THE FOOL - Chapter 7: Consequence

In the year 2090, technology has advanced to the point where Simulation Boxes, (Sim Box for short) are common place, allowing for the user to link up their brain's neural network to a full dive Simulation. While initially used for educational purposes, recently a large gaming company, Averon, released a fully fledged immersive MMORPG simulation where users can become anyone they desire, level up, choose their class, and become a hero or a villain. The name of this simulation is The Shattered World Online.

Eli Winters had no interest in playing it. His father, a jobless bum who spent his entire life playing games in the hope of becoming a famous player or streamer, was able to use the release of The Shattered World Online to gain wealth and fame, quickly becoming the number one player and a household name as the game took the world by storm. He immediately abandoned Eli and his mother in favor of being with someone from his guild, despite his mother having worked two jobs to support them and raise Eli by herself. Eli had nothing but spite for his father and the game.

When Eli's best friend convinces him to try out the game, his father's fame begins to interfere, culminating in him being singled out and shunned by his peers, and his father offering to pay for his university tuition in return for Eli hiding their relationship and quitting the game. Instead of complying with his father's wishes, Eli decides to prove to everyone how useless a guy his father is by challenging him that if Eli is able to surpass him in the game world he must delete his account and quit his streaming career. His father accepts the challenge believing his son to be useless at games - but Eli will soon show him just how ambitious a spiteful person can be.

Violet Blackwood grew up with a perfect life. Her father was the Alpha of the Blue Rise pack, the pack members loved her, and she had a mate who was devoted to her. However, when she finds herself pregnant after an unfortunate premeditated scheme, the beautiful web of lies and deception comes crashing down, revealing the ugliness within.Violet leaves the pack with vows to return for revenge and take back what was hers.Sylas Hale was a mysterious and powerful rogue. No pack dared to cross paths with him, steering clear of him. However, that one night had their paths entangled.The connection between them went deeper than ordinary.

Melanie Collins was the perfect wife—caring, strong, and dependable. For the last few years, she had managed her husband’s messy family, and business alone while waiting for her husband to return from studying abroad. But when he finally came back, Melanie’s world fell apart—he wasn’t alone. Along with him was his 'best' friend.Broken and confused about the change in her husband, Melanie didn’t know where to turn. And then she stumbled into another cold reality. Everything she had believed was a lie.Seething with anger and humiliation, as she tried to come to terms with the betrayal, an unexpected person steps into the picture, intent on seducing her and conquering her.The only problem? The man was her ex brother in law...And against her better judgment, she is attracted to this bad boy...But as Melanie tried to make sense of the changes, she discovered there was more going on than she ever imagined. Had both brothers loved really fallen in love with her? Or was she just a pawn in a bigger game?excerptSince he had already been leaning against the table, he simply slid onto it, and with one swift motion, he hooked his boot around the leg of her chair and pulled it—pulled her—closer.The sudden movement made her jolt slightly, and when she looked up or rather when she looked ahead, she found herself staring directly at the zipper of his jeans... She looked up then and met his gaze.He caught her chin,“ Would you like to check if I am only pretending, sweet melon?”Melanie stiffened. And then pushed back her chair suddenly, so that Adam almost lost his balance, as she stood up.Before he could balance himself, she placed her hand on his shoulder, her fingers brushing against his neck. Adam stiffened, his eyes glittering as he waited to see what she would do next. And she, of course surprised him as her other hand, slowly settled on the inside of his thigh. And then, the hand on his shoulder started to move. Her fingers tracing the side of his neck before lifting as she shot a glance to the corner of his mouth. The little piece of metal glinting there. She flicked at it lightly, barely a touch, but Adam could feel the heat all over his body, as she leaned in close, her lips barely a few centimetres away...so that they could both feel each other's breaths…She smiled slowly then. “Careful, Adam,” she murmured, her voice playful, but carrying the unmistakable edge of a challenge. “Keep pushing, and I just might call your bluff.”

Jian Tian transmigrated into a Mary Sue school novel and became the cannon fodder female supporting character.Although she is cannon fodder, her entire family is full of villains.The villainous eldest brother opposes the male lead and leads the company to bankruptcy.The villainous second brother opposes the female lead and ends up with crippled legs.The villainous third brother is a love-struck fool and ends up on the streets.And she has it worse, being implicated and sent to prison.Why should she be the only cannon fodder in a family of villains? She wants to turn the tables! She wants to rise!However, just as she ignites her fighting spirit, she discovers she’s bound to a system that will obliterate her soul if she doesn't slack off.Jian Tian: “...”Lies down.And she even persuades her whole family to slack off collectively.Seeing the eldest brother working overtime at the company: “Stop working overtime; after all, the company won't be yours in the end! Trust me, first lose 1 billion!”Seeing the second brother busy with his medical career: “Don't work too hard, after all, you're ultimately making wedding dresses for others. Why not research a cure for crippled legs instead?”Seeing the third brother running errands for the female lead: “Isn't being a happy bachelor nice? Why must you suffer for love? Wake up, licking the boots will get you nothing in the end!”The three brothers of the Ji family: “...”Has our little sister gone crazy?Later, after experiencing the joy of slacking, the three brothers: “Hmm, this is nice...”However...We agreed to slack off together, so how did you quietly become a top boss?!Jian Tian awkwardly scratches her head: “There’s too much development in my field; I can't help it.”And the dark villain lurking in the shadows, aggressively wrapping his arms around her waist: “Hmm? How about including me too?”Jian Tian: “...”Don’t come near me!