That’s when she saw the ad, blinking like a neon sign at the side of her screen:
The rush was immediate. Within minutes, her notification tab was a blur of numbers. 50… 200… 500… 1,000. It was intoxicating. Her artwork looked legitimate. The numbers validated the hours she had spent shading the neon lights. Machine Liker Online 1000 Likes High Quality
"It’s just a push," she told herself. "Just a snowball to get the ball rolling." That’s when she saw the ad, blinking like
Maya frowned. The comments were generic. They didn't mention the cyberpunk theme, the specific colors, or the character she had designed. She clicked on the profile of the user who wrote "Cool work!" It was intoxicating
It sat in her inbox, unsolicited, from an account named MarketGuru .
But the worst part was the Direct Message.
She entered her username, selected her latest artwork, and hit the button.