The sky outside the hospital was bright and annoyingly cheerful, as if mocking Ethan's situation. He stepped through the sliding glass doors with a freshly signed discharge paper and a small plastic hospital bag. He carried no luggage because he had nothing left. Literally nothing.
Lena had gone ahead earlier something about handling some matters before coming to see him again later. They had parted gently, almost shyly, with their fingers brushing in a way that made Ethan feel like the luckiest person alive.
But now?
Now he stood in the hospital parking lot, staring at the rows of parked cars and realizing a painfully obvious truth:
He had no home.
And no car.
He blinked at the open space where his car should've been, but of course, it wasn't there. It was probably destroyed. Burnt. Exploded. Scraped off the earth. Who knew?
Ethan rubbed his temples.
"Okay… so I'm homeless and carless," he muttered. "Nice. Great. Perfect."
He tried to remember what had happened two or three days ago but everything was blurred like someone splashed water over his memories. He remembered the card syncing. He remembered dizziness. He remembered flames. And voices. And pain. And.
He sighed heavily.
There were too many questions.
Why was he targeted?
Why did his villa explode?
Why couldn't he remember anything clearly?
And why did the system upgrade itself AGAIN without permission?
He placed a hand on his pocket and felt the warm weight of the new system card. He pulled it out and stared at it.
A sleek black card rested in his palm.
Beautiful. Elegant. Mysterious.
A golden ring circled the front, and in the center was a Roman numeral:
III
The card glowed faintly, and on the side, a small line of text flickered.
[Upgrade: 1 Day Remaining]
Ethan shook his head.
"Still upgrading… better not pass out again," he muttered.
He slipped the card back into his pocket.
He had to go see his mother and sister.
Ethan waved down a taxi and settled in the back seat. The driver glanced at him through the mirror.
"You alright, kid? You look tired."
"I'm… recovering," Ethan replied honestly.
The driver nodded and started the engine.
The drive was quiet. Ethan stared out the window, watching the city blur by the tall buildings, the crowds, the honking cars, the ordinary people living their ordinary lives. He swallowed a lump in his throat.
He missed normal.
He missed boring.
He missed the life without explosions, missions, and system updates that made him pass out.
After twenty minutes, the taxi dropped him off at the hotel he booked for his mother and sister. Ethan paid and walked inside. The lobby smelled like fresh flowers and clean marble.
When he reached the room and knocked, nobody answered.
A cleaner nearby said, "Oh, those two? They left an hour ago. Said they were going to the park."
Ethan nodded and went inside alone.
The room was neat, cozy, peaceful. His mother kept everything clean, as usual. Anna's small jacket was thrown over the chair, proving a child lived here too.
Ethan sat on the edge of the bed and took out his phone.
The last app he opened before everything went wrong was still there: his browser.
He opened it.
And instantly, the same villa he'd been researching popped up again.
A stealth villa.
Plain on the outside.
Luxurious and extremely expensive inside.
Cost: $20 million.
To everyone else, it would look standard, average, harmless. His mother wouldn't even know it was luxury-grade material.
Perfect.
If only one thing wasn't stopping him.
Ethan opened his banking app.
It flashed a bright red message:
[ERROR: Account Limit Exceeded. Upgrade Required for Large Transfers.]
He blinked.
"Are you serious…"
His bank was telling him he needed to upgrade his account tier to even touch his money. He sighed, defeated, and closed the app.
He would deal with the bank tomorrow.
He stood up, ready to go downstairs and wait for his family, when his phone began vibrating.
An unknown number.
Ethan hesitated.
"…Hello?"
A familiar voice cried out immediately:
"Ethan?! Are you okay?!"
It was Faye.
The girl who had been staying in his villa.
The girl who definitely wasn't in the villa when it exploded.
"Faye?" Ethan said, suddenly remembering how he left her at the entrance gate after the bus ride. "You're okay."
"I should be asking you that!" she said in a hushed but frantic voice. "I saw the news! I thought I thought"
Her voice cracked slightly.
Ethan felt a strange heaviness in his chest.
"I'm fine," he reassured her. "Just at the hospital for a bit."
They talked for a while. She asked about his health. He asked if she was safe. They made awkward small talk before she asked timidly if they could meet soon.
"Sure," Ethan said, still confused about everything but trying his best to stay calm.
When the call ended, the room fell silent again.
He turned off the screen and looked around the hotel room.
Then,
A knock.
A soft, gentle knock on the door.
Ethan opened it.
A hotel worker entered with a food cart, politely smiling.
"Room service. Complimentary meal."
Ethan blinked as tray after tray of food was placed in the room soup, fruit, rice, steak, dessert.
"Uh… thank you?"
After the worker left, Ethan sat down and ate slowly, letting the warm food fill him after days of chaos. But the exhaustion hit him as he ate, and his head grew heavier and heavier.
Tomorrow he had to go to the bank.
Tomorrow he had to go to the agency to deal with the villa purchase in person.
Tomorrow he had to figure out who targeted him.
But for now…
He was just tired.
***
Meanwhile High in the City
Mary stood in the executive suite of a skyscraper, hands behind her back as she stared out the wide glass windows. The city stretched below her like a sea of silver and gold.
The sun climbed higher into the sky, glinting against her hair.
It was noon.
Her expression softened just slightly as she checked her phone.
Two days left.
Her birthday.
She sighed softly, putting the phone down and staring at the skyline again.
So much had changed.
So much was happening.
And she didn't know why her heart felt uneasy.
She glanced at her calendar once more.
Two days.
Just two days.
Then she closed her eyes and let the noon sunlight warm her face.