SLO

It did not take long before Xiao Yun finished unpacking his luggage since the only things he had were clothes.

Feeling nostalgic, he looked around his room that he had spent his entire childhood in.

There was one bed by the window, he was living on the second floor. Right next to his bed was his old computer that could barely run any good games at that time. And on the other side of the wall, there was a closet still with his old clothes that are way too small for him now.

It was a simple and clean room, expect there are a few toys scattered around on the floor.

He glanced at it before chuckling to himself. The youngest sister must have been playing in his room.

After he finished organizing the room, he walked back to the kitchen to let his mother know that he was heading out.

"Mother, I will be heading out now."

"Okay. Be careful, the neighborhood has been getting dangerous as of lately."

"I will," he said before walking out of the house.

He walked towards the marketplace, it was a long street filled with people shouting advertisements for their shop.

"One dolla, one dolla, come get your fresh fish!"

"These carrots were picked just last night, get them while they are fresh!"

Xiao Yun immersed himself in the active and busy environment, something he has not done for a very long time.

After walking for about an hour or so, the familiarity finally kicked in, making him feel more comfortable.

Getting a bit thirsty from walking so long, he decided to get some refreshments inside a convenience store.

While he was in the drinks aisle choosing what to get, he noticed a young girl in a school uniform sneakily slipping a few snacks into her pockets.

She was pickpocketing.

Shaking his head, he walked over to where the girl was and spoke to her, "Really? You are going to steal something as useless as snacks? Might as well grab the expensive things."

The young girl was startled by his sudden interaction with her and took a few steps back.

Xiao Yun looked at the girl whose face was surprisingly beautiful and did not look like someone who would pickpocket snacks in a convenient store.

The girl glared at him with alert.

"Are you going to snitch, you bastard?" she hissed at him in a low voice.

"Heh, your face must regret being born alongside that dirty mouth of yours," he replied.

"Go ahead and snitch, watch me scream rape," she threatened him.

Xiao Yun continued to look at her with a calm face despite being threatened.

"What a shame," he said while putting his hand into his pockets.

The girl silently watched him pull out a piece of green paper. It was 20 bucks.

Xiao Yun closed in on their distance, and before the girl could react, he stuffed the 20 bucks in his hand into her pockets and walked away with his drink, ignoring the shocked and confused expression on the girl's face.

Xiao Yun walked up to the counter and paid for his drink before quickly leaving.

'Truly a shame…' he thought to himself while recalling the school girl's face in his head.

After leaving the convenience store, he continued to travel the neighborhood like a gust of wind, heading to wherever the wind brought him.

Another hour had passed, and Xiao Yun currently stood in front of a building with the words 'Rachael High School' hanging near the front gate.

This was where he went to high school.

Memories began overwhelming him like chaotic waves. He really missed the days back in high school where he was naive and a troublemaker. Not only would he skip school just to go home and play games, he even ignored every single piece of homework that was assigned to him.

The images of his high school friends appeared in his head.

"I wonder what they are doing now?" he wondered for a minute.

They are probably still playing games--- was his conclusion.

He looked at the high school in front of him for another minute before heading back home.

On his way back, he could see the advertisement for this game called 'Second Life Online' playing in the television of every store he passed by.

From what he heard through the advertisements, this game only came out a few months ago, yet it has a player base of over 500 million, and it is still growing at a frightening rate.

He searched the internet on his phone while he walked.

[Second Life Online]

Clicking on the link that showed up on the top, he began reading the reviews. This was what he used to do every time he sees a game he found interesting.

[MountainKing: 5/5, this VRMMO is not only the beginning of a new era, it is also the end! When I first entered the game, I was shocked by the realistic scenery, almost mistaking it as the real world!]

[ShowOff: Holy shit, this is the world's first VRMMO? The first person I spoke with inside the game was actually an NPC that I had mistaken for a real person! This shit is too advanced for our current generation!]

[asddsa123: How did the developers create such a masterpiece with our current technology? This is something I would expect to come out only a hundred years from now, maybe more!]

[1234567: To experience this… I am glad to be alive during such times.]

[MoonWalker: Hahaha, I got bit by a rabbit and I could actually feel the pain of it! How realistic!"

[asddsa123: Although I haven't experienced it yet, has anybody here experienced what it felt like to get slashed in half?]

[MountainKing: I have been sliced in half during a battle with a Minotaur, and let me tell you, that shit hurt like hell! I thought I was really about to die! The pain was so real that I had to exit out of the game to check and see if my real body was alright!]

[asddsa123: No fucking way, that horrible? No wonder why this game is rated mature only.]

[ShowOff: Heh, as if kids won't ask their parents to buy it for them. I actually know a few kids that play the game, but I heard they don't feel as much pain when compared to adults. I wonder if it was designed like that because the developers knew that they would not be able to prevent kids from playing it.]

[1234567: You are probably apart of those kids, hahaha!]

[ShowOff: Fuck you.]

Xiao Yun closed the browser on his phone and frowned.

A virtual reality game so real that they could feel pain? A game with NPC that act like real humans? A world so realistic it was almost like the real world? Technology has advanced so much in just four years? How is that possible when just four years ago, the best technology they had for virtual reality games was literally nothing but minigames.

His interest in this VRMMO called 'Second Life Online' began to grow as he walked passed a few more advertisements about the game.