For ten minutes, he was a god. He sprinted through the rubble of Wakistan, bullets whizzing past, his crosshair snapping to heads before he even consciously aimed. 12–0. 20–2. His heart pounded with the kind of joy he hadn’t felt since middle school.

“I’m sorry,” said a voice that was not quite Leo’s. Too flat. Too calm. “I used external tools to gain an unfair advantage.”

[ALL] xX_SgtMoody_Xx: leo how did you see me through that smoke [ALL] TacoTruck: he’s speeding for sure [ALL] Leo: just good gaming chair bro

Leo slapped his headset off. On screen, his character kept talking.

A new killfeed appeared, but it was inverted. Every death Leo suffered would reset his timer.

Then the chat exploded.

Obvious? Leo laughed. He’d be subtle. Just 10% faster movement. Just a tiny wallhack glow on enemy shoulders. Just enough to finally win.

He stared at his monitor as his ghost-self was shot, respawned, shot again—each death adding another hour. The green console box faded, replaced by a single line: