust to the sudden burst of sunlight.

Wait — sunlight?

My eyes darted around, taking in my new surroundings. 

Skyscrapers settled around me and the road before me was tarred and smooth , the cars that drove by was of the latest model .So sophisticated.

I was definitely not in jail anymore.

"Where the hell am I?"my voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper.

I stood up brushing the dirt from my jeans and that is when I saw it: a floating blue screen right in front of my face just like in a video game.

Ding.

I brought out my phone and stared at it.

A mechanical voice read out what was written on my phone's screen.

~KING OF STEEZE LEGACY SYSTEM ACTIVATED.~

My mouth went dry. 

A list of stats appeared below the message. Health ,Stamina Stre

ngth , Wealth, powerful, Billionaire .

And then there was something else. 

~Objective: Become The King Of Steeze.~