Put on a Spot

Blake stands stiffly on the stairs and smiled at the two police officers.

Despite the urge of wanting to run back upstairs swelling inside of him, he could afford to do that. The police officers would definitely be suspicious and chase after him, becoming a suspect for stealing the Limited PK VR Helmet.

'I didn't steal it though, it came into my room' Blake thought, defending himself.

Still, even if he could give the Limited PK VR Helmet back, it should be impossible right now.

Just like what Salana said, he was now bound with the Limited PK VR Helmet. He had become a Privileged Player. But these police officers wouldn't give a shit about that, it's not their job, their job is to bring him in for stealing.

"Ah, yes... I lived there" Blake replied, trying to remain calm.

Upon hearing this, the two police officers' eyes lit up and both of them smiled politely.

"Great, then would mind cooperating? We are inspecting the area around the block for a stolen item. I reckon you remember the car crash a couple of days ago, it happened that day. But don't worry, we only have a couple of questions. Can well talk inside?

Blake nodded his head stiffly and descends down the stairs, "R-Right..."

It's going to be okay if he could answer the questions outside, but the police officers wanted to talk inside. Since the door is aligned perfectly straight toward his PC setup, the police officers would instantly see the VR Helmet upon opening the door.

'What the fuck am I going to do now?'

Despite looking calm, he was freaking out, trying to move slowly and think of something.

Seeing that the situation is not good, Salana quickly heads over and whispered to him, "Stall for time, I'm going to try and hide the VR Helmet. I'm low on energy because of your stupid demands, but I should still be able to hide it"

After saying that, she simply passes through the wall like a ghost.

Finding a sliver of hope, his movement becomes natural again as he turns towards the cops.

"I'm willing to cooperate, but do you also need to check my room?"

"Generally, yes, but it's only a mild inspection"

Nodding his head firmly, Blake then continues, "If that's the case, do you have a warrant to search my residence? I'm not trying to be difficult but I know I'm not a thief. I'm quite sure that I'm not one of your suspects, am I right?"

"Err..." the police officer glanced over his partner briefly, finding it hard to answer.

Both of them are genuine police officers, but one thing is clear.

The fact that these two gave Victor an information card to contact them that doesn't seem to be from the police department shows that this is not an official search. If Blake has to guess, he suspects that this involves the person that was supposed to get Salana, Maya.

Only powerful people can get their hands on Limited VR Helmets, so this all makes sense.

Maya definitely wants to find the Limited PK VR Helmet.

Since she should be one of the most powerful people in the world, there's no doubt that using the police is a child's play for her. But as thought of that, he started to doubt that it was actually Maya.

If it's her, then she should be able to manipulate the police department completely.

A warrant should be an easy thing for her to get, and Blake started to suspect that these two police officers were not sent here by Maya, 'Must be another person wanting to get their hands on the Limited PK VR Helmet...'

Now, Blake started to grasp that his situation is going to be very dangerous.

"We don't have a warrant, but this involves the safety of the area. If you can cooperate, then you'll be helping the community be safer, and free from thieves" the police officer spoke with a calm tone, trying to reason with Blake.

Blake crosses his arms in response, he was not impressed by the answer.

Just as he was about to continue arguing, he finds Salana poking her head out of the wall and giving him a thumbs-up, signaling that she already hid the Limited PK VR Helmet and it was okay to let the police officers in.

"I'm a dedicated citizen of the community, so I'll cooperate" Blake shrugs his shoulders.

Upon hearing this, the two police officers thanked him before entering the room.

Similarly, the two police officers asked Blake about the same thing they asked Victor earlier. It's the same procedure, he was asked a bunch of questions and given to see the Limited PK VR Helmet that was supposedly missing.

On the other hand, the other police officer walks around the room respectfully.

While Blake is looking at the photo of the Limited PK VR Helmet, the other police officer pointed at a door, "Is this the bedroom? May I come in to check?" he asked, trying to be as polite as possible.

Blake nodded his head before the police officer enters the bedroom.

"How did that happen? Aren't you going to fix that?" he suddenly asked again.

Glancing to the side, Blake widened his eyes slightly at the sight of his broken window.

'Fuck, I forgot about that!' Blake screamed inside his head.

It was how the Limited PK VR Helmet has fallen into his lap in the first place, and since he wasn't fully living in the real world, he didn't have the time to fix the broken window, he didn't think he really needs to.

Now he was put in a spot, the broken window is quite hard to explain.

"Oh, I- I slipped when I changed my clothes after showering and hit my elbow on it," Blake said as an excuse, but it seems his answer wasn't satisfying seeing that the two police officers didn't react.

Just then, his eyes catch sight of a plastic bag he got from visiting the hospital yesterday.

"See there, I went to the hos-"

Amidst his sentence, he suddenly stopped as he realized that if he said that he went to the hospital to treat the wound on his elbow, then the police officers would be suspicious as his elbow doesn't seem to be hurt.

