Chapter 210: The Message From The Manager!

Neve just could not figure out how Nexus Medical Institute was responsible for what had happened to him. Their initial host was Rena, after all. Somehow, he had ended up dying in that zoo accident.

Does that mean they had planned for Rena to fall from the start?

Of course they had. After all, Rena was the first one to almost fall into the lion enclosure before Neve had saved him. It was the beginning of everything. Rena’s near-death experience was what triggered the entire chain of events.

Neve slid his fingers through his hair, groaning in frustration. He opened the search box on the phone and searched for Nexus Medical Institute.

Several articles came up. The hospital seemed to be everywhere in the news. There were pictures of it online showing a modern facility with clean white walls and large glass windows. It looked professional and legitimate.

The latest article described how Nexus Medical Institute had recently opened a charity wing to help poor people who could not afford medical treatment. They were offering free surgeries and treatments to underprivileged citizens.

The article talked about how the hospital’s director, Dr. Kenna, had given a speech about their mission to revolutionize medicine and help society. There were pictures of the director shaking hands with government officials. Everything looked normal and good.

Another article mentioned how the hospital had received multiple awards for their innovative medical procedures and patient care. They had state-of-the-art equipment and the best doctors in the country.

Even on the internet, the pictures of the hospital showed that it was just a normal hospital. A successful one. A good one.

Neve was not finding anything related to his death or what happened to him. There was nothing suspicious. Nothing criminal. Just a hospital doing good work in the community.

He just turned off the screen and placed the phone on the bed.

His head was already aching and he could not think straight anymore. He did not want any more information in his mind right now. He was confused and overwhelmed.

He stretched his hand above his head and pulled up the system mentally.

He wanted to see if he had any missions waiting. But the next mission had not arrived yet. There was nothing new.

"Didn’t the host say it was going to be my last mission?" Neve thought to himself quietly. "Does that mean it would come with a reward of me going home? What about these beastmen? There is no way I could leave them. I’m already liking it here..."

The thought made his chest hurt.

Neve turned on the phone screen again. He wanted to do something normal. Something to keep his mind off the dark thoughts.

"I guess I should just take some pictures as a way of keeping memories," he said to himself.

He took the phone and turned on the camera application. He aimed it at his face, hoping to see his reflection on the screen. But as soon as he looked at the camera display, it was all dark.

Completely black. Nothing but darkness.

"Huh?! Is it the phone or something else?" Neve muttered and walked around with the phone in his hand.

He stepped into the empty main cave area, the phone camera still showing nothing but darkness.

He even went outside to the beautiful snowy scenery, the white landscape glowing in the afternoon light. But the camera showed nothing. Still dark. Still black.

"Why? There is no way my phone was broken," Neve said, checking the phone itself. It was working fine. The screen was bright and responsive.

"Does that mean all of these are fake? An illusion?" Neve muttered under his breath, thinking about what the host had said. Thinking about how none of this felt real.

Just immediately after he came up with that theory, a system message popped up on his phone screen.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

[FINAL MISSION ACTIVATED: Retrieve the Gateway Key to Earth]

[TIME LIMIT: Three weeks and one day]

[CONSTRAINT: Must leave on the night of the Spring Festival]

[REWARD: Return to original world. Others gain access to portal passage.]

Neve froze.

Three weeks. That was all the time he had. He had to find the key and leave by the night of the Spring Festival.

He read the message again, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Wait," Neve whispered to the system. "When you say others, do you mean just me and people from Earth or do you mean me and my mates?"

The system responded immediately.

[Precisely..]

’All individuals bonded to you MIGHT HAVE access to the portal should they choose to leave Precisely what?"

Neve groaned, leaning against the entrance wall and staring at the system message. He was still angry about the theory he had just made about everything being fake. But since the system had responded immediately after he voiced that theory, it meant he was right about it.

Everything here was not real. It was an illusion. Something created by the system or the host or this Nexus place.

He was not actually in another world with real people. He was trapped in some kind of simulation.

Neve was busy standing there, staring at the system message. But to others, he was just looking into empty air, since they could not see the system interface.

Popi had walked toward him from the deeper part of the cave. She studied his face with concern.

"Is there anything from the system?" she asked gently.

Neve smiled, forcing it to look natural.

"No," he said. "I am just checking things out. Thinking about stuff."

Popi did not look entirely convinced, but she did not push him further.

Neve could not tell Popi the truth yet. He could not tell anyone at all. His chest grew heavier with the thick secret he was holding. If he told them, rumors would spread. Others would misinterpret what was happening. People would panic.

Neve wanted to find out if he could bring others with him if he was leaving. Or if there was a way for him to stay here permanently with them. But if this was not an actual world, if it was all fake, then what was the point?

Neve gritted his teeth angrily. If this was real, he was going to find a way to get rid of Nexus. He was going to shut them down and make sure they could never do this to anyone else again.

"Neve?" Popi’s voice snapped him back to reality. "Why are you standing there by the entrance? Come inside."

"Just getting some air," Neve replied and walked toward his room.

Popi followed him, asking random questions as they walked.

"What were you holding? That thing that glowed?" she asked.

"Just a ring," Neve answered automatically, not really paying attention to her words.

"What does it do?"

"Nothing important," he said.

They got to the entrance of his private room. Neve was about to say goodbye to Popi for the time being and go back to sleep since the meeting and gathering had interrupted his rest. His body was tired and his mind was exhausted.

But a sound from the cave entrance made their senses heighten. Their eyes traveled straight to the main entrance.

They had almost thought someone was coming to kidnap them again, but then Varek peeked into the cave entrance.

His snake form was partially visible, his long tail sliding along the stone floor.

Popi’s eyes lit up like she had seen the sun for the first time.

"Varek!" she screeched and rushed forward, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

Varek laughed and hugged her back. His huge snake tail was secretly waving back and forth, showing how happy he was to see her.

While Varek was distracted with he, Neve signaled him silently to take care of her. Neve wanted to get some sleep. He was exhausted on every level.

Varek nodded in understanding.

Neve gave a thumbs up and went to his bed, laying down on it. He even covered his face with the thick blanket when he got in.

Popi almost did not believe that Neve was going to sleep so easily. She came to check on him and asked Varek if Neve was okay. After Varek confirmed that Neve just needed rest, she finally left him alone and went to a private corner with Varek.

Neve finally happy he was alone. He stayed still, listening until their footsteps faded completely.

Then he pulled out his phone from under his pillow where he had hidden it.

He wanted to turn off the phone so maybe the battery would die and he would not have to deal with any more messages or system alerts. But the phone dinged suddenly, a notification lighting up the screen.

A message had come through. Not from the system this time.

From an unknown number.

Neve froze.

He carefully opened the message, his eyes widening as he read the words on the screen.

"Hello! It is me. The manager. Have you gotten your final mission? Hurry and complete them. Dear host."

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