《Old Cultivation Record》Chapter 37 - Ever the Truth
Advertisement
Taylor plugs the device into his laptop and explores the files. Organized into dates. Nice. Taylor thinks to himself before looking at the last date. Nice. It's within the timeframe. He thinks before clicking on the date in question. He opens the file and plays the video at 10x speed, his mind processing the minimal information.
He takes note of each of the passerby's until eventually he spots Amelia. She was walking with a man who matched Robert's description. It wasn't long before they moved past the camera. Taylor sighs and watches for Robert to come back, not hoping for much.
Taylor continues to watch but there was nothing else. Robert didn’t walk by again. Fuck. Taylor exclaims in his mind.
Taylor rewinds a bit to around when Amelia and Robert walk by then watches the scene again, looking for anything he missed. A moment passes and Taylor’s eyes widen and he quickly pauses the video and adjust it to the correct place. There’s the bastard. Taylor thinks. It was blurry, but the guy had the same jacket. He was sitting on the back of a taxi. Taylor quickly records the license plate and smiles.
…
…
“Thank you for calling Speedy Taxi. Service in several of our coverage areas is currently delayed. Service may take up to 3 hours for arrival. If you are calling to hail a cab, please press 1. For all other inquiries, please press 2.” An automated voice says over the phone.
Taylor presses 2.
“Transferring your call. Please wait a moment.” The voice says before transitioning to a light and gentle music.
“This is Gary from Speedy Taxi. How can I help you?” Another voice says over the phone.
“Ugh, I’m calling about a cab. This guy got a cab one night, after that, never heard from him again. Just looking for answers.” Taylor says over the phone, speaking frankly.
Advertisement
“I hear you, dude. The world is fucked right now. The world is ending and I’m still working as customer service. If anything, that’s hilarious by itself.” Gary says with a chuckle. “I’m not really supposed to do this but I can look up the cab for you. The world’s ending anyway; I don’t think anyone cares about the rules anymore. Do you have like a license plate or something?” He asks casually.
“Yeah, man. Just a sec.” Taylor says before reading out the license plate he recorded.
“Alright. Just give me a moment.” Gary says as the sounds of typing resound over the phone. “Damn man. Says here the cab driver is dead. Should’ve expected that, I guess. Did you want his last destination? It says here he arrived, but the poor bugger never made it back.” Gary says with a jaded outlook.
“Yeah, man. That’d be great. Thanks.” Taylor says as he takes out a pen and paper.
“246 Lion Den Road.” Gary says before letting out a chuckle. “Maybe the dude got mauled by a lion. To be honest, I wouldn’t even be surprised.” He says, amused.
Taylor smiles. “Maybe. And thanks man. Have a good one.” Taylor says before moving to end the call.
“Hey, ugh, just a moment friend. Think you could help a dude out? Courtesy tip for some courtesy service?” Gary asks, a little hopeful. “It’s not that I want to be a dick. It’s just that, with the way the world is right now, every little bit helps, you know.” He explains.
Taylor smiles. “Yeah, man. No worries. What’s your email? I’ll transfer over a thank-you bonus.” Taylor says, amused. Seek and ye shall find. Ain’t that ever the truth. He comments.
