[CINDERVALE – DOWNTOWN | EARLY EVENING]
Darren walked down the glass rimmed street, neon dancing across rain damp pavement like it had somewhere better to be. The Infinite Ledger lit quietly in his vision—a thin, gold lined overlay feeding him real time emotional data as people passed by.
[Frustration: 0.011u]
[Hope: 0.004u]
[Muted Anxiety: 0.003u]
[Depression Cluster Detected – Adjacent Office Tower]
He exhaled through his nose. "Nothing premium. Just standard human suffering."
He wasn't overly thrilled with this new found powers—if you could call it that, but bills had to be payed.
He stopped at a sidewalk café. No seats, just bored wage slaves sipping overpriced caffeine under artificial lamps.
Then he saw them, a couple at a table. Mid thirties. Clean clothes, strained faces. The woman tapped her nail against her cup. The man stared too long at his phone.
The system pinged.
[Emotional Dip: Unspoken Resentment – 0.016u]
[Compatibility Index: High]
Darren's eyes narrowed. He adjusted his coat.
He didn't cause this.
But he could ignite it.
He tilted his head, took a deep breath.
"Let's make some noise."
---
He walked over casually, one hand in his jacket pocket, the other holding a nearly dead coffee cup. As he passed the table, he stumbled slightly—just enough to bump into the woman's chair, causing it to jolt.
She flinched. Her drink nearly spilled.
"Oh—my bad," Darren said, raising his hands. "Didn't mean to interrupt date night. Or whatever... this is."
The man scowled. "You could watch where you're going."
[Anger Spike: 0.022u]
[Frustration Crossfeed Detected]
Interesting...
Darren raised a brow and offered a half smile. "She looks more interested in that cup than you anyway. Can't say I blame her."
Yeah, that definitely did it.
The guy stood. "What did you just say?"
The woman opened her mouth to intervene, but didn't.
[Shame: 0.009u. Guilt: 0.011u. Public Embarrassment: 0.017u]
Darren backed away with both hands up, grinning like an asshole.
"Hey—just saying what we're all feeling."
He turned and walked fast before it got physical.
[Microharvest Complete – 0.068 Units Collected]
[Balance: 2.91u]
---
He ducked into a nearby alley and leaned against the wall, heart thumping like he'd shoplifted from a church.
His hands were shaking.
But it had worked.
He hadn't raised a fist.
He hadn't broken a law.
He'd just pushed. Gently.
He'd created a moment. Designed it. Poked at the seams of a relationship until the seams burst.
And the system had paid him for it. It had fed on the wreckage.
A soft ping echoed.
[System Message: Emotional Signature Approaching Threshold]
[Echo Saturation: 63%]
He frowned.
"Threshold?"
The golden text glowing, then faded before he could select it.
"Guess we're keeping secrets now."
He stood there for a moment, staring at the sky between high rise towers.
And for the first time since activating the Ledger…
he felt sick.
But his hand still slid into his pocket, fingers brushing the comforting weight of the Unit Reader.
Because survival didn't pay for itself.
---
[CINDERVALE – EAST SECTOR / SPIRAL STATION CAFÉ]
The place smelled like overworked espresso and overtime tears. Most coffee joints in Cindervale used moodlighting designed to calm emotional flare ups, but Spiral Station leaned into the grim: harsh fluorescents, metal stools, walls the color of concrete.
And it was cheap. Quiet. Forgettable.
Just how Darren liked it.
He ordered a long black and leaned on the counter, watching the barista.
She moved like a sleep walker—mechanical, burnt out, zero spark. Not the dead eyed service smile he was used to, but something deeper, like her brain was buffering every interaction.
The system whispered in his vision.
[Subject: "Nell"]
[Emotional State: Insolvent]
[Detected: Residual Burnout / Flatline. Harvest Unavailable]
[Suggested Action: Ignore]
He stared at the text. It blinked once. Then disappeared.
"Jesus," he muttered under his breath. "Can you be so empty the system stops caring?"
---
Nell slid his coffee across the counter. She didn't say anything.
Darren tapped his cred-chip and looked up. "You always this chatty, or just with me?"
She blinked. "I talk. Just not to ghosts."
"Ghosts?"
"You walked in with dead eyes and a borrowed smile. Like someone pretending to still be here."
A pause. "Either that, or you're recruiting for a startup cult."
Darren chuckled, surprised.
It wasn't flirtation. It wasn't even hostility.
It was just… honesty.
He glanced around the café. Four customers. No movement.
[Scanning…]
[Emotional Ping – Mild Ennui: 0.004u]
[Customer 3: Financial Stress / Self-Resentment Cluster – 0.021u]
He considered it, just a soft prod, a little push.
Then glanced back at Nell.
Still staring. Not blinking.
"You harvest people?" she asked, blunt. "You've got that look."
Darren froze.
"Excuse me?"
She shrugged. "Everyone's selling something these days. I figured you're the kind that makes it feel like an accident."
[Heart Rate Spike Detected]
[Emotional Trigger: Guilt – 0.005u]
(Harvest declined)
He backed off, swallowing the smile forming on his lips.
"No offense," Nell added, "but if you are—don't bother here. I'm overdrawn. Emotionally bankrupt. The last guy who tried left with less than he came with."
She sipped her own coffee. Grimaced. "Tastes like ash. But it's warm."
For a second, Darren didn't say anything. Just looked at her.
No readout. No pulses. No usable emotion.
And yet, somehow, the most real person he'd talked to in days.
"What if I just wanted a coffee?"
"Then don't come here." She smirked. "It's shit. Go two blocks east, try Voxgrind. They use actual beans."
He smiled despite himself.
"You always this harsh to customers?"
"Only the ones who need it."
[System Ping: Manual Override Detected]
[Target Flagged as 'Non-Transactional']
[You've manually passed up three harvest opportunities.]
[Warning: Efficiency Drop Imminent.]
Darren dismissed the pop-up without blinking.
Something about that made him feel cleaner than the 0.1 Units he'd lost.
---
As he turned to leave, she called out.
"Hey."
He looked back.
"You ever figure out what you are—ghost, scammer, cult rep, let me know."
"Why?"
"So I know if I should report you, or pour you another cup."
He smiled.
As he stepped out—his system lit up, but this time it was different. It wasn't just data, it was a job