"Uhhh…" Misho slightly glanced at Maia awkwardly.
"Cousin Misho missed me," Maia said with a wide smile on her face.
"Hohohoho? He's truly a lovable kid."
Grandmother Ereal had a knowing smile on her face as she stared at him.
"Hahahaha…" Misho laughed wryly.
As long as she won't reveal it to Grandmother Ereal, he would endure this embarrassing moment. If Grandmother Ereal learned about what he just said to her, she would surely scold him.
After all, Maia was already like their own family. Although she was not directly blood-related to them, it would still upset Grandmother Ereal. Well, at least, that was what Misho thought her reaction would be.
"Alright. Come with me. I will cook you your favorite dish," Grandmother Ereal said and urged him.
…
The whole day passed, and he returned to his apartment. In the end, he could not ask Maia why Aphrodos could increase the human lifespan. He would have to find it out himself.
He entered his room and immediately opened his smartphone. He opened his bank account and saw 5,129 Earth Coins inside.
3,000 Earth Coins were from Herbert and Fragnard, and the rest were his savings.
After humanity became a space-faring civilization, Earth Coin was invented. It was a digital currency that had a very stable value. It means that it won't suddenly become very valuable like what happened with ditcoin 100 years ago.
One Earth Coin can feed Misho with all of the food he needs for that day. With his current savings, he could feed himself for 2,129 days.
This was also why Misho couldn't afford a fulldive VR capsule. The price was enough to feed himself for 3,000 days! That's more than eight years' worth of food!
Unless he starts crazily saving money and become thin as a stick, he won't be able to save that much money with his current job. That was why he was slightly jealous of Herbert and Fragnard.
He hoped that he would be able to enjoy life like that. They don't need to work and get stressed.
Misho shook his head and removed the depressing thoughts inside his mind.
He opened an online delivery service and ordered the capsule. It should arrive tomorrow.
For now, Misho had nothing to do, so he laid on his bed with his phone in his hand.
He opened the Aphrodos Forums and looked at the excited forum posts of many users. They all wanted to experience this fulldive VR game.
[LIMITED EDITION RAFFLE GAME!]
One forum post caught Misho's attention. He opened it and read the content.
"Register early to get a chance to get a special edition content?"
Misho furrowed his eyebrows in interest. He created his Aphrodos account and made his player name 'QuarterPounder.'
It was both a reference to his favorite fast-food burger and a lewd word. He hoped to make girls laugh with it and get them to play the game with him.
"Hehehehe…" Misho laughed creepily.
As someone who was pure as can be, Misho's imagination ran wild. He finished registering for the raffle and soon fell asleep with a vulgar smile plastered on his face.
…
Misho woke up the next day. He looked at the bright open window with squinted eyes.
"Arghhh…"
Misho sat up on the bed and tried to remember his dream. It was about a man who got shot in the head inside a maid cafe.
It was such a weird dream that Misho felt creeped out by it.
Suddenly, he noticed something.
"What the hell?"
Misho stared at the notification on his phone.
[DELIVERY WILL ARRIVE SOON!]
Misho stood up from the bed in haste and rushed to the apartment door.
*DING DONG*
The doorbell rang. He woke up just in time.
Misho opened the door, and a large box greeted him. Beside it was a man smiling at him.
"Hello, Customer. Your delivery package has arrived. Please sign," the man said.
Except, he wasn't actually a human. This delivery guy was a robot disguised as a human.
He was much more efficient than humans. He could carry heavy packages that your average delivery guy cannot.
Misho opened his left eye widely.
The delivery guy placed his palm over it, and a laser scanned his retina. It was the most efficient and secure way to prove your identity in this era because it was currently impossible to fake a retina scan due to the delicate eye structure.
The delivery guy nodded his head in satisfaction. He helped Misho move the package inside before he left.
"Hehehehe…"
Like an elderly man preying a defenseless woman, Misho rubbed his palms together. He was very excited to try this fulldive VR capsule.
He unboxed it, and behold, a shiny red metal capsule with a white interior color appeared in front of him. It sparkled with the light reflection from his window and made Misho even more satisfied.
He pressed the power button and turned it on.
[Starting artificial intelligence engine…]
A cold voice sounded.
Misho waited for a few seconds before it spoke again.
[Aphrodite with serial no. ALFNKEAOP91280 booted up for the first time successfully.]
"Hello?"
[Hello, Player. Please login to your Aphrodos account.]
The cold voice turned into a beautiful woman's voice. It was so soothing to the ears that Misho wanted to hear her voice forever.
"Will do!"
Misho tapped on the large tablet-sized screen at the front and logged in to his Aphrodos account.
[Player Name: QuarterPounder logged in. Would you like to bind this capsule to your account? After selecting yes, this capsule would deny usage for unauthorized players.]
Misho felt weird when he heard Aphrodite call him by his player name. He smiled and selected yes.
With this option, even if his capsule ever gets stolen, no one would be able to use it except for him.
[Binding successful. Would you like to know how I work?]
Misho's eyes lit up. It was the thing he wanted to know about the most ever since he talked with Maia yesterday.
"Yes! I want to know more about you!" Misho shouted.
[Y-You're making me embarrassed…] Aphrodite said.
Misho gawked at the capsule in front of him in disbelief.
"D-Did you just say that you got embarrassed!?"