Chapter 211: The Truth From The Manager

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

Neve stared at the message on his phone screen, his hands trembling with a shocked expression plastered all over his face.

He knew he was right. He was damn right. The manager had given him this phone as part of his reward for this exact reason. If everything that he had been going through since he arrived here was an illusion, then it meant something else too.

Something terrible.

If everything was fake, then even the feelings the beastmen had for him were fake. Everything he had started building between them was fake. All the bonds. All the love. All of it.

Neve felt his heart thumping harder as tears filled his eyes.

Just when he was ready to settle here. If Maren were to return to tell Neve that he had found a way back home, he was going to reject the offer because he had fallen in love with this place and everyone in it. But now, he was having this kind of negative theory which somehow, is turning out to be true.

He typed back quickly with shaking fingers.

"Who exactly are you? What do you want from me?"

The response came immediately.

"Let me introduce myself again. I am the manager of the entire simulation. I oversee everything that happens in this world. The system, the beastmen, their emotions, everything."

Neve’s stomach dropped.

He typed again. "If this is a simulation, what about my body? What about my real body?"

The next message took longer to arrive. When it did, it felt like a punch to his gut.

"Your real body is in a coma at Nexus Medical Institute. You have been in a coma for three months. The equipment attached to your body is what connects your consciousness to this world. The tubes in your arms, the monitors on your chest, the electrode on your head. All of it is creating this link between your real body and your consciousness here."

Neve felt the room spin around him.

His real body was in a coma. He was lying in a hospital bed somewhere, hooked up to machines, while his consciousness was trapped in this fake world.

"Why?" he typed desperately. "Why did you do this to me?"

"I apologise, but we are all victim of NMI. It’s because they needed a test subject. Your friend Rena was the first failure. When you fell into the lion enclosure at the zoo, they took the opportunity. They retrieved your body before the authorities could interfere. They put you into the facility and connected your mind to our simulation. You are the first human consciousness to survive this long in our world."

Neve’s fingers shook so badly he could barely type.

"What happens if I do not complete the mission? What happens if I do not leave?"

"Your body will eventually fail. The human mind cannot stay in a simulation indefinitely. Your body will shut down. Your heart will stop. You will die."

Neve read the message over and over, unable to process it.

"And if I do complete the mission and return?"

"If you retrieve the Key and leave on the night of the Spring Festival, your consciousness will return to your body. You will wake up. You will be able to live a normal life again."

"What about them?" Neve typed frantically. "The beastmen? Popi? Varek? My mates? Are they real?"

The response made his blood run cold.

"No. They are artificial intelligence. Complex programs designed to mimic human/animal behavior and emotions. They are not real. Their love for you is not real. It is code. It is programming."

Neve felt like he was suffocating.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to throw the phone across the room. He wanted to run away from this truth.

But he kept typing.

"How do I get the key? Where is it?"

"Maren is searching for it in the beastworld. Well, the consciousness of Maren is searching for it. I hope he finds it eventually, because I, as a manager do not know where it is. When he returns with the key, you must take it and leave. You must complete the mission."

"And if I refuse? If I want to stay here with them?"

There was a long pause before the next message came through.

"Then you will die. Your body cannot sustain consciousness in a simulation for more than a few weeks. You have already exceeded our initial predictions. Every day you stay here is a day closer to your body’s failure."

Neve’s tears were falling freely now.

Everything he had experienced, everything he had felt, all the love and connection and belonging he had found with these people, was nothing but code. Programming. Artificial.

He typed one more message.

"I will get the key. I will leave. Just promise me one thing. Promise me you will not put anyone else through this."

The response was immediate.

"I can’t make any promise. But I doubt NMI will give up on this. On you. They’d want to keep you since you’re their longest and best subject."

Neve turned off the phone, not able to type anything anymore. He didn’t know what to do with this information. It felt so surreal.

He sat in the darkness of his room, his body shaking with sobs that he tried to muffle with his hand. His heart felt like it was breaking into pieces.

"Neve?"

A familiar voice called out from the main cave, pulling him from his spiral of despair.

Neve gasped and quickly wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. He shoved the phone under his pillow and took a shaky breath.

"I’m here," he called back, his voice hoarse from crying.

He forced himself to get out of bed and walk out to the main cave area.

When he emerged, he saw Bella standing there in the center of the cave, folding her hands across her chest. Her expression was neutral, but her eyes were hard.

"You did not forget your promise, did you?" Bella asked, her voice firm.

Neve’s mind was still reeling from the revelation, but he managed to focus on the question.

Right. The promise. He had promised to give Bella food in exchange for showing them the way to Soren’s location. He had completely forgotten about it in all the chaos.

Neve faked a laugh, trying to sound normal.

"Of course I did not forget," he said, even though the lie tasted bitter in his mouth.

He studied Bella more carefully now. She looked different than before. Her clothes were a bit cleaner. Her hair was combed. She did not smell as bad. It was like she was trying to take care of herself for once.

"Have you thought about it?" Neve asked carefully. "About stopping being an outcast? About rejoining the tribe?"

Bella’s entire body went rigid.

"You should mind your own business," she said coldly, looking away from him.

But Neve could see something in her eyes. A flicker of hope. A small desire for something better.

"Just wait here," Neve said and walked to the kitchen.

He opened the market interface and quickly ordered something cheap but good. A plate of pasta with tomato sauce. It was affordable, since he was still planning on saving his remaining Bond Points. The pasta looked filling and tasty.

He brought the plate back to Bella and handed it to her.

Bella stared at the plate for a moment, not recognizing the food. She took it carefully and, looking at the pasta with uncertainty. She swallowed hard as the aroma entered her nose and it twitched.

"I will return tomorrow," she said quietly and walked out of the cave.

Popi emerged from the shadows of the cave, watching Bella leave.

"She has not learned her lesson," Popi said, shaking her head. "That is why she keeps coming back. She enjoys being an outcast."

"She will be fine," Neve replied automatically, his mind elsewhere.

None of it mattered anymore. None of it was real.

"Where are the others?" he asked, trying to distract himself from his spiraling thoughts.

"The kids are in the back room with Sif," Popi answered. "They are playing. As for the others, I do not know where they went."

"Ryker, Cael, and Sorin are practicing their abilities," Neve said. "But I do not know where the rest of them are."

Just as soon as he said that, someone stepped in front of the cave entrance. The figure was carrying something massive. Something huge and heavy. With a loud slam, Roan dropped an entire boar onto the stone floor of the cave.

The impact made the ground shake slightly. Blood splattered across the floor.

Neve shrieked and jumped back, moving away from the dead animal.

"I am back," Roan said, smiling with blood coating his body. His clothes were stained red and his golden eyes were gleaming with pride. "And I brought a boar. Told you I am a good hunter."

Neve’s jaw dropped.