He calmed down and let them drag him across the hall.
They brought him into a white room — an infinite void of plain white. The floor and sky were the same blank shade of white, stretching endlessly in every direction.
At the center stood two chairs facing each other. They sat him down on one of them.When he turned around, the guards were gone.
His pulse quickened.No one. Nothing. Just silence.
He faced forward again—and gasped.
Someone was sitting across from him.
A woman.She wore a dark blue suit and tie, the tie gleaming with a mirror-like shine. Her hair was pure white, her skin porcelain pale — like a French actress from an old film.
"Hello, Neo," she said. "I'm Marthica Nollifix. I'm a lawyer. Just like you."
"A lawyer?" He frowned. "Are you my lawyer?"
"Yes and no." Her smile was practiced, almost mechanical. "I'm a lawyer, but not your lawyer. You are your own lawyer. Technically, everyone in the world is a lawyer."
He blinked. "That doesn't make any sense. I'm still a law student. I haven't even passed the bar."
"It will make sense soon." Her smile widened. "I'm here to help you sign a contract — the LCG Contract. Don't worry, everyone signs the same one. Think of it like clicking I agree to the terms and conditions in one of those games you used to play. You never actually read those, did you?"
"Game?" Neo echoed, his voice tight with confusion.
"I'm not the one to explain that. The game explains itself." She opened her palm.
A floating sheet of light appeared above it — a glowing digital scroll that shimmered like a hologram. She handed it to him, and somehow, it felt real. Solid. Warm.
Neo tried to scroll to the bottom. It didn't end. The text was written in a language he couldn't understand.
One thing I've learned about contracts… you have to read everything.
He kept scrolling. It went on forever.
"There's no point reading it," Marthica said, irritation slipping into her tone. "Just sign it. Use your finger at the bottom."
"Fuck off," Neo snapped. "I'm not signing anything until I know what I'm getting into."
Marthica sighed — then pulled out a gun.
The barrel aimed straight at his forehead.
"Listen carefully," she said, her voice suddenly cold. "If you don't sign, something worse than this bullet will take hold of you."
Neo didn't move. "Why should I believe you?"
"Because I signed it too." She flicked her fingers. Another contract appeared beside her — hers, already glowing with her name. "Signing means you get to play the Lawyer's Card Game. And that means you get to exist. You get to live. You get to stay."
Two choices.Neither with a visible ending.
He thought of his family. His girlfriend. He wanted to know if they were safe. If he still had a chance to see them again.
He pressed his finger against the bottom of the page.
A sharp sting.Blood welled at his fingertip, staining the contract. It glowed — then wrapped around his left arm like molten light.
Did I just fuck up and sign a bad contract?
The room went dark.
"Hello? Are you still there? Marthi—whatever-your-name-is?"
The ground trembled.The darkness began to move — no, rush — like a train speeding toward a tunnel's exit. Neo clutched the chair, bracing himself as the light at the end grew brighter.Too bright.Blinding.
When he opened his eyes, he was being shoved by a crowd in a city that didn't belong to his world.
This wasn't the 2020s anymore.
The sky was sealed by a rusted black dome. Smoke from colossal towers curled upward, merging into artificial clouds. Neon lights flickered against the grime.
He stumbled into an alley and slumped beside a dumpster, gasping. The people around him wore masks that covered their entire faces. No eyes. No mouths. Just blank masks — faceless beings pretending to be human.
No country on Earth looks like this.I'm either in another world… or in the future.
He gripped his hair, forcing himself to think.
I need to get my bearings. I need to think. The last thing I remember was… the truck. The impact.Did I die?Then how the hell am I still alive? That room earlier... it imitated the coffeeshop. And they somehow cloned my girlfriend. It was like they read my memories and recreated it... recreated her. I miss her.
He stood up with resolution. I'm not giving up. I don't know this world yet, but if I'm here then there is a chance that people I know could be here too.I have so many questions right now. I need to find answers.
With resolve in his mind, he slapped his cheeks with both hands and eyes looked forward.
I'm going to figure out what the fuck is going on here.
He walked back into the bustling street and slid into the crowd. His throat felt soar. It must have been the polluted air of the city. He covered himself with the shirt he was wearing from the coffeeshop. And kept walking even though he had no idea where to go.
He saw a place that has a sign at the top that says "BAR".
A bar? I guess I'll check that out.
It was empty compared to the other places on the street. And it didn't seem like it would kick him out like the other places with guards watching the entrance.
He opened the glass door. He looked around and it was not a bar at all. It was a room with a metal box at the center.
Is this an ATM machine?
He walked toward it and looked at the screen.
[INSERT YOUR LCG CONTRACT TO TAKE THE BAR EXAM]