Chapter 51

A funny feeling arises when you fall in a game and can’t understand why, and then the capsule forcibly disconnects you. And then—bam—you're in a psychologist’s office.

"Anji, how could you let it come to this? Push things to such a bloody end?"

"Wait, did I… kill someone?"

"You should’ve seen how much blood there was! The whole hallway, all the way to the exit. The kids are traumatized."

"..." I never liked Vaalsi, sure, but I wasn’t planning to kill him.

"You’re suffering from systemic exhaustion. You were hospitalized. When they pulled you out of the capsule, you were bleeding from your nose, ears, even your eyes. Your brain is overloaded and needs rest. You’ll spend the next two weeks in a medical pod. By the way… you’re already in one."

"...???" My bewildered expression said more than words ever could, and they got the message.

"It’s a rapid physical regeneration phenomenon. You’ll live—read the details yourself." I nodded. Cooperation was the best move right now. "You’ll be connected to the game for 14 days. One condition: you can’t overload your brain. Its resources must go toward recovery. If there’s any strain, you’ll be disconnected, given time to sleep, and reconnected. Understood?"

I nodded again.

"Tell me, Anji, why won’t you talk to me? What did I ever do to you?"

I stared at her like she was an idiot. First, she screws up, and now she expects me to just start chatting?

"I remember our 'last conversation.' You made your hatred of women very clear. But I don’t get why you won’t speak to me now—you talked at the spaceport. And I doubt I’m connected to whatever issues you have with women."

I pointed to my ear.

"No, I disabled all external virtual comms."

"Because you threatened me and the people I care about. Then you told the orphanage kids I could speak. That caused a lot of problems." Eliza’s eyes gleamed with triumph, and her smug smile made her look stunning.

"What if I didn’t tell them?"

"You created a situation that harmed me. Whether you meant to or not."

"And that’s why you won’t talk to me?"

I just muted her. She wanted to call it a "trivial thing." I’m good at reading emotions—virtual space makes it even easier. I’ve read her work; she’s smart, a skilled psychologist. But anyone who thinks I’ll just forgive their mistakes isn’t worth listening to. Cooperation? Out of the question.