Jian Lin was allowed to leave four hours later, after making an appointment with the psychologist. His grandfather drove him home in a simple car, not talking as they drove.
The young man was relieved when he was back inside his flat. He glanced at the corner where his capsule had once stood – now empty, making the room look much bigger than before. He wasn’t used to the sight.
Grandfather Jian left the apartment another time to directly speak with an incognito guard near the house, then returned. Mere seconds after he closed the door, someone knocked.
“Mister Jian?”
The voice that called out was soft, careful – it was unusual for Xi Yang to speak like this.
Jian Lin froze, all his muscles tensing up. Seeing that and hearing the peculiar way that the young man outside called his neighbor, Grandfather Jian raised an eyebrow. He walked back to the door, opening it just a slit while Jian Lin scrambled to hide behind a corner.
Xi Yang looked relieved when the door opened. “Mister Jian! I… I saw the ambulance earlier today and-”
Grandfather Jian’s expression softened. He patted the young man’s shoulder, a glint appearing in his eyes that was easy to miss.
So, this young man thought he was living here? Moreover, he sure seemed familiar – wasn’t this the beast character that often appeared together with his darling grandson’s mage?
“Are you better now? I hope it’s nothing bad?” Xi Yang glanced to the side, where his little brother worriedly peeked out of the door but didn’t dare come over. “I hope you don’t mind me asking…”
Grandfather Jian mixed truths with lies. “My capsule had an error. They only gave me a check-up.”
“Capsule? The Full-VR capsule?” Xi Yang sounded surprised. Behind the corner, Jian Lin listened. “Is that why they took mine away? They said something about a malfunctioning part. The one that regulates the synchronisation levels?”
Grandfather Jian nodded. “I was only playing a simple game, so it didn’t matter much.”
“I see. That’s a relief.” Xi Yang beamed, his white teeth showing. “Then I won’t disturb you any longer. Have a nice day, Mister Jian!”
The door closed. Jian Lin listened to the old man’s steps as he walked over to the corner, peering down with amusement in his eyes. “Mister Jian? I didn’t know I was living here?”
“That”, Jian Lin started awkwardly, “is because I lost the timing to introduce myself…”
“Don’t lie. You’re quite comfortable with him thinking that there’s someone else living here. Is he that beastman? The one you chat with? I thought you were friends.”
“We are”, Jian Lin confirmed.
“Alright. I guess you need some more time. I’m already happy to hear that you’re being so active in the game.” The old man did not scold his grandson. He knew the boy needed more time to feel comfortable with social interactions; right now, the game was like a safe space for him. Tearing that wall apart couldn’t be done in a day.
God knows how they had cheered when they had first found out that Jian Lin was contacting some with his phone. His little daughter had even shed a tear.
“You should probably go and check your phone. I bet he has written a message to you”, Grandfather Jian reminded him and Jian Lin hurriedly rushed to get his phone.
Xi Yang had indeed tried to contact him.
As it turned out, all of them had been wiped out in the castle. After they realized that Ice had gone offline without a notification, Xi Yang had logged off and tried to contact him. Not too much later, the ambulance arrived, followed by a call that all capsules of a certain model were going to be taken away due to safety issues.
Haven was thrown into maintenance mode, which meant everything froze as it was. Everyone would be placed into safe areas and compensation would be given.
Xi Yang guessed that Ice might have found out about it earlier, which was why he disappeared.
Jian Lin wrote a quick message that he was fine. He’d tell him what happened later. He switched to a browser and began checking out what the news wrote while Grandfather Jian made himself a cup of tea.
Lusanna Corporation had written an official statement that seethed with fury. They were going to sue the company that had sent them the parts for attempted murder. Lusanna Corp apologized humbly, even attaching a video of their CEO bowing and stating that he’d personally ensure that such an accident did not happen again.
He stated that there was going to be a downtime until it was ensured that all other capsule types were alright. Afterwards, every account would get a compensation package. The game’s world would be frozen completely, making sure that there was no progression of time.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Lastly, he announced with a slightly shaky breath that, with heaven’s grace, the person whose accident had unveiled this issue was safe. They were alright and, while a bit shocked, healthy.
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The CEO announced he was going to do everything to make it up for that user, and he hoped that people wouldn’t lose trust in the capsule. As for which personal compensation that user would get, they’d discuss it directly.
The video ended and Jian Lin scrolled through the comments. Some were envious about his personal package, but those people were quickly bashed by the rest for ignoring the price he had paid for this package.
What did he want? Considering his relationship with the company, there was a high chance they’d fulfill any wish just to keep him.
The call came about an hour later.
