Anton stood in the office, looking down at the simple file folder with a single sheet of paper inside. It lay on top of a wooden office table that separated him from the man sitting across him. The dark brown leather chair spun, the man lifting his gaze at Anton. He relaxed his back, resting it on the chair’s dark brown backrest. Anton moved his eyes from the piece of paper up toward the eyes of the man.
The man shook his head.
“Thank you,” the man said. Anton understood what this all meant. He approached the table and took the folder into his hands.
“Should I read it here?” Anton asked, his finger intertwined between the folder’s plastic sides.
“Your choice. It won’t change anything, however. That’s the unfortunate truth,” The man said in a calm, flat tone, hiding all emotions from Anton’s hearing ears.
“Alright,” Anton replied, not intending on taking the discussion any further.
“You have the rest of your day to tidy up. I don’t want anything else left tomorrow.”
“If you say so,” with those parting words, Anton retreated from the room.
He turned around and stepped away, not looking back. He pushed the glass doors to the room open. It felt far heavier now compared to when he first entered. He let the door slide back close on its own, shutting the room away from the outside world, before leaving for good.
He let out a sigh and made his way back toward his computer, stepping above the gray and black carpet. He went past a group of younger employees that had been hired by the company. They turned their heads toward him, but Anton decided not to care. He knew none of them, granted, most of them had entered work earlier this week.
“Anton?” he heard the voice of a girl calling out to him. He looked behind him, finding a girl standing not far behind. She carried two thick books in her arms.
“Rebecca?” he asked, but he decided against stopping.
He continued his walk toward his desk. He sat down on his rolling chair. The green chair had served him well these last two years. It replaced an older dark red chair, one that had been serving the company before he joined it. Rebecca went to her desk and set her books down, before heading toward him.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, a hint of curiosity mixed in with the worried tone in her voice.
“...”
Nothing.
Anton thought in his mind, but he knew that this was a lie. He expected this coming from a mile away. He noticed the signs. He even prepared for it. Yet…
“Nothing…”
No, it’s not nothing.
No warnings, no discussion, no information whatsoever. His seniors had been fired left and right, despite their significant contributions. People didn't stay long, and they either left by themselves or were fired. The company wanted cheap labor, and Rebecca just so happened to be in that position. Being someone that had been hired specifically to replace him, Anton admittedly had ill feelings toward her. Despite being under his wing for a few weeks, teaching her what he knew, he couldn’t help but feel betrayed by her. He knew she had nothing to do with it, he knew she couldn’t do anything even if she wanted to, but he just couldn’t help it.
He looked away from her. Anton moved his finger to the computer’s power button and pressed it.
“You’re alright?” Rebecca asked, her dark brown eyes gazing at him through her pink glasses.
“I’m fired,” Anton said with a curt tone. Rebecca's lips curled into a frown as she heard those words.
“Is it my fault?” She asked with a slight hint of panic.
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“Please, go,” Anton replied, not bothering to look away from his computer screen. The screen showed a lock screen, the picture of a calm beach behind it. He typed in his employee id and password, unlocking his computer.
“I’m sorry,” Rebecca said as she turned around, her long black hair swaying as she moved away.
Anton turned his head and watched as her figure disappeared into the office. He sighed and directed his attention back at his computer screen. He then reached for his red backpack tucked away under the desk, and pulled out a black hard drive. He plugged it into the computer’s USB port, connecting the machine with the computer. A notification appeared on the screen, confirming that the hard drive had been successfully connected.
He opened a program that he had developed. This program took him eight entire months to complete, and had he taken a little longer, it wouldn’t be done in time. Luckily for him, he managed to finish it just one week before this day. He had made sure that it worked. He took a deep breath and ran the program. The program did its work, installing backdoor access to the company’s entire network.
Aripi had several issues with security, some of them the company didn’t bother to fix while others they weren't even aware of. Many of Anton’s seniors even told employees to not use the company computer for personal use. Now, with the program successfully installing itself onto the entire network, Anton fully understood why. The program started making several changes and adjustments, while Anton took all of his files and moved them into his hard drive. He made sure to secure every single file he had ever worked on. He saved every data from his work account, and logged out all his accounts from everything.
It took him three entire hours to finally complete the process. With everything done, he unplugged the hard drive. He made sure to test the access through his phone, and after confirming that everything worked as expected, he shut the computer down. He bid farewell to the computer and stood up. He checked his table, making sure that he didn’t leave anything behind. After all these checks, he turned toward the exit, saying goodbye to the office that once became his second home.
The ride home didn’t take long. After he signed up for this job, he bought an apartment thirty minutes away from the office. Located on the city outskirts, the building had a lower rent price compared to other areas. Anton watched the few passengers on the train as it made its way toward the station. The train swung left and right, shaking everything inside, including himself. Anton checked the time. 4.40 PM. This particular ride felt slower than usual.
He watched the buildings passing by, buildings that had accompanied his ride home all these years. The train started slowing down before coming to a complete stop. Anton got off the train and walked toward the exit. It took him another ten minutes of walking before he reached his apartment.
He entered the lobby and headed for the elevator. He hit the number ten on it and stood in the center as the entire thing moved upward. He stared at the numbers as it increased. The elevator let out a ting as it stopped on the floor. He got off, making his way to his apartment room. The number 1002 stood in front of the wooden door. He unlocked it with his keys and pushed it open.
He entered his apartment room. The room had wooden tiling and creme walls. He put his backpack down beside his wardrobe and headed for the toilet. He took a quick shower, changed into his indoor clothing, and headed for his personal computer. He turned the computer on, its fans making a whirring sound as it booted up. He sat down at his foldable chair, far less luxurious compared to the rolling ones in the office.
The operating system’s window flickered on his screen, before showing him a lock screen similar to the one in his office. He typed in his password, this time without needing an id. A different screen showed itself to him, this time with a picture of him and his companion in the background.
“Kayla…”
He muttered his companion’s name. He then opened the application, the same one that he created. It had a simple goal, give him access to the company’s data after he left. His employee account would be deleted soon, thus he made sure that every file was either on his computer or his hard drive. After feeling sure that he left nothing behind, he started working on a different thing.
He navigated the server, selecting only the files he needed. He made sure to not touch sensitive data, not wanting to give anyone a chance of figuring out what he was doing. After selecting all the data he needed, a download icon appeared on the upper right corner of the screen, along with the internet speed and download progress.
As he waited for the program to download what it needed, he used his phone to check his banking account. He had the feeling that things would turn out this way, sooner or later. He had a mission, and getting hungry wasn’t a part of it. Deciding that he had more than enough savings to live off for the next couple of months, he returned his attention to the screen. He watched as the files one by one transferred into his computer, his network connection the only lavish thing about this entire room, with speeds exceeding the ones used by the average person.
It didn’t take long for the entire data to be downloaded. With it all saved on his hard drive, he got off the computer and made his way toward his bed. He picked up the Dual Reality headpiece that he stored on his bedside table, putting it on his head. He closed his eyes, a virtual window appearing behind the darkness. Using the power of his mind, he navigated through the menu and hovered his cursor above the P4ngea logo. He took a deep breath, before using his mind to select it, entering the game.
He felt his body getting lighter as the device transported his mind into the game.