[CLICK!]
[SLEEP MODE HAS BEEN DISABLED.]
***
"Thanks god. You have finally gained your consciousness, Young Man!"
Trevor heard a man's voice faintly. His vision was a blur when he opened his eyes.
'Where is this?'
That question immediately popped into his head when he saw the unfamiliar ceiling above. Something like an antiseptic smell lingered around.
He saw an unfamiliar old man there with him.
"Do you feel better? Can you see me?" he asked again.
"Who are you?" Trevor asked weakly.
"You may not remember, but I am a person whose life was saved by you. Thanks to you I avoided the incident that almost took my life. Even though you ended up injured like this instead," said the old man with teary eyes.
"What do you mean by that -- Argh!"
"Don't move too much, sir. You are still weak!" A female nurse suddenly appeared from the door frame.
Trevor had intended to get up, but his head felt very dizzy. He also realized that his shoulder ached. There was a bandage placed there.
"Why? What was happened?" Trevor tried to think but his head was getting worse. "Why am I here?" he asked the two people in front of him.
"Are you sure you don't remember anything?" the nurse asked him back.
Trevor shook his head weakly.
"This is weird. When you got checked earlier there was nothing wrong with your head. It was only your shoulder that was injured? How can you forget about an event that just happened a few hours ago?" The nurse read a document in her hands. She looked at the man again after that. "But do you remember your name, sir?"
"Of course. I am Trevor Scott."
"How old are you?"
"24 years old."
"Are you sure?" She frowned. "It says you were born in 1996 here."
"September 28, 1996 -- to be exact. That makes me 24, right?" Trevor got annoyed.
"But it's 2023 now. Shouldn't it be 27?"
"What?" Trevor glanced at him in surprise. "What are you talking about?"
The nurse and the old man looked even more dumbfounded to hear that.
"What year do you think it is now?" asked the old man.
"Of course, it's 2020! Why do you guys keep asking weird questions?" Trevor was getting annoyed.
The two of them looked at each other again.
"Then do you remember why you are here?" the nurse asked again.
Trevor couldn't answer.
"That's because you have saved me, young man." The old man interrupted. "Earlier, when I passed through a quiet road, some thugs tried to rob me. They even used a knife to threaten me. Luckily, you came to help. You fought with them until you got stabbed like this," he added.
Trevor frowned as he pointed at himself. "I did that?" he asked in confusion.
"Yeah."
What nonsense! He didn't remember doing it at all.
But, wait! At that moment, something popped into his head. But instead of the memory of what the old man said, he remembered the last moment before he lost consciousness.
Shouldn't he be in prison by now? A few hours after receiving the verdict sentence, he was involved in a fight with the inhabitants of the cell he was placed in. He even remembered that he was injured badly to the point he wasn't sure he would survive the chaos.
But what is this? Where is this? Who are these people? Why do they keep talking nonsense to him?
'The time has finally come. Welcome back, Trevor Scott!'
"W-What is that?" Trevor suddenly shouted when he heard someone talking to him. He glanced around before turning to the nurse. "What did you say?" he asked.
"I-I didn't say anything," she looked concerned about him. "Sir, are you okay?
"But -- argh!" His head hurt again. "What's going on? What's happening to me? Everything feels so weird?"
"You are probably still in shock from what happened earlier, sir. That's why I suggest you to get more rest. I am sure you will feel better later." The nurse led him again to lie down. "I will call the doctor for you. Please wait a moment."
He didn't know anything. But for now, maybe he should listen to her. He should wait for the pain in his head to subside first.
***
But things didn't get any better. When he woke up again, he was still in the hospital. This time he was alone without the nurse or the elderly as the night had come.
"What happened? Why do I feel out of place with myself? Why can't I remember anything?"
Trevor examined himself in wonder. Until his eyes caught his reflection on the window pane, his eyes popped immediately.
"W-what the hell?"
Trevor felt strange to himself. What's with his appearance? Why do his clothes look shabby, dirty, and so tattered like this? How long has he not bathed? His hair hangs long down to his neck in really horrible condition. He even had an unshaven mustache and beard to make it worse.
"W-Why? What happened to me?!"
'Because three years have passed without you realized, Mr. Scott!'
Trevor was startled again when he heard the same voice out of nowhere. But again, there was no one else around him.
"W-Who is talking? W-Where are you?!" Trevor asked trembling.
'I am here, sir! Inside your head."
"W-What? Argh!" His head hurt again because he moved too much. "N-No way. What do you mean? Are you telling me I am crazy?" he asked while enduring pain.
'You may take it that way, Mr. Scott. But let me explain to you that this situation is not that bad. In fact, I guarantee you will be very pleased with me here with you?'
"No way! Now tell me how did you get there if it wasn't for me going crazy?" Trevor still couldn't believe it.
'I will explain, but will you promise to listen without getting angry?'
Trevor didn't answer because he wasn't too sure about that.
'If you don't want to, then feel free to figure it out yourself. I am sure no one will be able to explain it to you other than me,' the strange voice sounding even more annoying.
"Oke, fine." Trevor had no other choice. "I'll try."
'So three years ago, you had surgery for the bad injury you got after a fight in the cell. At that moment, the Mastermind put the chip in your head. That's why--"
"What?!" Trevor exclaimed displeasedly. "Who the heck is that weird guy called the Mastermind? How could he do something like that without my permission?"
'The problem is without the chip you can't be saved, sir. You will probably die back then,' the voice explained again.
"No way…."
'Yes sir. At the time you were very critical so you almost couldn't make it.'
Trevor was at a loss for words. All of a sudden, in his head, appeared some kind of illustration as if he was lying on the operating table. He felt the presence of several people around him. They were panicked when he experienced a code blue.
Then, he felt a mysterious figure came to him. That person treated him so that his condition stabilized again. It was difficult to explain but he also felt there was an object had been implanted into his head.
'That's how you can live as you are now, sir. And also the same reason why I am here -- inside your head.'
The more he thought about it, the weirder it felt. Everything was really out of place.
"Y-You said earlier that... It's been three years? Today is 2023? What did you mean by that? Why can't I remember anything?"
'Because the Mastermind decided to let you rest as you were badly injured that time.' The woman answered again. "He said he would only wake you up when you were ready. Seems like today is what he meant."
"But who the heck is he?
'He is the one who saved and protected you when you were dying, sir. He is also determined to help you get the justice that was taken away from you three years ago.'
"What justice?"
'Don't you remember what happened to you related to a woman named Miranda Johnson? It also has something to do with Frederick Dunn.'
Trevor's blood immediately boiled when he heard those names. That's right. How could he forget about them?
'That's why you were chosen as the player. You suit the mission in our system,' said the woman who was in his head again.
"What are you talking about?"
'I would like explain that to you, sir. But, let me introduce myself first. I am AI T. I will assist you to accomplish every mission in a system called Be Kind to Get Rich!'
***