Almost at the same time every single one of the players reached out their hands. Hesitating means losing the initiative. Raphael's face remained unchanged as he calmly reviewed the opening property listings. One of the most important assets was land. Land and natural resources. Yet one had to be careful, as the location where they were situated mattered a lot. Hesitate and someone might end up snatching it away before you even have the chance to blink. At the same time rushing can lead to making wrong choices, and one might end up with a dead asset. The large countdown floated above the holographic city made up of thousands of small boxes. Conspicuously. Each second that ticked by was like an invisible string tugging on their chest. The pressure was really high. Tension filled the air. On the other hand, Ekaterina was already going through with a purchase before the countdown had even finished loading. Her fingers flew across the holographic screen, like a dragonfly skim

This naturally drew a lot of attention, as there were many people who were curious about how he was going to use it. Then he started to purchase more land. [I think this sniper guy has gone mad for land.] [Does it think that the more land one has, the more they can earn?] While the live chats focused on his spends, the players were more interested in the source. It should be impossible to borrow that amount of money from the bank based on the game limits. Yet before they could think too much into it, their attention was pulled back to their own matters. What they didn't know was that not only was Rapheal able to borrow such a large amount, but the interest rate was lowered because he was a major shareholder in the bank. There was less than an hour left. The viewers had made their own list of the people who should be in the top five ranks based on their activities. It went like... Silias (Player King of the Arena.) Ekaterina (Player VostokX) Jordon (Player Mogul) And surpri

Hearts were pounding and palms became sweatier by the minute. In a small bar a guitarist sat on a slightly elevated stage. His hands were holding a guitar which was settled on his lap, yet he made no move to play it. Above the drink counter was a small TV, which was installed by the bar owner to entertain the customers and which was most times used for watching sports and a quarter of the time for soap operas. It was a local hangout and received a lot of people, especially towards the evening. At that moment even the waitress stood unmoving with the tray of drinks she was supposed to be serving. Those who were waiting to be served didn't complain, nor did they mind. "Who do you think the first pl...?" "Shh..." Countless different voices snapped at the person who just spoke at the same time. Their eyes flickered with annoyance. They were all watching. Waiting. Standing in the middle of it all, Rapheal tilted his head back and stared at the big screen calmly. "Can you stop sh

Rapheal didn't know how they arrived at the hospital. They had managed to catch up with the ambulance. Arriving just a step behind Two stretchers were dragged out from behind the ambulance. There was blood everywhere. Raphael's breath caught in his throat. "What are you doing, sir? Please stay back." A nurse called out when she saw him approaching. Vicent was more stable and quickly responded. "We are his family. Please, how are they doing? They are going to be fine, right?" The stretchers were rolled in, and doctors in white coats hurried over. One of them needs immediate surgery. "We can't say anything for now," the nurse explained briefly before hurrying away. They were stopped in front of the OR, and the double doors were shut tightly. Sealing away whatever was happening inside. "Those bastards." Vicent closed his eyes and swore. There was no guessing who did this. It couldn't be a coincidence. Just as they dug important dirt on the Moreau family, they were met wit

Meanwhile, as Rapheal walked out of the hospital, the system was panicking in his mind.Host: What are you doing? Host, you aren't really planning on going, right? It yelled at him coldly. [I agree to what your friend said earlier. You are acting in the heat of the situation which will do you no good.]Rapheal ignored his words. He plugged the key into the ignition and watched the car roar to life. "You know where the research center is, right?"This is a death sentence, host. Did you forget how you died in your past life? There won't be any miracle this time.]Raphael's hand on the steering froze.The system thought it had managed to convince him and quickly added. [Why don't you think this through? Do you really plan on throwing your life away?Then it watched Rapheal fish his phone out of his pocket and dial a number.The line connected after one ring."Rapheal." A respectful call rang from the other side of the phone. The voice carried a hint of laziness. "How come you didn't stay