A voice crackled in his earpiece, cold and robotic. "Welcome to the Deluxe Edition, Soldier. In this version, there are no respawns. Complete the objective, or stay in the code forever."

"Almost there," he muttered, his thumb hovering over the 'Enter' key.

He’d found the link on a buried forum—a "Free Download (Inc. All DLCs)" that seemed too good to be true. In a world where digital currency was the only thing keeping his power on, a free ticket to the front lines was a windfall he couldn’t ignore.

The download finished with a sharp, digital chime. But as the game launched, the screen didn’t show the familiar splash art of soldiers in the mud. Instead, the monitor bled into a deep, crimson static. The fans in his PC began to scream, spinning at a rate that made the metal casing vibrate against his desk.

He looked down. He wasn't wearing his oversized hoodie anymore. He was clad in tactical Kevlar, a heavy slung across his chest. He was standing in a ruined town square that looked exactly like the 'Verdansk' map he’d seen in trailers, but the wind felt cold, and the dirt under his fingernails was real.