"Ugh…."
I uncomfortably opened my eyes and opened the lid of the capsule. Putting a hand on my neck, I slowly rubbed it. Feeling a bit sore.
"It sucks, sheesh."
I blurted out as I finally looked around at my apartment.
"....."
A strong feeling of deja vu hit me, seeing the people in white coats and black suits standing and filling the small apartment, all staring at me.
"It sure does suck, doesn't it?"
Daniel, the head of Kibea's Healthcare department of Delta, asked in mock sarcasm as he scoffed.
"Are you guys sure this isn't an infringement of my privacy?"
I asked, giving Scarlett an eye.
"Nope, it is clearly stated in Kibea's healthcare policies that as long as a player's health is at risk, we have all the rights to take 'care' of you, since you can't take care of yourself."
Scarlett said with a businesswoman smile and I couldn't help but click my tongue.
"As you can see, I am totally fine. You can leave now."
"Not yet, Mr Grey. You have to follow us to the healthcare facility. I am hoping as well that this will be the last time because you know, we are busy people and you keep on causing situations for us to leave all our work and move to your apartment. We hate it as much as you. Especially when it's a fucking Saturday, the only day I get a weekly off."
Daniel said with a smile and narrowed eyes with apparent annoyance that shouted 'I'll kill this guy any moment.'
"Okay okay, let's go. Weeeeeee."
I stood up and showed fake enthusiasm. I felt a bit lightheaded and there were a lot of things that I had to take care of. I understood Daniel's annoyance to an extent, but couldn't sympathise with him. So the closest act of sympathy that I could do was to follow him to the healthcare facility and make it easy for me.
After changing into a casual sky blue t-shirt and jeans, I walked out of the apartment with everyone else.
"Hey, you didn't inform my family yet… right?"
I asked Scarlett as we were going down.
"No, I haven't informed Miss Granger yet. But your brother, Clint Granger, has already found out. He had come to visit you in the morning. He told us to take care of you and said that he wouldn't inform your mother. Otherwise, she would get worried. He has already returned home because of the same so that Miss Granger doesn't get doubtful. He's a smart one."
Scarlett informed me, and I couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh. Clint was always good at everything, his strong points being quick-witted and present-minded. I am sure he would have handled the situation well.
As I sat in Scarlett's Desert Scorpion Red edition, this time, I couldn't hide my curiosity as I asked.
"How much did this baby cost?"
I asked, lovingly caressing the seats and eagerly looking at the insides. Scarlett seemed to be a bit surprised as she replied.
"Never thought you would be the type to like cars. You didn't show an ounce of reaction last time, I almost mistook you for someone who couldn't appreciate the value of such a high-end car. Anyways, it cost me $29 million dollars, especially since–"
"Especially since it's 'The Red Edition', one of the rarest and most limited editions of Desert Scorpion. It comes with a double gas turbine with a max speed of 346 miles per hour, I know."
I said as I kept staring at the car lovingly. I looked at the screens on the driving seat and the various buttons inside just beside the gearbox.
"Hey, is that the automated turbo mode? Can you use it once??"
Scarlett kept staring at me like she was staring at someone in a totally different light.
"What are you staring at? It has an auto-driving mode, but that doesn't mean you should be careless and look here when you are driving manually."
Ahem!
Scarlett cleared her throat as she looked at the road. Her lips kept twitching as if she wanted to say something, and I knew exactly what it was. That's why I didn't let her speak.
The automated turbo mode burnt three times more gas than usual to gain its top speed.
"What? Can't you enjoy your own car's features because you are so stingy?"
I provoked her a bit, and it seemed to work as she smiled aggressively and clicked the turbo mode.
Our seats automatically leaned back a bit as the car's robotic voice sounded out.
[Turbo mode activated.]
My smile stretched from one ear to the other, unable to contain my excitement. The car sped up to an extreme level, and before I realised it, just in a matter of seconds, we were already in front of Kibea corporation's building that held all its IT, Healthcare and game masters of Delta city.
The car came to a smooth stop, and I was still holding on to my seatbelt when the seat leaned back upwards.
"That was…. Awesome. I just wish the city was a bit farther."
I said my honest thoughts aloud. Scarlett looked at me with a wide smile, apparently content that I had praised her car so much. I undid the seatbelt as I walked out of the car.
