This is the first step to my escape

Anchor Points… Reborn after death? This was a trick you know! That knife stuck in my back at the pizza place, the blood, the darkness… And then, waking up in this disgusting world. The Opportunity System had brought me back. My excitement was like the blood in my veins. It was like I was the main character of a game world. I was smart, I was ambitious, and this time, I would not give in to my damned misfortunes. No matter how disgusting this world was, I would achieve my ultimate goal: I would be the boss. I would rule this world! But first, I had to escape these damned facilities. Chained on a gurney, my mouth stitched shut, that disgusting yellow wire throbbing in my chest, it didn't seem so easy. The wire was still inside me. My skin was no longer rotting and regenerating around it, but its presence was sickening. It was like I was carrying a parasite in my body, a foreign object that was constantly moving. The stitches in my mouth were another torture. I couldn't speak, I could only make muffled moans. But give up? Never. I was Kevin. Or… Anonymous. What difference did it make? I wasn't going to die in this shithole.

I watched the other eight people in the room. They were all strapped to gurneys, dying. Their skin was a sickly white, almost transparent. Veins twisted hideously under the skin. One had yellow eyes, another had a face that seemed to have melted; no lips, just a stitched-up void. Another was groaning and shaking, but his voice sounded more like the creaking of a machine than a human voice. My stomach turned as I looked at them, but I didn't look away. I was a smart stockbroker; I read the markets, I watched for opportunities. I had to do the same thing here. Were these people… like me? Or were they turning into something else?

The hours passed. Silence echoed off the cold walls of the room. Then the door opened. An officer walked in, but this time he was different. He was wearing a white hazmat suit, his face covered by a transparent mask. He avoided contact, as if we were viruses. He held a tablet in his hand, checking on everyone in turn. His fingers were moving across the screen, taking notes. I couldn't make out his face, but his movements were mechanical, emotionless. As if we were part of an experiment. Then, suddenly, he stopped. He made a hand gesture to the wall across from him. Was there someone behind the wall? Remember that, I told myself. That was my first clue.

The officer approached a stretcher. He made a movement in the air with his hand without touching it, and the stretcher began to move forward on its own. I could only see the subject's feet, but he was different from the others. The sickly white skin had given way to a dull white. It was as if I were looking at porcelain, alive but… lifeless. This man didn't have the cycle of decay. This was it, I thought. Overcoming the cycle of decay might be the key to getting out of here.

I tried to activate the Rapid Healing Factor. I mentally strained the system for minutes, but nothing happened. I felt like cursing the system, but I stopped. This damn thing was the only thing keeping me alive. I was afraid it would be taken back. I took a deep breath—or tried to, because my mouth was sewn shut. I had to stay calm. It was the same in the stock market; panic would sink you. I tried to meditate. Stupid, right? I, Kevin Stone, was going to meditate? But I had no choice. I tried to feel my body, every muscle, every vein. I closed my eyes and let go.

At that moment, a strange feeling came over me. For a moment, it was like… enlightenment. My mind became clear, my connection to my body strengthened. And then, I felt that disgusting wire in my chest. As if I could control it. I tried to pull it out; the itch was like a tooth about to come out, disgusting and unbearable. But every time I tried, the wire hit an invisible obstacle. When I tried to push it out of my skin, it wriggled like a worm, twisting in different directions. Bruises appeared wherever the wire went, leaving a disgusting mark.

I looked at the system, to check the time:

[Quests]

Escape from X-Global Facilities!

Description: Escape from X-Global Facilities within 15 Days [Remaining Time: 8 Days 22 Hours 3 Minutes]!

Rewards: Statistics Function is activated upon completion of the quest.

Secret Quests: [ELIMINATE THE CHARM OF THE WHISPERS], [?], [?], [?]

Damn. 6 days had passed! How did time pass so fast? Did time work differently here? Panic grew like a lump in my chest, but I suppressed it. I was smart, right? I had to find a way.

As a last resort, a crazy idea came to my mind. Instead of taking the wire out… what if I cut it into pieces? Distribute it through my bloodstream? Maybe that would disperse the bruise mark and my body would be able to resist the effect… It was crazy, but I had no other choice. I focused on the wire with my mind, breaking it into pieces. At that moment, cold needles were stuck in my veins. It was like a thousand scalpels were moving through me. The pain was unbearable; I wanted to scream, but my mouth was sewn shut. All I could come out was a muffled moan. But I didn't give up. The system was supposed to kick in at critical times, right?

And then… it happened. My body began to glow. My sickly white skin turned into a golden ear. A smooth, dark, healthy color. It was like I had been reborn. My senses were sharpened; the smell of metal in the room

I could feel it, the groans of others, even the dust particles in the air. At that moment, a text appeared in my vision:

WARNING: The user's current level is insufficient to access this function.

I ignored the notification. The system was keeping me alive, that was enough. But I noticed something strange. I counted in my head: 162 minutes and 43 seconds remained for the officer to return. When had I calculated this? My mind seemed to be working on its own. Had the wire enhanced my neurons? I didn't know, but this was... normal. As if my instincts were adapting to the rules of this world.

The officer arrived exactly at the time I said. Another hazmat suit, another tablet. He checked everyone in turn. My excitement was coursing through my veins. I was getting out of this damn place. The officer stood over me. It was the first time he had been this close. I looked at his face, but all I saw was the reflection in his mask. My own face... My skin shining like gold, my mouth covered in stitches. It was as if I were looking in a mirror.

The guard waved a hand at the wall. My stretcher moved. As I headed down a dark corridor, I had only one thought: This is the first step to my escape.