Super Spender

“Now, undress.” Finn Lewis turned around when everyone was standing in position. He stood at the entrance, elevated on a platform, which allowed him to see everyone below, and they could see him too.

Quickly, Finn stripped down to his underwear, and so did the soldiers below. They were surprised when they saw Finn’s physique, which could only be described as perfect – his muscles were as developed as theirs.

“Getting into the cabins, one by one, don’t worry, there will be voice prompts inside…” Finn commanded. He then walked downstairs and stood in front of an unoccupied nutrition cabin, setting an example by lying down inside. The other soldiers exchanged glances, then followed suit. As they moved, the cabin lids automatically opened.

The cushioning inside was similar to rubber, so when they laid down, it formed contours to fit their bodies. Every cabin had a feminine voice guiding them on what to do. Quickly, they put on a helmet-like device from inside the cabin and laid back down.

After lying down, they began to lose consciousness without realizing. Numerous thin probes emerged from every corner of the cabins, quickly burrowing into their bodies.

These probes served a purpose. Everyone was in total darkness. Even though they were all soldiers, they started to feel uneasy. Then came Finn’s voice from inside their ears, “Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Everyone, start counting, from number one.”

Familiar with Finn’s voice, everyone felt relieved and began to call out their numbers. After the last person finished, Finn spoke again, “Alright, now everyone is connected. Let me explain what this is.”

“This is the Virtual Holographic Projection Chamber, a successful creation of our company. It can perfectly simulate any environment. Don’t be surprised by what is about to happen. Luna Starfield, initiate the program.” Finn ordered.

“Yes, the simulation program is starting. Countdown from ten.” Along with Luna Starfield’s voice, every soldier noticed that their surroundings started to brighten up. They seemed able to see things again, but when the light returned, they saw something resembling a glass lid in front of them.

“Now, push the lid in front of you.” Finn said with a smile.

Upon Finn’s instruction, the soldiers pushed the lid in front of them. They were shocked to find that they could see each other in a massive white room, filled with the exact number of nutrition chambers corresponding to their own. Unlike the chambers they got into, these chambers had transparent, glass lids and were rectangular.

“What…What is this place, sir?” All soldiers were dumbfounded as they looked at themselves. They could see their bodies and hands, the same as when they undressed earlier. The only difference was the switch in their surroundings to this huge white room.

“Haha, are you surprised?”

“Yes!”

“Hehe, well, let me tell you, don’t be surprised. This is the projection of a virtual world. In other words, what you’re seeing is being projected directly into your brain via electronic signals, so it feels as real to you as the actual world. Have you all seen the movie The Matrix?”

“Yes!”

“This is just like the matrix in The Matrix, although you can’t turn into a superhero like in the film. If you don’t believe me, try biting your hand. The pain sensor hasn’t been turned on yet, so you shouldn’t feel any pain.” Finn said with a smile.

This was unbelievable. Upon hearing Finn’s words, all soldiers instinctively bit their own hands. They could feel themselves biting but couldn’t feel any pain. One ruthless soldier even bit a large wound into his hand.

Watching their own blood flowing without feeling any pain made everything seem surreal. This led them to believe that they were indeed in a virtual world.

“Alright, Luna Starfield, restore his wound,” Finn directed, pointing at the soldier who had bitten his hand.

Soon, a beam of light flashed, and everyone’s hands were healed like nothing had ever happened.

“This is absolutely amazing!”

“Holy Cow, this is cool!”

“This is truly fantastic. No wonder it’s called the Virtual World Corporation. This definitely deserves to be called a virtual world.” The soldiers couldn’t hide their excitement and started to check out their surroundings.

“Now do you all believe me?” Finn asked them smiling.Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

“Yes!”

“Now, gather together!” Finn said loudly.

The captain immediately took the lead and rallied the troops. Although they hadn’t been on the battlefield yet, they had no issue carrying out these small tasks.

The soldiers assembled neatly into four lines, “Good, now I’m turning on the pain sensor in this virtual world. The feeling of pain will be 100%, meaning there is no difference from the real world. Luna Starfield!” Finn ordered.

“The pain sensor has been activated.” Luna Starfield’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears.

“Now, you can all try it.” Finn said.