A new day arrived and Lucas was prepared to embark on his mission of leveling up to reach his next milestone. He had made it a habit to scroll through the in-game forum at the beginning of every day, not giving up hope of seeing news about him or his family.
This was the day he was waiting for.
[Breaking! Youngest son of tycoon George Yang reported missing.] - Posted 2 hours ago
Lucas was stunned upon seeing the headlines. Standing in the middle of Dong Yang Sect, he was like one of the motionless NPCs who stood guard at the gates. The news he was waiting for finally came but his fingers were debating whether to click open the forum thread.
Seeing the headlines alone triggered a millions of questions in his mind. Going through it a few times, the words "reported missing" etched in his mind. It wasn't reported that he had died or his body had been found. He was only "reported missing". What happened to Janson? Did Hubert reveal the truth? He needed to know.
Clicking on the thread, he read through every word carefully. Thank goodness whoever started the thread had copied the entire article from the news website into the post as he wasn't able to access external links.
"…George Yang revealed his youngest son, Lucas, had been kidnapped. Believing that the kidnappers would keep to their words and release Lucas after paying the ransom, the Yang family did not contact the police at first. After paying the promised ransom, their son did not return. They then contacted the police who began investigations. Though details of the case are currently confidential, the Yangs are appealing for witnesses who may have seen Lucas to help with the investigation. This story is developing and we will continue to update once the police reveal further information."
The short paragraph was enough to tell Lucas that something wasn't right. There was no mention of Janson and Hubert. History was rewritten by the ones who survived. Lucas suspected Hubert had tweaked the incident to his benefit.
He knew his elder brother too well. Blessed with a high IQ, Hubert would've made sure nobody knew about the yacht. He most likely had the kidnappers instruct his family to drop the ransom at an abandoned location and that only one person was permitted to go. He'd then convince his father that he will deliver the ransom so he could carry out his plan. Nobody needed to know the truth about what happened that day.
Wait, does anybody besides Janson and his gang knew he was dead? Hubert fled on a motorboat before that happened so he might be kept in the dark. Janson wouldn't be stupid enough to admit to murder. If he wanted to guilt-trip his brother, he could've twisted the story to say Lucas fell into the sea by accident.
That was one possibility out of millions. There was no way of finding out what Hubert and Janson were up to. He had the urge to break this virtual realm into pieces and get out of the game. The world needs to know the truth. His father and Mike needed to be aware of Hubert and Janson. Treating them like another rich elite whom he can't be bothered with, Lucas chose to ignore them in the past. For the first time in years, he was worried and afraid for his family.
Trapped inside DOJ, there was no way to tell them anything about the kidnap. Unless there was a way out of this world.
He had tried the [Log out] button countless times but it was greyed out and didn't work no matter how hard he pressed. Dying wasn't a way either because he'd just revive in the same world. A series of comments flooding the public chat didn't help to calm his nerves.
[Public Chat Channel]
Cheesy Pizza: Did you guys see the news? Some rich kid got kidnapped.
Poor Farmer: Rich people's problems.
Hat Trick: It's been a week…what are the chances he's still alive?
Cheesy Pizza: Guy's name is Lucas Yang, don't recall hearing much about him?
Player235: How many sons does this George Yang has?
Poor Farmer: The answer is - who knows? If you know what I mean…
BreadLover: Who's Lucas Yang? Handsome?
Cheesy Pizza: BreadLover, your focus is totally weird.
BreadLover: I will be sad if there's one less handsome boy in our society, sob sob.
Hat Trick: Read on social media that he's just a university student. What a pity to die so young!
Player235: Wait. So, he died?
Lancelot: Who died?
Xiao Xi: Somebody in DOJ died?
Dugu Baba: Dunno, some handsome kid died, I think.
Lucas stopped reading to clear his mind. The toxic chat was the best source of news and also the worst. People don't bother to get their facts right but he wasn't in the mood to correct anyone.
"Damn you, system. Exit, log out. Quit! I quit this game!" no matter what commands he gave, there was no response. Though he had assimilated into the game, he had a burning desire to leave it now.
He ascended to the highest mountains he could spot using his Qing Gong skills. Getting killed by NPCs and other players didn't work to get him out of here. Perhaps, death by suicide could work? Leaping off the peak, he succumbed to the weight of gravity, closing his eyes as he reached the ground.
THUD!
Waking up, he found himself lying back in the dormitories of Dong Yang Sect. Suicide didn't work.
[Lucien Cavalier, congratulations on unlocking an achievement - Falling off a cliff in Dong Yang Sect.]
[You have been awarded 100 Silver Leaves.]
That wasn't what Lucas was trying to achieve. There were thousands of such random achievements like these to earn Silver Leaves and some of them were designed as a joke to entertain players. But this wasn't funny at all right now.
Overwhelmed by different emotions, he experimented with dying in different ways to vent his feelings. He tried jumping off roofs, running into pillars, standing on top of a fire, and all sorts of ways he could think of. Nothing worked.
There was one last thing to try - drowning. He arrived in this world after sinking into the deep seas and woke up in the river of Ping An Village. Could that be the very portal linking these two worlds?