2025-02-01 08:57:10Jack was still in a state of disbelief and amazement. He didn't know if he was going crazy, or if it was all a very well-structured joke by his enemies, the Waltons. But the money was there in his bank account, and he could use it whenever he wanted.
He returned home after getting out of jail, and couldn't stop looking at the screen of his phone. He already had enough money to pay off the debt for the ring, and also enough to quit that poorly-paid job Don Vito had offered him.
He slowly opened the door without noticing the big surprise that was waiting for him right in the living room of his house.
"Surprise!" his parents shouted in unison.
Jack almost fell to the floor from the shock. His heart raced, and his breathing became rapid in a matter of seconds.
His mother was holding a birthday cake with a rather eye-catching candle, while his father clapped excitedly.
"How could I have forgotten this?" Jack slapped his forehead with his palm.
He couldn't believe he had forgotten his own birthday. However, he had a good reason for doing so.
"Welcome to the adult world!" his father shouted, arms stretched out, smiling with joy.
Jack smiled sideways and shrugged before being embraced by his father.
"Is something wrong?" his mother asked, placing the cake on the table.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Jack's father commented, noticing his son's expression.
"Don't worry. I'm fine," Jack faked a smile and walked over to the birthday cake.
"Make a wish," his mother said, with her hands clasped together and a big smile on her face.
Jack closed his eyes and wished to stop seeing all those things he considered to be hallucinations caused by his fatigue.
"Bravo!" his parents shouted, as they both clapped for their son's celebration.
However, Jack still seemed very strange and thoughtful. He appeared to be absent, not truly present in the room with them.
Jack's parents exchanged looks at the same time and both sighed deeply.
"Is it because of the screen you're looking at?" his father asked, his voice filled with fear.
Jack felt as though his world had turned 360 degrees, and everything around him collapsed.
How the hell was it possible that his father knew about the screen he was looking at? Wasn't it supposed to be something only he could see?
"What did you say, Dad?" Jack asked, completely incredulous.
"Son, we..." his mother began, but was immediately interrupted by Jack.
"How the hell do you know about the things I'm seeing?" he asked, distrust evident in his voice.
"I knew this day would come," Jack's father shrugged and sat down in his favorite armchair.
"Please take a seat, son. We have something very important to tell you," his mother said, her tone very serious.
"No, I don’t want to sit down. What I want is an explanation, right now," Jack said.
"We're not poor!" Jack's father confessed, sitting back in his armchair.
Jack's father felt a great sense of relief as he finally removed the weight from his shoulders and the knot from his throat, a burden that had been driving him crazy since Jack was born.
"What are you talking about? We live in a humble house, in a dangerous neighborhood, and I’ve been working for two years to pay for a wedding ring," Jack demanded.
"I'm sorry. Those are the rules. We can't help you financially. You have to make your own fortune," his mother explained.
"Rules? What rules are you talking about?" Jack insisted.
"The screen you're looking at is part of a system that has made every member of our family wealthy for generations," his father said.
Jack placed his hands on his head and paced around the living room in circles as he processed the information his father had just given him.
It was hard to believe his parents' words, but they would never joke about something as serious as this.
"I was hit," Jack confessed suddenly.
"Hit? Who hit you?" his mother asked, concerned.
"I was mortally wounded. I should be dead, but that thing restored me. How is that possible?" Jack asked.
"It's a very sophisticated system. Even we don't know exactly how it works. All we know is that we have to do everything it tells us, and we'll be rewarded with a lot of money," his father answered.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Jack demanded.
"It's the rules. We agreed to live as poor people for 18 years because we love you, son," his mother insisted.
Jack was agitated and confused. He didn’t know what to do or where to go. He could only hold his head and walk in circles on the carpet.
"You just have to follow the rules, and the system will make you an extremely rich man," his father raised his voice to be heard by his son.
"Never reject an offer, or you will be punished," Jack's mother warned, worried for her son.
"What if I don’t want to be part of this sadistic and perverse game? ... Do you at least know who is behind that screen?" Jack continued, deeply distressed.
"You have no choice..." his father said.
"The system didn’t choose you, you're just our son, and that's how it works," Jack's mother tried to make him understand and reason with him.
"Then... I don't want to be your son anymore," Jack said and opened the door to run away from there.
"Jack!" his father shouted, quickly getting up from his armchair.
"Wait!" his mother also ran after him, but Jack disappeared into the rain, running quickly.
As he ran, the screen appeared again before his eyes.
[ MILLIONAIRE #4 OFFERS $100,000 TO COME HOME
ACCEPT REJECT ]
But Jack was too upset to accept. He didn’t want to continue being part of this game. So he decided to completely ignore the screen.
[MILLIONAIRE #4 INCREASES THE OFFER TO $200,000
ACCEPT REJECT]
Jack stopped under the rain and began shouting like a madman.
"Enough! Enough! You can’t be inside my head!"
Jack grabbed his head and bent down, overwhelmed with frustration.
"I’m going to reject this nonsense once and for all," Jack said.
Jack decided to break the rules his mother had warned him about and rejected the offer from Millionaire #4.
[YOU HAVE REJECTED AN OFFER. YOU WILL BE PUNISHED WITH AN HOUR WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO WALK.]
