I’m an NPC in the game Desire City. By day, I sell fresh, warm artisan bread. By night, I slaughter men for sport. It was pouring rain the night I was closing up the bakery. A man walked in, nothing but a black raincoat over his naked body and a hunting knife in his hand. I took a bite of my toast, bowed politely to welcome him, and then—right as his eyes widened in terror—I hoisted the chainsaw I’d been hiding behind my back. Vroom-chug-chug. Ten minutes later, his head exploded inside my industrial oven. Blood and gore everywhere. I beamed with joy. "Welcome to Desire City, player. Enjoy your game!" 1 Junior year of college, I took a gig singing at a dive bar. During the break, I downed a glass of lemonade. The next thing I knew, the lights went out. I woke up stark naked, locked in a basement. My white tee and jeans were gone. A heavy iron chain was cinched around my neck, and whips lined the concrete walls. Out of the darkness, a man in a tailored suit appeared, swirling a tumbler of scotch. Seeing me curled up in the corner, shivering, he looked disappointed. "You were singing in a dive bar, sweetheart. Why act like some innocent virgin now?" he sneered. "A girl of your... caliber? You’d make fifty grand letting a man play with you for one night. You hit the jackpot." He balled up a wad of hundred-dollar bills and shoved them into my mouth, choking me. His polished oxford shoe ground into my bare shoulder. Liquor dripped from his glass, running down my hair and onto my chest. "Please... don't..." I mumbled through the cash. In the dim corner, I suppressed my trembling and tightened my grip on a jagged, rusty piece of iron I’d found on the floor. Hearing me beg, the man dropped his guard. Just as expected. The moment he leaned in, I slashed the iron shard straight across his jugular. Slash. A massive ribbon of hot, bright red blood unfurled before my eyes like silk. "Gurgle... hkk..." Weird, wet noises bubbled from his lips as he flopped onto the floor like a dying fish. One stab. Two. Three... Ninety-nine. I slumped in the corner, gasping for air, my chest heaving. The man was unrecognizable—skin flayed, white bone exposed. He finally stopped twitching. But before the horror could set in, the mangled corpse vanished into thin air. [SYSTEM: Congratulations. Ability Unlocked: Infinite Wealth] [ROLE: ' The Sadist' has logged off] A pale blue holographic panel floated in mid-air, looking straight out of a sci-fi movie. [Dear Player, welcome to Desire City. This metropolis is a paradise of violence, lust, money, and crime. Countless women await your hunt. Please, unleash your desires. Enjoy the game.] [Player: Ivy] [Role: Midnight Butcher. Nighttime Lethality +40% (Generated from First Kill Experience)] [Abilities: Loot, Infinite Wealth (Stackable)] [Kill Count: 1] A soft white light illuminated the basement. A black credit card lay quietly where the corpse had been. I dropped the bloody iron shard, dazed. My eyes drifted to the hidden corner where I’d found it. There was a tiny stain of dried blood and a few strands of long hair stuck to the scalp. The last woman locked down here had hidden it. Looks like she never got the chance to use it. Was she prey, too? The thick, metallic stench of blood hung in the air, but deep in my gut, a secret excitement began to bubble up. From today on, I am the Butcher. 2 Once I realized I couldn't leave the city, I decided to lay low. The black card had no limit, so I opened a small bakery on a street corner. "Local billionaire Liam Banks, owner of the Highland Park Estate, went missing on the night of December 5th. His whereabouts remain unknown..." 11:00 PM. The last batch of bread was out of the oven. I brewed a cup of Earl Grey, nibbled on some toast, and quietly admired the familiar face on the TV news. Oh, so his name was Liam. Remembering how his face looked when I turned it into ground beef, I let out a muffled, happy giggle. "Welcome!" It was pouring outside. Just as I was about to flip the sign to 'Closed,' a tall, gaunt man in a black raincoat walked in. He took off his hood. His face was craggy and ugly. "Sir, we're out of bread for the day," I said from behind the counter, smiling sweetly and bowing. The man’s eyes raked over my clean face, lingering. He let out a dirty chuckle. Suddenly, he ripped the raincoat open. He was naked, fully aroused, and holding a gleaming silver knife. "Don't scream. Strip." He thrust his hips, waving the knife as he stepped closer. "If I have a