Races: Online (VR Smartphone App)

Han Jing didn't wait for his phone to finish downloading the game, instead he picked himself up from his gaming chair and slipped the phone into his pocket. He logged out from the computer and moved up to the exit.

"Hey, I'm signing out," He drummed his fingers on the counter, a woman turning away from her monitor to look at him. "I'll see you sometime again, Mary."

"You mean like a month?" Mary lifted a brow at him, a lopsided grin on her face. "I hope you don't come back, boy! Get a life."

"I do have one." He retorted back with a roll of his eyes. The lady was trying to mean well... in her own way.

"Certainly not the one I'd want to be in," Mary shook her head, "I've been seeing you here ever since you were a wee boy in high school."

"Same goes for you," Han Jing answered back with a snort. "Are you not planning to go back home to your country?"

"Eh, I'm doing pretty well on my own for someone my age." She gave him a stink eye. "You're a young boy, twenty-one? Twenty-two? You've got a whole life ahead of ya."

Han Jing smiled a bit, "Thank you, just having a bad streak of cards lately."

"I'm sure it'll turn out better." Mary nodded her head sagely. "Well, see ya around kid!"

After saying his farewell, Han Jing grabbed his umbrella from the rack and walked out the building and into the streets, the urban city life welcoming him into its jungles. He let out a heavy sigh. A streak of bad cards… Yeah, that was one way to call his abysmal luck with finding work. If he looked past the skyscrapers and the flashy neon lights of billboard posts, the stars dotted behind wisps of clouds.

Maybe things would turn better indeed.

He pulled out his phone and checked the time, it was 8:37pm and actually a lot earlier than he intended. Normally he'd go home around one in the morning. "At least I won't get nagging this way, might as well bring something back home." Han Jing made his way to the nearest convenience store.

The cool temperature from the air conditioning was a refreshing change from the dense slightly polluted air in the streets. The aisle of a variety of goods all lined up on their shelves lay before him. He would usually get a bag of chips and a few cans of soda or a beer if he was feeling adventurous. But now? He could splurge with the money he had on hand. He had gotten himself $1000 after all.

Han Jing reached for some bread, peanut butter and jelly spread, a few packs of instant noodles and some canned goods. On top of that were biscuits, some junk food and sodas for his appetite—he deserved it. And he even got candy for the rugrat back at home. It was a good bargaining tool too.

He walked up to the cashier with all the goods in a basket, the man at the counter simply raised a brow at him. "Cash or Credit?"

"Uh, wait a moment." He pulled up his phone, looking at the downloading game.

[ Downloading Races: Online... 86% of 5GB ]

He tried to switch to his payment app but found a glaring popup.

[ Removing oneself from this page will result to complete loss of download ]

His eye twitched but Han Jing dug some money from his pocket and paid for his items. "Damn app… why do I feel like something's wrong." He got the money but he couldn't even touch it? A feeling nagged at him as he walked out, a downpour rained down heavily. "And this is why you always have to bring an umbrella, Han Jing." He raised his voice an octave higher, mimicking his mother for a moment.

When he finally reached the old apartment he called home, he closed his umbrella and saw an unfamiliar figure at the doorsteps.

They were like a wet poodle.

Practically drenched in the cold rain from head to toe, she was wringing some water out of her hair. Her clothes were completely soaked, it was a surprise that she wasn't shivering. Her gaze fell on him and she silently moved out of the way to let him through.

"Seems like an unfortunate day eh?" Han Jing nodded his head at the stranger, words leaving his lips without much consideration.

She sighed and walked inside after him. "A freak storm, I'm a bit unlucky."

And Han Jing thought he was the one with bad luck. "That's why I always carry an umbrella." He said and immediately regretted saying it afterwards.

Her lips twitched, "Good for you… well, I'll be off. Thank you." She began her ascent upstairs.

Han Jing watched her for a bit until a notification bell sounded.

[ Installation Complete! ]