"What?" Jack exclaimed before collapsing to the ground and watching in terror as his legs were completely immobile.
It was at that moment that he realized his mother had been right all along. He should never have rejected that offer.
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Chapter 142
The air in the cell corridor was rent with a deafening chorus of gunfire. Jack, who had just turned the corner, was greeted by a relentless volley of lead. Rex's cell was in sight, and so were the officers guarding it, their guns spitting fire. There was no time to think, only to react.The million-dollar system in Jack's head activated, flooding his senses with an avalanche of data: bullet trajectories, ricochet angles, officers' movement patterns. His agility, amplified by the neural implant, was supernatural. He hit the ground, rolling with the grace of a feline, bullets whizzing inches above his head. The cold linoleum felt strange against his skin.Rex, inside his cell, screamed as he heard the shooting. He cowered under the grimy metal bed, seeking shelter from the hell that was breaking loose a few feet away. Gunshots echoed off the concrete, ricocheting, creating a sonic chaos that vibrated the air.Jack fired his air pistol. Cork bullets, propelled by the force of the air, st
Chapter 141
The stale air of the ventilation shaft scraped Jack’s throat.Every inch he advanced through the metallic darkness echoed with the sound of his own movements, the brush of his clothes against the rust.Inside the police station, Jack was a silent, efficient shadow. The plan relied on timing. And now, a small blinking light on Jack’s watch signaled that the moment had come.He pulled out his phone to send a message. He was already at the exact point, but he needed Kloe and Lix to play their part for the plan to succeed.Outside, on the main street, the stillness of the early morning was suddenly broken. Kloe and Lix emerged from the alley, not stealthily, but with calculated purpose. Kloe unrolled a banner with surprising speed, revealing hastily scrawled letters:"JUSTICE FOR THE INNOCENT. NO MORE UNJUST IMPRISONMENT."Lix, beside her, held another one: "OPEN THE CELLS. THE TRUTH WILL COME TO LIGHT."These weren’t cries of rage, but controlled, rehearsed chants.“Freedom! Freedom!” Kl
Chapter 140
Two patrol cars pulled up at the same time in front of the city police station. There were many other vehicles to guard and serve as escorts, but those two patrol cars were the main attractions of the night. Obviously there was no shortage of curious onlookers who approached from a safe distance to try to see something live. Those drones flying in the sky above the officers' heads was too flashy to pass up. Plus, social media was playing a huge role in those broadcasts. Everyone wanted to take a picture or record themselves next to those drones or with one of the participants of the death battles to try to get attention on the networks and receive approval from their followers. That's why the police station was soon filled with curious onlookers who were getting closer and closer to the main entrance. "Please! Please, gentlemen!" the police chief began to shout to all those people who had gathered at the place."We want to see the participants!", shouted one of those onlookers from
Chapter 139
“Drop the knife and put your hands up!” the officer insisted through the megaphone.Rex’s chest was completely illuminated in red from the infrared sights coming from the guns that were aimed and ready to fire. Of course, none of those agents wanted to kill a scared teenager. All of them stood nervously, hoping the order to open fire wouldn’t come.Finally, Rex reacted and realized there was no reason to keep fighting. Ember was already in police custody, and he had no way out. Surely, both of them would end up locked in a cell, only waiting for the moment their heads would explode—that would be the end of their lives.He threw the knife onto the ground, just as the officer with the megaphone had instructed. This brought immense relief to all the officers, knowing they no longer had to shoot the boy. Rex got down on his knees and raised his hands to make it clear he was surrendering.“Place your hands on your head!” ordered the officer, as others rushed in to arrest him.Rex placed hi
Chapter 138
Rex kept running through the darkness of that street. He only had the moonlight and the beams from those drones that didn’t leave him alone for even a second. The mission of those cameras was to record every detail of the battle—and they were doing it very well.There were maybe about a kilometer left when Rex heard a sound coming from his phone. A peculiar sound, one he recognized immediately. The battery had reached its maximum limit, and the phone was warning that it was about to shut down.A single glance at the screen was enough to realize that the phone was completely shutting off."No! Wait! Please!" Rex shouted in the middle of that lonely, dark street, speaking directly to his phone's screen.Now there was no way to know how to get to Ember’s house. He didn’t know if that boy was waiting for him, or if he had already gone to hide somewhere.Rex was heading straight toward an uncertain destination, not knowing what to expect. However, he was starting to recognize the houses an
Chapter 137
Kloe had to strain her eyes so they could quickly adjust to the darkness. She needed to see what the hell had attacked Lix and dragged her to the corner of the house. Her eyes finally adjusted, and her vision sharpened so fast that it now felt like she had a filter over her retinas.That was enough to see Jack Stanton in the corner of that house. His back was against the wall, one of his arms wrapped around Lix's neck, and with his other hand, he was pointing a revolver directly at her head. Lix's face was filled with pure terror, her eyes wide open, while she clutched at Jack's arm around her neck, as if trying to keep him from choking her. Jack used his thumb to cock the small hammer of the revolver, and the gun made a very distinct sound that caused Lix to start crying from fear. Just pulling the trigger would be enough to end her life before Kloe could do anything to stop it.“Jack! Jack! It’s me! I’m Kloe! I’m your grandfather’s friend!” Kloe shouted quickly, hands raised as if t
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