Chapter 2 - Viral Bait
"Let’s see how tough you are when the whole internet is laughing at you, clown."
Before I could take a step around him, the man whipped out his smartphone, switched on the front-facing camera, and stepped directly into my personal space, throwing a heavy arm around my shoulder whether I wanted it or not.
"Hey everyone! Look who we found wandering around downtown Miami looking lost!" he shouted loudly into his phone, pitching his voice into that obnoxious, high-energy influencer cadence that instantly triggers nausea. "We got a live one here! A broke little NPC trying to block my Ferrari with a mobile dumpster! Say hi to the chat, buddy! Say 'please don't deport me'!"
The woman in the pink sundress giggled shrilly, stepping closer to get herself into the frame. "Oh, babe, look at his shirt! Does it even have buttons from this decade?"
I didn't flinch. I didn't swat the phone away. I simply stared straight into the glowing camera lens, watching the live-stream viewer count ticker in the corner of his screen instantly jump from 4,000 to 12,000 as the algorithm picked up the confrontation. Comments were already scrolling past at a dizzying speed: “LMAO look at that loser,” “Destroy him, King!,” “Bro is wearing a potato sack,” “Who is this NPC?”
"You're live-streaming," I noted calmly.
"Oh, look! The NPC can speak sentences!" Crypto-King laughed, shaking my shoulder roughly. "Yeah, I'm live, pal! Fifty thousand people are watching you make a complete fool of yourself right now. You’re about to become a viral meme. Unless..." He paused, lowering his voice into a greasy, predatory whisper meant for maximum dramatic effect on camera. "Unless you pull out your wallet, drop to your knees right here on the hot asphalt, and apologize to my car for existing. Then maybe I won't ruin your life."
The crowd of onlookers passing by had begun to slow down. Several people pulled out their own phones, recording the spectacle. In the age of social media outrage, a wealthy influencer bullying a plain-clothed civilian was prime digital currency.
"You're broadcasting my face to tens of thousands of people," I said quietly, my eyes narrowing just a fraction.
"Yeah! And what are you gonna do about it? Sue me? With what lawyer? A public defender?" He laughed maniacally, turning back to his screen. "Look at him, chat! He thinks he’s an anime villain! Bro, you look like you work part-time at a car wash!"
"You might want to check who owns that car behind you first," I said, pointing a finger toward my Porsche Cayenne.
Crypto-King glanced back at the silver SUV, snorting derisively. "That? That generic grocery-getter? Man, I’ve got golf carts worth more than that hunk of junk. My rims cost more than your rent. Move it or I'll have my private tow truck here in five minutes to impound it."
"Go ahead," I said, finally reaching into my pocket and pulling out my sleek, minimalist key fob. I pressed the unlock button.
The hazard lights of the Porsche flashed twice in precise unison.
The influencer blinked, momentarily thrown off. But recovery came fast. "Oh, wow, you have an electronic key fob! Did you steal it from a rental agency? Look out, everyone, Mr. Big Spender rented an SUV for the weekend!"
I ignored him entirely, stepping past him with deliberate, fluid grace. I reached into my pocket, pulled out my titanium black card—unmarked, unembossed, and linked directly to TechNova’s primary liquidity holdings—and slipped it into my back pocket.
"You're making a very expensive mistake today," I said, my voice dropping an octave, losing all trace of casual weariness and replacing it with the cold, absolute authority that had terrified Silicon Valley boardrooms for years.
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"Oh, I'm shaking!" Crypto-King mocked, following me with his camera held high, chasing every frame for content. "Keep talking tough, broke boy! Let the chat see your tears!"
He had no idea. He had no clue that by turning on that camera, broadcasting my face to the world, and aggressively harassing me in public, he had just live-streamed his own financial execution to an audience that included some of the most powerful tech conglomerates on the planet.
