Leo continues to watch as the darkness that was eating away at the man's stomach continues to spread. Eventually, a large hole was clearly visible in the man's body, which was enough for the man's soul to depart. Leo continues to watch, and eventually the darkness climbed up the man's limbs and to his head; after that, there was nothing left of the man.

Leo's continues to stare, wide-eyed, unsure how to feel about all this. He quickly purchases a cigarette experience pack, lights a cigarette and takes a deep inhale before exhaling a cloud of smoke. “Fuck man.” Leo says, still unsure what to make of all this. Leo looks down at the Black Star app, on the summary page that clearly displayed his work points. Leo continues to look at it, still in disbelief. There was over 600,000 work points displayed in his account. Previously, Leo never even had that amount of money all in one place and now…

Leo takes another deep inhale as he considers his situation. Blessing or a curse. Blessing or a curse. Hmm… Leo thinks, unsure of what to do now that he had the work points. Should I just hold onto the work points, slowly let it dwindle, till a hundred or so years down the road, and it’s all gone? Leo thinks to himself, honestly not seeing a problem with that plan. It was sure to last a while, considering that he still had work points coming in from his fanfictions and his work. But if money taught me anything… It’s that I should probably invest these work points somehow… Into something that will generate even more work points… Leo thinks as he takes another deep inhale of smoke.

Leo continues to smoke, a little lost in thought, and eventually, the cigarette was almost done. Leo lets out a sigh and bends down to put out the smoke before throwing it into the trash next to where the man’s body previously was. Fuck it. I’ll worry about it later. It’s well past 20 minutes… He thinks before heading back inside.

…

…

“What’s wrong?” Penelope asks as she puts a hand on Leo’s chest, feeling the sweat lingering on her finger tips. These last few weeks had been like a dream for her. Leo had come out of nowhere, this young man, full of potential, and he had no problem with sweeping Penelope off her feet. She always saw herself as a high-value girl, but it was very weird to see all that desire on Leo’s face. She couldn’t help but think, do I remind him of someone? Or are soul mates real? Or maybe his glasses kink is just that intense? Eventually, she threw those thoughts away. She was in heaven and she hoped it would last forever.

Leo lets out a sigh. “It’s nothing. I just… Came into a bit of money, is all. And for the life of me, I can’t figure out what to do with it.” He says, still lost in thought.

“Oh? Why don’t you invest it?” Penelope asks.

Leo lets out a bitter sigh. “That’s the thing. This money is a bit special. If I invest it, there’s a high potential for trouble finding me down the road. I’m more inclined to just let it sit and spend it slowly.” He says before turning to Penelope. Following a primal urge, he reaches out and kisses her. “I’d throw it all away just to continue living this life with you.” He says seriously.

A blush and a grin appears on Penelope’s face. “Oh stop. You would not. Just invest a little. That can’t hurt too much, just enough to resupply what you spend.” She says before turning her body to the other side of the bed to rest. All these mushy words were embarrassing her.

Leo lets out another sigh. “Yeah… Just a little…” He thinks reluctantly. His hesitation was not unfounded. He really did feel as if he made a deal with the devil. He couldn’t help but feel that this would just pull him deeper into this weird undead game, much deeper than he would like. That man talked about tempting married women and starting world wars like it was nothing, and the high stakes that the man talked about; what was it that wounded him, that killed him? Is that what was waiting for Leo if he kept playing this game? If that was the case, he’d rather just collect his meager sum of work points and lay low. He’d rather just live life peacefully with Penelope.

But those numbers continued to bore into Leo’s mind, as if to remind him that the deal had been done, as if to urge him to play and risk it all in this dumb game that was setup by the Black Star corporation.

Determination finds itself on Leo’s face. Fuck it! That’s it! I’m not even going to touch it! If you want me to play, you’re going to have to drag me! Because I’m not getting anywhere near that bullshit! Leo decides.