Playing Dumb

He saw the end of mankind and suffered a miserable death. But when he opened his eyes, he was back thirty years before his death. Since he had a possible second chance, he decided to become the strongest and survive that miserable end. To become the ultimate wizard. ‘This time I will start with the very beginning.’ He wanted to start before the end of the earth, which was bound to happen in five years. The VR game The Endless. The passage to the planet Yuriel before the end of the earth. If he could become the strongest while he was an immortal player, he would have a chance to escape that tragedy. To people who didn’t know the truth, it was just a game. To people who knew the truth, it was their future. To Jason, who knew the future, it was his ticket to survival. … ‘Let me use thirty years of my experience. Ah… I never played The Endless in my previous life. Great!’ ‘I know all about planet Yuriel. But, in five more years….’ ‘I have no time to join a Guild. I can’t babysit anyone.’ … “Join our guild if you want the money to buy a VR cabin. ” … ‘I have to focus all my time on getting stronger.’ “There is no food in the village.” .. “Hey, where are you going? You brought a child here and trying to leave? She is your child now, so take care of her.” “Eh… I will come back soon.” ‘Damn it. Didn’t I say, ‘I don’t want to be a babysitter’?’ … “That child is cursed.” “Did you say she is cursed? Say that again, I will kill you.” … ‘Right. Why did I start playing this game, again?’

Jamie Aldridge never asked for this. He never asked for the system, for the power, for the missions that drag him deeper into Seattle’s underworld. But when life throws a digital demon into your head, what choice do you have? Play the game or get played. Simple. Except it’s not that simple. Because this game? It’s rigged. And the stakes? Well, they’re higher than Jamie could ever imagine. "Who the hell are you?" Jamie demanded, his voice rough with exhaustion, and his mind a tangled mess of fear and fury. The Broker smiled, a thin, calculated curve of lips that held no warmth. "I'm the man who’s going to change your life, Jamie. Or end it. Depends on how well you play." "Play?" Jamie spat, barely holding back the urge to punch that smug look off his face. "I’m not playing your game. Not anymore." The Broker’s eyes shone with a dark and knowing aura. "Oh, but you are. You just don’t realize it yet." Now Jamie’s on a collision course with forces beyond his control—shadowy figures who pull the strings, secrets buried so deep they might as well be myths, and a system that seems determined to push him to the brink. And just when he thinks he can’t take any more, life throws him another curveball: Emma. His unbearable bully of a wife. Pregnant. Yeah. Ain't gonna end well. In a world where survival is a day-to-day battle and the lines between ally and enemy blur with every step, Jamie has to figure out one thing—how to win when every move feels like a losing one. Because failure? It’s not an option. Not when his life, and the life of his unborn child, hangs in the balance.