Time Is Money: I Get Paid for Every Second I Survive

in a near-future megacity drowning in debt and desperation, 23-year-old slacker Jace Carter stumbles on an app called ChronoCash, promising him $1 for every second he stays alive in a "harmless VR survival sim." Broke and out of options, Jace accepts the terms—no questions asked. The moment he clicks "Start," the world around him shatters. Jace is hurled into a twisted, hyperreal urban labyrinth teeming with monsters, traps, and other "players"—each a desperate soul chasing the same ticking jackpot. At first, it’s a deadly game of cat and mouse. But soon, Jace learns the horrifying truth: this simulation isn’t virtual at all. The injuries are real. The deaths are real. And there's no logout button. With each second, his bank account grows—but so does the danger. The longer he survives, the more the game adapts. The city morphs into new challenges. Other players become rivals, hunters, and worse. Some have been trapped inside for months. Others will kill for just five more minutes of time. To escape, Jace must uncover who's running ChronoCash, why death means deletion from both the game and the real world—and what it really means to “cash out.” With allies as unstable as the rules and time literally being money, Jace races to beat a system designed to bleed him dry. But in a game where every second is worth a dollar, how long can you afford to survive?