1 Let's Play a Game!

The deep blue and bright pink poster flashed again and again with the same words.

[Let's play

VRMMORPG: The Other World!

World's greatest Virtual Adventure Game!

Join us on our 5th anniversary from September 5th to September 15th and have a chance to win an S-Ranked Treasure Map!

We Promise you a Qi-full experience for even the Qiless!]

Utter nonsense.

Virtual Reality Immersion games that transported player consciousness into the Fictional Realm of the game had become the most common gaming mode that people preferred.

Technology advanced but some things remained the same.

Freelancers still got scammed.

Cyberbullies were at an all-time high.

The poor and rich separation still existed, even widened, and so did every other kind of prejudice. They even created new ones. The latest being of course those with Qi and those without.

And love-sick fools still brought trouble to their friends.

Cheng Xiu looked at the Pink-haired girl in front of her with condescendence.

Her Phoenix eyes fell towards the poster the other girl had stuck on their dormitory wall two days ago.

[Qi-full experience for even the Qiless.]

She should have burned it the minute she saw it.

Qi. The power that divided their current society.

Qi Awakening was the result of the body vaccinating itself against the C virus that killed millions during the 2020s.

It became a definitive thing in the 2040s.

By the 2060s almost everyone had their Qi Centers activated.

By the 2070s, segregation led almost to the third world war. The UNO and its various factions made rules that made it a global crime to discriminate against those without Qi.

And yet those people were called Qiless or Non-Qi people by everyone in a tone that indicated it was an insult rather than a fact. Some even saw those without Qi as a lesser species.

The Qiless became the new minority. Thankfully, slavery was prohibited otherwise the Non-Qi would have become cattle to be bought and sold. Not that there weren't any that tried.

You awakened your Qi centre between the age of 10 and 15. And if you didn't have Qi by then, you were treated as second-class citizens.

After all, those with Qi, theories suggested, could live up to 500 years. They did not get easily hurt or sick. Their immune system got a three-fold boast.

Experts speculated that everyone had Qi Centers, it was just that some couldn't access them. The reasons were unknown.

VR became a place to prove true strength for the Qi-full because Non-Qi players could only play continuously for 12 hours without hurting themselves. This meant that the level difference between the Non-Qi and Qi users widened as time went on.

Cheng Xiu felt her eyes spin as Gu Shu grabbed her and shook her shoulders again and again.

"You have to Cheng Xiu! You just have to!" She shouted. "Otherwise, I will consider it a betrayal of our friendship!"

Cheng Xiu pushed her hands away and huffed.

She glared at the girl with hot pink hair and picked up her favourite novel from the ground.

She looked at the slight bend in the bottom corner of the front cover with a scowl. She smoothed the surface out and placed the book softly on her bedside desk.

"No," Cheng Xiu said.

Gu Shu shivered at the hidden warning in her tone but she couldn't back down. "Sorry about your book. But Xiu Jie, you have to. It's your birthday! You are 18 now and this is your birthday present!"

Cheng Xiu leaned against her bedpost. "Who are you calling Jie? You are older than me. And since it's my birthday shouldn't I decide what I do with my birthday gifts? And I didn't even ask you to buy me a new VR pod. I was hoping for the new collection of StarDust series books. I have been trying to hint at it all summer. Even your usual gifts of makeup products were better. used had use for those!"

Gu Shu frowned and leaned over her face.

"You barely touched anything except for that one shade of lipstick in the whole Elite Collection," she said in frustration. "It expired and had to be thrown away. I still can't believe you still kept using that thing! Aren't people who read books supposed to be smart? Things past their expiry date are hazardous!"

Cheng Xiu blushed in embarrassment.

"I-I didn't check the date," her eyes fell on the poster again. Qi-full for the Qiless. "And I loved that shade of red. You could have got me more of that instead. A VR pod is just too much. You don't know restraint A'Shu!"

Gu Shu groaned.

She leaned into Cheng Xiu's shoulder. "I'll get you the book collection if you want it so much! Just play The Other World with me."

"No, Little Shu."

Cheng Xiu pushed her away and lay on the bed, the latest novel by her favourite author Si WenLu opened in the Fold.

The Screen Folder or the Fold as it was called by most people was the communication/entertainment device that people started to use instead of Phones and computers from 2065 onwards.

The one Cheng Xiu held in her hands was an old model that came out last year. The Kent Series Mark VI.

It was a good enough model no matter what Gu Shu said.

Gu Shu sighed and lay down beside her.

It was hard and uncomfortable under her spine.

She always wondered how her best friend could sleep in this thing. It was the Dormitory issued one and Cheng Xiu never changed it and she didn't allow Gu Shu to buy a new one for her.

Gu Shu's eyes landed on the silky sheets of her mattress.

Her bed and mattress were custom-made.

She had complained to her dad about it and he changed it the next day.

Dormitory or not, Gu Shu didn't want to compromise her comfort as she spent the rest of her four years of college at St. Andre College.

Gu Shu stared at the thin form of her black-haired friend, wondering how she could get her to change Little Xiu's mind.

She understood Cheng Xiu's apprehension.

As a Non-Qi, Cheng Xiu would be at a disadvantage. The chances of her being bullied were higher than others. But Gu Shu wanted her friend to love the VR world the way she used to.

Cheng Xiu fidgeted.

