"Finally..."
With one final striking tap on the keyboard, he heaved a long, relieving sigh.
"Finally I can get his d*ck off my ass," he mumbled this time, leaning on the chair that had had him glued for unforgiving hours.
After three freaking years of preparing the greatest game the world would ever see... The tough brainstorming and hook-crafting... The plot holes...
The sleepless nights and pressure proudly sponsored by his boss...
Negan was finally done!
He didn't know when he sprang on his feet and began to jump uncontrollably like he had gone nuts, but that was just a clear expression of the joy he couldn't hold.
He was so done, and couldn't wait to see this world he had created.
Just while he was jubilating, the door suddenly opened, and he saw his boss storm in like it was his bedroom.
Mr. Scott was the President of Helcop Studios, and had been in charge of the New Gaming Experience project for the past three years.
The plan was to build the greatest and most realistic full-dive VRMMORPG in existence, and make players so captivated that they would always spend their entire day playing.
A game where players could make real money.
A game where players could get fed and not feel hungry in the real world.
A game where top players could have the privilege to bring in-game items to the real world.
A game that could even boost one's real-life attribute...
What kind of game was that?
Novara Online.
The Helcop Studios had planned to spend billions of dollars to make the creation of this game world a reality, and it was sure to happen.
The interesting thing was that the world had been waiting for the company to launch, but the company themselves had been waiting for Negan Silver to get the whole game storyline done.
Negan gave his boss a bright look for the first time in years.
"Good day, boss," he greeted.
"What's good about the day, Negan? We are..."
"Say no more, boss. I'm done," Negan cut in at once with a sharp smile.
"What..." Mr. Scott blinked.
"I have finally completed the storyline and worldbuilding, boss. We can now go on with the coding," he said.
Mr. Scott's eyes brightened at once.
"Finally?" He smiled.
"Yes finally, boss," Negan folded his hands.
"Oh then, let me take a look," Mr. Scott quickly walked over to the computer screen, and Negan began to show him all the files.
"File One. Everything about the starting arcs. File Two to Five are all about the progressions. And the other three files are about the elements of the game. The settings as well," Negan explained.
"What about this?" Mr. Scott asked as he pointed at a different file at the side of the screen.
The file title was written "What If?" and already looked like it was excluded.
"Oh, that's a useless file, boss. I thought about adding it, but later discovered it wouldn't be good for the game. Will delete," Negan said in a casual tone.
"All right then. Good job, Negan. You have done really well."
Mr. Scott ended up giving Negan a hand for a handshake, and Negan didn't hesitate to accept. The last time he got such acknowledgment from his boss was when he was assigned to write the game.
This meant a lot to him.
"We shall begin coding tomorrow. I'll contact the programming team. As for you, you are free now as you already did your job," Mr. Scott said.
"Thank you, boss."
"And yes. I would love to invite you for a drink at the bar tonight. You know, to celebrate this big achievement," Mr. Scott added.
Negan's eyes glinted as he pretended to hesitate, but deep down, he was so ready to be there.
Who wouldn't?
"Uhh..."
"Felony City Bar. 8 pm. Don't be late," Mr. Scott said as he walked out of the office.
"Noted, boss. I'll be there!" Negan responded excitedly.
He was just excited because he would be having a drink with the boss, but also because there could be a possible reward.
He knew that the meeting wouldn't only be about just having a drink.
There must be something good on the way.
Negan quickly rushed home as soon as he was done at work. He lived in a one-bedroom apartment on the street of Oklahoma, and had been there since he lost his parents in a car crash when he was eighteen.
Now, at the age of twenty-two, he could proudly say he was a man of his own, with little to no worries about life.
The bad thing was that Negan never had a girlfriend, and that was because of the loads of work on his neck every damn day.
But now...
"At least I would have some time to get myself a girlfriend," he sighed.
He spent the rest of the evening preparing the best attire he would put on for the appointment.
Negan wasn't the kind of guy that had a lot of official wear, but the rating wasn't that bad.
"I'll put on the brown suit. Not as if I have another," he muttered.
Once it was 7, Negan got himself dressed and booked a cab. He made sure not to arrive late at the place, because that would surely be a bad impression on Mr. Scott.
At exactly 7:50, he was at Felony City Bar.
Turns out that Mr. Scott wasn't there, but he was okay with that.
"I'll just wait."
After almost thirty minutes, he was already wondering why the boss hadn't shown up yet, until a man walked over to him.
Black suit. Dark glasses. A significant body build... It was a clear indication that he was some bodyguard.
"Negan Silver, right?" the man suddenly asked after approaching.
"Y---yes," Negan replied with furrowed brows.
"Mister Scott ordered me to lead you to him. He is right at the lounge at the other side of the building," the bodyguard stated.
"Oh, Mister Scott? All right."
Negan stood up without asking any more questions, and followed the man through the route that seemed to lead to the other side of the building, as he had said.
However, as soon as they got through that route, he soon discovered something entirely different.
Dark, lonesome, scary... That route wasn't leading to the other side of the building, but a dark alleyway.
Negan's eyes widened. He didn't dare to waste a second, and he hustled to run, but then two other hefty men dashed out from nowhere and grabbed him by the arms.
"Somebody help!"
"Help! Mister Scott!"
Negan shouted, but the next thing he felt was a huge fist hitting the side of his face with insane impact, forcing him to go down on his knees.
"I'm right here, Negan."
And then, that familiar voice.
The voice of the man who had invited him here.
The voice of the man he just called.
Negan wanted to turn, but the men wouldn't let him.
"You must be thinking we really would be having a drink here today, no?" Mr. Scott asked.
"Oh, the young wonderful creator wants to have a drink with his boss... How about that?" Mr. Scott laughed.
"Did you set me up?!" Negan asked in a bellow while facing the opposite direction.
"What does it seem like?" Mr. Scott chuckled and asked.
"I did nothing wrong!" Negan shouted.
"Yes, that's right. That's right because you don't have an idea what you are going to be doing wrong," Mr. Scott said and paused.
"Soon, when we finally launch the game, the world would be asking 'who created the game?' 'Who created this amazing world?'"
"Then, we would surely have to say the name, 'Negan Silver'."
"Everyone would want to meet Negan Silver, and all the praises... All the efforts that we all made... The credits will all be going to 'Negan Silver'," Mr. Scott frowned.
"I won't let that happen. That's why..." He paused and heaved a long sigh.
"I'm gonna have to eliminate you, Negan," he added.
"No! No! No! We can work things out. We can tell them it's you, or whoever wants to get the credits. Please I don't want to die," Negan begged.
He started to shiver at that realization, knowing this could be a life-threatening case.
"We are not sure about that, Negan. The only sure way is to... You know... Do the right thing," Mr. Scott objected.
"I'm sorry, Negan. But this is the only way..."
Before he could know it, Mr. Scott had already rushed towards him from behind, and didn't hesitate before stabbing him with a knife, right at the point of the heart.
Negan couldn't shout, as at that very point, all he saw was pure darkness, and a manifestation of nothingness... Dead.
And at the very last moment of his life, the thought that crossed his mind was...
'Damn, I never lived to see the world I created. I never lived to see Novara Online.'