Lunessa's legs finally gave out.
She stumbled a few steps away from the road and flopped down onto the pavement, her back hitting the cold concrete. The city noise continued around her, uncaring and distant, like nothing had happened at all.
She hugged her knees to her chest and forced herself to breathe.
"It's okay," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else. "You did great."
Her hands were still shaking.
"You just… need to toughen up," she continued quietly. "This is your chance. In this world, you need to be a bad person. Use others before they use you."
The words sounded ugly, but they were necessary. She needed to brainwash herself.
She swallowed hard, then reached into her pocket with trembling fingers and pulled out her worn-down phone. The screen was cracked. The battery warning blinked weakly at the top.
"Please," she murmured, not sure who she was talking to anymore.
She opened her banking app, and the loading circle spun once.
Then stopped.
Her breath caught.
Balance: $5,003.47
Lunessa stared at the screen and froze.
"It's real," she whispered. "This is damn real… right?" She didn't know who she was asking, but she refreshed the app again and again.
Five thousand dollars. Actually there. Actually hers.
Her chest tightened, and this time, the shaking didn't stop.
A short, broken laugh escaped her. Just disbelief crashing into reality all at once.
"GD…" she called softly, turning her head, half-expecting the hologram to appear immediately.
For a second, nothing happened.
The pavement was still cold beneath her palms. Cars passed. People walked by without looking twice.
Then the familiar light flickered beside her.
[SYSTEM ONLINE]
Lunessa let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"You weren't lying," she murmured.
[MISSION COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY]
She stared at the glowing screen, eyes burning.
"So this is it?" she asked quietly. "This is… how easy to make money?"
The system didn't hesitate.
[NOT REALLY, MISS. BECAUSE THIS IS THE FIRST MISSION, IT MAY SEEM EASY]
Her fingers curled around her phone.
"Really? Then tell me," she said. "What's the next mission?"
The hologram flickered, lines rearranging themselves.
[NEXT MISSION GENERATING…]
Lunessa waited, knees still drawn to her chest. The city lights started to switch on as the sky started to get dark.
"Don't give me something impossible," she muttered. "I already used up all my courage for today."
The system paused. Long enough to make her uneasy.
[MISSION ASSIGNED]
Her breath hitched as she waited for the system to continue.
[MISSION: ALLOW PHYSICAL INTIMACY WITH JULIAN HALE]
[LEVEL: INITIAL CONTACT]
[CONDITIONS: CONSENSUAL]
[REWARD: $10,000]
Lunessa stared at the screen.
"Allow," she repeated slowly. "What does that even mean?"
[SEDUCING]
[EXAMPLES INCLUDE: TOUCH, PROXIMITY, EMBRACE]
[BOUNDARIES SUBJECT TO HOST CONSENT]
"No—no!" Lunessa snapped, pushing herself up slightly. "Are you saying I need to seduce someone who just asked me to sleep with him and I just rejected him?"
The hologram flickered.
Silence stretched for a few seconds. Long enough to feel deliberate.
[MISS LUNESSA, THIS IS A GOLD DIGGER SYSTEM]
"And?" she shot back, eyes blazing. "That doesn't mean I need to sacrifice my dignity for this."
The system responded, tone unchanged.
[INCORRECT]
Her jaw clenched. "What?"
[A GOLD DIGGER DOES NOT OPERATE ON DIGNITY]
[A GOLD DIGGER OPERATES ON OPPORTUNITY]
The words appeared one line at a time.
[STANDARD GOLD DIGGING BEHAVIOR INCLUDES:]
[IDENTIFYING POWERFUL TARGETS]
[MAINTAINING DESIRABILITY]
[WITHHOLDING FULL COMPLIANCE]
[TRADING ACCESS FOR RESOURCES]
Lunessa's throat tightened, "So you're telling me—"
[AFFECTION IS A TOOL]
[VULNERABILITY IS A WEAPON]
[DESIRE IS LEVERAGE]
Her fingers curled into her palms.
"That's disgusting," she said hoarsely.
[DISGUST IS A LUXURY]
The system continued without pause.
[HISTORICALLY, GOLD DIGGERS DO NOT SEEK LOVE]
[THEY SEEK SECURITY]
[SURVIVAL]
[CONTROL]
The city noise faded into the background.
Lunessa let out a long breath and pushed herself up.
"I'm not doing this…" she said hoarsely.
She gulped and started walking away. "Even though I need money so much, I don't think I need to sacrifice myself for the sake of—"
She stopped.
Mid-step.
Her gaze dropped to the pavement.
A faint reflection stared back at her from a dark shop window. Her hair was messy, her face pale and her eyes still red from holding too much in. Someone who had just been threatened. Someone who had just earned five thousand dollars by being reckless.
Her fingers tightened.
"Sacrifice myself," she repeated softly.
The words tasted wrong.
She laughed under her breath. Bitter. Self-aware.
"Who am I kidding?" she murmured then looked straight at the hologram, "How long do I have?"
The system didn't hesitate.
[TIME REMAINING FOR MEDICAL INTERVENTION: 6 DAYS, 5 HOURS]
Her throat tightened.
"Give me time to think," Lunessa said. "Just a little."
The system flickered once.
[REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGED]
[MISSION TIMER CONTINUES]
After about a ten minute walk, she finally arrived at the cheap motel sitting at the edge of the street, its flickering sign buzzing weakly above the entrance.
Lunessa pushed the door open and stepped inside, the stale smell of detergent and old carpet greeting her.
The receptionist barely looked up.
Lunessa headed toward the counter, then stopped as her eyes caught the familiar bag bag sat there.
"What's happening here?" she asked, her voice tightening. "Why is my bag here?"
She looked straight at the receptionist.
The woman finally raised her head, expression flat. "You didn't pay for tonight."
Lunessa froze.
"I—I was going to," she said quickly. "How much is it?"
The receptionist went back to looking at her phone, not bothering to answer.
"Excuse me?" Lunessa raised her voice slightly, frustration slipping through.
"Someone already checked in," the receptionist replied flatly.
Lunessa froze. "What?"
"You didn't pay," the woman said without looking up. "So the room was released."
Lunessa's fingers tightened around the strap of her bag. "But I stayed there last night. All my things—"
"That," the receptionist interrupted, nodding toward the bag on the counter, "is nothing much." Her lips curled into a sneer.
Lunessa's grip tightened.
She lifted her head slowly and looked straight at the receptionist.
"One day," she said, voice low and steady, "I'll buy this motel."
The receptionist paused. Then she laughed. A short and mocking sound.
"You?" she scoffed. "With that?"
Her eyes flicked to the bag.
Lunessa didn't blink.
"And you'll be the first person I fire," she finished.
The laughter grew louder, careless. "Sure. Get in line."
Lunessa picked up her bag and walked out of the motel.
She stopped in front of the building, the flickering sign buzzing above her head. The night city stretched out before her.
For a moment, she just stood there.
Then she took a breath.
"GD," she said quietly, correcting herself. "Tell me Julian Hale's address."