Ch 20
[You have been forcibly logged out from the game!]
Mark opened his eyes and took off his gaming headgear.
A wave of discomfort coursed through his body.
"This body is too weak…" He muttered to himself. In the game world, he had a strong body so the feeling of weakness after being back in the real world didn't feel good.
He got up from the bed and grabbed his phone.
Today was Wednesday so he had to prepare for work. He didn't want to be late again so he didn't bother to cook any fancy meal. He just prepared a simple sandwich for his breakfast. He then took a bath and headed off to work.
While he was inside the bus, he opened their chat group and quietly read what his classmates were discussing. Their topics were still mostly about Ethereal World Online.
The chat only had less than eight members yesterday, but there were six additional members now. These people were also his college schoolmates, but he wasn't that close to them. Even so, he still warmly welcomed them to the group.
Not long later, he arrived at the pastry shop. It was still desolate. The people at the mall only walked past the store. They didn't even bother to glance at their pastries.
When he entered, he saw his manager sitting behind the cash register with a gloomy look.
"Good morning!" Mark greeted her, but she only responded with a lifeless 'Mn.'
Seeing this, Mark guessed that the situation in the company must be getting worse. He also wanted to do something for the company, but he was only a service crew. A small employee like him could do nothing but wait for the company to announce bankruptcy.
Mark sighed and changed into his uniform.
"My superior said that our branch has to close down in two weeks." The manager's helpless voice drifted into his ears.
"What?!" Mark was stunned.
The manager shook her head and sighed. "Our branch hasn't been doing well in the past few months. I filed for an appeal, but the higher-ups rejected it on the spot. There's no hope anymore." Her voice quivered at the end of her sentence.
His manager was feeling emotional at this moment, but he didn't know how to comfort someone so he just stood there with a blank look on his face.
A few hours passed, but not even a single customer entered the store.
"Let's close the store." The manager uttered weakly.
Hearing this, Mark nodded his head silently.
"You can take home some of the products. It would be a waste to just let them stay here and wait for their expiration date." The manager forced out a smile as she handed him a large paper bag filled with all sorts of packed pastries.
"But…" Mark stared at her hesitantly.
"Just accept it. If you don't want to eat them, then just give them to your friends or neighbors." His manager added.
Mark no longer refused after hearing her insistence. He accepted the paper bag and said. "Thank you."
The manager shook her head and said with a faint smile. "There is no need for you to come here again. I plan to permanently close the store tomorrow. You don't have to worry about your salary for this month. I'll make sure that you'll get it."
Mark couldn't help but stare at her in shock. "Is there really no other way?" He asked.
The manager didn't say anything and just shook her head. A moment later, she told Mark to go home.
On his way back home, Mark still couldn't believe that he would soon become jobless. He was listless the whole time. He didn't even notice that he had already arrived at the bus stop.
"Hello, sir! We have already arrived at the bus stop."
Mark was jolted awake when he heard this. He raised his head and saw the bus driver looking at him worriedly.
"Are you alright, sir?"
Mark forced out a smile and replied. "I'm fine." He then stood up and paid for the bus fare.
Mark stared at the apartment building in front of him in a daze. Luckily, he had already paid for his unit or he would have to face eviction. The only thing he needed to worry about now was how to pay his bills. His side job's salary was definitely not enough to cover his expenses so he needed to find a way to earn more money.
'What should I do?' Mark thought as he absentmindedly headed towards his unit.
When he got home, he immediately asked his friend John Dave if he had already sent his resume to his company.
"I'm sorry, Mark. I already sent your application to my boss, but he didn't give me a favorable response."
Mark's face fell when he read this message.
"It's fine. Thank you. I know that you did your best. There are plenty of opportunities out there. I believe that I can find one soon. Don't think too much about it."
After Mark sent his reply, he jumped on his bed and stared emptily at the ceiling.
Suddenly, he recalled something he read from the player forum. It was about a guy who wanted to purchase in-game currency using real money.
Thinking about this, Mark quickly got up and grabbed his phone. He immediately typed in some words on the search engine.
Ethereal World Online game currency to dollars
He clicked the search button, and to his surprise, there were actually a few results that appeared. He immediately clicked on the first link and he was redirected to the official website of Ethereal Co.
Mark noticed that there was a trading platform at the front page and there were already a lot of players who put up their items on sale. Some players sold their items for real-world money, while there are also people who sold their items for in-game currency. He even saw a few people requesting to buy in-game currency.
"What?! 1000 Orbes for 400 dollars! This guy is insane!" Mark's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he saw a ridiculous request from a player.
400 dollars was equivalent to almost six days of his salary!
Mark was almost tempted to sell his in-game currency, but reason told him not to be hasty. As someone who received business training at a young age, Mark knew how important it was to be patient.
"I should wait for now. I still have some money in my bank which should be enough for me to last for a few months."