The fans were spinning at maximum speed, sounding like a jet engine, even though no games were open. His mouse cursor drifted to the left on its own. Then, a small window opened in the bottom corner of his screen. It wasn't a driver notification. It was a chat box. “Nice setup, Leo,” the message read. The XYZ Reality

The "free" software had just become the most expensive mistake he ever made.

His antivirus screamed. A red box popped up:

His webcam light flickered on—a tiny green eye watching him panic. His browser opened to his bank's login page. He pulled the power cord out of the wall, sitting in the sudden, deafening silence of the room.