These bunch of people would always exist, and embarrassingly, he had even been a part of them in his past life.
However, [Apocalypse] wasn’t just a ploy to get anyone to sell their soul, it was the chance given to them by the universe to change the terrible fate coming for them.
But then, he knew how pointless it would be to argue with the preacher, as he would simply be turned into the villain.
"In tis like this!" the bald man continued his preaching. "We must return to the true path—the path of the savior! We should be following the words of god... not wasting our souls on so useless ga that steals our souls!"
He pointed directly at the air as though the heavens themselves were watching.
"Stop playing the ga! Before it’s too late!"
That was the final straw for soone watching among the crowd.
A teenage boy—probably no older than sixteen—scoffed loudly, stepping forward with his arms folded.
"The ga’s fun," he shouted back, his voice sharp. "No one cares what you dumbasses think."
Gasps erupted.
A few among the crowd turned toward him in shock, while others murmured under their breath.
"Young man!" the bald protest leader yelled, pointing a finger in the boy’s direction. "You don’t know what you’re dealing with!"
"No," the teen replied, "I just have brains that still work. Unlike the rest of you."
That set the entire thing ablaze.
Argunt quickly burst out between the crowd and the boy, and as ti went by, more people ca and joined the boy’s side of the argunt.
And through it all, Riley stood there, watching the chaos with a bored expression.
He sighed again, clicking his tongue before walking away.
The truth was, [Apocalypse] was impossible to stop in the first place, and there was nothing even the governnt could do.
People could rant all they went, but at the end of the day... the Apocalypse would descend on earth, and everything would turn upside down.
There was no turning back. Even those protesting would soon be forced to accept this when the ga fully rged with reality.
The sa thing had happened in his past life.
Riley sighed, tucking his hands in his pockets as he walked towards the restaurant.
After a few more minutes, he finally reached in front of a small, cozy restaurant, and his lips curled into a smile.
"Finally," he muttered.
He pushed the glass door open, and the warm scent of fried beef and fresh rice hit him like a wave.
His stomach growled imdiately.
The restaurant was quiet, only a few people seated inside—an elderly couple sharing a soup bowl, a young man typing away on his tablet, and a girl in headphones scrolling on her phone.
Riley stepped up to the counter and scanned the glowing digital nu above.
It was nothing fancy.
The als were simple, and the prices were fair... just what he preferred at the mont.
Hanging in a tal bracket beside the nu was a flatscreen TV, displaying a broadcast.
Two n were seated across from each other at a news desk, both sharply dressed, and both frowning deeply.
A red ticker slid along the bottom of the screen:
"SPECIAL DISCUSSION: IS THE GA [APOCALYPSE] A BLESSING OR A CURSE?"
Riley paused, eyes narrowing slightly at the screen.
"It’s harmful," the man on the left said, clenching his fists in annoyance. His hair was neatly trimd, and his square glasses hung weirdly on his nose.
"And it should be avoided like a plague. No one knows where it ca from. It has no known developer, credits or even origin! We just woke up one day, and boom—it was everywhere. Just like a virus."
The man on the right shook his head calmly. He appeared a little older, with a white streak running down the middle of his beard.
"That doesn’t make it harmful. Many of the world’s greatest advancents ca from things we didn’t understand at first." he said.
"That’s a weak argunt!" the first snapped.
"How can you defend a ga that literally puts people to sleep? Into so sort of suspended state, like a coma? Is that entertainnt to you? How do you know it’s not affecting our minds... infesting our subconscious directly."
The man with the beard raised an eyebrow. "Infesting? I don’t see how playing the ga infects the subconscious. The world inside that ga is as real as this one. And the benefits... are unimaginable!"
"You’re deluded," the first man sneered. "That ga’s a virus! Hardened criminals have access to it, murderers and lunatics! There are no restrictions, no background checks, and they can log in just like any teenager!"
"And there’s that strange ’Astral Bank’ that keeps transferring money directly to player’s account... transfers our governnt can’t even trace."
Riley smirked, watching the screen with amusent.
He had already watched a similar broadcast in his past life, and then, he had agreed with one that said [Apocalypse] was bad for the world.
The first man was still fuming. "We’ve seen players wake up disoriented. We’ve seen individuals spending twenty hours logged in, only to collapse from exhaustion the mont they log out. And yet here we are, encouraging more people to join."
"That’s where you’re wrong, there hasn’t been any record of any one collapsing after logging out of the ga," the second man, frowning deeply. "If anything, you feel more energised than ever!"
"Exactly the problem!" the first man barked. "What about that seems normal to you?!"
"Oh... so you’re interested in the ga also?" A voice suddenly ca from the counter, cutting off his attention from the TV.
He glanced down, adjusting his glasses as his gaze t with that of a young brown haired man.
"Yeah, it’s really interesting." he said, nodding slightly.
"Cool, that ans you also play the ga?!" the man said with excitent. "It really is fun... but the last ti, that strange, annoying monster just appeared... and destroyed everything."
The expression on his face suddenly changed, and he clenched his fists.
"That stupid, hungry demon... I’ll make sure I kill it." he muttered.
Riley stared at him with a wry smile, unsure how to respond. After all, the ’demon’ he was swearing to kill... was standing right in front of him.
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