IN A DINER...
Darren sat alone at the counter, nursing a burger he didn't really want and a soda that was mostly melted ice now. The diner smelled decent and was cleaner then his apartment. His blazer still had a ketchup stain from two nights ago.
He tapped his phone lazily, watching the $1,496.22 balance blink at him from his banking app.
Not bad for crying, lust and emotional ruin.
"And they say heartbreak doesn't pay."
He snorted at his own joke, the waitress glanced at him but didn't ask. Smart woman.
His phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A text..
YOU'RE WASTING THE SYSTEM.
If you want to learn how to really profit,
meet me. Midnight. Carrion Row. Alone.
No sender.
No reply option.
He stared at the message until it timed out and disappeared.
His stomach twisted.
Darren blinked. Looked around.
Everyone was minding their own business.
"A creepy anonymous summons.
This is either the start of a horror movie… or a promotion."
He took another bite of his burger, It still tasted like cardboard.
"...Screw it. I've walked into worse."
Carrion Row – Midnight...
Darren stood alone beneath a streetlamp. The alley smelled like shit, trash bins overflowed, graffiti everywhere like dead skin peeling from the body.
It wasn't really a sight.
He checked his phone.
No signal again.
[LOCATION VERIFIED – SECURE ZONE ESTABLISHED]
[Transaction Interference: SUSPENDED]
[High-Tier Holder Presence Detected]
A figure stepped out of the shadows.
He expected a guy in a cloak.
He got… her.
Selene.
She looked like those sexy movie mistress villains, black trench coat, stilettos, red lips like roses on a glass. Her voice hit the air like smoke.
"Darren Nova," she said, smiling like she knew the weight of his bones.
"You're underperforming."
"Wow. That's one hell of a pickup line."
"You sent the message," Darren said. "You know? that 'bring your greed' part..."
"You should work on that."
"You think this is a date?"
"Well, you did tell me to come alone at midnight to a dark alley. I've seen pornos that start this way."
"And most of them end with someone getting f...."
She stepped closer.
"..fucked, yes?"
She looked him up and down like a bored investor appraising a penny stock.
"I'm here to show you what the system actually is. What it can do."
"I'm listening, slightly terrified, mostly aroused but listening."
"Good," she said. "Keep all three, you'll need them."
Selene turned, walking deeper into the alley.
Darren followed, partly out of curiosity and because he was pretty sure she'd let him die if he didn't.
"Tell me, Darren. What do you think the system wants?"
"Emotional chaos, sarcasm, occasional heartbreak sex?"
She shot him a sharp smirk without slowing down.
"Close, but think broader."
They stopped in front of what looked like an abandoned steel door, graffiti covered it, then It opened without a touch.
Inside it was an elevator.
Old fashioned but Polished and no buttons.
The moment they stepped in, it dropped.
***
The elevator opened into a space that should not exist under any city.
Goldlight shot through geometric chandeliers, Velvet seating and a bar glowing with blue fire.
Everything smelled expensive.
Darren's shoes sank into the carpet that probably cost more than his high school education.
"Welcome to the Exchange."
A few figures lingered in the corners. Quiet but watching.
"This is like a Bond villain's wet dream."
"You're standing in a level one neutral zone.
No harvesting, no interference. Just education… and negotiation."
She gestured, and the space lit up.
A projected UI appeared mid air, a full system interface Darren had never seen before.
[Goldscript Ledger: Expanded Access]
• LU Balance: 4.7
• Emotional Conversion Rate: $1,496.22
• Assets: 1x Gilded Pen
• Passive Traits: Emotional Pressure I (Unlocked)
• Access Tier: Initiate
• Available Modules: Micro-Purchase | Gated Desire | Influence Drift
"Wait, that's what I've been walking around with this whole time?"
"A fraction of it. The system doesn't reveal the real interface until someone like me decides you're worth showing it to."
She flicked her hand, a new window appeared:
[Available Purchases – Tier I]
• Luxury Clothing Pack
• Social Presence Boost
• Targeting Filter Upgrade
• Escort Experience – Emotion-Bound (Locked)
Darren's eyes locked on the last one.
