Forged identity

The colorful lights added to the already overcrowded atmosphere of the city making the numerous distractions ever more accentuated, and before even John Doe knew it, he was now in an area where hotels and shopping malls are everywhere.

So first he decided to check in to a nearby hotel to spend the night. As buying his own land and house in this domain is definitely out of the question, it was just that expensive.

But of course, before everything, before he could even enter the hotel, there is one thing that he cannot avoid, so in the end after waiting in line for about ten minutes, it finally came to be John Doe's turn.

The then greeted him cheerfully and asked him a question, "Welcome sir! For how long do you plan on staying?" 

"Just one night." John Doe replied.

The receptionist then stated the available options, "I see, Sir. Then we have rooms available from floor one to floor eight, and if you want, you can also avail the luxury suites from floor nine to floor ten."

John Doe then thought for a bit and replied, "I'll get a room on floor five." 

"Then Sir, please present your Users Interface in front of the computer, so we can proceed with the transaction." Subsequently the computer with a screen but without a monitor changed what it was projecting. But what made the computer much more interesting is the fact that Its CPU and Motherboard were all just a compact body inside a rectangular shaped gadget with a gap in the middle, implanted onto the table.

However, before opening his users' interface, he hesitated for a bit. because he remembered the conversation, he had with Alfred in the middle of his operation...

Inside of a fairly well-lit room, John Doe was laying on a treatment chair, with his right arm strapped on, and Alfred performing a surgery on it.

"Wait a minute, before I activate it, I'll have to bypass the East City's resident's registration security to gain access to their network." As Alfred turned to the computer next to him.

With the East city's network appearing directly on the computer screen, John Doe out of curiosity asked, "Are you actually changing the information directly on their network?"

Alfred then tilted his glasses and replied, "No, I'm only changing a person's identity who had gone missing, like their name, age, picture and address."

But his reply made John Doe much more confused so he asked another question, "But if you can't directly change it? Then why is this so expensive?"

"Well, Sir Ed, there is the fact that it is hard to come by a dead body, that hasn't been recorded dead or reported to the government, especially since the government routinely checks the dimensional cracks."

"So that leaves us with option two, and that is to acquire a User's Interface through human trafficking, however most people who fall prey to this are either gambling addicts or debt-ridden people."

"However, that makes things much more complicated, especially if the middleman who buys those leftover arms will have to pay off the debt inside the Users Interface, or if the bank banned the persons account inside the Users Interface. This will make the products much more unappealing so no broker in their right mind would do this, unless they have a very good reason to do so."

"I've even removed the commission fee this time for you. Because this should actually cost you about one million ç. Since I'm not actually the owner of the severed hands that you saw. I'm only getting paid for my skill set. That's why it is so hard to find a hand without a debt to pay. Hence why it so expensive" Alfred's argument was solid and well-grounded, so John doe didn't need to ask him any further question about the topic, however John Doe was still worried about something else.

"I see, but isn't that risky?" John Doe replied in a concerned tone.

Alfred then replied in a serious tone, "To a certain extent yes."

"Because I'm not actually changing the live data, I'm just changing the outgoing signals; It's really just forging your identity"

"It'll work as a normal Users Interface, but if someone is determined to search for flaws, and monitors your information. Then you'll be found out immediately."

"Is there any possible way to change the live data?" John Doe inquired.

Alfred then answered with as much detail as possible, "If you want to, You're gonna have to bribe a government agent directly, but that'll cost you about twenty million C.

As Alfred continued to display a skill of brilliancy in both the medical field and technological field.

But now that John Doe was recalling the past events from his memory, he thought that Alfred might've actually been testing the waters back then, he might've actually tried to gain information from him back then.

As the greater and more skillful a person is, the easier it is for them to hide their trickery and cunning nature. And Alfred is definitely a man of many skills, so John Doe began to realize that Alfred might have pulled one over him, or worse he might've actually found out that he was a clone.

"Then, face the camera over here." As Alfred pointed to the panel hanging above.

Then suddenly chatter sounds began to seep in his ears-

Murmur! Murmur!

"Come on! What the heck?! There are people waiting in line you know?"

"Are you gonna buy the room or what?!"

"Sir? Are you okay Sir?"

It turns out that it was just the people waiting in line behind him, and the receptionist at his front, who brought him back to reality and were probably confused by his sudden pause.

"Oh, I'm sorry" John Doe said in a surprised tone apologetically.

John Doe then scanned his Users Interface at the computer in front of him, and completed the transaction.

Beep! Beep!

[Verifying information...]

[Information Verified]

[Now proceeding with the transaction...]

[Transaction Complete!]

A message then popped up in front of the computer and his Users Interface, [THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING "SUITE LIFE HOTEL"] 

At the same time the receptionist waved John Doe goodbye and spoke in a cheerful tone, "Thank you so much Sir."

But the same could not be said to the people waiting in the line, cause they gave him obvious stares and glimpses of annoyance.

Even so, John Doe continued to climb up the stairs, cause he could not be bothered with such trivial matters.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

As there were more important things running on his mind. He thought of ways of how he should secure his data much more safely. Because who knows, maybe someone might track him with malicious intent, or worse maybe someone might actually try to steal and sell his data.

Tap! Tap!

But just then and there, coincidentally, an advertisement about a VPN (Virtual Private Network) appeared right next to the projector television, at the side of the hallway he was walking through.

Did someone actually already stole his data?, or was it just actually a coincidence?.

His final thought before entering his room was him just disregarding the thought of ever completely securing his data, because now he only thought of how he should be careful at leaving traces of data and information about him behind.

Tap! Tap!

...

Bzzz! Bzzz!

In the middle of the night, when John Doe couldn't stop his hands from tinkering with the revolver that he just used. He suddenly gained an insatiable thirst to consume things, and it is also worth nothing that he had never felt this before. He only really ate cause the food tasted good.

His stomach began to vibrate, and created noises; It cried out to him, as if it was a slave begging him to feed him, cause he can no longer function normally if he doesn't get any calories. He was confused with what was happening to his body.

Growl! Growl!

Nevertheless John Doe still gave in to the pleads of his body, and opened the fridge right next to him. Only to find cheap waters and canned foods. But he can't be too picky so he still ate and drank them.

Munch! Munch! 

Glug! Glug! 

... 

After eating the User Interface automatically popped up, and made a ringing sound similar to telephone call.

[Sir we would like to remind you that the cost of one night here is fifty thousand C]

[We also just added another ten thousand C on your bill for the canned foods and water]

[Your total bill is now sixty thousand C,

[If not paid before checking out, we will automatically deduct it from your bank account.]

[Also if you would like to extend your stay, then don't hesitate to contact us through the Users Interface]

Because his Users Interface is already open, John Doe with nothing to do, decided to browse through it.

Not just to waste time but to also look for work, as he will surely burn through his remaining money fast, based on the cost of living there. Especially if he doesn't find any source of income.

In there he could easily access legit and safe sites made for Combatants, who was looking for teammates to conquer Dimensional Cracks. 

He then thought of how convenient it was, because one his plans was to level up as much as he could. 

A privilege only John Doe have, among his peers.

***

"Tsk! Tsk!, so you finally arrived"

"Do you know how long we've been waiting for you?"

...