The history of this world overlaps with that of Leon’s old one until around 100 years ago. During that time, the world had entered a second cold war with tensions rising everywhere.

The Second Cold War was because of surrounding countries running out of land to house the people. Everyone needed land and territory, so invasion became the most talked about option.

It seemed like a new world war was going to start and everyone was waiting on who would be the first to fire off so that they could retaliate ‘morally’.

The world leaders felt the stress, which was already heightened because of their demanding positions, and as a result, complications quickly emerged.

Heart attacks and other stress-related deaths popped up like bamboo shoots and killed off most of the old leaders.

This situation couldn’t continue, prompting them to brainstorm new ways to solve the current land issues.

One way was to stop thinking this was a land issue and focusing on this being a population issue. If the population were to lessen, wouldn’t that mean land would be free again?

This idea came up and was being pushed for. Of course, they wouldn’t do a direct total genocide. No, this method was much slower long-term than short-term.

So what did this all mean? This showed that the disparity between the poor and the wealthy had reached unprecedented levels.

They dubbed every city a colony, and the one Leon was in received the name ‘Emerald Colony’. Colonies comprised a bottom layer and a top layer, which reflected what Leon saw when he first transmigrated here.

The government stopped giving handouts, so people in the bottom layer had to fend for themselves.

As Leon was studying about the colony, a very important conversation was taking place somewhere in the upper colony.

In a white, almost sterile-like room filled with machines and holographic screens stood an old man with a long grey beard.

Around him were many people hooked up to machines with their eyes closed. Some were frowning, while others were sweating. If one paid attention to the screens, they could see lines of text being written faster than any person could type.

“How long until Gaia has completed the simulation of Souls Online?” The old man asked in a demanding tone. In response to the old man’s demanding tone.

One of the composed people opened his eyes and confidently stated, “Sir, we estimate that in another 6 weeks, Gaia will have completed the simulation.”

The old man nodded. “And how goes completing the cabin?” He asked the same man.

The man flinched a little at that question. “A-Around 5 months, sir.” The old man frowned as he heard that.

A small pressure built in the room, and everyone who wasn’t sweating already started to. “You have 3 months. Complete it within that time.” He didn’t even need to add the ‘or else’ part, as the meaning was clear.

Everyone gulped and nodded. “Yes, Elder!” They shouted and got back to work, throwing caution to the wind and forsaking their mental well-being for speed.

The Elder nodded and turned to walk out, then stopped as if something jogged his memory. “How about that minor blip?” He asked as he looked over his shoulder.

“Sir, the scanners only detected a small intrusion for 3 seconds and we have found no one since we started the search. It’s likely just a minor glitch because Gaia’s simulation is using most of the power.”

The Elder didn’t seem too convinced, but he couldn’t disprove the evidence either. “No matter then, continue.” He grunted and walked out. Leon had no clue that the upper colony somehow spotted his transmigration as he was busy reading up on the world.

Leon took a slight break from studying to walk around the house and get used to his body a little. Rose would become suspicious if he continued to stumble everywhere.

Rose would soon go through a massive change and she might even suspect something about him if he kept up the strange act.

He also looked around the house to see how bad the situation was. It was a pretty eye-opening experience. Leon hadn’t lived in poverty before, but now he had to get used to this. There wasn’t even a furnace or stove to cook things.

Most likely, only the microwave was used to heat things. There was a toilet, so there were no problems at that end. There wasn’t a shower or bathtub but damp towels used to clean the body.

Opening the fridge was even just depressing. Only some vegetables and bread were there. There wasn’t a freezer which confirmed one thing for Leon: there was no meat or protein.

Bottles of vitamin D were in the cupboards, but having that as a forced expense was straining the food supplies.

There was no sunlight, only lamps that gave the effect of day and night. People needed sunlight for Vitamin D, but now they all needed supplements to survive.

Still, it did little for their complexion because they were as white as a sheet. While Vitamin D deficiency caused some complications, none of them were fatal.

