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Chapter 94: Clues
A blue mini car traveled from Rashane’s house and headed into the town. As Rashane intended to live in a silent, peaceful suburb, his house was located twenty minutes away from the main town.
The car was travelling at a moderate pace, while its passengers, Sila and Varee, didn’t talk to each other the whole ride into town.
A gentle pop music could be heard from the radio in the car. The distance of dozens of kilometers was cut short in no time. Varee parked her car in front of a bank. In this era, all of the banks in the world were connected to each other so people could make financial transactions from any bank without any problem.
Both of them walked into the bank. Soon, a male banker approached and invited them to his table.
“Hello, sir and madam. Would you like to open a joint bank account? We are currently having a promotion for married couples.”
Sila wasn’t interested as he handed the banker Rashane’s card. “I would like to change the bank account registered on this card to a new one.”
The banker took the card. “Please wait a moment, sir.” He inserted the card into a device on his table and plugged another one into the slot next to it. He slid the monitor screen to Sila and handed him an electronic pen.
“Please fill in the blank fields, sir, then put your right hand on the screen.”
Sila took two to three minutes to fill his information into the electronic form. He put his hand down on the screen and the green light flashed, scanning his palm.
The banker slid the monitor screen back and handed Sila the new card.
“It’s done, sir. This card is registered as Mister Sila’s. You can use it to purchase merchandise at any shop that has a card scanner or withdraw your money at any automated teller machine. Is there anything I can do for you, sir?”
Sila kept the card in his pocket. “I would like to know the price of land zones GHB 575 to 580 that were seized by the bank and sold into the market about a month ago.”
“Please wait a moment, sir.” The banker searched for the information and later slid the monitor screen to Sila. “It is land that quite far away from the main town. There are some potential buyers interested in purchasing it but no one has made a decision yet. The price is estimated to be around ten million Baht, sir. By the way, there is an old dojo made of wood built on the land. However, we can demolish it if you want. Are you interested in it? Would you like to ask for a bank loan to make the purchase?”
“What if I want to buy it right now? Paying the full amount with no loan,” said Sila.
The banker stared blankly at Sila. “That is fine, sir. When would you like to make the purchase, sir? I will prepare the necessary documents for you. Or, would you like me to guide you to take a look at the land first?”
Sila took out his newly acquired card and handed it to the banker. “No need for that. I have seen the land before. Could you please deduct the money in this card to make a purchase immediately? About the documents, you can send them to me later.”
The banker looked at Sila in dismay. Based on Sila’s appearance, he didn’t look like someone with a lot of money. Anyway, since Sila was a customer, the banker politely took the card from him and inserted the card in the device. The monitor screen showed the amount of money Sila currently had.
The banker looked at the screen, feeling taken aback. “The remaining balance is 300 Baht, but there is Monster Soul’s currency amounting 1,395,452 gold, eh?”
“Could you please exchange the money from the game into Thai Baht, and use that amount to pay for the land?”
“Please wait a moment, sir.” The banker typed something on the screen and slid it to show Sila. “Please be warned that after converting Monster Soul’s currency to Thai Baht, you will not be able to convert it back. The total amounts being converted is 10,500,000 Baht, including taxes. Please put down your hand on the screen, sir.”
Sila put his hand on it without hesitation. “Confirm.”
The banker slid the monitor screen back. “It is done, sir. About the documents, we will send them to Mister Sila’s registered address within a week, sir.”
“Thank you very much.” Sila put his palms together.
He and Varee walked away, leaving the banker who watched their backs until they were gone from his sight.
“Wow. Does playing games give people this much money? Should I try it too?”
Two months later, this banker really quit his job and entered the world of Monster Soul. The result was him having to work several times harder than ever before. The money he was able to collect was also so low that he wanted to cry.
***
Sila closed the door of the car. Varee sat in the driver’s seat. She looked at Sila.
“Sila, wasn’t that hasty? That amount of money is by no means small,” asked Varee.
Sila shook his head. “That place is my home. No matter how expensive it is, I have to buy it back for when my teacher returns. I don’t know what to spend money on anyway. It is better this way.”
Varee nodded. She inserted her card to start the engine.
“Where will we go next?”
“I would like to go visit my dojo first, then we can go back,” replied Sila.
“To sum it up, you just need me to become your personal driver, don’t you?” Varee muttered.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Hm? What did you say?”
“Nothing. Do you have any other orders for me, sir?” Varee spoke sarcastically.
Sila frowned. “Varee, what’s wrong with you? You were fine just a moment ago.”
“I’m your personal driver, isn’t that right? My duty is to follow Sila’s orders.”
“Hm? Why are you saying that? Or do you have somewhere you want to go? We can go there if you wish.”
“Since you said so yourself, let me stop at the shopping mall near here. It shouldn’t take long to reach there.”
Sila easily complied. He felt bad that he had to bother Varee to drive him.
The blue mini car entered the parking lot in the big shopping mall.
“Varee, you can go shopping all you want. I will be waiting in the car.”
Varee frowned and took the card out of the car. “Sila, do you plan to wait in the parking box? You will die, don’t you know that?”
“Parking box? What is that?” Sila wondered.
“Come out of the car first, I will explain it to you,” Varee stepped out of the car. So did Sila.
The place where Varee parked her car was a space twice the size of the car. There was a monitor screen next to it. Varee pressed on the screen. A small ticket was printed out. She took it with her.
“In large buildings, there will be a parking box. We park our car in the designated space and take the ticket with us. The car will be moved to a small parking box to be kept. When we want our car back, we can just insert this ticket around there and the car will come to us automatically.”
The car moved away by itself. Varee continued to press on the screen before inserting her car card into the hole.
“I also ordered a car wash service. It should take around two hours to finish. Now, we better go inside the mall and start shopping.” Varee led the way. Sila had no choice but to follow her as there was another car approaching them.
***
As expected of a large shopping mall, the interior was neat and beautiful as if they had entered a different world. There were many advertisements floating in the air. The place was crowded. Sila looked around in a daze.
“Have you never come to the mall?” Varee asked, to which Sila shook his head.
“Varee, you can go shopping. I will be waiting for you on the bench right there.” Sila pointed at the nearby bench.
“No, you can’t do that. The thing I want to buy is something you need to be with me for.”
“Do you want me to carry your stuff?”
“What era do you think we live in? We no longer carry the stuff we buy.”
Sila scratched his head. ‘We don’t carry stuff anymore? What does that mean?’
“What is the point of me being there then? I don’t want to buy anything.”
“The first thing would be your clothes. Don’t you see that my dad’s clothes are so old and out-fashioned? They were what he wore ten years ago. Ah, and don’t tell me you are fine with anything. At the very least, you should have some clothes for yourself, shouldn’t you?”
Sila was planning to say that, but since Varee exposed his thoughts, he decided to stay silent.
“One more thing that we need to buy for you is a smartphone. This one is the same, don’t tell me that you don’t need one. It is because you didn’t have a smartphone to connect with a brain scanner that it had to be me who needed to reach you in the game when my dad wanted to contact you.”
It wasn’t that Sila couldn’t use a smartphone. He used to have one when he was in the dojo. However, after he was admitted to the hospital, it was gone.
Sila said to Varee, “Since that’s the case, let’s go.”
Varee smiled and took Sila to purchase everything she had just said.
***
Four hours had passed since then. Varee’s car finally arrived at Sila’s dojo. It took them around one hour from the mall to the dojo.
Shopping in the mall really didn’t require carrying stuff. After Varee had selected what she wanted, she could just tell the shop owner to send her stuff directly to her address.
Sila looked at the dojo with a sad expression. He had finally come back home, but the place that used to be filled with disciples was now left deserted. The dojo looked so old that it could collapse at any moment. On the fence in front of the land, there was a sheet of paper stuck on them, announcing that the land was for sale.
Sila walked to the fences and tore the paper apart.
Everything looked the same as before, but a bit older than it used to be.
Sila entered the dojo and was surprised. There was a woman standing there.
