I was going through an infinite reel of surreal dreams. Would be hard to describe them, but a lot of the dreams featured endless frightening gray sky over the Eastward hills. I was a kid, standing at a large window in my parents' room, staring into that void. Small, felt even smaller.

Something was going to happen.

A huge spaceship would appear or the face of some angry god. Or a nuclear missile ready to strike. I was powerless, completely defenseless and nothing could save me. Not the thing layer of glass, nor my parents and not even Bamse bear. No wonder they say all issues are from childhood. It’s not just about the weird systems in fragile brains.

I barely managed to tore my eyes open, and found myself in a hospital bed. In a nice hospital bed, in a single room that looked more like a gleaming office, somewhere in the Apple building.

How did I even…?

This definitely wasn’t a city hospital. Those are… different. Made to be dirty and horrifying, so you could stay healthy by sheer force of not wanting to set your foot there, ever.

“Agent Kim, online again.”

And here’s my invisible friend.

“Let me guess, you have no idea either.”

“A guess or two. How are you, Arthur?”

“Surprisingly well.”

Seems like I had to take a good long nap. Not that long though. It was still the same night.

An elderly doctor entered the room, accompanied by a pale ginger nurse.

“Yuna, call Miss Solis and tell her the patient is awake.”

She nodded and ran back into the hallway, while the doctor sat next to me. My throat felt bad as if I had already lost the habit of speaking out loud. “Whe…Where am I?”

He chuckled.

“So, you don't remember anything, young man? You hit your head pretty hard after all. Not surprising in such an accident.”

... an accident?

“Kind of. What happened?”

“As far as I am aware, you threw yourself right under the wheels. I don’t know what prompted you to do this. But luckily for you, the car owner decided to bring you here and pay for all the expenses.”

…Car owner? The last thing I remember was that a fierce woman with a gun who killed the Stranded.

Yuna came back and opened the blinds. I saw the lights outside, tv tower on a hill and the bridge, which meant it was hospital in the bay area. One with an upfront payment, where the staff won’t even look at you, unless you have a hundred grand.

Oh.

“I guess, you are very lucky individual.” said the VIP doctor. “Got away from the car accident only with some bruises and scratches. There is a tiny crack in your jaw, but nothing serious. Don’t open your mouth too wide for a couple of days. If you have any questions, go for it. Otherwise, we’re done here.”

He handed me a business card. I took it, and "ka-ching!" in my imagination was almost audible.

Also, only a small crack. Lucky indeed. I got a lot of hits in the face from the Stranded, while he brushed off a hammer strike right into his ugly mug. Fucking tenacious rats.

“He wasted a lot of energy trying to get out of the container. Otherwise, he would not go down from three bullets.” said the Fool.

And that was some low-level shmuck. What's going to happen when a stronger escapee appears?

“Time to train. Hard.”

“You should go home and rest within the healing aura. The Stranded won’t appear every day. I hope. No guarantees, though. Besides, your sis is probably worried sick right now.”

I winced. He’s right, I should at least send a message.

"Can I get my things?"

“Your clothes are in the storage room,” the nurse said in a melodious voice. “You can pick them when you check out.”

“Well then. Since we’re done…”

I was trying to get up, but Yuna pushed me back to bed.

“Miss Solis said to keep you here until her return.”

That agent girl. Who is she anyway?

“Can I get a phone at least? I need to make a call.”

“Miss Solis said you shouldn’t contact anyone without her knowing. I’m sorry.”

It started getting annoying.

“Then, what about the restroom? Should I hold it until Miss Solis comes back?” The nurse blushed and took her hands off my shoulders.

A mysterious girl appeared not a minute later. She swapped ripped skirt for tight white pants and donned healthy aviator glasses that made her look like a large grotesque dragonfly.

Miss Solis – Level 7

“She is an agent, right?” I consulted my inner voice.

“Well, she isn’t trying to bite the nurse’s face off. Also, looks like a normal human.”

