"And so that's everything."
"I was contacted by a mysterious organization saying that they would help me become a famous Game Developer after I graduated high school. I never imagined they'd just leave me high and dry when things were going well." Jack said with his voice tinged with real regret and disappointment.
He fell silent as he lifted his head to look at the two officers. It had been an hour since they got here.
When they first stepped inside they first looked around his apartment before sitting him down to ask him some questions. Of course with his prepared alibi he was ready for whatever they threw at him.
Noticing that the two officers were furiously taking notes before the female officer's face softened. She had an expression as if she believed him in everything.
"Me and my partner understand your predicament. This isn't as rare as you think. Let me just go over everything again to see if there is anything we missed." The female officer's cold expression on her face had relaxed a lot after listening to Jack's story.
As she looked at her notes she couldn't help but silently sigh by how lucky she was. If she had taken one wrong step and ended up in a terrible situation like Jack.
And knowing that he was only a few years younger than her made her more inclined to believe him.
Jack adjusted himself to keep his composure and said, "Please,"
"First off, you were contacted by a Shadow Gaming Company a few months before your graduation in which you were offered a job as their lead game developer for their entrance to Timber Woods City."
"With promises of providing you with excellent training in game development to help you catch up to the industry as well as their advanced game development software. Which they let you test early to help convince you. Was any of that incorrect?" The female officer said softly as she felt a bit envious.
She wasn't given such an offer when she was about to graduate high-school.
If she had been she could have become a police officer a few years early. Not a fresh police officer like now.
The thought of someone so young being given such an opportunity almost made her feel a pang of envy. Even when she graduated from the police academy, the best offer she received was to stay in the city and work at the nearby district. In comparison Jack had gotten a golden ticket—if it hadn't turned into a nightmare
Jack shook his head. Everything was exactly how he told them.
"It sounds a bit too good to be true." The male officer interrupted, making the atmosphere turn cold again.
"Yes, this would be the dream of any aspiring game developer which should have triggered red flags. But considering that you were stressed about your future plans at the time and other factors it is not hard for us to believe you would ignore the red flags."
"You'd be surprised how common scams like this still are, even today." The female officer explained in Jack's stead and smiled half jokingly.
"My grandmother also was nearly scammed. If I didn't make a surprise visit she would have lost her life savings."
"I'm sorry to hear that." The male officer said sincerely.
"It's no big deal. That was a few years ago so we just laugh about it now." The female officer said before turning her attention back to her notes.
"After graduation, you joined the Shadow Gaming Company, which extended your military service and set up Starry Cloud Studio."
"Is anything I said incorrect?" The female officer asked again in the same manner and tone.
"No, that's correct. But I'll also add that they also gave me an upfront payment to help me move out of my parents house and buy some much needed stuff." Jack said with a cooperative face.
"I see, that does make it easier to believe that this Shadow Gaming Company is real and legit." The female officer said with a nod and added it to her note before turning the page.
"Now we get to how they made you work to the bone by making you produce numerous high quality games over the last two years. The Shadow Gaming Company also frequently repeated their high demands for you."
"Even threatening to fire you if you didn't meet these said requirements. Is this correct?" The female officer asked with the same punctuality.
Jack nodded his head to show that she didn't miss anything.
"Which we finally come to the point where you woke up today to numerous notifications informing you that you were in two million dollars in debt. As well as lost access to all accounts that were tied to the Shadow Gaming Company and Starry Cloud studio. Is there anything incorrect with my statement or analysis?" The female officer's black eyes glinted as she focused on Jack's facial expressions.
"No, everything you said was correct." Jack said with a heavy feeling in his gut.
"Well thank you for your cooperation Mr. Bunny. With everything we have here you can assure you that you will not have to pay the two million dollars of debt."
"However, we might need your help for further investigation and finding traces of this Shadow Gaming Company." The female officer said calmly as she stood up with the male officer.
Jack stood up with them with haste before sighing with relief.
"Thank you, that was all I was hoping for. That debt was crushing me to death with stress." Jack said with a bit less gloom.
"If you need to contact us here." The female officer reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a white card.
Taking the card with a calm expression, Jack briefly looked at it and finally saw the two officers' names.
Officer Lucas Holloway…should be the bald guy. Jack thought and looked at the second name on the card.
Officer Elena Winters.
"They both have good names. I half expected them to be weird since I did come into an alternate timeline." Jack silently thought to himself and carefully put away the card.
The two officers nodded their heads seeing that Jack really did save their card and their impression of him improved slightly.
"Have a good day, officers." Jack said as he closed the door. After hearing the sound of their footsteps walking away. Jack breathed out a sigh of relief.
Jack lingered in the doorway, hearing the soft echoes of their footsteps as the officers left. The door clicked shut in front of him, and for a moment, all he could do was stand there, his mind still racing. Then, slowly, the tension started to seep out of him. He wiped the sweat from his brow, his hand trembling ever so slightly as he clenched his fist. The relief didn't hit him all at once, but gradually, like a storm passing.
"Damn, that was nerve racking." Jack spat out and touched his chest and felt his heartbeat. It had racing the entire time. He didn't even have to try acting nervous since he was.