Sila could only see her back and her long, brown hair that reached it. She was in a casual, easy-to-move shirt and long pants. Sila felt like he had met her before.
“Hello? Are you looking for someone?” Sila greeted her.
Varee heard Sila's voice so she entered the dojo as well. She, too, was surprised to see a woman standing inside.
The woman turned her back to meet their eyes. She looked at Sila and smiled naturally.
“Hello, Sila. It wasn't that long ago since we last met. Don't you remember me?”
Sila was sure that he had met her before, but he couldn't recall who she was. “I'm really sorry. I can't recall who you are.”
“Hehe. I think I didn't adjust my appearance that much in the game. Do you really don't remember me? Or are you pretending to not remember because there is someone else here?” She teased Sila while looking at Varee, to which Varee stared back at her.
As she mentioned the game, Sila finally began to recall her. “Eh? Miss Sangdao! How are you here?”
“Fufu. I'm glad you finally remember me. By the way, you can cut the ‘Miss' part. Just call me Sangdao or simply Dao.”
“Alright, but, why are you here?”
“No particular reason. I just wanted to see Sila’s dojo once. I didn't expect to see you though, Sila.”
“Is that so? Well, my dojo is closed for the time being. I can be your guide and give you a tour around it when it is clean if you want to.”
“You have given me your promise. Please be sure to remember it, okay?” Sangdao replied with a smile.
This was the first time Varee saw Sila having a nice conversation with a woman so she somehow felt it was strange. ‘Wait. Could it be that I’m the only one he is rude to?’
“One more thing, Sila. My dad told me that he already has clues concerning what we talked about before. Anyway, now is not an appropriate time to talk about that. We will continue our conversation in the game, okay?” Sangdao said.
The matter she mentioned was about the remaining two martial arts that the nameless elder wanted Sila to learn. Since Sangdao didn’t know how much Varee knew about this, she decided to keep it a secret for now.
However, Varee wasn’t a dense person. Hearing those words, she was aware that Sila and Sangdao had something to talk about that wasn’t for her ears. Thus, she decided to leave the scene.
“I will wait in the car.” She walked away without waiting for any response.
“Hm? Varee? ... What's wrong with her?” Sila muttered.
Sangdao showed a smile at the corner of her mouth. “Woman's matter, I'd say. About the clues, we can talk in the game. When will you log in again, Sila?”
“It should be around this evening. How about you, Sangdao?”
“I will also enter the game at a similar time. Let’s contact each other then. Please excuse me for today.”
Varee stood next to her car, witnessing the other two exit the dojo together. Meanwhile, Sangdao took out her smartphone and called for a taxi to pick her up.
“Sila, do you have a smartphone?” Sangdao asked.
“I have. I just bought it recently.”
“In that case, we should add each other’s number. We can reach each other if the need arises.”
Sila awkwardly took out his black smartphone. “Ahem, I’m still not used to handling it.”
Sangdao smiled. She took Sila’s smartphone and entered her number into it. For the record, her name was listed after Varee’s name. Sila’s smartphone only had Varee’s number added to it prior to this.
Sangdao looked at it with a gentle smile before giving the smartphone back to Sila. After two minutes had passed, a yellow taxi arrived in front of the land.
“See you again, Sila.” Sangdao waved at Sila before getting into the taxi, to which Sila waved back.
Once the taxi had left, Sila got into Varee’s car which she had started while waiting for him to finish his conversation.
Sila closed the door and thought about the clues that Sangdao had mentioned. Practicing martial arts was like a drug for him. As he had started, he would like to practice more to make himself to become much, much stronger. Sila was deep in thought about the next martial arts that he was about to have a chance to learn.
The blue mini car gradually cruised on the roads. Varee took a side glance at Sila and found that he was very deep in his thought so she didn’t interrupt him. However, in her mind, she thought that Sila was in a dreamy state after his meeting with Sangdao.
‘They only met in the game not long ago but he has already given her his address, no?’ Varee thought inwardly while becoming curious. Who exactly was Sangdao?