Live 10 (1/2)

Is that...is that another chapter? No f-

" " - Talking

' ' - Thoughts

[ ] - Skill/Images/Stat Increase

∆ - Typed Chat

(" ") - Mind Speak

★★★★ - Holographic Screen

Please let me know if you see any errors or comments on your thoughts.

So by a landslide... My boy is gonna chef it up! Look out, Gordon Ramsay!

Thank you, guys, for playing!

Do you guys think I should make a discord? Let me know if you are interested.

Damn, 3.3 collections... *Sweat*

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:Main Universe:

Inside a lobby, a man wearing business-casual clothes was busy typing away on his work terminal. After a few moments and a beeping noise, the man smiled and grabbed a pair of keys from one of the many locked drawers next to the terminal.

'Strange dog.' The man thought, glancing at a dog with dark blue fur sitting patiently outside their establishment as pets weren't allowed inside. He had never seen such a dog; however, it was none of his business, and he only needed to do his job, which was selling car rentals.

'But if I also had to comment. The dog's owner is also weird...'

He took a closer look at the overweight man in front of him. At first glance, he seemed normal, but occasionally, the man would frown or even smile as if he was having a conversation in his head.

He was somewhat worried that the man might suddenly start swinging if he wasn't approved for a car rental.

It happened before.

'Fortunately, the card worked, and everything checks out, so...I have nothing to worry about. Gosh, I'm ready for lunch...and I swear to god, if someone takes my lunch again, I will fucking lose my shit.'

"Well, we are all set, Mr.Valentine. I'll walk you to your car." He said, flashing a professional smile

"Thank you." The customer replied, smiling back.

•^•°^°•^•°^°•^°

:Main Universe:

So, it's happening.

Whether it was a good idea or not remains to be seen.

Instead of flying to NYC, Emil decided to get a car rental and drive all the way there. It was a 12-hr drive, but fortunately, his increased stats should make it a breeze, or so he'd assume.

Once he settled everything with the car rental employee, the man walked him to the car he had chosen for the one-way trip.

A black 2021 Volkswagen Jetta.

In his humble opinion, the car was downright ugly, but it was the cheapest option, and he'll only have to drive it for two days.

"Here you go, Mr.Valentine." The employee said, handing over the keys to him. "I wish you safe travels, and thank you for choosing Rent Advantage."

After exchanging pleasantries, the employee walked back to their building in a hurry, leaving Emil alone with Lambert.

"Well, this is it, Lambert," Emil said, petting Lambert's head before opening the back seat door.

Soon after Lambert was in, he then closed the door and made his way to the driver's seat to get in.

"It's been a while, but I think I got this."

For the record, Emil has only ever driven a vehicle for quite some time now. He even sold his car for money when he was strapped for cash a few years back.

("Just so you know, if you die, then I die, so make sure you are watching where you are going.") Mona said, sounding rather smug.

"Oh, Shut up." Emil rolled his eyes as he inserted the key to start the engine.

*Vrroom*

"No one likes a backseat driver."

("Oh really?")

He didn't know why but somehow, those words sounded ominous.

•^•°^°•^•°^°•^°

:Main Universe:

"Hah...!"

Out in the middle of a desert, a blonde-haired woman suddenly awakens from what could only be assumed to be a deep slumber. Almost immediately upon opening her eyes, she gasped for as if she had run a marathon.

"Where....am I?" The woman muttered. Her eyes darted around the unknown scenery, hoping to get a sign of her location.

Unfortunately, there was nothing to go off of, just sand, rocks, and more sand with an occasional cactus.

"Can nothing ever be simple anymore?" Despite her strange circumstances, the woman couldn't help but find the humor, chuckling a bit as she slowly stood up.

"Woah...That was a mistake." the sudden movement caused her to feel slightly nauseous, but fortunately, it only lasted a few moments.

"Now...where do I go from here?" She thought out loud, placing her hands on her hips. She would look around again only to become extremely focused on the north.

It was as if something or someone was trying to pull her in that direction.

"For some reason...something is telling me to go this way? Well...what's there to lose?"

•^•°^°•^•°^°•^°

:Main Universe:

Regret.

Emil seemed to have forgotten how evil Mona could be when she wanted to.

("Rerouting! Make a left turn.")

"For the last time! Will you stop?! I'm sorry!" He shouted as he tried to focus on the road.

The last several minutes were pure torture as Mona chose the most obnoxious voice to pose as a GPS to annoy him. Emil could only assume it was payback for what he said yesterday, and he was starting to regret it now.

("Alright, I'll stop. It seems you have suffered long enough.) Mona chuckled.

"Thanks—"

*Poof*

"Make a right turn here."

As soon as he thought it was over, Mona suddenly appeared in the passenger seat to continue her prank.

Emil gritted his teeth, "For the last time I—"

However, this time, she was right.

"Oh fuck." After the realization hit him, he suddenly jerked the steering wheel over to the right while pressing on the brakes.

"Whimper..." Lambert immediately hunkered down in the corner, seemingly knowing what was going to happen next.

*Scrrrr!*

The sudden action caused the car to swerve, narrowly missing another driver who honked their horn in justified anger.

"Fuck..." Emil cursed, seeing his life flash before his eyes. Thankfully, he could make the turn without causing an accident.

"Ok, now I'm done messing with you," Mona smirked.

"I'm not sure when or how...but one of these days, karma is going to bite your ass." He scowled, focusing on the road once more.

"Oh, I look forward to that day~." She said, flashing a mysterious smile.

Emil simply rolled his eyes and turned on the radio. He needed something to cheer himself up.

🎶"Never gonna give you u—"

The first thing that came on was a familiar voice, but he quickly changed the channel to something else.

🎶"And I swear~ By the moon and the stars—"

Change channel.

🎶" I say to myself~ I'm such a lu-ky~ Guy—"

Change channel.

🎶" I want to know what love is!—"

Radio off.

"Fuck it, no radio," Emil grumbled at his terrible luck. It was determined to make him suffer.

Mona smiled and leaned over, "Are you trying to say something?" She asked, sensuously sliding her hand across his thigh.

"Not to you." He plainly replied, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Ouch!~" She feigned a painful expression on her beautiful face. "Don't tell me you never thought about it~."

Emil squinted his eyes and looked at the woman up and down before responding, "If I did, it was before I knew you were a monster in disguise."

"Bark!" Lambert barked to agree.

"Zip it, you mutt!" Mona shot back.

"Grrr!!"

"Alright, stop it." Emil groaned. He did not want to have a fight inside a rented car.

However, he grew curious about Mona's attitude toward the dog. Despite her behavior, she never came across as someone who carried hate, or perhaps she was just good at hiding her emotions.

But whenever Lambert is involved, he can see her annoyance visible on her face.

And so he asked.

"What do you even have against dogs anyways?"

"I don't have an issue with dogs, just this one." She said, glaring at Lambert, who inturned glared back.

Emil became slacked jawed. "You have something against the greatest gentleman in the world?" He asked, sounding dramatic.

"Bark!" Lambert barked in agreement and leaned his head forward enough for his master to scratch underneath his chin, but not without sending a dog equivalent of a smirk towards the woman as if saying, "I win."

"Who can hate this face?"

"...I'm not even going to answer that." Mona frowned, folding her arms as she sat back in her seat.

It's going to be a long drive to NYC.

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An hour after driving, Emil was coming to a crossroads. He had the choice of just taking the busy highway out of the state or the scenic route that led through a desert area.

He had forgotten that he needed to make a travel vlog, so taking the scenic route would be the better decision.

He could finally use the real function of the camera he won days ago.

★★★★

Levitating GX Camera

Rank: Rare

Info: A state-of-the-art levitating camera that can sync up with any device to stream or take pictures.

★★★★

There were a few things he learned about the camera and fortunately, it came with a manual. The camera has an advanced solar power battery that, at its max, can allow the camera to fly at a maximum of 50 mph, record with the highest quality picture and pick up sounds from even 2mi away.

If the military knew Emil had such a thing, they would probably kill him over it. Because not only can it connect its feed to even the worse of smartphones, but it also possesses a nifty camouflage feature that would even put chameleons to shame.

"So, you're going to go live while you're driving?" Mona asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah..." Emil nodded as his hand started to fidget.

"You think you can do it without freezing up?"

"Absolutely not."