"Wait, are you telling me I can buy sex?"
"Not sex. Influence. Obsession. Want."
"Everything you've ever paid for in life… was emotional."
She turned toward him, her tone shifting now slower, more intimate.
"You've been feeding from crumbs. What? Breakups? guilt? stray lust?"
"You've been using this like a hungry thief, but now i'm offering you a seat at the table."
She snapped her fingers.
The bar changed shape.
On it now was a sleek credit card, matte black with a golden sigil on it.
[Asset Generated: System Black Card – Tier I Limit Unlocked]
"Congratulations, you now have access to legitimate spending controlled by your harvest rate."
"Buy wisely, Darren. The more you take, the more it takes from you."
She leaned in, inches from his face.
"And remember... real wealth isn't just what you buy."
"It's who you own." Then she turned.
Darren stood there, now holding the black card, fingers twitching.
It was warm. Vibrating slightly, like it had a pulse.
Across the room, Selene sipped something clear from a heavy glass. She didn't sit. She didn't need to. The entire room revolved around her.
"You know, I don't really think you're ready," she said, without looking.
"For what? Buying my first ethically sourced yacht?"
"For real leverage," she said. "You've been reacting, It's time you learn how to push."
She gestured toward a glass divider that slowly opened.
Behind it, a posh lounge, part cigar bar, part influencer haven.
Two people sat on opposite couches, both dressed well, it looked like there was an argument.
Selene tapped the air, their emotional states came to life in HUD form...
Target A..
Dylan Kingsley – Marketing exec. Envy, frustration, inferiority.
Target B..
Lena Carr – Tech startup founder. Pride, guilt, suspicion.
"You… monitor people like this?" Darren asked.
"We don't monitor them, We invest in them."
She turned, finally facing him fully.
"You want to earn your first upgrade?
Push one of them over. Harvest enough emotion to trigger your Tier II unlock."
Darren blinked.
"What?"
"Like… walk in and piss them off?"
"No. Influence them."
"You're not a wrecking ball, Darren. You're like a scalpel."
"I don't know man."
"Are you scared?" She teased.
"PLEASE..!!"
Darren sighed, ran a hand through his hair and tucked the black card into his inner pocket.
"Fine. Let's play emotional Wall Street."
He walked in casually, no one noticed him at first.
Then he made a slight detour "accidentally" bumping Lena's purse off the couch.
She turned fast, startled. Darren bent down to pick it up.
"Sorry, sorry.... didn't mean to commit fashion assault. That purse cost more than my liver."
She chuckled.
The tension eased slightly.
"No harm," she said. "Was just talking to a walking headache anyway."
Darren glanced at Dylan and tilted his head.
"Ex?"
"Worse," she said. "Co-founder."
[PING] – Target Emotion Shift: Amusement → Trust Initiation
Darren grinned.
"Mind if I join? I promise to only be mildly chaotic."
Lena gestured to the open seat. Dylan glared but said nothing.
Perfect.
Five minutes later…
Darren had subtly guided Lena into reliving a failed launch, how Dylan pulled the funding without telling her.
She was laughing now, loud but still bitter.
And Dylan was fuming, jealous too. His voice shaky.
"This is why I kept the project files. You'd tanked it already."
[PING: Envy spike – 42%]
[Harvest ready – Accept?]
Darren hesitated.
Then quietly whispered:
"Accept."
The moment hit like static through his brain.
It felt different, not like with the memory. Instead it was cool, intoxicating, clean.
Numbers updated. His system blinked.
[+1.6 LU Harvested]
[Tier II Interface Unlocked]
[New Emotional Category Available: ENVY]
[Available Rewards Unlocked: Style Package, Asset Bait, Passive Aura – Tier I]
Selene's voice echoed faintly through his ear.
"Congratulations. You just got paid to stir the pot."
"You are learning."
Darren re-entered the private chamber, smiling slightly. His black card updated with a new glyph.
Selene raised an eyebrow.
"Well?"
"Envy tastes better than I thought."
She handed him a fresh drink, something dark and definitely rich.
"That's nothing," she said. "Wait till you taste worship."