The Lifespan Wealth System

Chapter 3: The System Appears When Guilt Takes Hold

The walls of the interrogation room were a dull gray, mirroring the shattered state of Axel’s mind. Under the flickering neon light that stabbed at his eyes, Axel sat with handcuffs locking his wrists to a metal table. The silence inside the room felt far more intimidating than any police shouting.

“So, where do we start, Axel? With the hundred thousand dollars that suddenly appeared, or with the body of the man under the bridge?”

Inspector Vayu tossed a file folder onto the table. He was a middle-aged man with hard lines carved into his face, the type who had seen too many lies to be easily fooled.

“I’ve already told you, sir. I didn’t kill him. He jumped because he lost his wallet.” Axel’s voice was hoarse, almost gone.

“And what a coincidence that right after he jumped, your bank balance skyrocketed. Do you think this is a movie?” Vayu leaned forward, the sharp smell of black coffee on his breath. “People drowning in debt like you usually lose their sense of right and wrong. You took his wallet, he fought back, and you pushed him. Isn’t that how it went?”

“I didn’t rob him!” Axel slammed the table, the handcuffs clanging loudly. “That money … that money wasn’t his.”

“Then whose was it? An inheritance from some overseas uncle? Won the lottery without buying a ticket?” Vayu let out a cold laugh. “Explain the logic, Axel. Legally, you are the prime suspect for money laundering and fatal assault. You’re not walking out of here for the next ten years.”

Axel fell silent. How could he explain the voice in his head? The transparent panel that had promised him a hundred thousand dollars in exchange for five years of his life? Vayu would send him straight to a mental hospital before he finished his first sentence.

“I can’t explain it, sir. But I swear, I wanted to help him. This guilt … it feels like it’s killing me.” Axel whispered, lowering his head.

He closed his eyes, and the image of the old man falling replayed itself again. The guilt was suffocating, like molten lead filling his lungs. Suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped sharply. Axel’s breath turned into faint vapor. Inspector Vayu froze, his movement stopping halfway as he tried to light a cigarette, like a film abruptly paused.

[Guilt is an extremely expensive emotion, Axel Benjamin.]

The voice returned. There was no thunder, no blinding light. Only a neutral, crushing presence in the air.

“You again .…” Axel murmured.

[You were chosen because of the weight on your heart tonight. Regret is the foundation of true value. You feel worthless because you failed to save that life. Now, you have the power to atone for it. But remember, every freedom has a price tag.]

Axel stared at the panel that appeared before him once more. This time, the text glowed a pale white, cold as ice.

[Status: Under Serious Criminal Investigation.]

[Option: Digital Trace Manipulation and Fund Legalization.]

[Cost: 2 Years of Remaining Lifespan.]

“Two more years?” Axel laughed bitterly, tears sliding down his pale cheeks. “You took five years just an hour ago. Now you want more?”

[The system does not force you. This is a free choice. You can rot in prison for a decade, or you can walk out of here now as a free man. The choice is yours.]

Axel looked at Vayu, still frozen in place. Prison would destroy his mother. Prison would end his life as worthless trash. But two years, that was an enormous price for a freedom that should have been free.

“This world isn’t fair, is it?” Axel asked the entity.

[Simple: Money comes in, lifespan goes out. Do you accept?]

“If I take it, will my suffering end?”

[Your suffering is only beginning, Axel. Wealth is a heavier burden than poverty for those with a conscience.]

Axel clenched his teeth. His thoughts went to his mother, who needed surgery, to Elara, the only friend who had ever been sincere to him, who would never be able to bear seeing him behind bars.

“Fine. Take it. Take the two years. Get me out of here!”

The cold sensation returned, this time more painful. Axel felt as if an invisible hand reached into his chest and tore away part of his vitality. His head throbbed, and for a moment, his vision turned gray.

Click.

Time resumed. Inspector Vayu blinked, looking momentarily confused. He glanced at the file in front of him, then at his buzzing phone.

“Hello? Yes, this is Vayu… What?” Vayu’s face drained of color. “The key witness withdrew his statement? And that transfer evidence was a grant validated by an international foundation? How could this data only appear now?”

Vayu stared at Axel with a mix of hatred and fear. “I don’t know who’s backing you, Axel. My superior ordered this case closed due to an ‘administrative error.’ You’re free. You may be able to buy the law, but remember this, I’ll be watching you.”

Axel did not feel victorious. He felt empty. When the handcuffs were removed, he stood on legs that felt heavier than before. He walked out of the police station and into the cold night air. Under the streetlights, he saw his own shadow. It looked more hunched, more exhausted.

He touched his face. His skin felt slightly looser. He had just lost seven years of his life in a single night.

Suddenly, his phone rang. It was Arlo, his friend.

“Hello?”

“Axel! This is bad, Xel!” Arlo’s voice cracked with panic. “Elara was in an accident! She’s been taken to Saint Jude Private Hospital. There’s severe internal bleeding, but the hospital is refusing emergency surgery without a ten-thousand-dollar deposit because her insurance doesn’t cover elite trauma care. I don’t know where to get that kind of money at this hour!”

Axel’s heart pounded violently, this time with stabbing pain. Memories flashed back to when he and Elara were homeless. Elara was the only person who had treated him like a human being when the world saw him as trash.

[New opportunity detected.]

[Mission: Save the Life of Your Closest Person.]

[Cost: Depends on the level of medical difficulty.]

Axel looked up at the dark night sky. He realized a horrifying pattern. The system was not giving him wealth to enjoy. It was trapping him in situations where he had to spend his lifespan on the people he loved.

“Which hospital, Arlo? I have the money. I’m coming right now!”

Axel ran with all his strength, but midway, his steps slowed. He felt short of breath. He tried to inhale, but his lungs seemed to shrink. He stopped in front of a dark shop window, using the glass as a mirror.

Under the moonlight, Axel saw not just a few strands of white hair, but wrinkles beginning to form at the corners of his eyes. He was only thirty-one, but the reflection staring back looked like a man in his forties.

“How much life do I have left?” he screamed silently.

And from the darkness, the system answered in the most terrifying tone he had ever heard.

[Your life value is being calculated. Choose your friend or your lifespan.]

Axel collapsed onto the empty sidewalk. He had to make a decision, and fast.