Leo had been staring at the forum thread for three hours. The title, "Download FIFA 21 ULTIMATE EDITION-FULL UNLOCKED," felt like a golden ticket. It was two days before the official release, and the hype was suffocating.

The computer shut down, and for the first time in weeks, his room was completely silent. He looked at his phone; a notification from his banking app was already waiting.

He clicked the link. His browser screamed a warning, a red shield pulsing on the screen, but Leo swiped it away. "Antivirus is just a buzzkill," he muttered. The progress bar crawled forward, a thin green line promising him Mbappe, Haaland, and a head start on the Ultimate Team market that his friends could only dream of.