*Zrrrrr* *Phooosh*
Inside Kaiden's room, his GRVIP began emanating loud mechanical and exhaustive noises. Within moments, the lid opened presenting a situation wherein Kaiden laid peacefully. Opening his hazel eyes, Kaiden's face contorted. There was an awful smell pervading the atmosphere of his bedroom.
Moreover, the encroachment of the putrid scent was strong and in proximity to him. Looking down, he realized the foul odor was emanating from his body. His skin was covered in a coagulated layer of grime. It was dark grayish-black and Kaiden's couldn't stand the scent much longer.
"Ugh...what the hell. It's so bad." heaving, Kaiden forcefully withheld himself from retching. However, he failed to immediately realize that his sense of smell was at least twice what it used to be. His senses were in a heightened state; as a result, the moment was amplified many times.
Bolting towards the bathroom, Kaiden abruptly stripped himself of all his clothes as he set foot in the shower. The water beating on his back felt different—now that his mind settled, he realized the prominent sensation; his skin felt overly sensitive as if it was paper-thin. Each drop of water jetting out of the showerhead felt like small masseuses attending to his pores.
Whilst he showered, the GRVIP entered a state of autonomous filtration. Additionally, the sun peeked through the curtain of the bathroom, a ray of light bathing Kaiden. Although he hadn't dedicated any time to training his physique recently, he retained his masculine, athletic shape.
Completing his shower, Kaiden sat on his bed as he roughly dried his hair. Scrolling through his Cosmos XS watch, Kaiden closed the redundant messages he was alerted with in-game. What he did notice, however, was an ad for the coming release of a new Virtual Immersion Pod.
The details were unknown, but the ad gave a surefire launch date of late October.
'Hmm...depending on the stats, I will have to purchase one...or a couple. Think of it as an advance of their salary.'
Shrugging Kaiden understood that using the finer equipment would keep him on par with the upper echelons of society—at least...for the most part. There were always situations where a select few had early access to things.
'Phew...there is 6 and a half hours before the meeting, I should get going on the necessities in a few minutes.
Laying back in bed, Kaiden closed his eyes as he thought of the state of affairs the world currently withstood and how he could take advantage of that. It was by no means perfect—however, it could be said to be "better" to say the least.
Based on his knowledge of history and the information conveyed in his educational years. This Earth that was now advanced in the years once stood on the brink of extinction, approximately 60 years ago. The skies were murky and overly polluted whilst foliage struggled to strive.
The waters were overly contaminated. If they traveled down that road any further increasing the carbon (mono-tri)oxide in the air, this world would have certainly degenerated to a state deemed unlivable by the past criteria of human beings; the sun burning the surface of the Earth without the protection of ozone, etc.
However, thanks to the timely innovation beginning in 2045; conditions were gradually reversed. Furthermore, as the years elapsed, the state of this world improved drastically—entering the infant stage of its current advancement. In these times, the change was called the era of extreme advancement—birthed by hypothetical critical thinking that turned reality and foreign discoveries. Of course, although better, it couldn't be described as overly complete.
They hadn't reached a state of full self-sufficient lifestyle like the future.
Nevertheless, ideas were thought of, ideas were fabricated and accordingly, ideas were implemented. However, although the progression of the world's increasing uninhabitability ceased and instead advanced upon stability; that didn't mean everything improved—those improvements were only relative.
In certain areas neglected or rather subpar management by governmental facilities—crime was still prevalent. No, it was even more so prevalent. Due to the pursuit of economical power and martial prowess (army strength), laws were loosely enforced. Instead, the leading powers of any countries focused on the state of environmental welfare instead of the people.
As such, there were many events when people took matters into their own hands. Not to mention, there were such things as "untouchables" who were persons that existed outside the scope of the immediate law—possessing a type of immunity. Moreover, laws were only really enforced when the government served to benefit from the pursuit of said situation.
Hence, these notions caused the world to shift to one sole mindset—whether it was the United States, Russia, Germany—any of the world powers; their base views shifted. They became executive oligarchies; with this in mind, the line between the world powers became thin.
In other words, the Eight Insurmountable Titans, or as known in the real world—the Council of Power. Notably, although they existed as a council—their relationships were far from harmonious. It was a beneficial relationship. Be that as it may, each council member still held say-so over the actions of another—even though each hailed from a different country. A notion that sometimes lead to a conflict of interests.
Of course, there were neutral parties such as HARDIC, WEPA, and a few others who held their own advantages and sat out from this council. They simply focused on wider world views instead of micromanaging to milk society.
The state of the world's economy didn't change drastically. Each currency stuck to a set range of worth depending on certain factors. On the other hand, what did change was the distribution of wealth. Even the top 1% of the world's wealthiest finances were subject to the grasp of the Council. Only a select few entities evaded their grasp.
Although WEPA and HARDIC deemed themselves neutral, that was a feigned notion. For certain reasons, they sought to discreetly undermine the scope of the Council. However, to do so openly—they weren't ready. Hence,
A battlefield of a sort, so to speak. The question was, just how brutal would this battlefield become? How far would this go and what disorder would come about as a result? No, how can they create disorder...when they are the order. The future may not be as stable as it once seemed.
Opening his eyes, Kaiden sat up ramrod straight in bed. At this point, the water which once coated his skin had already evaporated. Dressing in lounging wear, he headed downstairs. It had been a while since he experienced a decent meal.