“Should I go out and try to earn money?” Leon asked himself before dismissing the intrusive thoughts. He could hardly move around, let alone explore outside where it was pretty sketchy.

“Still, what should I do then? Rose won’t be back until it’s nighttime.”

Did Rose expect him to only study 24/7? “I better get used to this body soon. I can fly through the studying in record time and I’ll have a lot of free time then.” Leon had no other choice.

He moved around and did some simple stretches. It was a lot tougher than expected, as his entire body just felt off. With nothing much to do anymore and being sore and tired from walking around, Leon had a nap.

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He woke up a few hours later. “So it wasn’t a dream after all. I’m still in this world.” There was still a part of him that expected to wake up on the train after going to bed.

Leon got out of bed and decided to ‘study’ a little. He didn’t stumble as much anymore, showing his progress already.

Someone opened the door, giving him the scare of his life. He ducked behind the sofa, thinking an intruder had come. Footsteps sounded through the house as Leon tried to keep silent as best as possible.

He was too scrawny if it came to a fight and there was nothing valuable here, not to mention his complete lack of courage.

“Leon? Where are you?” Rose’s voice came as she looked around the house, only to find it empty. For a minute, she got scared that Leon had gone outside and was now lost somewhere or, even worse, hurt.

Leon popped up from the sofa and gave a deep sigh of relief as he looked at Rose. “Rose? What are you doing here? I thought someone else had come.”

Rose was a little confused. “I’m on my break? I always come here during my break, remember?”

“I’m allowed to take some leftovers home with me,” Rose explained. Few restaurants allow their employees to take food away but this one did, “And I know why he does it too.” It was to ‘compensate’ the workers and allow him to pay them a little less. Namely, only 50 credits per week.

Money was another thing that had changed. There was only one centralised currency; Credits. It was a digital form of currency that was added to one’s ID card. Everyone had a mandated ID card, and it came with a bank as well.

Leon felt shocked as the novel mentioned nothing about this bit. “I-I uh, forgot okay?” He stammered.

Rose looked at the books on the sofa. “Too engrossed in learning? I suppose that’s good.” She chalked it up to him being too engrossed. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened.

“Y-Yeah, that’s it. So what have you got there?” Leon went with her excuse as he couldn’t think of a better one. “Croissants! Today there were leftover croissants, and the owner gave me some!” Rose said as she placed the bag on the table.

Leon got to the table and forgot all about his blunder. There was enough to keep them both fed for the rest of the day. “They’re delicious!” Leon said, as he took a bite.

Anything was better after that poor start of breakfast. Rose smiled a little as she saw her little brother eating with such gusto. She also joined in after a few moments.

Working as a waitress was taxing for Rose. She would have to deal with men who were unruly and wanted to touch her or make odd comments about her. Many times she wanted to quit her job, but without it, they wouldn’t be able to eat for free during this time of the day.

She often hoped that something would change, that fortune would befall them, or that someone rich would help them.

But that was in the past and these days she learned she could only help herself and her brother. She didn’t want him to work the same as her; she wanted something better for him.

She remembered how they even got to this point in time. Her own childhood was quite nice. However, when their parents went for another child, misfortune struck. Because of complications during childbirth, their mother lost her life.

Their father was someone she had no good thoughts about. He had tried to help at first, but soon his actions and words became too much.

He had blamed everything on Leon, ‘if only you hadn’t been born’ he would say. In Rose’s eyes, that was insane. How was this Leon’s fault for being born!?

So, after a few years, Rose decided it was enough and took Leon and left one day and never came back. She didn’t know how much Leon knew about it, but seeing as he had never asked about their father, it meant that he had some ideas.

Leon did not know what Rose was thinking. He was too busy stuffing his face. This was the first proper meal Leon had since he came here. They both soon finished their meals and moved on to the dishes, during which Leon had a thought.

Should I ask her about me wanting to help with the food situation? The question came up and Leon wanted to eat like that all the time. However, the words got stuck in his throat.