Miss Solis lowered her glasses and gave Yuna such a fiery look, like she was trying to melt her face instead.

“Is he fine?” asked my savior, then turned to me. “Come on, then.”

Eh?

‘Wait a sec. What is…?”

“You have a minute to get ready. Or, you can go naked, I don’t care. Keep sitting on that bed, and I’ll cancel the transaction. Good luck working for that bill for ten years.” She rolled her eyes and took out the phone. That was a convincing argument. I jumped out of bed, as if stung by a murder hornet. Next minute I was already at the parking.

Miss Solis walked past me, activated the alarm. Black as night, the SUV blinked its headlights. The girl looked back and told me to get into the car which cost more than all my family property combined. The door slammed shut and the dark purple window rolled up with a click.

“This toning is kind of… illegal,” I said, mentally struggling to comprehend everything.

She sighed. “I'd rather pay the fines for a year in advance than let all those redneck halfwits to stare at me. That includes you. Eyes up here!”

“Oh, what a meanie.” grumbled the Fool. “You shouldn’t have put on a shirt that can hardly hold back such… powerful soul.”

“Shut up, I’m trying to think.” I tried to put him in the far room of the mind palace.

The gun was right there in the open glove compartment on the driver's side and bothered me greatly. She noticed.

“Relax, it’s non-lethal. I grabbed the first thing lying around.”

“Ah, well, that changes everything.”

It was pretty lethal for the Stranded though.

“Tell me.” she gave me a stern look. “You see all this number pornography too, I’m sure.”

That was a pretty apt description for a digital complex. So, I’ve told her everything, and then my new "friend" presented her side of the story.

“I went go get some stuff from the summer house, and then…”

“Oh, so that house is yours?”

I was always wondering about that weird little castle and why would anyone build it between a military base and a landfill.

She got angry. Angrier.

“Stop interrupting! Who taught you manners, monkeys in the zoo? Dad bought a lot when I was twelve. Made it into a guest house or something, far away from prying eyes. When I,”

She stuttered, and her face went dark for a second.

“When you started to see the numbers.” I guessed. “The same thing happened to me.”

“So, what the fuck is this? Why now? Why me?”

I rubbed the back of my head. “No idea, to be honest. I awakened a couple of months ago. Just like you, ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and received a task. Since then, I have been doing them from time to time.

“What for?”

“What do you mean?”

“I was scared shitless when the moron system activated. Grabbed the gun, saw your ass crawling in a bloody mud, shot some kind of hideous fuck, took you to the hospital. I mean, my hands are still shaking from all this stupid nonsense in the middle of the night! And you’re saying you’ve been doing this shit for a while? What for?”

The first thing that came to mind.

“There is money, I guess.”

Alien money, but still.

“Thought so. What wouldn’t some people do for quick cash.”

“Also, I became stronger and healthier without putting in almost any effort.”

She didn’t say anything, but I knew what she thought: not just a greedy moron. Lazy greedy moron.

Victoria expected answers from me. The bravado and arrogance could not hide that she was tired, scared and did not understand a thing.

“The creatures I hunt attack people. You should have been told about this at the very beginning. There are a lot of victims, it's that nobody knows about it. Or maybe the victims are counted as missing, I don't know. That bastard from whom you saved me, killed a girl in an underpass not an hour before that. He grabbed her head and turned on the current. Yes, he was stronger than me, and he would have killed me too, if not for you. But I couldn't just let him go, you know?”

“Pfft. What are you, a superhero?”

“Nah, but this is my job now. I guess?”

You know, I suffered from a digital complex for so many years. She didn’t have to explain how it feels. Be that as it may, at least some answers have appeared in my life. At least some sense. How can you close your eyes and continue living in the dark, if the universe itself tells you this is it. This is the answer.

Miss Solis turned away from me, said a couple of strong words. We hit the road. The car rushed along the main highway without turning. I was already thinking if my savior would like to ride deep into the forest. She had a gun, after all.

“Where are we going?”

“I'm taking you home.”

