Haider stepped forward, his expression calm and steady. "Calm down, Ayan. Calm down. Nothing has happened. Everything is fine. Your hand is fine."
Ayan's eyes were wild as he looked down at his hand. To his shock, his hand was intact, unscathed. He flexed his fingers, disbelief flooding his senses." But... how?" he stammered, still staring at his hand."
It was a virtual simulation, A DREAM" Haider explained, his tone gentle yet firm. "It happened in an advanced psychological tool. Your mind believed it happened, but it didn't." Ayan's mind was a whirlwind of confusion and disbelief, still reeling from the vivid nightmare that had felt all too real. "That was all... inside a dream world?" Ayan's voice quivered, unable to grasp the reality.
Haider stood before him, calm and composed, his gaze steady. "Yes, Ayan. It was all in the dream world. "Relax first. We met two days ago. I offered you a job, remember? You called back, and I asked you to meet me here." Ayan's eyes narrowed as he struggled to recall. "What nonsense is this? After I left the café, the police arrested me. How can you say none of that happened?"
Haider shook his head gently. "Nothing like that happened. This is the GAMESCAPE setup. It creates hyper-realistic experiences by tapping into your mind's patterns, making it feel like everything you experienced was real." Ayan fell silent, trying to process what he was hearing. His heart still raced from the fear of the past few minutes—or hours, he couldn't tell. "Look outside," Haider urged, pointing towards a small window. "It's daytime. We reset the dream experience to the moment after we first met."
Ayan hesitated, glancing at the window. Sunlight streamed in, cutting through the shadows of the garage. "The chase? The cops?" "It was all within the Gamescape," Haider explained. "In reality, you went home that day, and today, you came here in the morning."
Ayan's mind struggled to bridge the gap between his feelings and what Haider told him. It was as if the ground beneath him had shifted, leaving him unsteady and unsure of what was real anymore. Haider continued, sensing Ayan's confusion."Gamescape can't be understood by talking, it has to be experienced firsthand, and now you have."
One of the crew members cut and handed Haider a file. He flipped through it, nodding approvingly at the contents. "Good reports, Ayan. Congratulations." Around them, the crew began dismantling the Gamescape setup, packing away the equipment that had so thoroughly deceived Ayan's senses.
Haider smiled reassuringly as he returned the file to his assistant. "See you in Mumbai." Ayan, still trying to make sense of it all, asked, "But... what's the job?" "You'll find out when you get there," Haider replied with a cryptic smile. "All the best, Ayan." They shook hands, the gesture grounding Ayan momentarily in the reality he was returning to.
As Haider walked away, Ayan remained standing in the middle of the garage, lost in thought. The remnants of the surreal experience still lingered in his mind, a haunting reminder of how easily reality could be twisted and reshaped.
*Volume 1 - Main Story - 40 chapters only.*
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