Scratching his head, Kaiden inspected the state of the house they lived in. Although it was to a good standard, Kaiden felt it didn't quite suit the life he wanted for his family. It was too small and if he moved to the headquarters, he would be too distant from his parents.
'I'll have to decide quickly. How shall I do this? Ah, I'll figure this out. I have to take a look at the property in question first. I can't blindly suggest things.'
"Moooommm! Daddddd!!" yelled Kaiden thunderously as he traveled down the steps.
"Oi, look who has come out of his room Honey. I thought he would live there forever." chuckled Christine as a fragrant scent drifted from beneath her hands. She was currently cooking a wholesome breakfast.
"HAH! Young man, it seems you have been enjoying yourself with this new game plastered across the news huh?" chuckled Michael. Standing he walked over and ruffled Kaiden's hair. Now that he was standing, you could get a good look at his physique. Even though Kaiden was approaching 6'5, his father still stood 2 inches taller than him. It was a family of giants. One should know Zeek was only an inch shorter than Kaiden.
"Is Zeek up?" inquired Kaiden.
"Haha, he's another one who stays in his room all day, although we see him much more often." chided Michael.
"You hungry hon?" sweetly asked Christine.
"Yes ma'am, I can eat!" exclaimed Kaiden as his eyes brightened. Relying on VitaShakes left an unsavory taste in his mouth—he much rathered the pleasant taste of his childhood—his mother's cooking.
"Go get Zeek, let's have a family breakfast." added Michael.
Nodding, Kaiden jetted up the stairs skipping 4 at a time.
"Such an energetic boy." chimed Christine as she whisked a whopping 12 eggs. Perhaps she was feeding a team. Each eye of the stove had a pan of different sizes.
"Zeeek! WAKE UP!" at the same moment Kaiden walked into his room, Ezekiel was removing his AVICH.
"What's up Key?"
"Come down, Mom wants us to have family breakfast. You know we can't say no haha." shrugging Kaiden joked with Zeek.
Within moments, the table was filled as Kaiden, Ezekiel and their father Michael sat at the table. The dining room was bedizened with the pleasant yet mellow aroma of blueberry pancakes. The meaty and potent smell of sausages and bacon followed by the comforting smell of seasoned eggs. To top it off there was the starchy smell of hash browns.
"Eat up boys." said Christine as she took her seat next to Michael at the table.
Piling up his plate and snagging himself a serving of orange juice. Kaiden went to war with his food, devouring mouthfuls like a ravenous wolf interspersing the chomps with a sip of said orange juice.
"Pfft. Hungry there chap?" chortled Michael as he himself ate at a decent pace.
"You bet! Oh, Dad do you still work the trading floor of the stock market?" inquired Kaiden. A reason Kaiden went into business in the parallel future was due to his father majoring in business; economics to be exact.
"Indeed, what's up?"
"I'm going to send you some money to open a new portfolio. We should start building family wealth." advocated Kaiden with a mouthful of masticated nutrition.
"Oh? How much will you send? If it's about... $10,000, I can simply transfer your name to my account."
"No no, make a separate account. It's about $2 million, Dad—well, this initial sum at least." corrected Kaiden.
*POFFT*
Not only did Ezekiel spit out his food but so did his parents as they couldn't understand how he can so nonchalantly mention $2 million. However, Ezekiel had a feeling Kaiden was doing well. But he didn't expect him to be doing this well. Even if he traded the entire donated funds for currency—it would equate to $1.05 million at most.
At this moment, the CETS conversion ration fluctuated between $75 to $100 USD for 1 Gold. As such this was the calculation of the slightly over 10,000 Gold the guild amassed. However, if Ezekiel learned this actually came from a trade of ownership stocks of a reputable company he would be even more shocked.
"Son...uh $2 million you sure?"
Within moments, Michael got his response. Swiping his hand and tapping a few icons on the holographic display, a few seconds later, a chimed was heard. Reading the details left Michael in a state of shock wherein his mouth gaped whilst Kaiden impatiently consumed his food.
There was a deposit for $2 million now situated within his account. This actually made Michael impatient, wanting to storm the floor this instant.
"Yeah, I've done well in these first two weeks of the game. This is some of my earnings. By the way, you should treat yourselves should you desire it. Take a vacation, or take a break. Just enjoy yourselves Mom and Dad." smiled Kaiden.
"Aww, look at my little pooh Key. Hon, our baby boy is growing up." leaning over, Christine pinched and caressed Kaiden's cheeks.
"Indeed now we just need him to bring home a girlfriend or something haha." laughed Michael. However, conversely, his wife glared at him.
"Ahem…" awkwardly coughed Michael. However, Ezekiel had an amused grin on his face. There were rumors in the guild about a relationship between Kaiden and Isabella but he stayed quiet.
"Zeek. We need to train. I haven't done so in 2 weeks. I need to situate my schedule better."
"I'm down anytime. I experienced my Cellular Phenomenon by the way, but mine was more...metaphysical so to speak. My physique didn't change much as yours did."
'Oh? My boys have already experienced their Cellular Phenomenons? No, isn't Kaiden too young?' inspecting his son's, Michael's eyebrows jumped. However, he didn't voice any inner thoughts. It was bound for his kids to awaken. He let what was be, however, he would need to monitor more closely.
And so, the morning was filled with laughter as well as small talk that bonded the family. Moreover, there were times where Kaiden threw small hints—inquiring about moving to a more "elite" type of lifestyle.