If he said that, then he would be putting himself in trouble further.

One wrong move and he might be pulled into the police station to be interrogated further, and that would be a bad move for him, "Mr. Blake...? What are you pointing at?" the police officers sitting across him asked.

"Ah, can you get that plastic bag? I need to drink my medicine" Blake replied with a smile.

Even though it was a bit odd, Blake's expression that is, the police officer takes the plastic bag and gave it to him without any question. "If you see anything, please contact us through this. It will be very helpful for us"

"Yes, of course. I will contact you if I gain anything" Blake replied with a smile.

Since the interrogation seems to be nearing the end, he could feel the relief mounting inside of him. But then, the police officer suddenly asked, "Mr. Blake, do you perhaps play the Lunaris game? You know, the VR game that is quite trending these days"

"Lunaris game? I only play PC games. So, no, I don't play that game" Blake answered.

Finding that he answered naturally without any oddness, the police officer then looks at his partner standing on the side before both of them nodded their heads. With that, the two of them excuse themselves and leave.

Blake closes the door lightly before he could finally breathe easily again.

It was choking for each second those police officers were inside his room, he was stressed.

He even deliberately doesn't ask Salana where she hid the Limited VR Helmet so that he wouldn't unconsciously keep glancing at it. Now that the police officers were gone, he turn to face Salana.

"Where did you hide the Limited VR Helmet at?" Blake asked.

Upon hearing this, Salana went over to the bedroom and takes the box out from underneath the bed which makes Blake's eyes bulge, 'I'm so stupid, why would I trust her to hide it well? Of course, it's under the goddamn bed'

"Are you an idiot?! That's the most obvious place to hide it!" Blake screamed in disbelief.

But of course, Salana being herself rebutted back, "What are you saying! Of course, it's not! Even those two didn't check under the bed, so it's obviously a perfect place to hide it since it turns out well"

'Eugh, this brainless woman!' Blake cursed inside his head.

Although he was furious as that's the worst hiding spot ever, he couldn't really blame Salana as she didn't come from this world. On top of that, she has a point, things turn out well so there's no need to fuss about it.

Moving on from that incident, Blake logged into the game.

Despite deciding to test the new exchange system, he didn't have the hype from earlier because of the incident with the police officers. Because of that, he decided to play and take his mind off of it.

Opening his eyes inside the game world, he finds himself inside a cozy bedroom.

Blake is inside the inn where he would be staying to wait for Tara and Linthia. Getting up from the bed, he smelled his body and finds that it stinks. So he decided to take a shower first before going out.

Since the game is a mix-match of everything, the inn has a shower inside.

It's made of magic though not like the real world.

Nevertheless, Blake appreciates it as this is convenient for players like himself. After showering, he takes his gears and leaves the room, and went straight down to the lobby of the inn.

'Let's get more Gold, I'll join a guild and stay for a day or two before making my way to Angel'

Knowing that players could now trade Gold for real money, he wanted to amass more gold. One of the best ways to do that is by becoming an adventurer, so he intends to meet with Issaiah and join his guild if possible.

But when he reached the lobby, his eyes caught sight of familiar faces walking in.

Linthia and Tara walked into the lobby with steady steps, both of them already changed their clothes and instead of only Tara wearing a black robe, Linthia also wears it. Probably trying to hide her identity.

While walking in the lobby, they kept their faces down and didn't make any eye contact.

It was then, Linthia saw Blake in front of them, "Blake!"

"Oh, you guys are here. Are you done with your matters?" Blake asked back with a smile.

Contrary to what he was expecting, the two's expressions instantly become troubled when he said that, "Not entirely, we find out that the assassins are heading towards us. But don't worry, we've got your payment!" Linthia replied.

Upon looking at the pouch of gold, Blake's mouth becomes watery.

Even Linthia and Tara giggled seeing that Blake's eyes turn green, drooling over the Gold.

Just as he was about to receive the payment, Salana suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his shoulder. It seems she was troubled about something, judging from her expression alone.

"Blake, someone is knocking on your door!" Salana exclaimed.

Frowning for a second, Blake glanced at her in confusion before he realized that she was talking about the real world. In an instant, Salana went back to the real world again to keep an eye on the visitor.

Smiling stiffly, Blake then said, "Can you two follow me to my room for a moment?"

Albeit confused, the two nodded their heads.

Reaching the inn room once again, Linthia and Tara were forced to sit on the chairs before Blake went on the bed, "I don't feel so good, and both of you are the only ones I can trust. Can you look after me for a moment...?"

"Hmm...? It's too sudden" Tara complained.

But Blake quickly added, "If you do, then you don't need to give me the payment"

Not even wasting a single second, Blake closed his eyes and logged out before Tara or even Linthia could answer, 'Man, whose is it this time? Is it the police officers again...? If it is then that's not good'