Sean didn't act right away.
He never did.
He watched from the window, studying every detail.
The thugs' voices. Their movements. The layout of the street.
Every second, every angle etched in his mind.
---
The rain covered the street with a slick sheen, and the boy, the same one who once showed him mercy, now stood trapped, surrounded by the same men who once kicked Sean down.
Sean's face remained calm, but inside, a slow, steady fire lit up.
"So this is how they repay weakness," he thought.
His fingers tapped quietly on the desk once, twice, thinking.
He wasn't strong enough to take them head-on yet, but that wasn't necessary.
Sean didn't need fists.
He had memory.
And now, he had the phone.
---
He picked up the device, opening the Survive browser.
The dull glow of the screen lit his face as the rain outside thickened.
Sean's eyes scanned through the browser calmly, already testing something risky.
No one taught him how to use the artifact beyond money—but he had a feeling it wasn't limited to that.
"If I can reach money through the screen… what else can I reach?"
His heart remained steady, even as his fingers hovered over Utube.
---
Down below, the thugs shoved the boy against a wall, searching his pockets.
Sean's mind was already working ahead, mapping the next three minutes precisely.
---
Suddenly, the phone glitched, not in a way that froze or crashed but as if something inside it shifted slightly.
Sean's fingers paused.
The browser… moved on its own.
It led him to a page he hadn't seen before. A blank, black screen with one word glowing faintly:
"Target."
His eyes narrowed.
For the first time, the phone seemed to respond not to his touch, but to his intent.
---
He kept staring at the screen as the window in front of him caught his reflection—his eyes cold, his face quiet.
"This isn't just about stealing anymore," he muttered.
Without thinking further, he pressed the screen.
---
Down below, the lamp post flickered again.
Then, suddenly...
One of the thug's phones buzzed loudly, lighting up with an eerie blue glow.
The thug glanced at it, confused but before he could even react, he dropped it in panic.
The screen of his phone cracked in an instant, as if something unseen reached out and snatched something away from inside.
The thug's face drained of color.
He grabbed his chest, gasping, falling to his knees as his body started to shake violently.
The other thugs froze, stunned by what they were witnessing.
The boy they cornered slipped away in the confusion, running for his life.
---
Upstairs, Sean remained still, watching everything unfold below.
His face didn't change.
His voice barely above a whisper.
"Three attempts per day."
---
Behind him, the faintest sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway outside his room.
Someone was there.
Someone… who had been watching him too.