SATURDAY came fast. Astrid spent the day before just resting. Since he was meeting Wulfric in VirtualNet today, he decided to visit his uncles and Nicol tomorrow instead. The meeting was set for one in the afternoon, right after lunch. He finished eating and walked to Reasā room. Thatās where they kept the virtual pod.
Of course, the virtual pod was in his brotherās new room. He was the only one who used it regularly for his Mecha battles.
As he opened the door, he immediately saw the pod. It sat in the corner of the room. A sleek silver capsule with a dark glass lid. Its smooth metal surface caught the roomās light.
Astrid walked to the pod and turned it on. The lid opened smoothly, showing nothing but a padded interior that looked ordinary. But he knew there was way more tech stuff working inside that he couldnāt see or understand. He got in and lay down. The lid closed immediately, surrounding him in total darkness. Something cold attached to his temples. Seconds later, he felt that weird falling sensation, like heād been pushed off a cliff. Then suddenly, he wasnāt in the pod anymore. He floated in what looked like a river made of glowing numbers and symbols.
A glowing screen materialized in front of him.
[Username:_________]
[Password:_________]
He typed in his login details. It was an account heād created years ago at the same time as Reas. The difference was, while his brother used his constantly, Astridās had been gathering virtual dust.
He didnāt really have any interest in the virtual world, which was what the VirtualNet basically was. Unlike Reas, who spent a lot of his time doing Mecha battles when they were younger, Astrid spent his helping around the farm or cooking. Not that heās saying his brother didnāt help, heās just saying that the two of them had very different way of having fun.
Once logged in, the river of codes vanished, replaced by a plain white room. Then a small blue cat with wings popped into view, hovering in front of him.
[Welcome back, Master Xiao Rui!]
Astrid blinked, then let out a quiet laugh. Xiao Rui. That was his VirtualNet username, taken from his old name in his past life - Zhou Rui. It had been so long since anyone used that name that it took him a second to recognize it.
[Itās been a while since your last login. Would you like to update your avatar?]
His avatar?
Over a year had passed since Astrid last used VirtualNet. The last time had been to cheer for Reas during that Mecha tournament. Creating an avatar was mandatory for access. Users could either customize one or use their real appearance. Astrid thought customizing one was too much trouble, so he had picked the second option.
But using his current avatar wouldnāt do now. After all, his face was already quite well known. And since VirtualNet had a rule against using famous peopleās likenesses, everyone would know this avatar belonged to Astrid Townsend.
He wasnāt saying he was so famous that everyone would recognize him instantly. He wasnāt Valentine Davis, after all. But with his black hair and eyes combined with his growing popularity, heād still be too easy to recognize.
So he selected, "Let me customize a new avatar."
[Understood.]
After the flying cat finished speaking, a new screen appeared in front of him. The left side showed a blank avatar - a naked mannequin figure with no hair or facial features. The right side displayed all the customization options. Astrid immediately began designing his new avatar.
He didnāt spend too much time on it. He simply selected a ready-made template, only changing the hair and eye color to make it slightly different. The avatarās build remained similar to his own. He picked out simple, nondescript clothes. Once finished, he clicked āenterā. The moment he did, his avatarās appearance changed immediately.
[Do you have a specific place you want to go to?]
"Yes."
He gave the cat the location where he and Wulfric decided to meet. A door materialized against the white wall. Astrid knew stepping through would teleport him straight to the location. Without hesitation, he walked forward and pushed it open.
***
Wulfric took a swig of his beer, leaning back in his chair on the restaurantās open veranda. The sound of waves reached him from nearby, a steady rhythm against the shore. When he glanced toward the water, sunlight bounced off the oceanās surface, turning it into a sheet of shifting blue.
When Astrid asked to meet in VirtualNet, Wulfric said yes without hesitation. Heād been thinking about suggesting the same thing for a while now. Meeting virtually would at least let them feel like they were in the same place, even if they were actually light years apart. But he hadnāt found the right time to ask. So when Astrid brought it up first, it was perfect. This could be the start of them doing this more often.
Astrid told Wulfric to choose where theyād meet. Wulfric wanted to pick his private island, but the system required him to personally accompany any visitors there. Since he couldnāt do that without them meeting first, he went with this restaurant instead. He booked the whole place so they wouldnāt be disturbed.
Wulfric took another drink of his beer. Even though VirtualNet felt real, everything here was still made of data. So drinking beer wouldnāt actually get him drunk or leave any smell. If it did, he wouldnāt be drinking at all - not with the chance Astrid might smell him.
Before long, he heard footsteps approaching from behind. Since heād given the restaurantās staff Astridās username and ordered them to only allow that person in, there was no question who it was.
A grin spread across his face instantly. But when he turned and saw Astridās avatar, his smile nearly stalled.
The avatar had an ordinary face, but Wulfricās gaze locked onto the hair and eyes - white hair and gold irises. Almost identical to his own coloring.