James drove the Lamborghini like a crazed lunatic, almost running over other passing vehicles and pedestrians. He had mistakenly run over a little girl, killing her instantly. As a result, the mother screamed and was visibly horrified and people started gathering over the corpse lying on the road.
James was visibly horrified, so he immediately put the vehicle to an abrupt halt and ran over to the scene. "Oh my god! Oh my god!! you killed my baby!" her bereaved mom screamed with anguish in her voice.
James was shocked at what he saw, so he immediately summoned his tablet, but he wasn't given the time to do so. Sirens could be heard from a distance as police cars rushed over at the scene.
"What is happening?" James asked incredulously. The tablet was not appearing on his hand. Just then, an AI voice was heard from the tiny microphone he placed inside his ears.
[James, we have a problem. There seems to be corruption in the data blocks. Parallel City is unstable. You have to get out of there now!]
James became apprehensive. Just then, two cops came over and approached James. "Hello sir, I was told you are the owner of this Lamborghini, is that true sir?" one of the uniformed men asked.
"Uhh.. no sir. I have to go right now. I can't talk right now." James said as he desperately tried to summon the virtual tablet. He wanted to undo this current event and ward off these cops, but for some reason, it would not work.
"Mister, you are under arrest for the first-degree murder of a nine-year-old kid. You have to cooperate with us or we will use other means", the cop said.
"I don't have time for this", James mumbled as he ran over to one of the opened police cars and drove off. "Sir we have a 10-32, I repeat we have a 10-32, we need backup!" The cops quickly said on his radio as they all ran to their individual police cars and chase the rogue cop car.
James was driving at top speed, while still attempting to summon the virtual tablet. "Come on you f**king piece of shit! It's just a virtual tablet." James said with a tinge of tear on his eye. "I should have just made a physical tablet that does all these things" James regretted. He always planned to make everything, including the whole world virtual. He thought it was a reasonable idea, but now hard facts are proving to him that it was the most stupid idea, ever.
James called Sophia's number again, but this time, it was not going. She had blocked him again. "Oh damn it! Damn it!" James angrily banged the steering wheel. Suddenly James tires swerved uncontrollably, hitting an old woman on the pedestrian cross, killing her instantly and her blood sprayed on the windshield.
"Oh my god!" James was shocked beyond words. He had just killed two people carelessly. Although he was shocked, he knew that all these people would be brought back when he had his tablet.
Just then, there was a distant boom. AI's voice came over the radio.
[James, portions of the virtual world simulation are offline. The situation is critical here. You have to leave now!]
"Do you think I'm playing here AI? The damned controls are not working." James said, and unlocked his phone. He quickly downloaded termux application on playstore and installed it. "I hope this works"
James wanted to possess control over the virtual world through his normal phone. If it didn't work, then James would be doomed. He typed a few keystrokes, but it failed. James tried with other commands, but it still failed.
James was so engrossed with what he was typing that he forgot that he was driving. The car swerved again, but this time, James managed to control it.
"This is the police! Stop your vehicle now!" a cop's voice was heard on the radio. As much as James wanted to surrender, he couldn't do that in a virtual world he created. He continued driving at top speed and frantically typed away at variables.
"Privileges are obtained" the terminal text finally said below his screen, much to the joy of James. James quickly ordered the police to stop pursuing him, but it didn't work.
"Wait what?" James asked with a raised eyebrow. Just then, another boom was heard, and this time, it was close to him. It was so loud it almost shattered his hearing. "Arrgh!" James screamed at the sudden sound, and he began to feel a pounding headache.
Thanks to the explosion, the police car chasing him behind slowed down, giving James the chance to speed up and gap them. James tried some of the privileges he obtained, but the only thing he was given was teleportation and halo protection.
"It was not much, but it's what I desperately needed right now," James said and tapped the teleportation button. Instantly, he disappeared from the driver seat, causing the car to swerve uncontrollably and hit a tree ahead.
James appeared on a street before Sophia's home. James was happy about this, so he immediately began running towards her house. Suddenly, the grounds began to crack open. "What the?" James knew he does not have too much time. The sky has begun to darken too.
James wanted to plant the memories to Sophia and confess his feeling towards her properly before he leaves this world. If he leaves before then, he would not be able to do that anymore, as the computer he's using to virtualize this world is damaging at every second.
Just when he saw her house, the ground cracked beneath his feet, causing him to stumble. For some reason, no one was noticing all these catastrophes, as they continued what they were doing.
"Is this what I used all my time and energy to do? I made you all intelligent, why are you appearing stupid?" James asked depressed, but he didn't have the time for a reply, not when he was hanging over the ground, about to fall in a deep hole.
James quickly climbed up back and ran to Sophia's home. Thankfully, it was opened so he just went right in. Sophia noticed someone barged into her home, so she instinctively went to look, and seeing it was James she was shocked. "What are you doing...."
James interrupted her with a kiss on her lips. "I don't have much time. Please wear this immediately." He then took Sophia's hand and put the ring on her fingers.