Thinking about that experience Jack felt he was walking on needles. Although he didn't know how much they believed Jack felt that they believed most of it.
Why was he so confident? It was because most of it was true.
He spilled the beans.
He told the police officers everything he could. From the high standards that the system required of him to the type of game development software was involved.
He even drew a basic version of it for them.
He didn't hide anything.
Except for certain things that he couldn't explain. Like how he was from an alternative universe and took over the body of Hester Bunny.
It wasn't like he could tell them that.
If he tried to run with that, they might not even believe him. Thinking that he had gone crazy or was covering up the truth.
It wouldn't help him out at all.
If they believed him, it'd raise a whole new set of problems—being experimented on or worse
Or would they try and crack open his skull to see if the system was simply deactivated.
Either outcome would result in his death.
Speaking of which, the System truly could have left something in his brain. Since it left a scar it could have left a small bomb that would detonate the moment he exposed the System. The chances of that were not high but not zero so he couldn't take that risk.
He could only work around it.
He also changed the system from being something in his head to a Shadow Company. Typically these types of companies were shady and took advantage of their employees.
Some of them were even fronts for money laundering which made more sense.
But other than a few things he told them everything. He wasn't confident that he could lie in front of two professional police officers and not be called out. So he chose the easy way of being a snitch.
Jack let out a low groan as he sank into the chair, feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"Damn, that was stressful. I think I aged like two years." The words were half-joking, but he knew he wasn't wrong.
His heart had finally slowed to a more manageable pace, and the oppressive weight of the two million-dollar debt no longer loomed over him. That alone was worth celebrating. A sigh of relief escaped him, and he pulled out his phone, suddenly remembering his plans.
"I should get ready to meet Sarah," he thought with a slight smile, the prospect of seeing her lifting his spirits. But then he sniffed his shirt and grimaced. The stress had taken its toll, leaving him feeling grimy. "Guess I need a quick shower before I go. Can't show up smelling like I just ran a marathon."
Memories of Sarah surfaced showing an honest looking girl in her mid twenties. Her neck length brown hair was wavy as she had a wide cheerful yet energetic smile across her face.
At the same time as Jack was getting ready to set off, the Officer Elena glanced at her partner who was driving and asked, "How much do you think he said was true?"
"I would say 90-95 percent of it was true. There were some clear things he left out of his story like how he grew two inches in a short two years after his body's growth period had stopped long before." Officer Lucas said calmly as he recalled their meeting with Jack.
Lucas's eyes flashed as he recalled that Jack's body resembles more of a soldier than a youngster who never went to serve. His muscular frame, his wide shoulders, and strong legs couldn't be gained without many years of training.
"There could have been additional benefits that the Shadow Gaming Company offered him to gain his trust. I wouldn't be surprised if he was given a genetic optimization serum. Those things can almost get anyone to do anything to have one. Even the most basic versions."
"But overall he should be telling the truth. This isn't the first time a Shadow Company was able to wipe out its traces at a moment's notice. Even being able to delete others' emails tracing back to them is normal." The bald man said as he stroked his chin.
Even he would be tempted if someone offered him a genetic optimization serum. So it wouldn't be surprising if a fresh high-school graduate fell for it.
Genetic optimization serums were one of the most crucial breakthroughs in science. After the disaster, medical technology didn't fall behind in investment compared to gaming. In fact it was even more important since vaccines for the frequent mutated viruses and the zombie plague were necessary for survival.
Genetic optimization serums were merely just one of the projects that were invested in by the governments around the world. Leading to far stronger bodies and more intelligent people, the most advanced Genetic optimization serums could even extend one's lifespan to some extent.
Getting one's hands on one was an irresistible temptation.
"True. But Hester probably didn't get a complete genetic optimization serum. Probably a defective product but that's better than nothing."
The female officer agreed as she looked at the detailed drawing of a Gaming development software. She didn't have any experience in this regard so she couldn't say if this software belonged to a certain company which would help them in their investigation.
But this wasn't of her concern anymore. All she and her partner needed to do was done. They just needed to hand over their notes for the other departments to handle.
Elena looked at her partner, still thinking over the case as Lucas stopped for a red light.
"Before I forget," Lucas began, his tone a little sharper now, "next time, don't jump in like that. My question was designed to get Hester to slip up."
Elena's face fell, her cheeks coloring slightly. She had meant well, but she knew Lucas was right. "Sorry about that. I just felt bad for him."
Lucas shot her a look, but there was a hint of understanding in his eyes. "It's fine, just be more careful next time."
She nodded, determination flooding her chest. "I'll do better next time."
He smiled, though his expression was more satisfied than warm. "Good."
There was a pause before he casually mentioned, "We'll drop the report, then grab some dinner. Does Red Robin sound good?"
Elena grimaced, the thought of another greasy burger making her stomach churn.
"We've had Red Robin the last five times straight," she muttered, but her grumbling stomach reminded her that she wasn't paying. "Fine, but I get to have the leftovers."
Lucas laughed under his breath as he pressed on the gas. "Of course, you are."