How can we say something is real if we don't even know if we are real?
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In an oddly cramped cubicle, a man is sitting in front of a PC, typing line after line of programming code without even noticing his surroundings. It's almost impossible to tell how long he's been there; you can only guess it's been a long time due to his deep dark circles, messy hair, and the apparent lack of will and soul that seems to have been broken years ago. But even so, the man continues typing as if he couldn't survive without writing this code, which, unfortunately for him, is true.
Adam, the man in front of the computer, has been writing this code for 72 straight hours with no rest, only eating quick snacks and drinking energy drinks. In this God-forsaken place, until…Adam: "FINALLY, I finished this damn payment code. Damn, I wasted three days doing this code because of that bastard Trevor, but it's finally done, and I can go home, take a shower, and eat something that actually counts as food."Adam works for a website programming company specializing in sales, and he deals with transaction codes, which, to say the least, is a headache because any mistake can derail everything and send the buyer's money to the wrong place, blah blah blah. In short, everyone loses money, and Adam gets all the blame.
Normally, this doesn't take long and isn't that difficult because other programmers are usually there to help and fix bugs with him. But then that bastard Trevor gave everyone vacation except for who? YES, HIM. And so, Adam spent three damn days just on this project.
When he looked at the clock on the desk and saw it read 10:30 PM, he rubbed his eyes, stretched, and got up to head home.
When he got home, he took off his jacket and hood, revealing a man in his early thirties with a light beard, short black hair, a square jaw, slightly skinny, tall (around 1.80m / 6'1"), blue eyes, and dressed casually. His deep dark circles showed how tired he was.
After leaving the bathroom, Adam didn't think twice before crashing into his bed and passing out from exhaustion.
The next morning, Adam was still asleep when a message from work arrived on his phone.Still groggy from sleep, Adam grabbed his phone, and when he read the message, he froze, even forgetting the remnants of sleep that still lingered.
The message said he had been fired and that because of the damages he caused to the company, he had to pay back all the money the company lost out of his own pocket.Adam went into shock because he didn't understand what was going on, and he started searching and asking the company for an explanation.
When they explained, he went into a panic. Apparently, he had made two wrong lines of code yesterday, which caused all deposits made on the site to be sent to a random account.
Normally, this wouldn't be a problem because the site had only been open to the public for a few hours. But the problem was the crash. His code caused the entire site and everything on it to be corrupted, making the company lose not only their current contract but also cancel it and demand compensation for ruining their image due to the website.
This means Adam is now in a much, much worse situation, especially because the debt he now owes is, to say the least, a multi-million-dollar debt that has now been sent to him by the company he worked for.
Desperate, Adam leaves his home to find a way to fix everything.
TWO WEEKS LATER
In a dark and desolate alley with no light, a homeless man can be seen curled up in a fetal position, trying to gain a bit of warmth. If you pay attention, it's snowing, and the environment is completely filthy.
If you look closely, you would recognize the homeless man. It's none other than Adam, who has now literally lost everything. Now, you might be wondering why and how his situation escalated so quickly.
Let's get into the details. When Adam tried to appeal to the Supreme Court to lessen the burden or prove that it wasn't his fault, things seemed to go well at first, and he went to the trial, and everything seemed to be going fine.
But then, at one point, the company's lawyer presented a falsified piece of evidence that all the "missing" money was going into Adam's account.
Adam tried to explain and show the judge that he didn't even have an account at that bank, but when he tried to show his phone, for some reason, the app and the account from that bank were there. He became terrified and confused, as he had no idea how it got there. The more he spoke, the deeper he fell into a false sense of guilt.
In the end, the company made a deal with him.
He would give up everything he had and take full responsibility for what happened. The part about giving up everything he owns was to make it seem like it really was his fault. As for the second part, I don't need to say much.
When things like this happen, you usually call your family, your girlfriend, or someone close to help.
But unfortunately, Adam lost his entire family in a car accident when he was eight, and he developed such deep trauma that he became reclusive and never made friends or even went on a date in his entire life.
Adam is now poor and has nothing. He lost everything he had, and he was dying.
How did he know this?
Well, right now he's coughing up blood and feeling weaker with each passing second. The worst part is that he knows exactly what this is. He has always been a fan of all kinds of anime, series, and manga, and this is poison—one of the strong kinds.
What does he feel now? Hate? Fear? Regret? Sadness?
The answer is, surprisingly, simple.
Adam...
Feels nothing but...
Happiness.
Since he lost his parents, he dedicated himself like an animal, suffered more than anyone, he cried, panicked, and laughed. But now that all the pain he felt, and has felt, will go away, he is happy.
He no longer has to deal with the pain.
And above all, he no longer has to deal with injustice.
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Adam is pissed off. He's been wandering in this infinite darkness for longer than he can count. He's tried everything.
LITERALLY EVERYTHING.
Still, he has no idea how or where he is.
But for some reason, something deep inside him is telling him something, as if proclaiming that something is about to happen.
At first, it was just a faint whisper, but over time, it grew louder, until the exact moment when this damn thing was literally shouting that it's happening, that it's starting.
This, NOW.
In the next moment, ???? wakes up, startled.
He looks around to see a strange room. He looks to the right and sees a wardrobe, a desk, and an alarm clock. He looks to the left and sees shelves, along with some action figures of Captain America and other characters he doesn't recognize.
When he was about to say something, his head starts hurting badly, forcing him to hold it.
When he looks at the hand he used to hold the spot where it hurt, he sees blood. A lot of blood. Still confused, he speaks.
???: "What the hell, where am I? Ugh! Why does my head hurt so much? Why is there so much blood on my hand?"
As ??? tries to figure out what's going on and why he feels so much pain, attempting to clear at least some of his confusion, the door to the room is kicked in, and five heavily armed men enter. They're wearing heavy gear that could probably withstand gunfire. But before ??? can analyze the situation or do anything, one of the men speaks.
Soldier 1: "Target found. Initiating extraction."
Soldiers 2, 3, 4, 5: "Roger."
They raise their weapons, ready to fire, and before they pull the trigger, ??? sees a translucent screen appear in front of him, saying:
(WELCOME HOST TO THE MARVEL UNIVERSE)
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Hey guys, it's me, the writer. Look, this is my first time writing something like this and posting it, so I'm not sure if people will like it or what. I just wanted to let you know that if you notice any mistakes or anything like that, or if you have any feedback on how I can improve, please let me know because I'm working on getting better, and I'll only improve if you help me with that. But that's it, thank you for reading this fic, and have a great day!