[Ding! SSS-Billionaire System Activated.]
What in the goddamn fuck?
Dex became aware of the space first—empty, weightless, like he was standing still in the middle of darkness. Darkness went as far as he could see. Just a translucent interface hovering in front of his eyes.
[SSS-Billionaire System Online]
[Host confirmed]
Dex let out a slow breath. "A system," he said quietly. "Figures. It looks like I'm really going crazy after all."
Another line appeared.
[Primary Function]
→ Item Shop
→ Daily Reward
[Supplementary Function]
→ Save and Reload
Dex let out a dry laugh. "So I screw up, I reload. Get stabbed, reload. Die—reload."
[Correct]
"Wait—am I dreaming, or is this real? This is too good to be true. There's no way this isn't just in my head—don't you—"
The words died in his throat as pain tore through his left flank.
Dex gasped and jolted awake.
Cold rain splashed against his face, seeping into his hair and collar. His lungs burned as he dragged in air, the ache in his flank sharp and deep enough to keep him fully conscious.
[Host condition: Stable]
[System binding confirmed]
He blinked, rainwater blurring his vision, then turned his head left. Right.
He checked his body, trying to figure out where the pain was coming from. His hand slid along his side, fingers brushing against a long, uneven line beneath the skin.
That was it.
A strange, raised ridge ran along his flank—too long, too deliberate to be a bruise. He frowned. He hadn't been stabbed when they grabbed him. He was sure of that.
His hands were still there. His head wasn't shaved. His vision was intact—no missing eye, no haze beyond the lingering ache. Whatever they'd done, it wasn't obvious at first glance.
Except for the line on his side.
That hadn't been there yesterday.
He shifted his attention to his belongings.
Gone.
The backpack. The duffel. His clothes. Everything.
All that remained was his phone in one pocket and his wallet in the other. His jacket was missing, leaving him in nothing but a thin T-shirt. The cold seeped in immediately, the night air biting harder with every second he stayed still.
Dex looked around.
An alley. Narrow. Damp. Trash piled near a rusted door, the stench of old garbage hanging in the air. He pulled out his phone and checked the GPS.
Central District.
The mob hadn't dumped him in the outskirts. They'd left him right in the middle of the city.
He tilted his head back. Skyscrapers rose high above the alley, their lights burning steadily, uncaring. Corporate towers, glass and steel, while he stood wedged between a garbage chute and an abandoned building.
Dex pushed himself upright.
Pain flared along his flank, sharper this time, forcing a slow breath through clenched teeth.
"What the hell did they do to me…?"
He checked the time.
Two days had passed.
That didn't make sense. No one stayed unconscious for that long without something going very wrong. The realization settled uneasily in his chest.
A notification flickered into view.
[Do you want to save your progress?]
Dex hesitated.
"…Yeah."
[Save #1: 12/29/2025 — 06:45]
[Location: Midnight Valley — Central District]
[Status: Level 1]
He snorted softly.
"Funny."
Dex stared at the interface hovering in front of him, half-dumbfounded, more surprised than anything else. The exact date and location were listed clearly—precise enough to matter. Useful, if he ever needed to reload.
His gaze drifted upward, past the narrow alley, to the buildings towering overhead. Rain fell steadily, each droplet cold as it struck his face.
He took a slow breath, damp city air filling his lungs. Then he flexed his hand. Normal. Responsive. He then flexed his legs, his legs were moving normally.
Dex reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose.
It hurt.
Of course it did.
[The System is Real, Host]
No doubt.
The system was real.
Dex stepped out of the alley, shoulders hunched against the cold, breath steady. He didn't feel eyes on his back. No footsteps. No sense of being followed. Everything felt… quiet. Wrong, maybe—but stable.
The alley stretched past a series of service docks and loading bays, the kind meant for delivery trucks and late-night drop-offs. As it widened, parked vehicles came into view—red, white, black, gray. Ordinary cars. Office buildings rose on either side, plain and functional. Nothing special.
He frowned.
How had no one noticed him lying there earlier?
Dex shook his head and kept walking. At the end of the alley, the city opened up.
Midnight Valley.
People in business suits and long coats moved past him, eyes glued to their phones. Expensive cars slid through the streets, headlights cutting clean lines through the rain. The city buzzed with motion, indifferent and alive.
Dex stood there for a moment, cold rain soaking into his shirt.
People brushed past him without a second glance. Suits. Umbrellas. Expensive shoes splashing through shallow puddles. Midnight Valley moved on like nothing had happened—like he hadn't nearly vanished into it.
Dex slipped his phone back into his pocket and straightened.
The system hovered quietly at the edge of his vision.
Then, a new notification appeared.
[Daily Reward Pending]
[Activation available in 00:07:32]
Dex stopped walking.
Slowly, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"…So that's how it starts."