Chapter 166 - Rise And Fall

If Oliver had some misgiving about his new job, they too evaporated when he entered the game center. It was a Hitech room equipped with capsules or sleep pods. Oliver noticed he was not alone. There were other five people -three young and two old. Just one look and Oliver knew they were all gearheads like him.

"Hello guys, meet our last teammate, Mr. Oliver Brown," Euler said. All the five cronies looked away except two.

One was a girl with green eyes, and the other was a skinny young guy. Oliver couldn't see the girl's face as it was covered beneath her black mask.

"Hi! I'm Joe. Lewis, not Biden, " The skinny young man grinned. His shifty eyes warned Oliver that he had to keep an eye on this rat if he didn't want his purse to be stolen.

"Common guys! I know you all like to work alone. But a short introduction won't harm anyone. " Euler said, seeing their snobbish acts.

The three gearheads glared at the CEO. Apparently, just like Oliver, they, too, had been forced into it.

"Mithilesh Shrivastav," growled the other young man as he felt the golden pendant set on his chest. Oliver wondered what was so special about it. The coin-sized locket had some Hindu god figurine embossed on it.

"Your daddy is called Albert Spaggiari," The old man with a scary scar said, giving Oliver a lecherous look. He hated such fuckers. Because of people like him, the world despised the whole thief community.

Oliver glanced at the last brown man with dark sunglasses, sitting silently on a stool.

"Mr. Golder can't speak, " Euler said.

"Do you mean Alan Golder? " Oliver asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Rookie!"Albert sneered.

"Yes! He is the Alan Golder." chuckled Euler. Oliver couldn't help but take another look at the legendary man. Alan Golder was his inspiration, his hero. He had never thought his idol couldn't even speak. There was a time when Alan Golder was a nightmare for bankers. The man alone had shacked fifty banks.

"Barabara Parker, welcome to hell, cutie!" said the masked girl.

"It is not so bad. " Euler chortled.

"Okey guys, let me give you a brief, so you won't freak out" He clapped to get everyone's attention. "The pods you're seeing in this room are called game capsules. Once you lie down inside them, you will feel a slight itching in your whole body. Nothing to worry though.

It is because of the laser. The pod uses laser light to connect the receptors to your virtual body. The itching will subside within a few seconds. Once it does, your consciousness will be pulled into virtual reality. And you will find yourself in the world's first VR game with 100 % immersion.

All right, that's all. The program will tell you all the necessary details anyway. Let's start." Euler clapped again. And six vixens donned in black office dress walked in, smiling.

" What if I want to quit in the middle," asked Albert. "You know we have needs like pissing, shiting."

"Just use the bathroom in the virtual world," Euler's reply dumfounded the thieves.

"Is it a joke? Not funny," said Mithilesh, making a weird face.

"I'm not joking. These pods are designed with advanced technology. They will take care of your bodily needs. So you don't have to worry about it," Euler walked over to a pod. He placed his hands over the glass screen. The little white bed glowed up as it opened up.

"Okay, who wants to be first, " The CEO looked at them excitedly. None of the six thieves moved. They gave one another glances and remained rooted to their spots.

Oliver had no hurry to be the first. Even in his school days, he never sat in the front row. He loved his privacy above all.

Besides, the last bench gave you freedom. Space to be a real human being. In Oliver's opinion, all frontbenchers were deceivers, a deceitful lot, for that was what they had practiced in schools, trying to act like someone else.

"Okey! Let me be the first." When nobody stepped out, Mithilesh walked over to the pod.

"Please remove your clothes. " said one of the attendants.

Mithilesh looked a little uncomfortable, but he did pull out his slacks. Soon he was in his birthday suit.

"So small! I bet he wouldn't have any girlfriend," whispered Joe. Nobody paid him any attention.

Girls helped the shy Indian into the pod. When Mithilesh lay down comfortably, the glass lid of the capsule closed.

