Leo looked out his window. A black SUV he’d never seen before was idling at the curb, its headlights cutting through the rain. He looked back at his screen. A character model that looked exactly like him, wearing the same coffee-stained hoodie, was standing in a digital version of his room.

He gripped his controller, his knuckles white. He didn't know if he was playing a game or if the game was finally playing him, but as the SUV door opened on his screen and in the street below simultaneously, Leo realized he had finally gotten the "free" experience he'd been looking for. It just wasn't the one he could ever uninstall.

A text box popped up on the screen, mimicking the GTA mission UI: