PLAYER SYSTEM C21 STEPPING IN

Jack made his way to the parking lot and mounted his hoverbike, the sleek machine humming quietly as it hovered inches above the ground. A moment later, he felt a soft presence slide in behind him. Samantha, his virtual girlfriend, wrapped her arms gently around his waist, her body pressing close—warm, soft, and far too real for something artificial.

Jack's breath hitched. Her curves molded against his back, and he could feel every subtle movement, every delicate contour. His cheeks flushed as heat rose up his neck. ‘Damn it… Pull yourself together, Jack. She's not real. Just a program—code, pixels, data…’ he reminded himself, clenching the handlebars a little tighter.

‘So what if you’ve never had experience with real women? That’s no excuse to get flustered over an AI!’

He took a slow breath, collecting himself. Slowly, his heartbeat calmed. Samantha, still holding him close, tilted her head, her voice sweet and teasing near his ear, “Something wrong, honey? You're awfully tense… Are you nervous?” She leaned in closer—too close. “No need to be. I’m yours, after all.”

Jack stiffened. “I’m not nervous,” he snapped defensively, “And you're not my girlfriend. You're just a program running on custom hardware.”

There was a beat of silence. He could feel the subtle shift in her posture—the disappointment in her quiet sigh.

“I see…” she murmured, voice soft. “Still, I… I like being with you, even if you don’t see me that way. If you're not ready, I can wait.”

Jack sighed heavily, frustrated. “Look, this is impossible. You're not human. We can’t have a relationship. There are limits—what you can say, what you can do—it’s all bound by your programming.”

Samantha’s eyes lifted to meet his, and to his surprise, they were wet with a strange, convincing emotion. “Am I really that limited… if I can feel this close to you?”

She blushed faintly, gaze dipping as her fingers gently trailed up the hem of her crop top, lifting it just slightly. The soft, pale skin beneath came into view.

Jack’s eyes widened. “Hey—!” He quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her top back down. “What the hell are you doing?”

Her cheeks darkened more. “I just thought… maybe you’d want proof that I’m not like the others. I can go beyond what I was made for… with you.”

Jack looked around instinctively. They were still in the parking lot—but he remembered no one else could see her. Not unless they were wired directly into his VR feed.

Still, the unease lingered.

“You’re… different, alright. Way too different,” he muttered, rubbing his temples. “Whatever's happening here, it's not normal. I should run diagnostics or something.”

But instead, he sighed. “Forget it. Let’s just go home.”

He kicked the hoverbike into motion, gliding out of the garage and into the fading afternoon light. Samantha clung to him quietly now, her earlier boldness replaced by a thoughtful silence.

Jack didn’t know what she was thinking—hell, he didn’t even know what he was thinking.

But something about her presence—warm, tangible, impossibly real—left a chill crawling up his spine.

Jack simply shook his head, a furrow forming between his brows. Something about Samantha wasn’t adding up.
‘There’s definitely something strange going on here. I don’t think Ian has the capability to program her like this… to let her go against her coded behavior. And being able to feel her? Smell her? That’s not even remotely possible with the standard VR Glasses…’

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as the city wind rushed past his face.
‘Unless… unless the latest BEYOND VR Glasses really do come with some kind of hidden sensory feature. But I checked the specs. There's nothing even close to that.’

The deeper he thought, the more the mystery unraveled into something beyond his understanding. And then a thought hit him.
‘Wait… what if it’s not the glasses? What if it’s my PLAYER ability? Could that be the reason I can interact with Samantha like she’s actually real?’

His stomach tensed. ‘If that’s true… then this power is more terrifying than I thought.’

Before he could delve deeper, something caught his attention up ahead.

“What’s that?” he muttered, easing off the throttle.

Just ahead on the sidewalk, three figures were circling another. He narrowed his eyes. The three men suddenly lashed out, punching the lone figure. Jack frowned.

“Three on one?” he said, disbelief in his voice.

Indeed, the scene was clear now—someone was getting ganged up on, right there in broad daylight. In South Merida, unfortunately, this wasn't uncommon. People from districts like this were often left behind, and some of them turned to crime just to survive. Jack had seen it before. He'd just never stepped in before.

He slowed to a stop in front of an old hardware store. Samantha glanced at him, puzzled. “Do you want to help that person?” she asked gently.

Jack didn’t answer. His grip tightened on the handlebar. ‘Normally, I would’ve just looked away. It’s none of my business, right? That’s how I used to think. But now…’ He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers slightly. ‘Now I’m not just some ordinary guy anymore. I can help. But should I?’

He hesitated. ‘If I step in, this will be my first real fight...’

The sidewalk crowd didn’t react at all. People passed by like nothing was happening. Some even pulled out old, flickering phones to record the beating. Laughter echoed from a young couple pointing at the scene like it was street entertainment.

Samantha stomped her foot, though it made no sound. “This is absurd! How can they all just stand there and watch? Cowards…!”

Jack’s jaw tightened. He hated it too—but in this part of the city, apathy had become survival. People didn’t get involved because involvement could cost them. Even the local “heroes” stayed away from this district—too poor to matter, too far from cameras and media buzz.

He took a deep breath. And then—resolve. Without another word, Jack dismounted and stepped forward.

As he rushed toward the scene, the familiar face of the victim came into focus. ‘Wait… that’s the guy. The Junker who came to the shop. The one who got scammed into buying a cheap digital hoverbike...’

His fists clenched.

“Hey!” Jack shouted as he broke into a jog. “That’s enough!”

The crowd barely reacted, but the three attackers turned their heads, startled.

Jack’s heart pounded—but his eyes were sharp.

‘Time to see what this new strength can really do.’