1 A sicko like myself

Eldian Creek Facility,

Tristan sat in the interrogation room, his hands cuffed behind his back and his green eyes fixed on the agent sitting across from him.

The agent was dressed in a black suit, his face stoic and expressionless. His name tag read, 'Agent Smith'.

"I'm sure you're wondering why you're here," Agent Smith said, his voice low and smooth.

Tristan let out a snort. "I believe it's rather evident," he remarked. "I'm on execution row because I was convicted of being a serial killer. You're just trying to get me to confess so they can uncover those bodies before I die. But it won't work; let's call it a day."

"You don't seem too concerned about your execution tomorrow," Agent Smith replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Should I be?" Tristan asked.

Agent Smith raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, that's right, I forgot you're as unemotional as a robot without programming," he said. "But you're not here to talk about it. You're here because we have an offer for you."

Tristan narrowed his eyes. "What kind of offer?"

Agent Smith leaned forward, his eyes fixed on Tristan's. "We want you to participate in a top-secret beta testing eroge."

Tristan's eyebrows shot up. "An eroge?" he said, incredulous. "Ha! Is this a joke or something?"

"No jokes," Agent Smith informed him. He took out a tablet computer and turned it around so Tristan could see the screen. The cover art for the first level of the game was on display: a lady dressed just in lingerie and high heels stood over the prone body of another lady lying on the floor. 'Love is Dead,' the title read. 'THE GAME THAT WILL DESTROY YOUR WORLD' was written in bold characters below the image.

"That's a sicko like myself. What I would have loved to do to your miserable and shitty lives!" Tristan laughed at the absurdity of the scenario.

Agent Smith ignored his comment, continuing to scroll through images until he found one he wanted to show to Tristan.

Tristan stared at the image, his mouth hanging open slightly. The idea seemed absurd, but he couldn't deny how attractive the ladies were.

"You want me to play a horny game? Are you kidding me?" Tristan said with a laugh. "As much as I'd love to play, I'm more into the liquid variety, especially the red one, if you catch my drift."

Agent Smith gave a small smile. "That is one way to phrase it. Nevertheless, it is much more than that. This eroge is unlike anything else. It's a cutting-edge virtual reality game that's still in the works. Someone like you is needed to test it and uncover any bugs or glitches."

Tristan snorted once more. "I don't know if there are enough drugs in the world for you people," he remarked. "But, why should I help you in the first place, and, more importantly, what do I get in return?"

Agent Smith leaned back in his chair. "Your freedom," he said simply.

Tristan's eyes widened. "My freedom?" he repeated.

"Yes," Agent Smith said. "If you participate in its beta testing and complete the game, finding at least sixty-nine game bugs and a few glitches in all its levels, you'll be released from prison and given a cash prize of $690 billion as an added reward."

"$10 billion per level completed; that means 69 levels." Tristan says after making a quick calculation of the breakdown of the cash reward.

"That's right," Agent Smith affirmed with a grin. "I'm surprised you know basic math." he sarcastically remarks.

Tristan rolled his eyes, plainly dissatisfied with Agent Smith's remark. "Well, just because I never received any form of education and rejected it doesn't make me a moron. I had to make sure I could count all the years you were wasting my life away and keep myself occupied somehow." He responded with a bitter tone in his voice.

Tristan couldn't believe what he was hearing. It sounded too good to be true. "What's the catch?" he asked suspiciously.

Agent Smith's smile turned into a grimace. "There's a catch," he said. "You'll have to sign a non-disclosure agreement. You can't tell anyone about the game or your participation in it."

"So, in this game, I basically become your slave, right? What happens if I die there? Do I continue to live inside a computer program or respawn?" Tristan scoffs, his words dripping with contempt.

"During gameplay, we just have access to the bug report system; all of your actions will not be logged by our servers unless you wish to do so, but this is essential for needed... ahem... privacy. If you choose to record yourself or specific scenes, we won't see anything until you've finished the level. Just don't die more than once in each level; you have one respawn limit, and it wipes out all data in that level you might have accumulated. Remember that."

Tristan thought for a moment before nodding. "Fine. Let's just say that you're telling me the truth. But why me? Why did you pick me for this?"

Agent Smith leaned forward again, his gaze focused. "Because you're a survivor," he explained. "You're a fighter. You've demonstrated that you have what it takes to survive in the worst conditions. We need someone like you to test this game and push its boundaries. And if you succeed, you'll be rewarded."

Tristan paused for a moment. He was aware of the potential danger. The game is unpredictable, and he had no idea what he was getting himself into. Yet the prospect of freedom and the possibility of escaping his sentence the next day were too tempting to resist.

"Okay," he said finally. "I'll do it."

Agent Smith nodded with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. "Good," he said. "We'll have you transferred to a new facility in our secret base tomorrow. You'll begin the testing immediately."

Tristan leaned back in his chair, his mind racing. He had no idea what he was getting himself into, but he knew one thing for sure: He was determined to go to any length to reclaim his freedom and exact revenge on those who had imprisoned him.

*****

A/N

This is my very first WSA entry and I hope to get your feedback on as we progress further into the plot.

I would really appreciate your comments and support of this novel with your power stones. Your active comments would motivate me to write more chapters.

A +1 if this intrigued you in any way.