good time, I'll make your death quick." Seeing me stand perfectly still, reaching my hand behind my back, a glint of lust flashed in his eyes. He rushed forward, impatient. I smiled and pulled out the chainsaw. Snap. The bakery became a slaughterhouse. A torso, severed in two, lay on the floor. I admired my masterpiece, finishing the last bite of toast on my plate. Best twenty grand I ever spent on the black market. This new tech cuts through bone like butter. Pop! The oven in the back kitchen heated up. The nauseating smell of cooking meat wafted out. Then came the sound of flesh expanding and exploding. I beamed. I pulled out my phone and ordered a new oven on Amazon. Once the remains vanished, the game prompt popped up again. [Congratulations. Ability Unlocked: Hacking] [ROLE: 'The Flasher' has logged off] [Player Ivy: Kill Count 2] The rain stopped deep in the night. I mopped up the residual blood, threw on my trench coat, and stepped out. There was a surveillance camera across the street pointed right at my shop. It was dark, the recording light off. He must have used a hacking ability to loop the footage before entering, ensuring no evidence was left behind. A perfect ability for crime. It meant that from today on, I was invisible in this city. On the way home, I stopped at a 24-hour 7-Eleven and bought some nachos and a Slurpee. The cheese was fake and gooey, the jalapeños spicy. I whistled a tune as I ate. In a few days, I’d probably learn the flasher’s name from the missing persons report. To me, these men don't deserve names. Not until they appear in an obituary. 3 When I got back to my apartment, I heard faint sobbing from the next room. I bought this flat for myself, but I ended up taking in Faye, who had nowhere else to go. "What's wrong?" I asked. She was shaking uncontrollably. I had to dissolve two Xanax in her hot milk just to calm her down. "Someone followed me on the way home... he... he touched me..." "Where?" "Downstairs, near the dumpsters..." Faye wrapped herself in the duvet, shivering with residual terror. I listened quietly. Once she fell asleep, I grabbed the trash bag by the door and headed downstairs. I also grabbed a claw hammer. On the third-floor landing, under the flickering hallway light, I saw a man kneeling on the ground. He looked haggard, snot and tears running down his face, slapping himself hard. "Honey, I’m sorry! I didn't mean to hit you, I was just drunk..." "I swear I’ll never do it again! If I do, may I die a dog's death! Baby, please, just give me one more chance!" Hah. Barking like a dog. I gripped the trash bag, lowered my gaze, and kept walking. 4 This neighborhood isn't exactly upscale. The streetlights in the alleyways had been broken for weeks, and the city never sent a crew to fix them. Under the moonlight, I reached the mouth of the alley and heard a girl screaming in the distance. I dropped the trash and followed the sound. A massive man wrapped in a thick coat was dragging a young girl deeper into the shadows. I recognized him. The local homeless guy. He’d been reported multiple times for stalking women, but the cops always cut him loose for "lack of evidence." "Please let me go! My grandma is waiting for her insulin..." Lily struggled desperately, her young face gray with despair. The man didn't hear a thing. He just obsessively clamped his large hand over her mouth. CRACK! A mist of blood sprayed into the air. The man went limp. His skull was caved in. White brain matter mixed with blood pooled around the girl's feet. She looked up, saw the hammer in my hand dripping with skin and hair, and fainted on the spot. "Hello, 911? There’s a girl unconscious in the alley off 289th Street. I think her grandmother needs medical attention." While I was on the phone, the corpse vanished. The alley fell silent. Peaceful. Even the splattered blood was gone. This is the setting of Desire City. Originally, it was designed to help men hunt without leaving traces. Now? It’s just convenient for me. [Congratulations. Ability Unlocked: Evidence Erasure] [ROLE: 'The Stalker' has logged off] [Player Ivy: Kill Count 3] [Role: Midnight Butcher. Nighttime Lethality +50% (Level Up)] The moment the new ability unlocked, the hammer in my hand disappeared. The call log to 911 on my phone deleted itself. Hearing the sirens approach, I grabbed a piece of cardboard from a recycling bin and covered the girl to keep her warm. Then, I walked away.
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