4. One last time

Buckets of water came pouring down from the dark clouded sky and were collected in small ponds across the streets, that reflected the neon glowing billboards. Before a dark ally stood Bao, in his hands the napkin with the black, squiggly writing of his friend on it, naming the exact street before him. His eyes stared down into the pitch darkness, the abyss because little light reached down the ally, he didn't expect any less from such shady business, it properly fulfilled all the cliches he had in mind. Descending this path could mean never coming back again, it could mean disappointing his family and himself again and more than that it that one year of hell would have been for nothing.

Like frozen he stood there, not moving an inch, not even a muscle was twitching from his tense posture, only his chest was going up and down at every deep breath he took. Ning gave him a great opportunity but at the same time it also loaded a heavy burden on his shoulders since he would regret not taking this chance for the rest of his life, he knew that would be the case.

It was his dream to live an adventure like the heroes in his stories, how could he not take this possibility? He took one last deep breath, put the napkin in his right pocket and lift his left feet high up, higher than it should have and with all his body he took the first step into the abyss, the unknown.

-30 minutes before-

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, where are you going?"

Bao froze in the middle of going down the stairs, he didn't expect his moth to say anything, since they never talked to each other after he came back.

"My friend Ning invited me over to his house for coffee, we didn't meet for a year after all." he responded, with a baffled expression.

"You shouldn't hang out with that kid anymore, he was the cause why you even started using... using that thing there."

"Mom! We already had this discussion, I was the one who asked him if such a VR existed, he just gave me the information and it was MY decision to use it, he is not to blame and you know that. While he was worried about me disappearing for a year, what did you do? You didn't even bother to visit me, do you even care about what happens to me!" He was screaming at this point in the discussion.

After realizing what he just said to his own mother with both eyes wide open, he fled down the stairs towards the exit door.

"Bao, wait! I... I di..."

Her sentence was cut off midway by the slamming door behind him and without halting he walked away.

- Present -

It felt like it took him an eternity to reach the internet cafe down the ally but he finally did it. Only now he noticed that even his underwear was soaked but there was no way he would go back now, not after what happened.

He quickly entered the shop, his clothes dripping down to the floor.

"How may I help you, Sir?" The attendant carefully inspected him.

"I have a reservation with the name NW."

His stare at him became even more aggressive, it felt like a tiger was just observing his prey.

"Of course, Sir please follow me. I'll also let you bring some spare clothes given your current condition."

They went through a big room that was filled with the constant sound of blowing computers and talking users, in short, it looked like a normal internet cafe to Bao. After reaching the end of the room the attendant opened a small metal door that was secured with multiple procedures.

"Down here please" He held the door open for Bao.

Against his expectation, there was no room behind the door but what seemed to be an elevator and after the attendant also entered a robotic voice came out of the speakers.

"Which floor would you like to visit?"

"Floor zero."

Without a sound the elevator descendent.

"On this card is written your booth number, simply insert it to the device on the small table and connect yourself to the system. Your clothes should be already there if you need anything just press the button at the side of the door and someone will come to assist you."

"How much time do I have?"

"As much as you want, Sir."

"Okay, please wake me up after three hours."

"As you wish, have a great dive."

It was the first time after a whole year that he would re-connect to the VR system. As he walked down the corridor between two rows of booths, he continued to say to himself "Only one more time", convinced that will stop after this dive.

After finally entering his small cabin, number twenty-six, he laid down on a small bed that felt rather uncomfortable as it was pressing against his bony body. But that won't really matter anymore once he enters the VR-World. As if it were daily routine he inserted the card, grabbed the cable beside his bed and swiftly inserted it in the entry on his neck. The familiar sensation of a slight tingling spreading throughout his body let him put a smile on his face. With everything being ready he laid down and dived into a new reality, into virtual reality.