2 Diver's ID

"Miss Helen, we have spotted another lower world that's about to awaken. It's similar to the other Earth variants so the team decided to name it Earth-0485. We expect to get your opinion on this matter."

A scrawny scientist asked as he looked at the woman in front of him. She was a high human, one of the only species that survived the apocalypse that occurred a few thousand years ago. Their species was the perfect form of human evolution. 

Beauty, brain, power, they had it all but they never showed interest in the other lower beings. They were only interested in one thing and that was to meddle with other planets' business. They loved watching people of other planets suffer and dance on their palms while they sucked up all the life energy from the said planet to power their own or to extend their already long lifespans.

"Leave it to the new divers. Their numbers are increasing and it'll be annoying to keep up with the inflation if that happens. Let some of them die for now... after all, we can keep making more babies in the labs if we lack manpower.", she said, her voice extremely seductive as she chuckled while looking out the window.

********

A young man named Larcen stood at the woman's doorstep, clutching a parcel and awaiting payment. His only desire was to conclude this transaction swiftly and depart from the neighborhood as soon as possible. However, it quickly became apparent that the woman had other intentions – ones that aimed to test his patience.

"Um... I don't have the credits~ Would you like to come in so I can pay you with something else? Um, Larcen, right?" she inquired, her gaze moving down from his face, a hint of curiosity and lust in her eyes.

Larcen's eyes narrowed slightly when he heard her but remained composed as this was a common occurrence in this neighborhood. He responded firmly, "Ma'am, with all due respect, I can't release the parcel without receiving payment in credits. I'm just a delivery guy, and haggling with me won't benefit either of us. Could you please make the payment so I can head back home?"

The coldness of his reply seemed to have irked her, causing a frown to crease her brow. Instead of responding verbally, she clicked her tongue in frustration and retrieved a card from her pocket, extending it toward him.

Larcen refrained from handing over the parcel immediately. Instead, he accepted the card, smoothly sliding it across the surface of his watch for scanning before returning it to her. With precision, he set the payment amount and shifted his gaze back to her, awaiting her confirmation for the two-sided verification process.

Only after the payment was confirmed did he release the parcel into her hands. Abiding by protocol, Larcen expressed his gratitude before departing on the moped provided by the delivery company. During the ride, he couldn't help but check his balance, cursing the neighborhood that had been assigned to him.

His screen displayed an impressive balance of 11 years' worth of credits, a sight that filled him with a deep sense of accomplishment. Finally, he had reached his long-cherished financial goal, and it brought profound satisfaction. With a fleeting thought, a small translucent screen appeared before him, bearing a single sentence:

{System will unlock after the user embarks on a journey to another world}

In essence, it was pushing him to become a diver, someone who ventured into different realms to bring about peace, destruction, chaos, or simply to fulfill missions assigned by the High Humans, the self-proclaimed enigmatic rulers of the world.

However, the path to becoming a diver came at a steep price – the forfeiture of ten years of one's lifespan in exchange for the coveted license. Credits were just a way to represent someone's lifespan and that was the main currency.

Larcen couldn't help but muse, "I'll be left with only a year's worth of credits... If only I had been assigned to a richer neighborhood."

He continued to contemplate the screen that had mysteriously appeared before his eyes following a life-altering accident. He recognized its uniqueness, having never encountered or heard about others with similar screens floating in front of their faces, screens that remained visible only to their owners.

During his journey back, he deliberately bypassed the turn leading to his house, continuing straight ahead. After a brief few minutes, he arrived at a modest station, where he parked his moped and entered the premises, purchasing a ticket that cost him sixty credits which was an hour's worth of lifespan.

Excitement coursed through him as he stepped into a rectangular pod, eagerly anticipating his destination. In a matter of seconds, a robotic voice announced, "Alert, destination reached."

For those with the means, travel was exceptionally swift – in Larcen's case, a portion of his own lifespan. He no longer needed to physically traverse to reach his chosen destination; he had already arrived within the confines of the Diver Registration Office. Stepping out of the pod, he couldn't help but glance back at it, observing as it gracefully retracted into its chamber before vanishing from sight. Subconsciously, his eyes swept across the other nine chambers before turning toward the room's center.

In the room's center stood a massive box resembling a vending machine, while the remainder of the room lay vacant. Few willingly surrendered a decade of their lives to pursue an incredibly unpredictable profession.

The majority of the population had personal savings ranging from five to fifteen years, with only a select few managing to maintain such a balance. Larcen, however, had managed to accumulate eleven years due to his meticulous and frugal lifestyle.

Approaching the machine, he tinkered with his watch and subsequently pressed the transfer button on the screen. The machine abruptly roared to life, presenting an array of numbers and text on the screen, the majority of which pertained to Larcen's data. 

A few moments later, a small card ejected from the machine. The card bore his face, name, and an enigmatic code, decipherable only by machines. He stared at the silver card in his hand, diverting his gaze momentarily to his balance, which indicated eleven months and a handful of days worth of credits which amounted to 503,840.

"At long last... after three arduous years," he declared aloud.

Shrugging off the resentment he harbored toward the High Humans, he made his way to the exit. He opted not to use a travel pod when he could simply walk to the test center. The card granted him access to the worlds, but for now, he planned to explore the weaker ones.

Access to worlds with high life energy remained restricted, reserved for experienced divers. Larcen understood that he needed to build a solid portfolio to gain entry into those realms. Spotting the Diver's Headquarters a few meters away, his heart began to quicken its pace.

"I'd rather take a chance on risking my life than crawling up a corporate ladder, only to be knocked down by someone more powerful. My life... well, what's left of it," he thought as he approached the building.

Once inside, he headed to the first floor, the only floor accessible to him. The floor consisted of three rooms: two for restrooms, baths, and changing areas for both men and women, and the remaining 90% of the space was an open hall.

The open hall was dotted with Diver pods, each positioned five meters apart. Neon light strips ran from top to bottom on each pod, lending them a sleek, futuristic appearance. Red lights indicated occupied pods, while blue signaled those available.

Larcen approached a vacant Blue Pod, inserting his Diver ID into the ID slot. The device sprung to life, opening its lid to reveal a comfortable interior, wires, a suit, and a helmet.

As he picked up the suit, a grimace crossed his face as he examined the inner part of it. "Why the damn needles..." he muttered under his breath.