Cyber World

Watching Alex grab one of the poor cleaning bots, Ellia asked Ruth. 'And how are we going to do that?'

"Hehe… you're going to be surprised when you hear this…." Ruth giggled as she finally revealed her grand plans. "We're going to be taking a trip to the cyberworld!"

Upon hearing her words, Ellia gasped in shock, but upon thinking about it, she realized she didn't know a thing about this cyber world.

'Cyberworld?' Ellia said in confusion.

"Yes, the cyber world!" Ruth confirmed. "The underworld! It's a place where people all over the world go to!"

'All over the world?' Ellia repeated Ruth's words in doubt. 'Isn't there a war going on?'

"The cyberworld is a neutral zone, so political things don't go around so well in the area."

'That's good, I guess, but how are we supposed to get there, and does it pose any dangers to us?' Ellia asked.

"Well, answering your first question, we're going to get there with our minds," Ruth spoke, acting all mysterious.

'With our minds?' Ellia thought in wonderment.

"Yes, but it's more of your consciousness, and with the help of nerve tools, everyone is able to access the cyberworld. It's basically an alternate universe." Ruth tried to explain but soon guessed that show was better than telling. "It's easier if you saw it with your own eyes."

"And to answer your second question." Ruth continued with her explanation. "No, it doesn't pose a danger. Because your mental capacity is so high, I don't think it would cause any harm even if you were plugged in for a whole week."

Ellia slowly nodded at Ruth's explanation, looking a little bit dizzy. Although there were a few things that confused her, she had a general idea down.

'Okay, but are we just adding another step here? Where are we supposed to get this nerve tool?" Ellia asked.

"Don't worry, you got one right here and in advanced one at that," Ruth spoke, giggling under her breath.

'Haaaa…' Ellia let out a deep sigh. 'Well, we better get this over with before training starts.'

"Un!" Ruth agreed.

"Ummm… Alex?" Ellia said, turning towards Alex. He was busy unscrewing the bolts of the cleaning bots.

"What?"

"I'll be in the bedroom, so don't disturb me unless there is an emergency."

"Okay…" He mumbled before focusing back on the cleaning bots.

Saying no more, Ellia walked away and into her bedroom. Inside was a breathtaking view that showed the east side of the shoreline through a glass wall. The bedroom was also big enough to support an entire king-sized bed.

Upon noticing such a big-sized bed, Ellia curled her body like a caterpillar and jumped in.

"Ah... this is so much better than the ones back in room 32," Ellia mumbled weakly as her body slowly melted away in pleasure.

"Ah! Ian, come back!" Ruth shouted, realizing Ellia was about to drift off.

"Don't worry. I'm not sleeping." Ellia spoke, "Just explain how this is going to go down."

"Okay... so basically, since we have no nerve gear, I will be taking its place...*ahem, your welcome... and when I load you in, just don't be too surprised that the only thing I have to say."

"That's it?" Ellia asked.

"Yes, that is it. I just need you to relax your body."

Then listing to Ruth's words, Ellia closed her eyes while releasing any tension her muscles had built up.

"Alright, starting count down... you might feel a tiny shock.

"3... 2... 1..."

[A neural link has been found!]

[Cyber link has been found!]

[Neural link to cyber link!]

[Chances of successful connection: 60%]

[High mental capacity status has been accounted for.]

[Advaced neural network/tool has been accounted for.]

[New estimate of successful connection: 100%]

[Initializing…1% 22% 55% 69% 81% 100%]

[Sucess!]

[Transfering consciousness.]

It was right then when a sudden beam of light shot towards Ellia out of the darkness. Seeing them, she reflexively brought her hands up but noticed she didn't have any arms… legs… or body.

All she could do was watch the white beams like she was in a bad dream. But a few moments later, Ellia sighed a relief. The rays of light weren't aimed toward Ellia; they just simply flew past her.

Looking around in awe, she watched as even more white beams slowly covered the dark completely, only leaving white.

At that moment, Ellia's senses returned as if being smashed by a wave of tidewater. Her limbs and body also returned, along with her senses, but it didn't seem her clothing hadn't come along with her.

"Ellia Arison." A voice echoed around the subspace. And it didn't sound like Ruth, so Ellia tried her best to cover her naked body with her arms and hands. After all, she didn't want anyone laying their eyes on her granddaughter's bare body.

"6,093,273,916 user to join. Questions will be asked."

Ellia swished her head in all directions but couldn't find anybody, so she guessed it was only a computer-generated voice. Kinda like Ruth but lacks emotion.

"Question one… would you like to add your bank account for an easier transaction?"

"Huh?" Ellia muttered. What kind of question is that?

"I think it would be best if to say yes," Ruth spoke inside Ellia's head. And trusting her words, Ellia spoke.

"Yes."

"Understood." The voice said, then out of nowhere, a white cube the size of a small fist floated towards Ellia. "Please place your right thumb onto the cube."

Accepting its request, Ellia placed her thumb on the cube, and the second she did, the cube flashed a bright green.

"Thank you. Your bank account has been linked."

[Account balance: 356,555,652 credits.]

Upon seeing the system interference in front of her, Ellia couldn't help but lower her jaws in pure shock.

"350 Milly! Holy fucking shit!" Ellia shouted.

"Huh? What are you so surprised about?" Ruth's voice played inside her head.

"Ruth! I'm fucking rich!"

"Huh, rich? I wouldn't say so. With those small numbers, you would be categorized as a lower or middle-class bourgeoisie."

"Small numbers?! This is hundreds of times more than what I made as an army lieutenant in my previous life!"

What she was saying was true. Back when the imperial army paid Ellia as a lieutenant was only making about 60,000 credits annually. And supporting her family, she never saw those numbers, the millions.

"If you think this is a lot, then guess how much the pill asura's recreation you consumed cost," Ruth said, giving Ellia a dumbfounded expression.

"How much...?"

"About 2.2 billion."

Ellia's vision slowly became hazy when she heard Ruth's words. "2.2 billion. Did we really have that much money?"

"After your death, the Empress made your wife a noble, so she receives a massive amount of funds every year.

"What? The Empress made Avery a noble?" Ellia asked.

"It's obvious it's because you saved her life while sacrificing your own, which made you a national hero and your family nobles. That was the least she could do."

"Her highnesses made me a national hero?" Ellia asked, with a tiny smile on her lips.

"What are you so giddy for?" Ruth asked, noticing Ellia's slight curve on the ends of her lips.

"It's nothing... just a bit happy."

As Ellia continued to smile, lost in her thoughts, the voice echoed around Ellia again, which caused her to wake up from her daydream.

"Second question and last question. Do you accept our terms and conditions?" The voice asked.

"Accept it!" Ruth shouted. "I've already gone through everything!"

Ellia nodded, and without another thought, she spoke. "Yes."

The voice didn't respond; instead, Ellia's body started crumbling into a cloud of blue neon dust.

"See you on the other side!" Ruth's cheerful voice played inside her head as everything finally went silent.