Grandfather Jian was resting his feet on the table, watching a movie with Jian Lin. He had insisted on staying the night, and a couple of bodyguards had already brought him everything he needed. He’d sleep in Jian Lin’s bed, while Jian Lin himself was going to sleep on the sofa.
When his phone rang, Jian Lin checked the caller before accepting. “Zhang Ziyi?”
“It’s me again! The whole matter with your compensation was discussed. They were unsure what to do, considering your life wasn’t completely safe there. They are asking what you’d like – money, ingame items, a job, you name it and they’ll discuss!”
The young man had thought about it for quite a while. Frankly speaking, the only things he couldn’t get were ingame. Everything else?
A question of how much money you had.
Who had money?
His parents.
He didn’t feel the need to use it, but if he did, he could go on a shopping spree without looking at the prices.
“I need something that makes transportation easier in the game…”
“A… mount?”
“No.” Not a mount. He did not want these event mounts that felt so fake, like machines, and he was going to choose a pet on his own.
“Uh… I think there were some plans about creating other flying items like wings, but it was scrapped. Something like that? I’m pretty sure I can get you equippable wings if you ask for that. I think the marketing department would also be happy if you had them. But is that all? Isn’t that a bit…?”
“I don’t have anything I want right now”, Jian Lin admitted honestly. He leaned to the side, away from his Grandfather who was sticking close to listen in on the conversation.
“Hmm. No, that’s not acceptable. I’ll get you those wings and an open wish. A favor from Lusanna Corporation! You never know when you might need it!”
Money aside, Lusanna Corp had grown to insane heights. In terms of power, it would be very useful to have an open-termed favor.
Jian Lin hummed in agreement, clearly relieved.
Zhang Ziyi was burning with fighting spirit. She was determined to earn him this favor. Although she was officially an employee of Lusanna Corp, she would never rip him off. At the same time, she was confident that this wasn’t too much to ask. Lusanna Corp was surprisingly humane when it came to compensations and how their customers were treated in general.
Jian Lin talked to her for another while until she had calmed down. He hung up and looked at his grandfather, who was staring at him.
“You should call that neighbor of yours already. He must be on edge.”
Jian Lin moved his gaze away, keeping it on his phone for a moment before nodding. This time, he retreated into his room, even closing the door behind himself.
The dial tone barely stopped before Xi Yang picked up.
“Finally! I’ve been waiting forever!”
“Sorry. Had a long day”, Jian Lin said softly.
“What happened? I was in the middle of the castle when Haven shut down. Then I couldn’t reach you.”
“I didn’t have my phone with me.” Jian Lin pulled his knees up to his chest and leaned on them, looking out of the window. “I was… at the hospital.”
“…Hospital?” Xi Yang’s voice lowered to an uncertain whisper.
“The person whose capsule failed… was me. There’s a dragon NPC under the castle that killed me, and the capsule got fried because I usually keep the synchronisation high up.” Jian Lin heard Xi Yang’s breathing through the phone and felt weirdly comforted. “I’m fine, but they gave me a check-up. I just needed a while to calm down.”
“You’re… sure you’re alright? You’re not pushing yourself?”
“I am.”
The line was quiet for a moment. Xi Yang breathed in deeply, then switched the topic deliberately – Jian Lin wondered if the other simply understood that he wanted to continue as before.
“A dragon, huh? What exactly happened there?”
Jian Lin narrated everything as best as he could, trying to remember all details. Because it was Bloody – because it was Xi Yang – he didn’t even hide the appearance of the castle’s ruler.
“That’s odd. But it also explains some things. There was this one female NPC in the capital where I kept on thinking she looked like my aunt, but when I looked again, her face was just a bit different. But I can totally understand why that’s an especially creepy coincidence. First that guy, then the dragon, then the capsule breaking down.”
“It was so sad”, Jian Lin sighed. “I don’t know how they managed to simulate that voice, but it sounded so… miserable.”
“Miserable?”
“Yes.”
“You mean, like being in misery? You know? A miserable NPC?”
“Ah?” Jian Lin gasped, involuntarily sitting up straight.
The quest?
If Tiamat was the one in his quest and his participation in this world quest was predetermined – he’d have met her sooner or later! It wouldn’t be an impossible quest to start!
“But… when I asked her what she wanted, she asked me to stay with her. Do I have to stick around to keep her company?”
“Hmmm… It might be that you have to find a companion for her or something like that. Either way, I’m pretty sure she’s a good start! Also, we have made great progress – I’ve come to a similar conclusion as you about the castle. The owner appears to be sickly and he’s not hostile. I’m not sure about gathering proof, but since you got thrown back to the capital’s revival point anyway, you can go to the prince and see if your word isn’t enough for him.”
“I’ll do that.”
