MMORPG: Rebirth of the Mortal Online - Chapter 98

Chapter 98: Epicenter of Criminal Activity
Pitter-patter.

Dark clouds gathered over calm Navy Town, and then the rain began to fall in a soft drizzle.

The rain tapped against a window of a freshly painted house, and the sound was soothing to the ears of the young man inside.

Inside the house, in the living room with a television playing in the background, Adam sipped a freshly brewed coffee with his phone in hand.

He was fiddling with his phone, scrolling through social media for the news of the past week.

Some of the news he remembered, but some felt completely new, as if he had missed out on a lot.

At that moment, an ad popped out right in the middle of the phone screen—it was an ad for an upcoming movie, starring a beautiful actress with bright blue eyes and long, flowing hair.

‘Oh, I remember her faintly.’ Adam thought to himself.

‘A mercenary that became famous and started starring in big blockbuster movies. If I remember correctly, she is only going to be famous for a couple of years, then she will get pregnant and quit the industry to spend time with her family.’

The front door slowly opened, and John came in with bags of groceries.

“Oh, Adam,” he said, then moved to the refrigerator and started filling it up.

“John.” Adam nodded and closed the phone before pocketing it. “Need help?”

“No need; I am fine.” John quickly emptied the bags, then put the plastic bags inside kitchen cabinets for later use.

They usually used the plastic bags as garbage bags, as it was an effective way of recycling them.

After doing that, John also took a cup of coffee, then sat down on the table and began reading the newspaper.

Adam finished up the coffee and went to the sink to wash the cup. Then he placed it on the drying rack to dry.

‘What should I do…’ Adam thought to himself. ‘Maybe I should go for a run…’

“If you’re planning to go out, be careful.” John said and turned pages in the newspaper. “Apparently there’s been some shady individuals lurking around in our neighborhood.”

“Is that so…”

Adam said with a frown.

‘A coincidence or some people from the underworld? I don’t think they’ll do anything except gather information about me and then sell that information to Otherworld Killers if one decides to come after me.

‘Currently, no one has any reason to go after me, but I suppose I’ll have to prepare.’

“John, are you interested in going on a vacation?” Adam asked.

“A vacation?” John raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “I don’t really have that kind of money, and I am sure Serah is busy with her store…”

“I can fund the trip for three of you, as thanks for allowing me to keep playing Mortal Online.”

“Eh?” John looked surprised. “Are you sure? This is a generous offer.”

“Mm, talk to Serah—a week in New Paradise does wonders, or so I’ve heard.” Adam said with a smile and then headed upstairs.

John, left alone in the living room, contemplated the offer deeply.

He had always wanted to visit New Paradise and its crystal-clear waters and beaches.

It was a beautiful place with a rich culture and vibrant nightlife, but it was also quite expensive.

Many of his co-workers had visited New Paradise for a couple days and to this day, they’re still talking about their unforgettable experiences and adventures there.

“A week there…” John contemplated. “It’s going to be expensive, but he wouldn’t suggest it if he wasn’t aware of its cost. Also, he managed to pay the rent, as well, so I guess he has good finances…

“If I had known that game would make so much money, I would’ve also tried it as younger, but alas, I am old now… New Paradise, it sounds nice…”

On the upstairs, Adam went back to his room and sat down on the desk with his computer in front of him. Without further ado, he ventured deep into the dark web and into Mortal Online’s forums.

He didn’t offer the free trip out of goodness of his heart—there was something he had to do, and they couldn’t be around here for it.

“I’ll need to visit Red Thread…”

Adam checked out the posts about the Red Thread and how things are there currently.

Occasionally, there were gang wars there that made things dangerous for the residents and visitors.

He didn’t really want to visit the Red Thread if that was the case.

However, as it seemed, it was currently quite peaceful there.

‘Hmm, it will cost a lot for them to do that to his house. However, it will be worth it. It will keep me and them safe if someone bearing ill will decides to cause trouble.’

He then left the dark web and went to the New Paradise’s website—he immediately bought three tickets, each of them lasting a week.

‘Serah hasn’t agreed yet, but I know she will. After all, I know just how much she has been dreaming of visiting that place.

‘Her friends have been bragging about how amazing it is and how they had the best time of their lives there. She also wants to experience it.

‘I remember her long rants about it, so I’m sure she will accept this offer with a smile on her face.’

…

The following morning.

“Don’t you make a mess out of this place!” Serah shouted from the front door with a red suitcase in hand.

“Yeah, yeah,” Adam said while bidding them farewell.

“Thanks for this; we’ll be back in a week.” John said and patted him on the shoulder.

He was quite surprised about his wife’s reaction to the trip—when he spoke to her about it, she seemed thrilled. However, as usual, she acts sternly toward Adam.

Still, he knew that she was quite pleased that he had offered such a trip to them.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Alice asked with a hopeful smile. “Please come. It will be nice.”

“I have something to do, sadly.” Adam said with a soft smile. “You go and have some fun.”

“Mm…” Alice mumbled, feeling disappointed that Adam wouldn’t be joining them. “Alright, see you in a week~”

They then entered their cars and drove off towards the airport, where they would catch their flight to their vacation destination.

As soon as their car was out of sight, Adam closed the front door and checked his phone.

He had received an email notification about another one of his purchases.

He had also purchased plane tickets to another destination—Ivycrest, where the Red Thread was located.

“Red Thread…” Adam pocketed his phone and went back to his room, where he took a hidden backpack from under his bed.

It had all the necessary items for his trip to Ivycrest.

He opened the backpack; there were some food, water, and sharp knives with red handles.

Adam took out one of the knives from the backpack and twirled it around his fingers before carefully placing it back inside.

He was hoping he didn’t need to use them, but Red Thread was the epicenter of criminal activity, and he knew he had to be prepared for anything.

Adam slung the backpack over his shoulder and saw his virtual reality pod in the corner of the room.

He gently touched it and whispered. “I’ll be back soon…”

With that, he closed the lights off and left the room.