He thought the laptop had died. But then, the pixels began to swirl, forming a vortex that sucked the light from the room. Leo tried to stand, but his chair was gone. His desk was gone. He was falling through a tunnel of green code, the wind screaming past his ears.

Below it, a single line: "The world needs one more soldier. No microtransactions. No respawns. Just duty."

Voss almost smiled. "You get to go home."

A voice crackled in his ear, sharp and no-nonsense. "New meat. Congratulations. You clicked the download. That means you signed the contract. You're the 1,447th 'Hero.' The first 1,446 are dead. Don't be number 1,447."

His hands stopped shaking. His fear didn't vanish, but it sharpened into something useful. He looked at the rifle, then at the sky, then back at Voss.

That’s when he saw the pop-up.

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