Not a real war, of course. But to him, the virtual battlefield of Titanfall: Aftermath was just as intense. And lately, he was losing.

The gun didn’t jump. It purred.

Headshot. Double kill. Triple kill.

Download complete.

But Leo didn’t care. For twenty minutes, he was a god. He won four matches in a row, his fingers barely moving. The config file was doing the work. It felt… hollow. And electric. Both at once.

Leo stared.

He had downloaded a config file to become a better player. Instead, he had downloaded a leash that led straight to a ban hammer.