A tour group of high schoolers, guided by a middle-aged woman, walked along a hallway. The compartments residing beside the corridor were filled with futuristic machines. As they strolled forward, they stared at the machines through the huge glass windows with awe in their eyes. After a while, they stopped before a dimly lit compartment housing a couple of rectangular steel boxes, almost appearing as coffins.

The guide began, "Visiting this research center, I am sure you are already aware that we, SWERN, have far surpassed HOPE, the creator of Chaos. These machines that you see on the other side are the ultimate proof of that." She wore a bright smile on her face as she spoke. Clear pride and confidence showed on her face. "They are called SWITCH, the 2nd generation Virtual Reality Capsules. The difference between these VR capsules and regular ones is pretty significant since Gen-2 VR capsules have a full life support system. It'd enable the players to keep playing the game as long as they want without creating any health issues. However, these are the prototype versions. They are not being distributed to the mass people yet because their cost is too high for any regular consumer. And the maintenance is also too complex for them. So they are still undergoing various kinds of research and experiments to make them more user and cost-friendly."

"So you didn't yet create a game but only a VR capsule which ain't even complete?" A kid from behind the group smirked. A roll of laughter spread around among the youngsters.

The guide looked quite a bit irritated by the comment. The corners of her eyebrows twitched. But gritting down her anger, she continued, "We have been researching new and upcoming technology for almost a decade. One of our largest projects is to create an alternative world larger and much more amazing than existing virtual worlds. And creating a perfect VR capsule is the first step for that. And our creators are already working ahead toward that goal. Very soon the world will be surprised…"

A loud noise interrupted her, as everyone turned toward the source, the other side behind the glass window. The steel door of the machine there creaked open, and bright light gushed into the room. A silhouette of a well-built man formed before the blinding light. The man waved his hand toward the crowd. Then he walked off and disappeared somewhere behind the light.

The moment was a bit exciting for the young minds as they exclaimed altogether, "Whoa!! Cool!!"

"That was Clark Robson, one of our researchers." The guide's face lit up. "He entered that capsule on the 23rd of this month which is four days ago. As you can see he is completely fine and healthy."

"What was he doing there? Testing out a new game?" The students asked, their eyes sparkling.

"U-uh yeah, sure." She replied.

While the crowd kept bombarding the guide with questions, on the other side, Clark Robson walked into another room behind the VR capsules.

"You look quite annoyed. What's wrong?"

A sharp female voice reached Clark. He glanced at the only other person in the room, Leena Mayers, a woman in her thirties. But she looked way young for her age, wearing a leather jacket over a crop top and tight jeans.

"Ugh, you see, I was in the climax with this beautiful sexy girl. Right then the game decided to kick me out of the void. Bitchy game system."

"Did we send you there to fiddle around with whores?" Leena glared at the disheartened young man.

"Come on, I did my work. Can't a man enjoy his free time?" Clark grinned. "Anyway, can't we do anything about this system? This time limit is really annoying."

"Nope. They introduced that password system just to block out the malware or bots after the last time we tried to tweak the system." Leena replied.

"I see…" Clark said, as he sneaked behind Leena and grabbed at her hips.

"What are you doing?" Leena asked, her face showing no discomfort or annoyance.

"I know, you have been here working for that grumpy old man like forever, all stressed out and bored. Why not let me make you feel better, hmm?" He whispered.

"Oh? Do you have the skills?" She smirked, grabbing Clark's right hand which began to move downward.

Before long, Clark was flying midair, as everything turned upside down. "What the…"

Baam!

He crashed onto the solid floor on his back. "Ugh…! What just happened?" He was surprised and confused at the same time.

Leena looked down at the guy and said, "The old man is waiting for you." With that, she left the room.

Clark peered at the girl catwalking through the hallway until the steel door slid close behind her.

…..

"Furhancio Martinez, one of the biggest names in the Cybertech biz, spends all his time in front of a big screen," said Clark, walking into an enormous room. "You gotta chill out a lil, old man."

His speech was directed toward a man of sixties, seated on a sofa. The huge TV screen in front of him was split into many scenes like those security monitors. Some of which showed a fantasy world. One of them was a bit larger than the other splits. Inside there something was slicing through monsters one after another. The scene was presented through the killer's first-person view. Other split images showed the inner parts of this establishment.

"So you finally decided to show up?" The old man scooched to one side and signaled Clark to sit beside him.

"Those bitches there know how to use their hips, you see. I just couldn't hold myself, hahaha…" Clark said, making himself comfortable on the sofa, spreading his arms.

"I'm glad that you are enjoying yourself." Then he moved closer to Clark and stared deep into his eyes. His face had little to no expressions at all.

Clark suddenly felt little butterflies in his stomach. Not because of excitement but rather nervousness and fear that was installed into him over a decade. He could not keep eye contact or utter a word.

"So how's everything going?" The old man smiled a little.

But for Clark, that smile had a double meaning. He turned a bit pale.

"E-everything is going according to plan," he stuttered. "J-just like you predicted."

"Oh?" Martinez kept staring at Clark.

"We just finished the preparation. Phase 3 will begin very soon." Clark replied as fast as he could.

"Good, good." The old man finally looked away, sitting back on the sofa. Fixating his eyes back on the big screen. He murmured, "Wait a bit more, dear brother. I'll take my revenge."

His eyes glowed red. The dark brown eyes reflected the blood bath inside the monitor, as the deafening screeches of beasts reverberated around the room.