“But maaaan. It sure sucks that we have to wait for the capsules now! I got told it’d take a week.”
“A week…” Jian Lin’s eyebrows furrowed. A week would feel like an eternity.
“I was thinking, maybe we could all meet up? If you’re fine with it, of course. I’ve talked to my manager and he’s going to contact all the others for us if I ask him.”
“If”, Jian Lin managed to bring out, “if I can offer the location? There’s a restaurant we could have booked for ourselves…”
“Holy shit. That’s fancy. But I won’t say no if you offer! Where is it?”
“B City.”
“Cool, that’s pretty close. You don’t have anything to do, right? Should I ask my manager to contact everyone for next Saturday?”
“That sounds good.”
Jian Lin rubbed his fingers over his thigh to ease the restlessness inside his heart. He was looking forward to it, but also not.
“I’m not gonna invite Absinth, by the way”, Xi Yang mumbled almost inaudibly. Jian Lin couldn’t help but smile a bit when he heard that. “So, uh, wanna play some classic games together in the meantime? Maybe a shooter or something like that.”
Although the capsule technology was on the rise, common console games hadn’t vanished from the market. The lower price, the great range of games and the safe distance from the game world was still popular.
“Okay.”
Jian Lin closed his eyes.
Thank god, he didn’t have to be alone during this week. His friend would still be there.
When Xi Yun began to wail in the background, Jian Lin left to rejoin his grandfather.
“Grandpa”, he asked slowly. “Can I… ask you a favor? You and Mom?”
The old man almost jumped out of his seat. “Of course!”
“Can you ask Uncle Zhao if he could reserve the top restaurant floor for me next Saturday? I… We might want to meet up. Me and the people I’m playing with, I mean.”
“So you need the reservation and someone to drive you, right? Give me five minutes.”
The old man’s eyes were sparkling with determination. Five minutes ended up being a good estimate, especially since the restaurant owner Zhao had no problem reserving the VIP area for his VIP friends. It was rarely booked, anyway.
When he heard he was going to entertain a number of young gamers, he muttered to himself about maybe selecting an easier menu.
Not the common one where you needed a translator to know what you were going to eat.
Grandfather Jian snuck out with Jian Lin in the early morning, hours before the meeting. They drove to B City at a leisurely pace, and Jian Lin stayed inside a corner of the restaurant where he could relax.
On his grandfather’s suggestion, he was wearing a white dress-shirt and simple gray pants. They were a tad bit more formal than casual, but not so much that they’d be out of place even if everyone came in casual clothes. They simply enhanced his natural aura, making Uncle Zhao praise him over and over again.
The first person who came was Xi Yang. He had talked to Jian Lin about coming an hour earlier to ensure that Jian Lin wouldn’t be alone with any of the others.
Xi Yang looked a bit out of place where he stood. Shoulders stiff and face frozen in a serious mask, he nodded at the waiter who had brought him inside.
His short hair was now dyed jeans-blue and Jian Lin could spot a couple of thin, black bracelets around his wrists. They were a bit mismatched with his more ironed shirt, but it was that discrepancy that made Jian Lin feel at ease.
Author’s Note
We are getting closer to the line where my backlog has become too small so I might switch back to one update a week again soon…
Little Theater
Ice: “You don’t have ears…. :<”
Bloody: “O-Of course I don’t?”
Ice: “…”
Bloody: “…Would it be better if I had them?”
Ice: “…………”
Bloody: “What I don’t do for love.”
goes off to find a genetical engineer
Thank you for the chapter~! Cant wait for irl meetup :0
OMG Xi Yang just coincidentally sees Grandfather Jian again hahahahahahaha
“classical games” haha I didn’t even think about it…that in the future of VR games, current games would be called “old school” and “traditional” and “quaint”
BLUE HAIR on Xi Yang!! Cute!!
Bloodyyy….just wear some fake ears for now rather than going to find a genetic engineer XD
That is some nice customer service ;__; Wish the one in RL were the same or I just didn’t met them so far :’D (Okay, not all of them were bad lol)
» Not the common one where you needed a translator to know what you were going to eat.« Oh god… so true hahahaha >__>° But isn’t it a reaaally big step for JL to meet up with them all in RL? I’m a bit worried about Knightrider.. but I guess he would be thrown out faster than he could look if he tried smth stupid.
Thx for the ch ٩(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )و And a once a week update is okay too :3
Yes, it’s quite hard for him! It’s easier ofc if it’s a private area, but meeting strangers in reality is still a big hurdle. Little Ice is doing well~
Excited for the next chapter! (๑˃͈꒵˂͈๑)
omg how exciting! they officially meet in person.
and I love how doting his grandpa and parents are
thanks for the chapter <3