Chapter 27: The Players and the Playthings

After returning to the real world, Adam's vision began to focus. Weber's shop was still standing behind him, massive advertisements were continuing the play in the sky, and it was still a lively and bustling scene all around him.

It was as if everything that had just happened had been a dream, and only he was aware of how many close brushes with death he had just endured in his brief absence from the real world.

It was truly the narrowest of escapes.

The hitmen who had attacked him were far more powerful than he was, and if it weren't for the fact that two of them had come after him at once, if he hadn't recently acquired the anomaly of fear, if he wasn't in possession of useful information, if his psychic body wasn't also considered to be quite valuable... If any one of those conditions hadn't been met, he would've already been dead by now.

While Adam was standing in a dazed manner, Weber approached him from behind before asking, "Were you attacked just now? I could tell something was wrong because you were just standing on the street, staring into space for quite a while. Don't blame me for not helping you, I don't want any trouble."

"I understand," Adam replied with a nod.

He had developed a basic understanding of how this world worked, so he knew that this was a place where self-interest was valued above all else, and everyone was generally quite apathetic. In the face of trouble or adversity, Adam couldn't count on anyone else to help him. The only things that he could count on were his own powers and the leverage that he had.

After remaining on the spot in deep thought for a while longer, Adam finally made up his mind.

Two hours later, he arrived in front of a skyscraper on 21st Street. At the top of the building was a sign that read "Thriving Technologies", and from the outside, this appeared to be a large software company.

Not long after he arrived, he spotted a middle-aged man with unkempt facial hair making his way down from upstairs.

A smile appeared on the man's face at the sight of Adam, and he said, "You came even faster than I imagined. Truth be told, I only just got back as well."

"You're Cowboy?"

"That's me."

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

In the real world, Cowboy bore a strong resemblance to his psychic world equivalent. However, here in the real world, he was even more unkempt and unrestrained. He was wearing a shirt that was missing three buttons, and a pair of jeans that were faded from too many wash cycles.

Judging from his appearance alone, he didn't look much different from the homeless people living on the side of the streets.

"Is this your company? It looks like you're a very wealthy man."

"This company belongs to the organization that I serve, but I hold some shares in it. Come on in and take a look. The fact that you're here tells me that you've made your decision, so we're allies from now on."

Cowboy invited Adam into the building, and even though it was already nighttime, there were still many employees working overtime inside.

Adam was led on a tour of the first few floors of the building by Cowboy, and he learned that Thriving Technologies specialized in designing embedded games in the Metaverse. The employees were constructing their own game worlds in the Metaverse, following which these game worlds were refined and curated by programmers to create virtual realities where players could roam and embark on adventures.

Essentially, if the Metaverse were a tree trunk, then these games would be the branches and leaves on the trunk.

"This game is called 'Land of Massacre'. Every single one of the zombies inside is acted out by people, so there's some difficulty in killing them, and it also makes for a more immersive experience."

Adam raised his head to look up at the 3D projection, watching as one zombie after another had their heads blown off, or blown up in explosions, or caught in traps, only to be respawned, and he didn't understand where the allure in such a game was.

"This game is called 'Dyson Orb Architect'. It's a science-fiction game where each player will be assigned an initial planet, and the objective of the game is to create the Dyson Orb, which grants the player infinite resources and the ability to travel freely through space."

Adam turned his attention toward the direction that Adam was pointing in, and he saw a projection of countless laborers mining for ore on a planet, while what appeared to be a deity-like figure was overseeing the process.

"Are those laborers all real people as well?" Adam asked.

"That's right."

"What do people get out of games like these? In that one, you're constantly being killed and respawned, and in this one, you're being enslaved! Who would play these games?" Adam asked with a perplexed expression. "Are these games all designed for masochists?"

"It appears you've gotten the wrong idea. These laborers and those zombies aren't the players of the game, they're just a part of the game," Cowboy explained, then pointed at the deity-like figure as he continued, "That's the player of the game, and the one smashing that zombie's head open with that shovel is also a player."

"..."

"It seems really unfair, right? This is just a microcosm of the Metaverse."

"Why are these people content to serve as playthings for others?"

"Because the people role-playing as zombies and miners are able to earn some virtual currency, and only by doing this can they just barely get by and make ends meet. These are all people who've uploaded their personas into the Metaverse after passing away, and they're cyberliches who'll live forever, but it's still very difficult for them to maintain basic standards of living, and if they want to improve their quality of life, they'll need financial support from people on the outside."

"Why is that? Surely they don't need things like food and shelter like living people do."

"That may be true, but electricity provision and data maintenance are even more expensive than things like food and shelter. Whether you are a player or a plaything is dependent on whether you're wealthy or not. I know that may be an uncomfortable reality to face, but those are the laws by which this world functions. Come upstairs with me. This is where all the employees belong, not where we should be."

After that, Cowboy led Adam all the way to the top floor.

The skyscraper had several hundred levels, and the top floor was fitted with massive floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing those inside to see the clouds and neon lights beneath their feet.

Looking down from this vantage point gave one a sense that they were in control of everything.

"Come. For starters, why don't you tell me why you made up your mind so quickly?"

Cowboy sat down onto an executive chair as he spoke, then propped his feet up on the table, revealing a pair of worn-out hiking boots.

"Because my self-preservation abilities are very limited, and there are things that I want to do that I can't accomplish myself. I was afraid that if I hesitated for too long, another elite hitman would suddenly appear to kill me on the spot. That would be a terrible way to go." Adam made his way over to the window and looked down at the clouds beneath his feet, which were tinged bright red from the glow of the neon lights down below. "I can't die now. There are still too many things left for me to do."

Cowboy immediately burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"I like you, kid. Back in the day, I was just like you. Tell me everything you know about that human farm, and I'll provide you with the assistance that you need. If you want to improve your self-preservation skills, then I'll introduce you to a true master among invocator-class adapters. He'll teach you everything you want to learn. Of course, he's also a greedy old fart, so his lessons won't be free, but I'll give you enough money to cover your tuition fees for the first term."

"Why are you so interested in the human farm?"

"That place provides a glimpse into the most horrific underbelly of our world. If we can show everyone the most realistic side of this world, we'd be able to overthrow the entire order of this society."

"Why would we want to do that? For people like me, perhaps overthrowing the entire world order seems like a very alluring prospect, but the same doesn't apply to you. There's no incentive for you to do this."

Cowboy was a beneficiary to the rules. He had money, power, and authority, and even if he were to die, he would still be able to live a good life in the Metaverse.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I'm doing this for justice?" Cowboy asked as he stretched lazily before leaning back against his chair. "There's too much darkness in the world and too much injustice in society, so I want to set things right."

"I don't believe you."

"In that case, there's only one reasonable explanation, which is that I want to elevate myself from a mere beneficiary to the rules to become the one who sets these rules." A sharp and focused look appeared in Cowboy's scattered eyes for the first time as declared this. "As I said earlier, I was just like you back in the day."