Chapter 5

[04:20 AM Tokyo Time]

Hiro went offline after tasting the game that was being talked about a lot on the internet. He returned to the real world, where his body was lying on top of his bed.

One of the reasons that the game suddenly went viral was because it launched a coin in cryptocurrency with a skyrocketing value in just three days. An amazing record that was sure to be etched in the annals of history.

Hiro was very curious about the reason why LSC coin could occupy the second position of cryptocurrency so suddenly, in fact, the currency only came from a game company.

Even though the company was very well known since the last few years, that alone couldn’t provide a clear explanation to the comet-like speed the coin appreciated. There must be a specific, good enough reason for LSC demand to skyrocket and occupy second place in less than a week.

Beep!

Hiro checked the storage memory on his android bracelet. He saw a new icon with a simple logo, [LSO]. The moment he pressed the icon, a 3D hologram appeared hovering above his bracelet.

Hiro’s avatar. Nightfall, 100% exactly how he looked in the game. The avatar spun on the spot.

[Updating…Please Wait!]

[Completed]

A menu appeared on the side of the avatar, Hiro could use his finger to scroll through the menu.

[Progressive Status]

[Inventory]

[LSC Balance]

[Friendlist]

[…]

[…]

Some menus were just empty fields. It seems that they were just there intentionally reserved for the next update.

Hiro checked the menu displays one by one. It was like playing an old MMORPG game. He found many things.

One of the interesting things was that offline players could communicate with in-game players anytime and anywhere as if the real world and the virtual world were the same world, only the locations were different.

In addition, the LSC balance on Hiro’s avatar could be used for transactions through the Ninecent website very easily. Because when the game was installed on his android bracelet, Hiro’s account data was already linked to the email he used to activate the android.

Rumble!

Hiro’s stomach suddenly growled. He almost forgot the last time he ate because he was too busy learning the new game.

He immediately rushed to put on a shirt he took from the cardboard box and left the house. He walked towards the 24-hour supermarket which he passed last night on his way to his new apartment building.

Arriving at the supermarket, he stuffed the 7 cheapest instant noodles into his shopping cart

Just as he was about to pay for the noodles, suddenly a loud sound came out from the large LED screen broadcast on the supermarket wall, attracting his attention—

“Back again with news about Last Shelter Online!”

“The latest game released by the company Ninecent has recently become the talk of the world.”

“Their cryptocurrency named Last Shelter Coin sold out very quickly, beating the initial record for Botcoin.”

“How can the demand for that coin increase so dramatically in the one week leading up to the game’s release?”

“The founder of the world’s largest gaming company, Dr. Jeff Johnson, just mentioned the reasons for his new game’s success in front of the media, here’s a snippet of it.”

“This is not just a game, this is about building a second life”

“Is that a reasonable excuse? I can’t even understand him as a news anchor, hahaha.”

“So, what made Dr. Jeff Johnson can convince the global elites to invest in the coin he created?”

The video footage of Ninecent’s founder was more like a quote with obscure meaning than a reason for its success.

Hiro’s adrenaline was pumped after seeing how Dr. Jeff Johnson spoke one sentence with a very serious face as if he was very sure of what he said.

Bang!

“Second life, My Ass! How can you build a second life when the VR you provide is limited. F*ckin’ dreamer!”

A man in his 30s who was attending the cash register suddenly cursed loudly while slamming the table with his hand, startling Hiro who had just placed his shopping basket there.

The man turned to Hiro and didn’t change the annoyed expression on his face. Very unfriendly.

“Do you believe what that person said, kid?”

Hiro gave no response.

“I’ve stayed up more than 24 hours just to buy that VR. I know that maybe Japan’s internet still sucks, even so, how can 200,000 units of VR be sold in one second!?”

The man obviously made the unlucky Hiro a place to vent. The dark circles under his eyes and the clearly exhausted skin on his face showed that he was telling the truth. Hiro just inwardly smirked while waiting for his shopping to be processed.

“Hopefully today I will get it. Pray for me, kid. Ah–do you want it too? That VR? But the price is still very expensive, how old are you now? Looks like you don’t have enough money to buy it. Take it easy, kid. If I manage to snatch one of them, I’ll tell you how the game will be after launching.”