I stretched a bit, feeling refreshed as I walked inside the huge skyscraper.
"We can…. Have another ride when I am free someday. If you'd like that is… It's rare to find someone as enthusiastic about cars as I am, in this day and age where people prefer semi-air transportations more than the land and water ones."
Scarlett said from beside me. I couldn't understand why she would want to spend time with someone poor like me, but as a fellow car enthusiast, I didn't feel like declining the offer.
"Sure, I would love to freeload. By the way, did you just talk about water transport…. Although it's relevant, by any chance, do you like jet skiing too?"
I asked out curiously. I usually didn't talk a lot anywhere, but I currently felt like talking continuously to keep my mind occupied. Not to mention it was the talk of something I liked from the bottom of my being.
"Oh… my… god. Don't tell me you like jet skiing too??!!! Do you really exist??? OMG! OMG! I can't believe this is happening. What are the chances of meeting someone who likes cars and Jet skies as much as I do? We surely need to catch up later on!"
Scarlett said excitedly, her polite and neat businesswoman vibe replaced with an adventurous and wild girl's. After that, as we climbed on the elevator, we kept on talking, and surprisingly, we had a lot of things in common.
Ahem!
"A bit too close. Remember what you are here for."
Daniel cleared his throat and interjected as he gave the eye to Scarlett and then stared at me as if shouting from his eyes to stay away from his sister.
"Yeah jeez. Chill out, bro."
Scarlett scoffed at Daniel's protective behaviour, and his face turned into a sulking one. I couldn't help but chuckle at them. How precious was a bond between siblings…
I felt like I should go and meet my family after this. I really needed to have a breather.
After defeating two high-level mini-bosses, I was already a rich guy. Apart from that, I had the bodies of both of them saved up in my inventory, and I had a hunch that each part would sell for a lot of money.
So my days of misery and being broke would now come to an end, and I couldn't be happier about it.
'I can't wait to throw money at that bitch of an aunt's face.'
I thought. In the past year, my aunt had harassed us a lot due to the money that she had loaned to my mother, which my mother used to buy me the VR capsule. Now that same capsule has allowed me to earn back every penny spent on it.
"For a patient walking for a health check-up, you look much happier than you were last time. What changed?"
Scarlett asked, seeing my gloated face.
***
Scarlett couldn't imagine she was seeing the same Flynn from a few weeks ago. He had completely changed. Not in looks or anything, he still looked as handsome as he used to be behind that unkempt appearance. But the unapproachable and dead fish vibes that he gave had totally disappeared with a fresh and cheerful vibe.
To Scarlett, this was unfathomable. Especially because she knew what had ensued inside the game. An NPC who Flynn treated as a genuine person and friend had died and his onslaught brought by it made Scarlett sure that Flynn was going to be beyond curing after this mental breakdown.
But on the contrary, he had somehow come out all fresh and lively out of it, even more than he used to be.
'Is this the 'Personality Transpose' theory that game theorists are trying to prove?'
Scarlett thought inwardly. These days, [Mayhem] wasn't just a game, it was an alternate reality. The NPCs weren't just chunks of data and programming, they were as real, emotional and lively as any other person.
And hence, some game theorists had come up with a theory called personality transpose, which basically proved that people lacking relations or human feelings in the real world had gotten them through the game by going through different experiences with the NPCs or the world itself.
The theory was very vague, and there was no solid proof that it was right, but after seeing both the Flynn from a few weeks ago and the Flynn right now, Scarlett was starting to believe the theory.
'But it's not as subtle as just behavioural change. His whole persona is like…. It has bloomed.'
Deep down, Scarlett thought that maybe the Flynn that everyone had seen till now wasn't the real Flynn, to begin with, and he was now opening up to people after going through the incident with that NPC called Jezebeth.
She would have never thought that the gloomy and snobbish Flynn would actually be so into cars, jet skis, adventuring and stuff, or that he could joke around with people instead of just making a fool of himself.
From what she had learned of his past, his foolishness and dumb behaviour were all a defence mechanism to hide his real self, to not let it be known to people. It was to the point that it had become second nature for him.
'Things will change now.'
Scarlett thought, expectant of the future that would unfold. After all, being a Kibea employee, she was also a player, and she was just as expectant and excited about things related to the legendary class as anyone else.
...
//DreamNote//
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