Fear consumed Leon as he realised he didn’t want to be in such an uncomfortable situation. Leon dismissed his idea. For now, this was fine, and he needed to be used to his body first.

Rose went back to work and Leon got back to his routine of study, exercise, and sleep. Soon night rolled around and Rose got back for dinner. Dinner was a very simplistic stew.

Rose boiled water and some vegetables in the microwave. It was bland and didn’t quite fill him. His previous idea came back to him, but he dismissed it just as he needed time. Time to get used to the body and time to prepare for the situation.

The quickness with which he grasped the problems and his learning speed astonished Rose. She knew Leon had to go to college. She had gone only to drop out due to them running away and needing money to live.

The rest of the day went by and Leon woke up the next morning giving a small sigh. Leon still had mixed feelings about his permanent stay here. It was a massive change and one he needed to adapt to, which was proving to be difficult.

But it wasn’t like he was missing his old world. He didn’t have any friends in his previous world and didn’t have powerful feelings about family over there.

It was a complex set of circumstances that Leon didn’t know how to process. He shook his head and got ready for the day.

The day went about the same as the last one, with Leon’s set routine and Rose going to work. This continued for about a week, with nothing changing.

Rose still hadn’t ‘awoken’ her memories and Leon heard nothing about Souls Online. Leon however kept getting further uncomfortable because of another reason.

His idea of helping kept popping up every so often and Leon kept pushing it aside, gathering enough courage to even ask about it. On the side, he got better control over his body. He couldn’t quite run or do sudden changes in movement without losing balance, but he could walk.

I have to talk to her someday. I can’t just keep pushing it aside. Leon knew it deep down, but he knew the type of fallout could come from this. Leon took a deep breath and decided, I’ll talk to her tonight. It wouldn’t do her any good to have those thoughts during her work, Leon thought.

Leon was quieter that day and Rose seemed to notice something was off. The day went on until the evening. “Rose? Can…can we talk?”

Rose sat down next to Leon. “Of course! Something is bothering you, right?” She said, making Leon a bit surprised.

“Leon, I’ve known you my whole life. Of course I notice these things,” Rose said when she saw Leon’s expression.

Leon took a deep breath and prepared himself. “I-I want to help, help with the food situation.” He proposed his idea.

Rose had a solemn look on her face. It was undeniable that their situation wasn’t looking good. “Leon, you’re only 15. There’s no need for you to work.” She didn’t like the thought of Leon working the same as her.

“With my help, we could eat better, and you see how fast I’m learning things.” Leon debated with her.

Rose had no response to that. Both those things were true. If Leon could work and bring even a bit of money, then maybe they could eat different things than basic stew and stale bread. And he was flying through his studies way quicker than Rose had predicted.

She let out a small sigh, “I know you’re right, but seeing my little brother go through hard labour for us even to eat is heartbreaking.” Her tone was sombre. Leon knew it would be tough on her. In the past week, he had quickly learned that she was very protective of him.

He said nothing anymore, and they sat in silence for a few seconds. Leon was prepared to be disappointed if she didn’t agree.

“Fine, it’ll be my day off soon and then we can look together,” Rose said, surprising Leon. He was sure she would not let him.

“However,” she quickly added, making him on edge again. “Only work that I agree with. If I don’t agree with it, then it’s off.” She added that condition to prevent him from working in horrendous conditions.

Leon agreed, and he hugged her for her support. Suddenly, he realised his actions. Why did I hug her immediately? He asked himself, but he felt oddly at peace with hugging her.

Perhaps the original Leon is influencing me more than I expected. Leon theorised, still he didn’t mind his new elder sister, and she was kind to him so he could relax.

Rose smiled at her brother’s embrace, but she also got a little sad as she realised something. Just how long did you keep that bottled up? She thought as she sighed.

She hoped their situation could change one day and fortune would just fall from the skies, as she didn’t know how long they could keep this up.