That day, the rain was colder than any he had known.He thought it was just another breakup—he didn't realize his whole life was being returned for a refund.Even the coffee turned cold before his heart did.
Rain lashed against the glass like broken silver threads.The café lights were dim, the air heavy with the bitterness of stale coffee.Ethan Lee sat in the corner, his delivery jacket dripping steadily onto the floor.He stared at the blurred street outside—gray, pale, and distant.He wasn't waiting for a woman anymore. He was waiting for a future that never came.
Across from him, Lena sat perfectly straight. Her hair neat, her perfume untouched by the storm.Even the rain seemed to part for her.
"Ethan," she said gently, her tone soft but edged with distance."You're a good man. But kindness doesn't pay the bills."
He gave a rough laugh. "So that's it? Because I'm broke?"
"It's not about money." She lowered her gaze."It's about ambition. You deliver for the company. He owns it."
She pushed a folded bill toward him. That was when Ethan understood—pity was colder than rejection.
When she left, the chair still held her warmth.That warmth felt like the last trace of his dignity.
The coffee had gone completely cold.He looked into the cup and saw his fractured reflection staring back.
Night fell heavy. The rain deepened.Ethan walked through the streets—no umbrella, no direction.Each splash of his shoes sounded like a funeral drum.
Neon lights bled across puddles:"High-Paying Jobs""District of the Successful""Be Someone Worth Remembering."
Every slogan mocked him.
"I gave everything… So why can't I even keep my pride?"
The wind hurled rain into his face, sharp as glass.He tried to laugh but the sound broke before it left his throat.
Then—the world flickered.
Streetlights dimmed and pulsed, humming like something alive.A faint blue screen materialized before his eyes.
[System initializing…][Host detected.][Analyzing neural pattern…][Emotional state: Despair.][Potential: High.]
Ethan froze. "I… I've gone mad."
[Mission 001: Recover your dignity.][Objective: Earn $1,000 within 24 hours.][Reward: Skill — Enhanced Memory Lv.1.][Failure: System suspension.]
He gave a dry, broken laugh. "A thousand? I don't even have twenty."
But the light shifted.A digital map unfolded—streets glowing red like veins, every pulse marking a high-value delivery route.His own courier app lit up in sync, the same orders flashing before him.
For the first time that night, something in his chest stirred.
He borrowed his friend's battered scooter. The engine coughed like a dying beast.Rain slapped his face as he tore into the storm.
The System guided him—routes, times, tip predictions—each instruction precise, surgical.He delivered through flooded alleys, under neon bridges, across sleeping districts.Every order completed was a piece of dignity reclaimed.
Hours passed. The city blurred into motion and light.Then—his phone vibrated.
[Account Balance: $1,004]
He stopped beneath a flickering sign, rain cascading down his hair.
[Mission Complete][Reward Granted]
Blue light burst across his vision.A rush of warmth filled his mind; memories re-arranged with mechanical precision.Every customer's face, every shortcut, every turn—burned perfectly into his mind.
Ethan climbed the overpass, looking down at the city.Traffic flowed like circuitry. Lights pulsed like veins.The city that once devoured him now lay open, coded, comprehensible.
Lena's voice echoed faintly in his head: "Good men can't feed themselves."
He smiled—a sharp, quiet thing."Then I'll be the bad man who buys the whole building."
The screen shimmered again:
[Next Mission: Establish a business entity within seven days.]
Ethan looked toward the faint break of dawn.The rain had stopped, but the ache remained—proof that he was still alive.
"Challenge accepted."