Chapter 7: Mission to kill

"Brother? Are you still sleeping? The game hasn't even been released yet, and you already think that you have their glasses?" Alice couldn't help but laugh as she replied.

Her words were enough to make his head go round.

"What do you mean they haven't released yet? The game was released three years ago!" He insisted, but he was suddenly struck with the realization.

How was Alice here? Alice had left for China 2 years ago. She looked somewhat younger, as well.

'Did Janus give me my body back by reversing the time?' The thought finally struck his mind.

He hurriedly ran towards the hall and turned on the TV.

"There is heavy excitement in the general public all around the world. We are going to witness the biggest evolution in the gaming industry. The first fully immersive virtual reality massively multiplayer online game, Divinity is all ready to be released to the general public tomorrow. We have the spokesperson, Mister Li, from the Necrosis Corporation in the studio with us."

"Mister Li, What do you think Divinity means for the gaming industry?"

A female host was sitting in front of a well-dressed man who looked to be in his early 30s. She has some cue cards in her hand, which probably had the questions that she was allowed to ask.

"Divinity is not just a game. It's the future. All I can say for now is that Divinity will change the future for all of Mankind. The launch of Divinity will be the day when humanity enters a new era," Mister Li smiled as he replied.

"How many units of the ga… I mean, Divinity will be available for sale tomorrow?" The interviewer asked as she switched to the second cue card.

"Good question. We are initially going to release ten million units. After the initial release tomorrow, an additional ten million units will be sold each week. The date of the future sales would be announced soon," Mister Li again answered casually.

"What do you think will attract users to join Divinity? Are you counting on the title of being the first to bring the fully immersive VRMMO to the public? Or are there other things that the people should know about?" The interviewer asked another question.

"Of Course there are many more things. Firstly, we have the government's support from all over the world, so there are some special things planned for the future which will help our users in the real world."

"Secondly, money! Virtual money can be cashed out in the real world; similarly, real-world money can be used in the realm of Divinity, but there are limitations to using real-world money in the game. We want to make it fair for those who aren't rich."

"And thirdly, it will develop the skills of the players. Our virtual reality is as real as the reality itself; People can develop various skills that will help them in the real world."

"For example, if they learned the martial arts in Divinity, their brain would adapt to that slowly, and they would get an advantage in the real world as well. They won't become peak martial artists, but they would be better than most normal humans."

"There are many more advantages, but I am already out of time for today, and I have to attend a meeting. I'll just give one suggestion to the viewers before leaving. Buy Divinity, and I promise you that you won't regret" Mister Li stopped talking as he stood up.

"Well.Thank you for talking to us. We know you're quite a busy man, Mister Li. We wish you all the success for Divinity." 

The anchor stood up and shook hands with Mister Li before he left.

" That's all the time we had with Mister Li. It's time for a short break, and we'll be right back to give you more information about the world-changing event tomorrow. Stay tuned," The anchor said before the ads started.

Ryder was surprised as he saw the news. He just sat there with a blank look on his face for a few minutes.

It sounded impossible in reality, but he had just traveled three years in the past. To the time where it all began.

"Brother, are you alright?"

Alice came to him with a concerned look on her face. She couldn't understand why Ryder was acting this way.

"Yea, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." 

He smiled and stood up. He stepped forward and hugged Alice firmly.

"It's good to be back finally. I thought that I would never get to see you again," Ryder said in a relieved tone while embracing her.

"Brother. You are acting weird," Alice said.

She looked quite confused, but Ryder didn't explain and just embraced her silently.

After hugging her for what seemed like an eternity, He freed her as he noticed that his eyes were beginning to get wet.

"I'll be in my room," He told her before leaving the hall.

He walked back to his room and shut the door tightly. He didn't want Alice to see him crying.

"Janus! Are you still here?" Ryder fell on his bed and called out.

He waited for the response for a long time, but there was no response.

"Looks like he's not here. Was he just a dream?" Ryder muttered.

"Was this all just a dream? Is time travel really possible? But Mister Li's interview... It was the same as it was years ago. Is this just Deja Vu? I hope that I'm not going crazy" Ryder closed his eyes and fell in deep thought.

<Ding... Another mission has been issued to the host>

<Mission: Kill a human in the real world>

<Reward: 30 Origin Points>

<Punishment for failure: Alice is killed by a criminal>

<Time 2 limit for the mission: days>

The young voice again sounded in his head, but it said something he never expected.