Hiro frowned. He had just received constant insults from people who didn’t even know his name. Even so, he refrained himself from cursing back and remained polite.

“Well, I guess you’re pitiful enough that you can only eat instant noodles,” muttered the man as he counted Hiro’s groceries using the scanning system on his android bracelet which had been modified like a watch.

“Hey!” Hiro almost exploded, but he immediately cleared his throat when the man gave him an annoyed look.

“By the way, I’ve never seen you around here. Are you new? What’s your name, kid? My name is Kira.”

“Hiro, Yamaguchi Hiro.”

“Yamaguchi? Ah– your name reminds me of my dead idol, kid. It’s a shame, he’s still young and at the peak of his career.”

Hiro clenched his fists secretly. He knew who the man was referring and he instantly became emotional, he was in no mood to hear about his recently deceased brother

The man named Kira noticed a change in the mood of his customer and he immediately changed the subject.

“Total 896 yen.” A 3D hologram in the form of a barcode appeared above his hand. Hiro scanned the hologram to pay.

He then returned to his apartment with heavy steps. His heart still ached. The death of his brother has indeed made people who like online games feel lost.

…

After cooking the noodles, Hiro ate the noodles while doing research on the LSO game. He needed to know the reason for the success of LSC coin in cryptocurrencies that was not mentioned in the television news.

During his search, he finally found a strange page on the game’s official website.

[Get your in-game plots and build your dream city!]

There are 10 servers in the LSO game that could be played by anyone anywhere in the world.

There were a total of 50 major cities owned by Ninecent.

Total of 200 minor cities would be ready for sale in auction on December 7, 2028.

A total of 1000 settlements and 1,000,000 regular plots were currently for sale.

[Update: 301,020 regular plots has been sold]

[Update: 293 settlements has been sold]

[Buy tickets starting from 50,000LSC to join the auction! (500 tickets has been sold)]

[We only accept Last Shelter Coin for payment transactions]

“This seems to be the reason why LSC demand has increased drastically. This game is really no joke!”

Hiro was interested in checking out the cheapest plot details.

Regular plot comes with the Sir/Lady title, the owner of the plot could collect a percentage of the revenue generated by the area around the plot. The plot might have some potential traits including rich mineral deposit, rare monster spawn, entrance to a cave or dungeon, small NPC house, campsite. [Regular Plot price: 10,000LSC)

“…”

He ate very quickly because the information he had just discovered instantly excited him.

Regular plot equals 10,000 USD. A large enough amount for starting capital. Hiro could pay the rent for his apartment with that money, or even buy it entirely.

But—

“If I can buy that regular plot, I can do many things and earn passive income. Like building a small village and creating rules in it, huh?”

Since it was mentioned that transactions only accept LSC.

Hiro also tried to use the transaction feature through the Ninecent website. He already knew beforehand about the LSC which could be used for transactions via the website from the LSO application.

But to be sure, he needed to try it himself and make a transaction.

He quickly opened the official Ninecent website and checked the available online stores. All items sold were set as non-fungible tokens. There was only one product available.

Most of the store’s contents were costumes sponsored by world-famous brands such as Balenciaga, Gucci, Chanel, Nike, Adidas, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and other big brands at the same price as the real world.

Hiro turned on the filter to sort items from lowest price. He was looking for something he could afford to buy using his current 125LSC.

[Ordinary Hairband (Price 100LSC)]

“Isn’t there anything cheaper? Just a normal hairband costs 100USD?”

Hiro snorted. “Pftt… Materialistic games. Let’s see what I can do for you!”

Hiro shifted the screen that was showing the website to the right, then activated another application that he had developed himself for hacking online game systems, especially those related to in-game currency.

[CyberWarrior app]

It has a metallic circuit board-shaped logo.

Hiro entered the code quickly. His fingers move very nimbly on the skinscreen.

Beep!

[Generating information from LSO app]

[Loading…Please wait!]

“100 LSC for a hairband, huh? I will make it free.” He smirked optimistically.

Hiro has always managed to hack in-game currency both offline and online so far. Even though the success rate for hacking online games was only 1%, he could break that limit if he really put his mind into it.

But…

[100LSC has been consumed]

[Ordinary hairband has been sent to your inventory]

[Balance 25LSC]

“What the hell?!!”