He pulled the plug, the screen went black, and for the first time in an hour, the room was silent. Columbia was gone, and his computer was a brick. Some things, he realized, are worth the retail price.

Suddenly, the desktop icons vanished. In their place, a single image appeared: the face of a Handyman, its metallic eyes glowing red. But this wasn't a game asset. A text box popped up over the creature’s chest:

Leo stared at the screen, his mouse hovering over a glowing green button on a site he couldn’t pronounce. BioShock Infinite: Complete Edition – Free Download. The text was bold, the art was familiar, and the price—zero—was exactly what his bank account required. He clicked.

He realized then that he wasn't playing the hero saving Elizabeth. He was just another citizen of a falling city, realizing too late that the "prophets" promising a paradise for free were usually just looking for a way to lock the doors behind you.

Leo reached for the power button, but the screen shifted again. It wasn't a game world he saw; it was his own webcam feed. He looked tired, pale, and trapped. Beneath his face, a countdown timer began to tick.