Advertisement
- In Serial17 Chapters
A Virtual Invasion
An invasion from another dimension is shut down by an Empire's traitor and the world has a scant few decades to build the strength to resist a multidimensional Empire. How will the world fair when no one even knows its doom is one barred gate away? Fortunately, the traitor has a plan. Maybe with a bit of luck and planning, he can build a force to defend the world without anyone realizing it. Author's Thoughts: What is litRPG (From wikipedia) - LitRPG, short for Literary Role Playing Game, is a literary genre combining the conventions of MMORPGs with science-fiction fantasy novels.[1] LitRPG is a literary genre where games or game-like challenges form an essential part of the story. A LitRPG work simultaneously narrates the story of characters inside and outside of the game-world. At least some of the characters in a LitRPG novel therefore understand that they are playing a game: they are 'meta-aware'. So, while Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is a fantasy novel, a book about people creating avatars and interacting in a Lord of the Rings MMORPG would be a LitRPG novel.Why do I read them? You know, I am not too sure. I love MMOs. I played them, quit them, joined up and repeated the cycle. They are fun! They are a massive waste of time but so are most games. Do I want to read about someone else playing them? Sort of?The advent of VR and the possibility of VR someday becoming so immersive that you can't tell them from reality sets the imagination on fire. What if this could be life? But most stories fall short. At the end of the day the protagonist hangs up his VR helmet and goes to have dinner with his mom and dad or other family and it becomes meaningless. It's like the story that ends because the main character woke up and nothing you read matters.There have been some books that explore the concept of the intersection of reality and total immersion VR. Enders Game is a classic. There were a few others that escape me but they exist, however, the cross between the game and reality is weak.So what if the game was real? The technology needed for total immersion VR is so advanced that by the time we reach that goal technology should have naturally evolved to include several items. You must have direct neural input. You simply can't have a total immersion (all senses and perfect presence) experience without this basic prerequisite. If you have direct neural access, you can probably do neat things like feed knowledge and skills directly to that person. You can undoubtedly do many horrible things as well. Muscles are controlled by the brain. If you control the brain why would you let the body just sit there and rot? A person that sits unmoving for 24 hours a day will have their body whither away just like a coma patient. However, if you control the brain you could control the muscles. On a basic level, this would be isometric impulses, working muscle group against muscle group to avoid atrophy. Taken to its logical conclusion you would be able to gain muscle mass and program muscle memory. The flip side is that you could remote control their body... but let's not go there. So what would people do if it were real? Well, they would probably limit and regulate it since the drawbacks are very obvious. Even if you look at the basic aspects of this you can see some negative possibilities. Look at the Sword Art Online anime. Personally, I think they missed the boat by putting a bomb in the VR helmet. Do you really need a bomb when you have direct access to the brain?So what kind of events would you need to have a situation where the obvious drawbacks haven't been explored? Maybe a society where the advancement of technology has so far outstripped the explorations of its applications that ignorance was truly bliss? Okay, so I had to put in an alien invasion to kickstart the premise, but that was just one of the possibilities.
8 126 - In Serial47 Chapters
World Egg
Thaddius returns to find the Carnival in shambles. Samphire is missing and has given him instructions to take all those who remain into hiding. Pursued by the Automatrons of Bismuth and sent to who knows where by the God of Mischief. Tad must gather his friends and find safety. They head into the wilderness to make a new home they can defend. This Arc is the second in the Thaddius Rockgrip chronicles. ------- In this book, the people become aware of the system. The system isn't a game. It's the rules for the universal operating system that all things work inside. Note: You do not need to read the first book in the series to read this book. Book Type: I'm uncertain how to define this, somewhere between The Matrix and litrpg and a progression world builder. Writathon: It is over. THANKS! It is a rough draft. Thank you for reading and commenting. Book Cover Credits: Cover art: Mary Evans Credit for the human character goes to Josh P. (model), and photographer Marcus Ranum (www.ranum.com).For the female model: model and photographer credit to Ida Mary Walker Larsen (https://www.deviantart.com/mizzd-stock)The rest is free stock, and I'll take care of noting the models of the use. Man: https://www.deviantart.com/mjranum-stock
8 165 - In Serial24 Chapters
HEAVEN'S DAWN
In a world filled with demons... Yuuna, a regular thirteen-year-old girl gets caught up with its hassles as everything comes crashing down on her when a single demon brought destruction to the town separating her from her family. Thus, her story began... Will she revenge?? Chapter schedule: Monday
8 134 - In Serial34 Chapters
Frontiers : First Contact
The phenomenon that had puzzled many scientists and self-professed sleuths of the otherworldly suddenly changed during a mundane encounter with two divers. Neither Ryan and his friends nor the world were ready for what awaited them beyond first contact.(Working Synopsis)(Please be advised that this is only the first draft and is not exactly perfect)Credits to Vaghauk on Deviantart for the artistic renders that inspired this story. The Image not available for commercial use but you can view The Baltic Sea Anomaly on his profile on Deviantart.Cover made by me ⸚‿⸚
8 169 - In Serial23 Chapters
•Stay With Me• |✔︎|
Тэхён-"Чи магадгүй бэлгийн чиг хандлагаа дахиад нэг бодож үзэх хэрэгтэй байх" Жонгүг-"Тоглоод байна уу?" Тэхён-"Үгүй ээ!"Photo edited by: @Lucy_Vk
8 204 - In Serial23 Chapters
Friends (Gilbert Blythe x reader)
You have lived in Avonlea your whole life. Your best friend is Gilbert Blythe and a girl named Anne comes to Avonlea and your relationship with Gilbert turns into a mess
8 129

