He was lying on the ground, gasping for breath. Nobody paid any heed to the suffering man. Sharp, piercing pain reverberated through his entire body, yet he couldn't let out even a single scream.

What the hell... is going on?

{Warning! The VR capsule detected a significant decrease in your vital signs!}

{You'll be forcefully l̸̗̦̆̆͠ǫ̸̜̺̞͎̗̒̎ǵ̶͙̱̲̫̣͓̥̐̒ġ̵̗̿̈́͐͜e̷̤͛̓̃̃͌̕͠d̷̮͇̰̣͇͒͋̓̒͜͠ ̶̪̎̕͝ö̶̫͖̼͂̀͑̾̄̆f̶̧̣̪̮̓͊̈́̓̓̿͘f̶͖̥̣̱̳͛̾̃́̕ ̷̡̖̗̻͒̓͐̈́͘i̶̧̹̣̦̒̽͌̎̆..}

{Error! It appears that your VR capsule might be damaged. Be assured that a Genesis technician has been contacted, and help is on its way. We apologize, and wish you happy gaming!}

{Warning! This log-off cannot be refused!}

{You'll be forcefully l̷̡̛̬̻͛̅̂͘o̸̢͓̖̣̳̰̹̒̐̅͜g̷͕̖̖̜̞̰̠̠̿̇̒̈́͜͠g̵̢̥͇̪̞̽̒̿̿̽̊͊̒͠e̸̼̎̈́̆́̕d̸̛̖̫̩͍̩̪̍͊̃́́̂͆̌ ̸̢̡̲͖͉͎̭̻͆o̷͖̱̖̓͊́̽̊̂͜f̶̟̏̿͌͛f̵̻̟̝̪̹̲͍̓̌̒̽͊́̕ ̷͉͔͙̲̭̯̺̩͋͛̈́̔̈̆̅̕̚ͅì̶̙͖̤̼̬̜̂̉̽̀̚}

...

A bunch of messages flooded his mind, repeating themselves over and over again. He knew he was dying. Not in the game, but in real life. The pain felt way too real, unlike the dull, simulated signals he knew from playing the game.

Is this how my life's going to end?

People in ragged clothes passed by, NPCs and players alike. Some threw glances, some did not. No help was coming, though. He understood that they couldn't help him if they tried. Not that they ever would. No one ever receives help in the slums. 

Even as he was dying there, on a cold, stone pavement, he still worried about his family in the real world. 

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Are they still alive? 

What happened to me... to us?

That was when he heard a voice. Not human, not artificial. Something... between the two.

The people around didn't seem to be aware of it. Either that, or they just didn't care.

The voice cut off as if finally noticing the dying young man lying on the ground.

Although the man couldn't get a word out through clenched teeth, his face alone said it all.

What do you think?!

...you can hear me?

There was a short pause that felt like hours to the young man. Then the voice emerged once again. It sounded strangely apologetic now, unlike how angry it was at the beginning.

The voice in the man's head turned oddly cheerful this time.

What do you mean 'damage'?!

Agent...?

I...

I want to...

I want to live...

The voice promptly disappeared from the young man's head, leaving him alone with the pain. It kept getting more and more intense, then suddenly, it stopped altogether. Shortly after, his body vanished, marking his death at last.

He was off to a new life.