The screen shifted again. It showed his bank app. The four dollars were gone. Then, it opened his social media. It began posting his private search history, one link every thirty seconds. How to pirate games without getting caught. Cheapest ramen in the city. Symptoms of extreme loneliness.

: Run a deep scan if you've recently visited suspicious download mirrors.

"Who is this?" Elias whispered, his heart hammering against his ribs.

Elias tried to hard-reboot, but the power button felt cold and inert. The webcam light turned on—a steady, unblinking green eye. Then, his phone buzzed. It was a text from an unknown number. It was a photo of the back of his head, taken from his own laptop’s camera. The Digital Debt

Elias watched in horror as his digital identity was dismantled. Friends began to comment, confused and mocking. His professor emailed him, asking for an explanation for the "inappropriate data" being sent to the department listserv.

Elias wasn't a thief by nature. He was just a college student with a vintage laptop and a bank account that currently held four dollars and seventy-two cents. He wanted "Void Realm," the year’s biggest RPG, and he wanted it now. He clicked the link. The Red Flags

A frantic warning from his antivirus, which he promptly muted.

Suddenly, his laptop fans began to scream, spinning so fast the chassis vibrated against the wooden desk. The screen went black, then bled a deep, bruised purple. A single line of text appeared in a font that looked like it was dripping: PLAYING IS NOT FREE.