"Ah… That sucks," Herbert said.
"Good luck getting one," Fragnard said.
"...Lend me money to buy one," Misho said.
"Wait, what? The Misho that didn't want to owe us is actually asking us to lend him money. Is this the power of lust?" Herbert said cynically.
"Hahahaha! Maybe he's sick?" Fragnard mocked.
"Are you guys really this mean to me?" Misho asked.
As friends, they mostly mocked and insulted each other. This time, it was Misho's bad luck as the two of them had the advantage.
"Puh! You're not fun. Okay, I will lend you the money," Herbert spat.
He was slightly disappointed that Misho didn't complain for a while longer.
"Let me help you with that. Let's split it. After all, he's our buddy," Fragnard said.
"Sure," Herbert replied.
"Nice! I will be sure to repay you guys in the future," Misho said happily.
"The release date is next week. Why don't you find your own female partner? There are rumors that there would be a female shortage at the launch date as they are quite skeptical about this VR game and machine," Herbert said.
"Oh? How are they advertising it to the female players?" Misho asked curiously.
Considering that the male players were just a bunch of horny monkeys, it wasn't hard to attract them. It would be a different case for females as they would try to preserve the innocent expression that other people have about them.
"Hmmmm…"
Herbert held his chin in thought.
"I remember it was something about increasing lifespan and improving the skin, which naturally also will make them beautiful in real life," Fragnard said.
"What!? It can increase the lifespan??" Misho asked in disbelief.
Even with all the technology that humanity managed to develop recently, it still wasn't enough to increase the human lifespan.
But of course, as humans live much better lives today, they have an average of 200 years of lifespan. It was more than double compared to what it was 100 years ago.
"Yes. I heard that it was because of the capsule's unique technology," Herbert added.
"Now, I'm even more interested in this game," Misho said.
"Mhm. Everyone was like you when they first heard about this news. We are all skeptical, but the tiny doubt in our minds made us curious about the game. We won't ever truly know until we try the game out," Fragnard explained.
"Then this could be a scam, right?" Misho asked.
As someone who spent a lot of time online, he was almost scammed many times in the past. He can recognize one from a mile away as this was usually their technique.
They would entice you with false information about the product. After they trick you, they will take advantage of you until you are a bag of bones.
"Not likely. It's released by Veras Corp. The most advanced VR Technology company in the whole solar system," Herbert responded.
After the advent of space tourism, gradually, humans were able to colonize Mars and the Moon. Currently, there were 100 million residents living on Mars. And at the Moon, there were 1 million.
On Earth, as humans stopped becoming horny monkies that breed ten children at a time, the population had stabilized to 21 billion people.
"Right. They will never dare scam everyone. Otherwise, they will go bankrupt," Fragnard added.
"*Sigh* If this is a scam, we can only blame our horniness," Misho sighed.
At this point, they could only wait and see. If they backed out now, they would lose a chance to be the pioneers of that opportunity. An opportunity to increase their lifespan was not something they could easily encounter in this era.
"Okay, I still have to convince my girlfriend! Good luck, Misho! Later, Herbert!" Fragnard said and disconnected from the hologram call.
"Grrrr… That bastard had to flex on us," Herbert said with gritted teeth.
"..."
Misho was fuming in anger too. One day, he will show Fragnard his own stunning girlfriend!
"I already sent you half of the price for the Fulldive Capsule. Wait for Fragnard to send his share, and you can buy it. I will go ask our former classmates if they want to accompany me. Hehe," Herbert said before he shut off the hologram call.
"*Sigh*. It sucks being so poor," Misho muttered and put his phone back inside his pocket.
He looked outside and decided to visit his 3rd cousin. She was only blood-related to him by a tiny amount.
They shared the same great-great-grandparents 100 years ago. Currently, she was staying in his grandmother's house because her parents left on an astronaut mission.
Misho left his apartment and headed down using the magnetic elevator. It only took him 10 seconds to go from the 42nd floor to the ground floor.
For first-time users, it was hard to get used to, but after years of using it ever since he was little, Misho doesn't even feel it anymore. It was a very smooth experience for him.
He exited his apartment and looked around.
Electric cars were passing through the road. The science fiction from 200 years ago that there would be flying cars never became true. They were too loud and obstructive, especially since the chance of an accident occurring was significantly higher.
Misho waved his hand to a bus. It stopped in front of him, and he entered inside.
There was no driver at the front, only a passenger seat. Autonomous public vehicles were very popular as they provide very cheap transport without the hassle of buying your own car. Not to mention, it lessens traffic too.
As the bus drove, Misho passed by countless buildings. He changed buses several times until he finally arrived at his grandmother's house.
It was actually not a house but a condominium. After the population grew too large, condominiums became very popular. They can pack a lot of people in a small piece of land.
He rode the magnetic elevator to the 30th floor and opened the door to his grandmother's room with his magnetic key.
"3rd Cousin Misho!?"
A beautiful girl in her 19's greeted Misho with a face full of surprise.