A Suitable Home, Necessary Precautions

After contacting his broker, it didn't take long for Kieran to arrange several viewings around the city because there were plenty of vacant apartments looking for someone to fill them. 

With his current wealth, he could practically afford any apartment he wished, but he didn't want to squander his money because he still needed to finance his H-COS treatment. 

With his treatment in mind, Kieran decided to keep his expenditure within 10% of his earnings thus far.

Because of the fast-paced and ever-present work inside Metro City, it would take some time before he could meet with his broker. As a result, Kieran decided that it would be best to return to his dorm and begin packing.

The entire process took a few hours due to him stopping and scouring the forums for any changes regarding Zenith Online quite a few times. The game's early stage was where rapid change was bound to occur.

The time he spent outside Zenith Online was time the competition could use to close the gap. Of course, it wouldn't be a straightforward endeavor. Even the guilds that purchased his Dungeon Manual would have to use trial and error to understand the trick to reduce the run's difficulty.

Roughly four hours later, Kieran met up with his broker, who turned out to be a woman who seemed no more than five years older than him. She was dressed in a business suit and had short dark blue hair and slender glasses.

"Hello, sir. My name is Cecilia. It's a pleasure to meet you," Cecilia, the property broker announced.

"A pleasure," Kieran nodded succinctly, shaking her hand.

"I noticed that all of your requests have specific criteria. I take it you enjoy being in the city space?" Cecilia voiced, sifting through the information on her tablet.

Before answering, Kieran analyzed her behavior, noticing her tense shoulders and hyperactive fingers—she was nervous but tried her best to hide it.

"You could say that. I feel the city's presence keeps me aligned. I guess you could say the blare of a taxi's horn and the clamor of the streets is my white noise," Kieran answered. 

"That isn't uncommon. A lot of people that grew up in the city environment have become accustomed to the noise to where it no longer bothers them," Cecilia said, not finding Kieran's preference odd.

After talking further to the point Kieran made Cecilia feel more at ease, they began viewing the apartments that she had lined up.

The first one didn't go so well, it failed to meet Kieran's standards. It was too far from several practical areas and didn't quite match the price, missing too many amenities.

"I agree. It's really not that good," Cecilia judged, frowning slightly. For $50,000 a month, it should be a cutting-edge apartment with access to the most satisfactory services, yet it wasn't.

The second wasn't too bad and was close to the city's center, where recreational centers and other medicinal hubs existed, but the lease for the apartment was too binding, requiring a two-year lease to complete the signing.

Kieran couldn't see himself staying anywhere long-term, so a long-term binding contract was entirely out of the equation.

However, the next visit made Kieran stop and stare.

It was a recently constructed high-rise apartment building that complemented the modern city setting. It was in the heart of the city, making it the most expensive, but Kieran realized it possessed everything he was looking for upon touring the place.

"Out of all the options we visited thus far, I would have to say this is the best. It's slightly more expensive than the first option, listed at $60,000 a month, but it offers monthly, seasonal, bi-annual, annual, and two-year contracts," Cecilia said, reading off the information on the unit.

"A penthouse apartment, I presume," Kieran commented.

"Yes. The building also has a pool, a personal gym on par with many fitness centers, a lounge area outfitted with many entertaining features, and a private kitchen for personalized meals if you don't wish to bother cooking."

It was clear from Cecilia's tentative behavior, listing several of the attractive amenities, that she wanted to complete at least one deal today. 

"I'll take this one," Kieran decided, which made Cecilia beam happily.

"Excellent! Which contract would you like to choose?" 

"Monthly will do."

"Understood. With the expenses and security deposit, it'll total slightly under $191,000," Cecilia said.

"Let's just call it $200,000 even. The extra will be your tip," Kieran indifferently responded.

However, Cecilia's response was one of utter shock! That was an almost $10,000 tip, which was more than she made in a month sometimes.

"Y-you…" Cecilia stammered, struggling to form coherent words as she froze at the processing stage.

"It's for the trouble of dragging you around for a few hours. It's well deserved," Kieran answered. 

Once the transaction was processed and a digital copy of the renting lease appeared in Kieran's email, Cecilia continued to stare at her tablet in disbelief, shocked that someone would leave such a generous tip.

With the tip on top of her 5% commission rate, Cecilia's month turned from bleak to outstanding in the blink of an eye!

She continued to thank him, but Kieran expressed that it didn't mean much to him, and he meant it. After all, he shelled out $5,000 for a VR Helmet without so much as batting an eye.

Additionally, when Kieran realized he underestimated the worth of information to ravenous and ambitious guilds, he understood the frugality he needed to employ was relative.

An occasional splurge was justified if it meant procuring pawns and connections for the future.

