MTL - Little Cardamom - Chapter 9

“The greatest equalizer in life is death. If it becomes possible to cheat death, equality and fairness would be shattered, and all ethics, morals, common sense, and laws would be thrown into disarray.”

In a dystopian world 100 years in the future, where immortality is no longer just the stuff of fantasy, the pursuit of eternal life has become a universal obsession. Everyone is constantly toiling away in a never-ending hamster wheel, dedicating the entirety of their lives to work and earning money for the chance at an eternal afterlife in a vast cyber interface known as the Metaverse.

However, some are not content with merely existing for all of eternity in a cyber reality, and those people turned to the exploitation of blank slates, humans with advanced brain functions that can have alternate personas uploaded into their minds, essentially acting as vessels to extend the lives of others. Adam is a blank slate who wakes up one day with no memories and an unclear past. In his journey to uncover his past, he inadvertently unearths the heinous secrets lurking in the dark underbelly of this dystopian world, sending his life careening on a wild trajectory completely out of his control…

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In the year 2022, gamers rejoice as Sword Art Online-a VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) like no other-opens its virtual doors, allowing players to take full advantage of the ultimate in gaming technology: NerveGear, a system that allows users to completely immerse themselves in the game world by manipulating their brain waves to create a wholly realistic gaming experience.

But when the game goes live, the elation of the players quickly turns to horror as they discover that, for all its amazing features, SAO is missing one of the most basic functions of any MMORPG-a log-out button.

Now trapped in the virtual world of Aincrad, their bodies held captive by NerveGear in the real world, users are issued a chilling ultimatum: conquer all one hundred floors of Aincrad to regain your freedom. But in the warped world of SAO, “game over” means certain death-both virtual and real…

# WIFE-CHASING

Su Wan had loved Jing Chen for ten years, and she was married to him for two years. Jing Chen had always been the husband, no matter when they were alone or in public. He remembered their anniversary and would prepare gifts for her on every special occasion. She was the apple of his eye, and he treated her like a precious treasure.

He liked her body to the point that it could be said that he was obsessed with it. However, only Su Wan knew that Jing Chen was just acting like a perfect husband because he was a man of his words. She would never forget what he told her when they got married, “I can marry you, but I already have someone I love. Our marriage will last for three years. Three years later, you’ll be the one to propose the divorce to Grandpa.”

So, on their second anniversary, when Jing Chen took the divorce papers out and put it in front of her, Su Wan was not surprised. She secretly put her pregnancy test away. “Although it’s not yet three years as promised, Bai Lian is back. I can make it up to you,” said Jing Chen. Su Wan nodded calmly, “Okay.”

“You will be the one that asks Grandpa for a divorce. Tell him that you already have someone you like. Even if Grandpa doesn’t want to agree, he won’t reject you,” Jing Chen said. Su Wan nodded, “Got it, but… is it a must to divorce? What if I say we have a baby?” Jing Chen replied, “Su Wan, there are no ifs in my world. I had always taken contraceptive measures. Even if there’s really an accident, I’ll make sure that it disappears. I won’t leave this risk behind.”

On his wedding day, Su Wan’s baby was born prematurely. Su Wan was involved in a car accident, and the scene was filled with blood. Laying in a pool of gore, Su Wan hugged her stomach tightly, desperate to protect it. Later, there were rumors that said that Jing Chen abandoned his bride that day. He held his ex-wife’s cold body for a whole week, not allowing it to be buried. Jing Chen was driven over the edge. Until one day, Su Wan brushed past him with two adorable babies…

Growing up with eccentric materialist parents who left him in the care of his grandfather for a job overseas, Zhang Heng had learned to adapt and be unfettered by the oddities and challenges in life. But he would soon learn the baffling truth about the world he thought he knew when one day at midnight time froze and he found himself in a world so quiet and still it was deafening. That night, he discovered that he had 24 hours more than everybody else and thus, marked the beginning of his adventures. The mysteries surrounding his newfound ability only deepened when a strange old man claimed to have given Zhang Heng that ‘gift of time’ and recruited the young man to participate in a cryptic ‘life-changing’ game on his behalf. Little did Zhang Heng know that accepting those terms meant embroiling himself in many versions of reality and exposing himself to the hidden secrets of the world—a decision he could never undo.