“Wait. How do you know where I live?”

“I don’t. Fucking tell me.” she said through gritted teeth.

“Oh, ok. It’s Northern Hills Apartment, on the upper side of Bellwood.”

“And he lives in some kind of slums. Color me surprised.”

“Not everyone is lucky to be born wealthy.” I grumbled. For a second, it seemed like she was about to push me out of the car.

“By the way, the name is Arthur.”

“Victoria. Say…”

There was some uncomfortable silence.

“When I got sick, my dad found that professor, what was his name…”

“Dr. Phillman? Do you know him?!”

“This stuff got me thinking.” She said.

“I’ve wanted to talk to him about this.”

“He lives in the Black River town. I’ve got an address and his number somewhere. But he won’t help you. I was sitting in front of him, a terrified little girl, while he was telling my dad about neurosis and stuff. He gave me pills which did absolutely nothing.”

“Yeah, I’ve been there.”

“Old fucker forgot to mention it wasn’t an illness.”

“It’s not that simple. There’s a masquerade going on. Perhaps, he never met an awakened agent, so he would treat it like a mental disease.”

She didn’t have an inner voice who would explain things, so it had to be me. This time Victoria swore louder. I was also disappointed. I pinned certain hopes on this meeting. It was very disappointing to hear that Phillman could not enlighten me.

“This is some nerdy shit. This is why I suffered.”

She could not finish. Surely, everyone who was struck by the complex had such thoughts. “I don’t even play those retarded games!”

We stopped about ten minutes from the destination, when she put hands over her eyes.

“Is something wrong?”

“There are walls of text all over. Can’t see.”

“Actually…”

I touched her wrist and got a piercing elbow attack.

“Watch your hands!”

“Okay,” I moved closer to the door. “I wanted to say, you don’t actually see them. Everything is in your head. It’s a bit hard to get used to, but they go away after a while.”

“Must have sinned in the past life. Otherwise, why? This is madness.” A lonely tear rolled down her cheek.

Victoria drove me to the edge of the building and no further, saying local cavemen would steal tires while I’m getting out.

“Thanks for the ride,” I said before leaving. “And for saving me. And for the bill.”

“You are trying too hard to be nice. Just go. No! Stop.”

It’s a rollercoaster with her.

“What?”

“Got any plans tomorrow night?”

What an unexpected question.

“Yes, as if ... nothing, but ... this is the very...”

“First, roll your lip back. Second, I want you to teach me how to use this thing.”

“I thought you hated the system.”

“I do find it incredibly fucking stupid. But you're right, I should at least try to figure it out. And also, all sorts of shaggy creeps roam the city, killing girls, and you are not able to stop them without my help.”

Technically correct.

“Okay,” I hesitated. “I could use some help.”

We were on the same level. A bit of training, and we could kill the stranded before they knew what hit them.

“It’s a deal, then. I'll pick you up at nine o'clock.”

“Maybe we should exchange numbers or something? Just to keep in touch, you know.”

She sure loves to roll the eyes. Victoria took my cracked phone and quickly called herself.

“Call for anything but business, and you won’t be able to call anyone for a while.”

“Yeah, got it.” I took three steps from the car and got the system’s message.

A Card Unlocked: The Empress

“Don't let the glint of gold blind you. Don't let the burden of power weigh on your shoulders. We build our own path, whether it be a road made of velvet pillows or a path covered with glass.”

Bond level: 1

The agent gets a 10% discount on everything. Only for them, the price for any item or service is reduced by exactly ten percent. Sellers and service providers take this for granted and do not ask unnecessary questions.

“That makes zero sense.”

Climbing the stairs, I couldn’t wrap my head around this new concept.

“You shouldn't ask too many questions, Arthur. This is a powerful reality hack. Be glad that you’ll have some cash from now on.”

“Wait! I have to understand. Does it brainwash people, or pays those ten percent for me? Because if it’s the former, what do other people think about it? Like store owners, or suppliers?"

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“Go to sleep, Kim.”