Chapter 7

Vincent slowly told his mother of how he saw an ad while watching reels on social media and decided to make a bet. He saw a lot of tutorial videos about how the first players are usually the ones to benefit from the currency exchange so when the CHAOS game came out, he immediately bought it with her credit card.

Candace was shocked when she learned of how her son gained the money he sent to her but she didn't scold him. It was a game but more importantly that person he stole from didn't lose, they got $10m. She knew her thinking was twisted but Candace was never a person to be constrained by societal morality.

"You should have sent the amount you took" she shook her head slowly feeling regret.

She had a debt of $200,000 on the card so after Vincent did the exchange, it was debited leaving them with $133,000 for expenses. Whereas Vincent had only taken $10,000 from her.

She was still very happy because the money she had would be more than enough for Petra's medicines and to sustain them for a long time.

"I got an email from your school. You can opt to change your education plan if you decide to study in the game. Petra will attend the university in Life Online since we have the money to afford it now, this way we can monitor her health" Candace sighed when she thought about her daughter.

She looked at Vincent with so much satisfaction and pride in her eyes that he had a proud smile on his lips. He had drastically changed the family situation in the blink of an eye.

"And you don't have to work again, as long as I find a way to make money in the game" this was Vincent's greatest concern. His mother used to be a powerful woman in business according to his elder sister. But their father's death and Petra's sickness changed everything and now her hair was gray.

"I still have to work, Vincent," Candace smiled gently at her son.

Vincent opened his lips to argue but knowing his mother, he gave up.

"Then what if you join us in the game?" He asked.

For many years the CHAOS company has been building the game, it had been so long that those who started it had all died to old age and the youths were no longer excited about playing it. Candace was still a child when the hype started to die down and now it was gone completely. But she heard that the government was going to forcefully conscript people to the game to manage the population problem. It was better to take the initiative and join the game before the government started forcing people and the player population in the game was too high for her to make a meaningful difference. She was almost in her mid-years but her ambition still burned brightly.

"What do you plan to do in that game?" She suddenly asked Vincent.

"I plan to join the army so I learn more about the game world, then I can explore and just enjoy it" Vincent replied honestly.

Candace nodded at her son's generic reply. It was typical of a young boy his age but she wasn't planning on stopping him.

"Then I'll join the game and help you manage the company so you don't lose everything when you throw your life away" she replied in a slightly rebuking tone.

Vincent's eyes widened as he realized.

"Go clean the living room and pick up your bag or we'll both get an earful from Petra when she returns" Candace turned around and left to continue in the kitchen.

Vincent hurried to carry out his chores since he was impatient to get back to the game. However when he finished cleaning, it was already time to set the table for dinner. Petra would be home soon.

Assisting his mother, he carried the dishes from the kitchen to the dining room. Just as he set the last one on the table, there was a sound from the door and Petra walked in.

Petra looked like a you get version of Candace but her short hair gave her a certain wildness. Vincent had a theory about his older sister that she was training to become a thief or an assassin. Jobs like that had become mainstream when the human population rose, it was still a secret and a crime but there were more people involved in such things.

She had a buzzcut that fit perfectly with her slightly squared face, with sharp jaws and eyes, Petra gave off a stunning charm. In the eyes of her family though, she was just a slightly flexible robot. The thing about Petra was that despite having this moody teenage vibe to her, she dressed freely. Currently wearing a loose blouse on black jeans and combat boots, she looked a little flighty and at the same time a little dangerous.

"Wash your hands and let's eat" Candace smiled at her daughter and urged. They could only afford to eat once a day and she was very hungry.

When Petra joined them at the table, Candace couldn't help but stare proudly at her for a while. If it was for her coronary heart disease, she would be just perfect.

"Why are you staring?" Petra asked her mother, feeling uncomfortable by the incessant stare.

"Have you heard about Life Online?" Candace asked and finally started eating.

Petra's eyes widened and then dimmed again as she nodded.

"This brat stole my money to get the game"

For a moment Petra froze. She knew what they had been saving the money for. If she couldn't get her pills, she would die. The hospital was too crowded and too busy to care about her life or death. Hearing that Vincent used the money on a game, she felt incredibly hurt as she looked at him. But when she thought about the sacrifices her family had made for her and the expenses her medical treatments incurred. She found herself unable to blame him or say anything.

Candace, not knowing the emotional turmoil she put her daughter in continued, "Can you believe someone left ninety million on their bed?" She quickly related everything Vincent told her and how he transferred a million out of the game.

"F*ck, Mom! You shouldn't have left him, it's 1:3 now but when the government starts sending people in, the value will rise in the real world and it will rise even more in six days when the exchange for ingame currency opens!" Petra exclaimed. For a moment she forgot that she still needed the money to survive and she cussed at her Mom.

"Language" Candace's voice deepened as he stretched her words.

"Sorry" Petra immediately lowered her head but her expression still showed her fury.

Seeing her daughter's mood, Candace got agitated too and she replied, "What are we going to do about your medicine then? If you want to die you have to ask me for permission first!" She put down her spoon and napkin before storming out of the dining room.

Vincent decided it was time to speak up, "Actually, it wasn't her fault, I-"

"You shut up" Petra shot at him and he immediately closed his lips and continued eating.

Soon after he finished, he hurried to his room to continue playing, he felt a sense of urgency when Petra mentioned the exchange for ingame currency with real world money. Vincent was not so naive to believe that the big shots of the real world did not have more than $100m to exchange.

Returning to his simple room, Vincent hurriedly opened the door and was pleased to see Drunk there with Jim and Gavin.

"You should have waited downstairs instead, I'm sorry for taking so long" He apologized.

"That's okay Sir," Jim replied, giving him a small smile.

"Come in, I'll just check for house listings and then we'll go to the barracks" Vincent walked back into the room with the door left open. He sat in front of the computer and opened the browser to look up some houses. Fortunately, his guess was spot on, there were indeed house listings on the web.

After ten minutes of searching, he settled for a simple family house almost identical to the one they had in the real world. On the lower floor, It had a living room and adjoining dining room, a medium sized kitchen, one guest room and one storage room. The top floor had three bedrooms making it one bedroom and one guest room bigger than his house in reality.

He was just about to copy down the address in a note he found in the drawer when he received a call from an unknown number.

He answered, raising the phone to his ears.

"You are not hard to find" he heard a very familiar voice and his heart immediately warmed up.