Eventually, the two parted ways but not before obtaining her business credentials. There was no telling when he would require a broker again, by that time, he hoped her position within her company would be higher.

This place was already furnished, and considering that his dorm was pre-furnished, he paid a moving company to move his boxes of belongings, some of which contained personal items.

At the same time, he also bought the most updated model of his holo-phone. Though it supposedly offered the highest security, Kieran knew otherwise, which is why he was prepared to tamper with its systems.

The entire process of settling took almost another three hours, but it gave Kieran peace of mind knowing he didn't need to fret over a place to stay. 

Now that he had so much time on his hands, Kieran fiddled with the holo-phone until it emitted a string of messages.

〈Alert: The thorough search has detected latent detection software. [A deep scrub is occurring...]〉

〈Alert: ...All surveillance functions have been disabled.〉

〈Alert: A secure access point to the shadow network has been established. The tailored algorithm will continue obscuring your sensitive information. 〉

〈Alert: You're free to browse the internet without a remaining footprint.〉

'Although he is an unlikeable character, I can't doubt that weaselly fellow's knack for technological schemes. I should most likely find him before the Private Sector sinks their corruptive talons into him,' Kieran thought to himself.

One might consider Kieran's actions as overkill, but he was all too familiar with how dangerous the Private Sector could become if one ventured into the wrong line of work.

Considering Golden Brigade had a hand in several shady schemes, Kieran would rather play it safe when trying to find a solution to his H-COS. There was no telling if guilds monitored the appearance of people like him since they made for the most top-notch players.

Not to mention, the Private Sector was also indirectly tied to the Underworld, where massive crime syndicates existed. One couldn't butt heads with one without making enemies with the other. It was the lay of the land.

After making the necessary preparations, Kieran scoured the web until he came across a few unique contact methods for promising medical facilities.

Many Private Sector and Underworld organizations funded and employed a few state-of-the-art medical facilities to tend to inexplicable injuries that would garner deep questions from government authorities.

Most of the time, these facilities were more equipped than hospitals, which is what Kieran required, as public hospitals were not fitted with the means necessary for handling patients afflicted with H-COS. 

However, this discrete nature came at an extreme price because, in most cases, threats weren't enough to move these facilities to work. It was an unspoken rule to accept whatever fee these facilities presented.

After arriving at his current options, Kieran realized only one was within a reasonable distance, so he went ahead and contacted them.

The response did not arrive immediately, taking upwards of 30 minutes, but Kieran waited patiently.

When he received an answer, it was from a stunning lady in a white lab coat.

The woman in the lab coat looked at Kieran with her calm, dark blue-green eyes while pushing her glasses up to rest on her light, strawberry-blonde hair. "Aren't you… too young to need assistance from a place like ours? What organization do you work for?"

"I'm not with any organization," Kieran denied. This made the lady's eyebrow knit ever so slightly.

"Huh? How did you access the private channels reserved for the Underworld if you aren't with an organization?" The slight arch in the lady's eyebrow painted a picture of deep intrigue that didn't escape Kieran's view.

Kieran understood that caution was required in this line of work, so Kieran didn't doubt that this doctor would hang up if he said the wrong thing.

"You could say I'm a knowledgeable kid who dabbles in technology and needs your help that I can't find anywhere else."

"Oh? Why would you admit that? Don't you know the cardinal rule of the Underworld and Private Sector? Never exhibit signs of weakness unless you want to be taken advantage of," the lady said.

"I know of the rule, but I also don't really care about it right now. So, do you think you can help me or not?" Kieran said in a harsh tone, leaving little room for more small talk.

"That depends. Explain your situation. Also, do address me as Dr. Riley. I believe I deserve at least this much courtesy since I've taken the time to hear about your plight," Dr. Riley said with a slight giggle.

After exhaling briefly, Kieran explained the nature of his H-COS. He was curious to know if Charles' claims were valid. Was H-COS a prevalent issue with humanity?

Dr. Riley's skeptical expression soon changed to one of glee after listening to Kieran's issue, "I've heard of this case many times but never had the chance to work with it directly! I'll accept your case, but it will cost a pretty penny. I suspect no less than $1 million, and I'm being generous. "

"WHAT?!" Kieran jumped up and shouted.

"It's a decent estimate. You can't be treated normally. So I must prepare. Let's meet in three days. The facility's address will be inside the same channel you used to reach out to me. You don't need any medical records; I'll research them once we meet," Dr. Riley said.

She hung up the phone immediately, leaving Kieran in a short stupor.

Soon enough, Kieran could only swallow his dissent and lay down in bed while holding his VR Helmet. 'As I expected... it will be costly.'