Oliver saw with fascination as lightning sparks as thin as Barabara's velvety hair began to dance over his naked body.

After a few moments, everything fades away, leaving behind sleeping Mithilesh calmly.

"See, nothing to worry about. We have already tested it on a dozen or so people," Euler said.

The thieves examined the sleeping man carefully, and they also agreed to sleep in the pods.

Oliver found the interior of the pods extremely cozy. He let out a moan with pleasure.

His stay in prison was nothing but hellish torture for him. The bed they had given him was hard as a rock. Not to mention his cellmate's snoring. Oliver found it hard to accept that someone could sleep while snoring so loudly.

"Are you comfortable in there, sir?" asked the girl sweetly. Oliver nodded.

"Okey! we are closing the pod then," she replied.

The lid shut down soundlessly.

Oliver closed his eyes as the attendant had instructed him. Suddenly, he felt tiny fingers caressing his every pore. Then came the promised itching, but it was more like tingling. Oliver felt drowsy, and before he could think or feel something. His mind went blank. Everything faded away.

*****

"Wake up! We are about to reach Vodia," Oliver woke up to a gentle voice. His head was throbbing. Bewildered, he opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar face of a teen girl looming over him. He blinked, trying to recall where he was.

"Get up! and wash your face. If you don't want to give them one more reason to bully you," The girl with brown hair said as she stepped aside. She had put on a blue color shool uniform.

Oliver got up and realized his whole body was aching as if some had given him a sound thrashing. What the hell was going on! He looked around. He was in a cell--no, it was a lavatory.

Ding!

Suddenly, Oliver heard a mechanical noise in his mind. And a screen flashed before his dazed eyes, with 'Grand Theft Online' written in blazing letters.

"Welcome player five!" a female voice echoed in his mind. "You have been teleported into Ealorus, a world of scientists and seekers. Please brace yourself! The sys45tem is uploading all the relevant information into your memory,"

A green bar appeared on the screen, showing the status of how much information had been already uploaded.

Oliver felt as if his brain was growing. It was a weird feeling. Suddenly, he found new memories in his brain.

According to these memories, Oliver was living the life of a student named Neil deGrasse Tyson. He was currently traveling on a train going to Vodia Academy of Sciences and Arts, along with hundreds of other students. The girl before him was a prefect of Sphynx, his schoolhouse. Her name was Ruby Violet Payne-Scott. They were not friends or anything.

As for why he was sleeping in a toilet...

"Are you okay, Neil?" The girl asked worriedly, taking a glance at her Hitech wristwatch.

Oliver nodded as he stood up, fixing his disheveled uniform. "Yes, I think I will survive." He grinned, trying to hide his grimace. His jaw ached up.

Oliver felt his burning lip. Wasn't it too realistic? He wondered.

"I will report this to Mrs. Marguerite. They can't escape this time," She clenched her fist.

"There is no need. I will take care of them by myself. " Oliver said as they dabbed the cut with tissue paper.

"Are you sure?" Ruby frowned. Apparently, she didn't think he could deal with his bullies. After all, it was not the first time when Andrew and his lackeys had thrashed him. It was an old feud that started on their naming day one year ago.

"Yes! you don't have to worry. Thanks for your help, by the way. " Oliver said as he walked over to the tap, indicating he wanted to be alone.

"As you wish! Anyway, get ready; we are reaching Vodia within ten minutes," with it, the girl left, swishing her skirts. The bathroom door closed behind her own its own.

Oliver stared at an unfamiliar face in the mirror. The teen boy stared back at him. The boy's eyes were dark blue, unlike Oliver's brown eyes. His thin lips were curled up in a light smile.

Ding!

Suddenly, Oliver heard the mechanical voice again. The green bar was replaced with a status screen-the one you see in VR games. It had lots of weird statuses.

"All the details about the character have been uploaded! " the female voice chimed again, "Please check your status carefully.. As for your mission, you can see it under the guild section. We wish you