Chapter 4：Desperate Search

"You're late." A middle aged man yelled as Yuki walked through the door of a small restaurant.

"I am not supposed to start until six. It's only a quarter to now..." Yuki pointed at the clock, which read 5:45 pm.

"You are on the schedule for five o'clock. Kim said you took part of her shift." The middle aged man said sternly.

"Huh? I never said that. There is no way I could ever make it here by five. I got out of my classes at 4:30. I only have enough time after class to get a quick bite to eat, then come here." Yuki really had classes until late in the afternoon, which was why she never asked for hours before six.

"Are you saying my daughter is lying?" The middle aged man glared at Yuki before snorting. "Humph! It doesn't matter. Becky came to fill your shift so you can go home. Here is the pay for the work you did this week. You do not need to come back."

Yuki was left speechless. If she lost this job, she was going to have serious money issues. She was now regretting eating that ramen just now. Yuki bit her lower lip as she snatched the envelope, turned, and left the shop without another word. She knew it was useless to even try to argue. She knew the boss's daughter had used her as an excuse. She was just a part timer, someone who was easily replaceable.

After Yuki left the store, the tears she was holding back slowly rolled down her cheeks. Feeling depressed, she walked around the streets for a while, only stopping when she reached a storefront that had some TVs lined up in the window, on display. "On today's news. The new vrmmo using the latest full dive technology has become one of the hottest topics within the kingdom. Soul Fusion Online is not only a game to relax and play to have fun but also a good business opportunity. It is said that many players are making a good amount of money playing the game. Darrel, what do you think about this?"

"All I know is that unless I see some kind of esport scenario, I will not put my money into any company. But I do see the game is quite popular. But then again, I'm pretty old fashioned."

"I am also not going to dive in just yet myself, but there have been many who have stated they have made decent money. Whether this is a publicity stunt has yet to be seen. Now on to other news…."

Yuki lost interest when they began talking about some hijacking. But the idea of making money in a game did sound somewhat appealing. The only issue for her was the cost of the equipment. Just the basic gear, which was a bulky helmet that looked highly uncomfortable, was not something she really wanted to wear. And the cost was not something she could afford.

But even with this in mind, Yuki's legs still carried her to a game shop called Gamer Heaven not far from where she was. She walked in to see many people inside browsing the games on the shelves. No one really took notice of her as she made her way down the aisle. She had about sixty crowns on hand after getting her final pay from the job she was just fired from. But the idea of getting easy money through playing a game was highly appealing. The game itself cost thirty crowns, but the equipment usually ran for around One hundred and sixty crowns, which was why she walked straight to the back of the store in hopes of maybe finding an old used headset in the used bin.

This was not Yuki's first time here. She actually had an old school game console that she liked to play in her free time. It was from this store that she had gotten it from and she had found it in the bin. The bin in question was large, about two meters by two meters square, and it was filled to the brim with old equipment. You could say it was the holy land for people looking for old consoles.

Yuki lowered her face mask as she began digging through the bin, piling up old consoles to one side as she began her search. One corner at a time, breaking the bin up into four sections as she tried to find what she was looking for. Some people were staring at her, but she ignored them. It seemed that she did not realize how her actions seemed to be desperate. But in a way, they were. She was taking a gamble. She was just fired from her job. Her total amount of funds, including what she had received today, totaled one hundred crowns. With the loss of her part time job and no ability to pay her rent in full, she had no choice but to try to risk it all and hope she could earn some quick cash from playing a game. But everything came down to whether or not she could find a full dive headset that would allow her to play the game for cheap.

As she dug and was getting to the bottom of the bin on the final side, Yuki's eyes began to water up. She was starting to feel frustrated at herself and at the world. She could not understand why the world was being so unfair to her. When she looked down at the bottom of the bin and saw nothing there, she slumped to the floor. She did not care for her appearance. She only knew she had no way out. Without finding what she needed, her hopes of getting any kind of funds to offset what she had lost this week to pay rent went right out the window. At this rate, she would go hungry just to pay enough of the rent to not be kicked out. At least she hoped anyway.

"Sir, can I help you?" A staff member of that store came over and asked. He had thought with the way Yuki was dressed that she was a boy.

Yuki ignored the fact that the staff member called her 'sir' and looked up at him with watery eyes as she asked. "Do you have any used headsets?"