Chapter Two

Alex stumbled out of the lecture hall in a daze, his mind clouded with worries about his mother and their lack of money, the reminder was that he had to find a way to pay up before the end of the quarter, and that was barely 3 weeks from the current date. Suddenly, he felt a fist lightly bump his shoulder from behind.

"Hey space cadet, are you still in there?" a familiar voice teased.

Alex turned to see his childhood friend Emma grinning at him. Despite his stress, he couldn't help but smile back at her comforting presence.

Emma had been by his side since their early school days, they got through childhood together and since then they had always been partners. Emma was of average height with long, wavy blonde hair framing her bright blue eyes. Emma's bubbly spirit and sharp wit could always lift Alex's mood, even in the darkest of times.

They had both gotten into the medical program at Metropolis University, though Emma was never quite the flawless student Alex was. Still, her intelligence and determination impressed him. When Alex had to leave the program to care for his mother, Emma made sure they still had classes together when possible. Her friendship was one of the few constants in Alex's turbulent life.

"Rough day?" Emma asked, noticing the dark circles under his eyes. Alex just sighed and nodded, not wanting her to worry.

"Well hey, I've got just the thing to perk you up! Let's go grab some coffee and chat," Emma said cheerily, linking her arm in his and leading the weary Alex toward the campus coffee shop.

Leaving no room for Alex to object, she dragged him along.

The aroma of freshly ground coffee beans washed over Alex and Emma as they entered the campus cafe. After placing their orders, they sat at a cozy table by the window.

"So the professor mentioned that a big research project is coming up," Emma said before taking a sip of her vanilla latte. "We get to pick our own topics to investigate! Any ideas yet on what you want to do?"

Alex stirred his black coffee absently, his mind clearly elsewhere. "Oh uh, not really sure yet," he mumbled.

Emma studied his face more closely, noting his bloodshot eyes and slumped shoulders. "Hey," she said gently, "how are you holding up? How's your mom doing lately?"

Alex stared into his mug silently at first. Eventually he opened up about the relentless medical bills that continued to pile up no matter how hard he worked. Emma listened with compassion as he described the stress weighing him down.

"I just feel so powerless, everything I do just seems not to be enough" he said, putting his head in his hands. "She's all I have left, and I can't even find a way to help her get better."

Emma put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I wish I could help more financially, but I'm barely covering my own costs here," she said. "But what if...I told you that I did know a way you could potentially earn money? A lot of money, if you're up for a challenge."

Alex lifted his head, intrigued by this glimmer of hope from his trusted friend. "What did you have in mind?"

Emma leaned in conspiratorially before speaking in a hushed tone. "So you know that VR game we play, Elysium Quest? Well I was chatting with some friends there last week about making extra money. One of them mentioned this guy they know who will pay big bucks for someone to beta test a cracked update he programmed."

She went on to explain that this hacked update purportedly unlocks premium in-game items and abilities. But it also might get an account permanently banned if detected by the developers or the gaming bots and AI.

"I know you've spent years building up your character, not just the times that you spent but everything you have achieved would be gone" Emma said. "But this guy is willing to pay thousands just to have someone install the update and see what happens. If it works without getting caught, you'd make a nice chunk of change. If you still get caught you still get paid, so basically its a win win scenario"

Alex's eyes went wide at the prospect of fast money, but he worried about risking his account. Emma could see the temptation battling his hesitation.

"Just think it over," she said gently. "I know it's not guaranteed to be safe. That's why despite having many players who are high level, no one who has gotten the proposal has agreed to the deal. But I have a feeling that if you take on this job, it could solve a lot of your problems if it pays off. I can get you his contact info if you want to look into it more."

Alex nodded slowly, his mind racing as he headed home. Back in his apartment, he stared at his gaming setup. Sacrificing his character would be painful. But with his mother's life on the line, virtual treasures seemed trivial in comparison. If there was even a chance to earn the money they desperately needed, how could he pass it up?

Alex met up with Emma at the cafe again the next day, still unsure about the Elysium Quest job offer. As they sat down with their drinks, he decided to probe her for more information.

"This cracked update thing - where did your friend hear about it exactly? Can we trust the source?" Alex asked.

Emma took a sip of her latte before responding. "So my friend met this hacker guy named Zane on EQ about a month ago. Apparently Zane is well known for creating mods and has sold some before. The money was always good."

Alex nodded slowly. "But have you or anyone you know actually used one of his updates yourselves? And did he really pay out afterwards?"

"Honestly, no one I know directly has tried it yet," Emma admitted. "But Zane has solid reputation on the dark web EQ forums. And his updates seem to work based on user reviews."

"Okay, what do we know about this specific gig then?" Alex asked.

Emma outlined the limited details - Zane claimed the update would unlock rare premium skins, power-ups, possibly even hidden levels. The pay was reportedly a couple thousand dollars upfront, then a percentage of future update sales.

Alex sighed, leaning back in his chair. "There's still so much risk though. And not much proof we'd actually get paid."

Sensing his hesitation, Emma reached out and put her hand on his. "I know it seems shady. But it could solve a lot of problems if it works out. I'll help however I can if you decide to try it."

Alex wrestled with the choice. He still had doubts but knew Emma just wanted to help. Finally he said, "Let's do it. We need the money. I can always start over in EQ if I have to."

Emma nodded in agreement, hoping her friend wasn't making a mistake as she passed along Zane's contact.