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Leo Cross is a young orphan living in a scrap yard on the outskirts of Ion City. Despite his impoverished circumstances, Leo is a gifted engineer with a talent for fixing up old technology. One day, he stumbles upon a broken old generation virtual reality console that, with his engineering prowess, he manages to repair. Unbeknownst to Leo, a mysterious new VR game has appeared on every console in the world. As he begins to explore this new virtual world, he discovers that his engineering skills have made him an incredibly skilled craftsman in the game. Through his creations, he becomes renowned and respected by other players, rising up the social ladder in both the virtual and real worlds. But as Leo becomes more successful, he also attracts the attention of dangerous players who are willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead in the game. Leo must navigate treacherous waters as he tries to keep his virtual success from spilling over into his real life, all while uncovering the secrets behind the game's creation and struggling to find his place in a world where he has always been an outsider. Will Leo be able to use his skills to overcome the challenges he faces in the game and in life, or is he fated to always be dealt a bad hand? Find out in this gripping tale of technology, ambition, and self-discovery.
*Skrreeekk*
A screech of metal against metal broke the silence of the night. A teenage boy, looking to be around 18 stood in the dilapidated door frame of his makeshift shelter.
Suddenly, more screeches filled the air as if the first was a signal to awaken.
Ion Cities' scrap yard sprung to life in that moment, with children and adults alike flooding out of the junk piles they called home, greeting each other as they emerged.
These people were the scrap yards residents, known to those living in the city as "scrappies".
"Hey Leo! Damn it's chilly this morning, when you gonna get my thermo-regulator fixed? I can barely sleep at night!"
Jermie yelled out across the scrap yard. He was Leo's best friend and was abandoned in the scrap yard two months before Leo.
"Sorry Jermie, I haven't found the parts yet! I'm hoping this drop will have something useful. I might have to get a bit creative."
Leo sighed. These past few drops had been extremely lackluster and barely had anything worth selling to the scrap yard overseer, let alone anything to fix Jermies regulator.
Turning around, Leo shut his sheet metal door and locked it shut tight.
In the scrap yard, although everyone was acquaintances, at the end of the day you fend for yourself. In a resource starved environment like the scrap yard, you could never be too careful.
This is why Leo treasured Jermie's friendship. It was all too rare in the scrap yard.
Leo then joined Jermie and they started walking with the crowd of other scrappies towards the drop zone.
The drop zone was the scrappies' only means of survival in this land of rust and grime. The drop ships were little more than garbage trucks of the 30th century. These drops mostly contained worn and old tech as long as citizens of Ion City followed the proper waste disposal procedures.
This is where scrappies came in. To most, these bits of metal and wire were nothing but trash, however, minuscule traces of precious metals were able to be captured if one had the proper equipment.
One such man was the scrap yard overseer, Klein. While the credits to be earned were hardly worth the effort in small batches, when employed on scale and the sorting done by the scrappies with keen eyes, Klein made a hefty sum.
After which, Klein would then take fifty percent of the profits and divide it up by the contribution each person made that day.
What was known by only a few however, was the fact that Klein was not actually the overseer of the scrap yard. No, in reality no such person would be assigned to oversee a dumping ground.
What was actually the case was Klein had simply gotten lucky!
Klein was originally like everyone else in the scrap yard, a scrappie. However he had found an old portable refinery in one of the drops and capitalized on the opportunity.
As time passed and the scrap yards population grew, he slowly took over, monopolizing the entire area.
He then used the profits he made and hired his own security and solidified his position until it was unshakable. Now no matter the complaints, Klein was the undisputed ruler of the scrap yard.
Beep…Beep…Beep…
"Drop incoming"
A robotic voice announced from the surrounding as two drop ships descended from the sky.
"Good morning my people! Let's hope we find some goodies today! Don't hold back and scavenge until you can't scavenge no more! You've all been slacking recently and I might have to cut back on the distributions."
Klein announced from his tower constructed with pieces of rusted steel walls and wire.
Leo and Jermie looked up at Klein with a glare. How in hell were they supposed to scavenge better? At the end of the day it all came down to luck!
"Klein! Maybe you should get your ass down here and scavenge yourself! We can barely feed ourselves yet you insist on staying in your metal tower of solitude. Grow a pair and get down here!"
Jermie agitatedly retorted. He had always been brash growing up and his personality was well-known to everyone. It didn't help that his large frame backed up his words.
"Shut up Jermie! You better not be questioning my authority! If you really insist, fine, no food for you today!"
Leo just sighed. "Jermie, why do you need to antagonize Klein like that? Regardless if he's an asshole, you should show some restraint…"
