A Billion Dollar Prize

"Where is the food? You useless child! Didn't I tell you to earn some money?!"

Carter sighed heavily as another shout from his father echoed in their tiny dining room. With his head bowed down, he took a step closer to his angry father.

"I-I did a lot of homework, Father. I didn't see the time." He stuttered.

Fuming madly, Eric, Carter's father, took a grip on the plate above the table. He threw it on the ground, which created a loud banging noise.

"What will you take from school? Didn't I tell you to stop going there and just earn some money?"

With nothing to respond to, Carter couldn't answer what his father had told him. With Eric's gray hair and wrinkled face, he couldn't afford to disrespect his father now that he's old.

The man might get a heart attack and although that was a good thing for him, he knows that his mother will be surely sad.

"Brother!"

Carter glanced over to his right and saw a girl running in their direction. The girl's long legs closed the distance in just a few seconds.

The two big mountains on the woman's front were bouncing as she took big steps. Her black hair was now messy from running while tiredness can be seen in her eyes.

"Here, father. I brought some chicken. Please spare brother now," the girl pleaded as she showed the box of roasted chicken in her hands.

Eric rolled his eyes. "You two, get out of my sight. Why did I even marry your useless mother? I should have just really gone with her sister."

Irritated, Carter nodded quietly. He walked away, followed by his sister, who he knew was feeling the same way as him.

Their mother, Veronica, was sick and bedridden. They were born poor and couldn't afford proper treatment for their mother's disease.

"Brother, you should rest now. Don't mind Father's words. You know him when he's drunk"

Carter nodded and patted his sister's head. "You should rest now, Sheila. I will just finish my homework and sleep too. Let's go to the park tomorrow, okay?"

Sheila's small eyes glimmered with excitement. "Yes, Brother!"

Watching over how his sister ran outside his room, Carter sighed in agony. Being born as a poor person was hard.

At such a young age, he and his sister need to work already. This should be their father's duty, but the man was always away and would always come home drunk.

If only he could go to a place where he could live freely, then he would willingly go. But he knew that he couldn't just leave his sister and mother alone, especially at the hands of his useless father.

*Ding!

Carter's eyes went over to his old phone when it suddenly created a sound. With his furrowed brows, he opened the new notification on the very top of his screen.

"New Announcement! A new season will be coming up in a few days! Head over to the page for more details."

Reading it out loud, his curiosity bubbled up. He quickly went over to the page that the announcement was talking to.

"We have one week left before the release of the new season! Celebrating the game's third year anniversary, we would like to announce that the upcoming season's winner will have a cash prize of 1 billion dollars!

Exciting events and amazing prizes will soon take place. With 3 days left for the current season, we would like to say our utmost gratitude to all the players.

What's new? From a mobile game that can be played everywhere, the new season will be a modified one. Online Bald Levelling will take its massive turn on being Cloak Entertainment's first VR MMORPG game!

Please be reminded that there will be a set of new rules just as new players won't have the ability to join once the game has already started. Don't worry, we made the game more exciting and harder for the upcoming season.

Unlike the current, registration will be needed for the next season as the creator had made the game more limited.

What more? Click the link to download the game and register to have a spot for the upcoming season."

With widened eyes, Carter's heart started to beat faster. 'Maybe this is the opportunity for me to get rich!' He thought as he clicked the link directing to the game at world record speed.

"Online Bald Levelling"

'What the heck is this name?' A burst of laughter came out from his lips when he saw the name of the game.

[ Online Bald Levelling is a survival game that everyone could play. It's a unique game that has no specific roles like assassins, fighters, mages, or healers. The player's characteristics will depend on their unlocked skills, stats, and equipped items.

Once the player died in the game, there will be no respawn and they would have no choice but to wait until the next season just to join again. Please take note that there's only one season every year.]

After reading the game's description, his eyes shifted to the bottom part and saw the preview pictures. His laugh became louder after seeing them.

The players were all bald in the first picture!

"I'm even more handsome than them! Look at their heads. Some have a few strands of hair, while some are completely hairless. My hair is even longer than a few of them."

Carter shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to install the game after seeing all the preview pictures.

His eyes widened when he saw an important notice at the bottom.

*Vr Helmet is needed for the upcoming season.*

"Haiya! Doesn't this cost a fortune? At this point, I will think that this game is a scam." He murmured.

Carter stood up and went into his cabinet. He took out a small box made out of wood. 'Will this money be enough for a helmet?' He asked himself.

He sat on his bed and counted the money. '50 dollars? How far will this even take me?'

With his hopes dying down, Carter went over to some online shopping stores that were selling both brand new and second-hand things. He happily clapped his hands when he saw what he was looking for.

[Item: Viva Wireless Virtual Helmet]

Description: Turn your favorite games into reality at just a cheap price! Don't think twice and buy it now. Includes new technology and functions that will make your game more exciting. Until supplies last only.

Price: 45 dollars

"45 dollars for a helmet! This is a really good deal," he exclaimed.

Without thinking twice, Carter clicked the "Buy Now" button. He placed in his shipping details as he smiled happily. "Good thing I found it first. Maybe luck is really in my way."

When he saw that the game was already finished downloading, he quickly opened the game. It was fortunate that he didn't need the helmet right away. He still has a week to wait for it.

'Hmm, I should probably start the game and get familiarized with it. After all the games that I played, this one should be easy.' He sighed.

'Three days… that should be enough for me to survive longer and have an advantage against the other players. It's a good thing that the new rules are for the upcoming season and not now.'

Carter's thoughts were interrupted when his phone suddenly vibrated.

[Welcome, new player! Please enter a username to proceed.

He grinned and typed in at the white box. "ILoveLoli'

[Username taken. Please enter another one.]

Carter scratched the back of his head and thought of a new name. "IloveMIL-" but before he could finish it, he quickly deleted the letters. 'I should think of a proper name. What if this will be my name in the new season, right?'

"A_person_with_hair1309"

[Success! Welcome to Online Bald Levelling.]

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What will you do if ever you won that prize?