The gas station was half a mile away, but Damon walked like the streets owed him something. Hoodie soaked. Shoes talking to the pavement. $10 in his pocket, but the weight of the world still on his back.
He didn't understand the system. He didn't know if it was real, or if the pressure had finally cracked something in his brain. All he knew was his stomach growled like it had claws, and the liquor store across from the gas station sold microwave pizzas.
Inside, fluorescent lights buzzed over a dusty floor. A man behind bulletproof glass barely looked up as Damon grabbed a pizza and a bottle of water. $9.87. He paid in cash. Watched the register ding like a coffin nail. Walked out and sat on the curb like he didn't care who saw him.
But the moment he opened the wrapper—
[Check-In Detected: First Meal in 48 Hours]
Reward: +5 Vitality
Bonus Unlocked: "Hunger Mode" — Passive boost to metabolism and energy when recovering from low states.
He froze mid-bite. Then laughed — not from joy. From disbelief.
"What the hell is this?"
It didn't matter. He ate. Fast. Like a man possessed. When he finished, he looked up at the sky — and for the first time in a long time, he didn't feel invisible.
He felt… watched.
Meanwhile…
Across town, Tasha sat on a plush couch in a high-rise apartment — the same one she used to imagine sharing with Damon. She scrolled through her phone, eyes twitching as she saw his post.
A blurry pic of that microwave pizza. Caption:
"Still here."
She stared.
Her new man — the one she cheated with — walked by shirtless, holding a bottle of Hennessy. "You good?"
She didn't answer.
Something about Damon's post didn't sit right. He was supposed to be broken. Done. But that look in his eye… it scared her.
Back at the apartment, Damon returned to the same mattress, still damp from his wet hoodie.
The moment he sat—
[Check-In Complete: Day Two]
Reward: $200 in cryptocurrency deposited into wallet.
New Ability: "Street Hustler's Intuition" — You can now sense profitable opportunities others ignore.
His phone buzzed again. New crypto wallet. Funded.
He stared at the ceiling and smiled for the first time in weeks.
You've been underestimated your whole life, Damon.
That ends now.