But the open road called louder than caution.
Slowly, he rebooted. He uninstalled the cracked version. He watched his antivirus find and quarantine three hidden miners that had been eating his CPU. Then, he opened Steam, stared at the $6.99 price tag, and paid it.
At 4:55 AM, the torrent chimed.
His garage full of custom trucks—gone. His driver roster—empty. His level—back to 1.
Alex slammed the power button. The PC shut down with a sad whine. He sat in the dark, listening to the real rain outside. The silence was heavier than any crosswind.