She could feel the stare of Gu Shu behind her head.

Her eyebrow twitched in irritation. She couldn't concentrate on why Lucy Facia broke Edaro Lone's heart by choosing Alessandro Haria of all people.

She put the Fold down with a groan, grabbed her pillow and hit Gu Shu with it.

The pink-haired girl grunted in pain.

Good.

Cheng Xiu hoped it hurt a lot.

"Ow. Little Xiu, why?"

Cheng Xiu glared at her. "You were staring. And why do want me to play this game so badly? What's so special about it? Isn't it just one of your dating games?"

Gu Shu opened her mouth.

Cheng Xiu raised her hand in a 'stop' sign.

"I have tried three of those because of you! My luck in VR games sucks! I always get stuck at the middle level. After all, I need to pay to progress further, get bullied because I 'have a pretty face and nothing else, or get a Bad Ending! I'm fine with my adventures in movies and books! I don't need to go online to find Qiless Haters."

Gu Shu grinned as she found an opening. "It's not like those games! The Other World is an Acton adventure type with many story modes and you can progress on your own. I heard some say that playing it might even invoke the Qi centre in you!"

Cheng Xiu stilled at that.

Qi-ful for the Qiless.

She shook her head. No! This was how she was tricked into playing that horrible darling of Her Lover game.

A chance to feel the Qi. The source that connects you to the universe.

It made her play stupid games that scarred her.

At this point, it was just a marketing gimmick that she no longer wanted to fall for.

Her romantic heart was traumatized by the toxic harem story for the one hour she played Darlings of Her Lover, thank you very much!

"And," Gu Shu said hurriedly as she saw her friend's face twist in protest, "they released its 5th Version today! On your Birthday! You and this game are Destiny!"

Cheng Xiu looked at her friend in suspicion.

Gu Shu shifted with unease at the look in her eyes. "What?"

"You tell me," Cheng Xiu found herself saying. "What is this really about? You have never been so adamant about me playing a game before. Adventure games are normal and we have encountered enough Qi-activating games to know it's a ruse. That was not a good pitch for it."

Gu Shu cringed. She should have realized little Xiu would become suspicious if she pushed too far. "Little Xiu, our department's Male God Ren Dao recommended it to me, saying we should join his guild in it because they don't have enough beautiful lady members in it and those who bring new girls into the guild are rewarded with something called a Fang Sword."

Cheng Xiu held back a sneer when she heard that name. Ren Dao. "I hate that guy. Have you seen the way he treats Love Charleston from Economics Department? And your crush on that piece of trash is so strong that not only did you want to join this stupid guild, but you also sold out your best friend? It sounds mighty suspicious if you ask me. Especially if he is inviting you to play it to bring girls into the guild. That sounds, especially like Pimping. He is a pimp. Why am I surprised? Of course, he is. His treatment of women around him should have been a sign."

Gu Shu shook her head vigorously. "No! Brother Ren Dao is not Pimping, Little Xiu! I do want to join the guild but I'm not going to force you to!"

Cheng Xiu scoffed in disbelief.

"It's true! The guild system is only open at level 10 and Male God Dao will take me to the guild when I reach that level."

Gu Shu sighed in happiness.

Cheng Xiu waited for her to continue. She was used to her friend being an idiot.

Gu Shu shook her head to get rid of her fantasies. "But I have to do the initial things by myself. Xiu, I want you to enjoy at least one VR game as you used to in Primordials Online. This started 5 years ago so there is no need to worry about catching up. It's about that. And some players just use it as a vacation so your levelling speed will be normal. Come on, it will be fun."

Cheng Xiu rubbed her head. "But I will hold you back."

Gu Shu rolled her eyes. "No, Little Xiu. We will be levelling on my own and you by yourself. We might not even be in the same country anyway. I just want you to play this game. I...I...and you are my best friend so you should be doing this anyway. It's your duty as my best friend."

"I still say Ren Dao is a pimp," Cheng Xiu said.

Gu Shu glared.

Cheng Xiu grinned. "And you are not joining his guild until I am sure it is not some virtual brothel he is trying to recruit you into."

Cheng Xiu's eyes fell on the golden pod in one corner of the room.

"That still doesn't explain why you got me a gaming pod. My VR Helmet would have been fine."

Gu Shu snorted. "That ugly thing? Your dad bought it in 2159 at a yard sale. It's been five years since then! It had overstayed its welcome. And gaming pods are better for your Nervous System and posture. I am doing you a great favour."

Cheng Xiu got up and walked to the gaming pods lined up against their bedroom wall. One was in Gu Shu's favourite Black colour and the other was golden coloured with black handles and black flowery designs.

Beautiful, Cheng Xiu thought.

"What are you doing?" Gu Shu asked when she saw Cheng Xiu press on the latches of the pods, opening them.

"How much do you think it will get me if I were to sell it?"

"Don't you dare!" Gu Shu said. "I might be rich, but I am not that rich! And dad will kill me!"

Cheng Xiu laughed. "Really?"

"I'm serious!"

"Relax. I was joking. Let's play a game!" Cheng Xiu said with a smile.

Gu Shu laughed in excitement. "You mean you are playing The Other World?"

Cheng Xiu grabbed hold of Gu Shu's hand and lead her to the pods. "We are playing The Other World."