At that instant, the police arrived and arrested Olivia.
"You are under arrest for credit card theft. You have the right to remain silent, and anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law," said the police officer.
"Wait what? I thought you're arresting her for entrapping these people here in her game?!" exclaimed Eliza, bewildered.
"Unfortunately, that is not against the law," replied the police officer calmly. "These people have signed an official contract indicating that they are doing this out of their own free will. No one is forcing them to do this. However, Ms. Olivia Goodwin is arrested for illegally probing into her users' memories to obtain their card details in order to embezzle the money in their bank accounts."
"What's wrong with that? While they're here, they need food, they take up space and they use electricity. I'm just charging them for rent and service!" retorted Olivia. "Wait until my lawyer comes!"
After Claire destroyed the servers, the users were immediately plunged back into reality. They slowly woke up in a daze.
"What's going on?" said a woman with short, golden hair in her mid-thirties. Then, the spies explained the situation to her.
"Well, I don't care!" replied the woman, shrugging. "Give them all my money! I don't need that anymore, as long as I live in that game! Inside the pyramid, there are all kinds of treasures. Who needs money?"
"Wait, you're Melody, aren't you?" asked Eliza, after hearing the woman mentioning the pyramid. "You're the Egyptian woman that helped us find the Book of the Dead!"
"Yes! Melody is my real name. In the real world, I am just an ordinary, married woman with three kids. My life is just a never-ending cycle of monotony," answered the woman. "That's why I want to escape reality! I don't want to live such a tedious life! I long for a life of adventure and excitement. When can I get back to the game?"
"Eliza! What're you doing here?" Suddenly, a teenage boy exclaimed. In fact, he is Eliza's brother - George.
"That's what I want to ask you!" yelled Eliza angrily whilst grabbing her younger brother by the ear. "D'you know how worried mum and dad are about you? You disappeared without telling anyone! We even called the police! How did you even get addicted to this stupid game in the first place?"
"I'm not addicted!" retorted George, wrenching free from his sister. "I just want to get away from everything! I was bullied at school, my GCSEs are coming up, my grades are a mess and......and life is just so hard being an adolescent! Why can't I be as carefree as when I was a kid? I don't wanna grow up!"
"Wait, so are you Jack - the Medieval kid in the bakery?" asked Claire.
"Yup, that's me! I wanna stay as a kid forever, that's why I've chosen that character! Plus, I love eating bread," replied George.
Seeing that Eliza was about to lose her patience and start yelling at her brother again, Claire quickly changed the topic of conversation by asking a man with a beard wearing a Hawaiian shirt and shorts, "Let me guess, you must be Andrzej then?"
"Yes," answered Andrzej. "I'm the caveman in Level 3. I was an engineer and....."
"We've already heard your story," interrupted Eliza rudely, still mad at her brother.
"Andrzej was the worst victim from Olivia Goodwin's crime," said the police officer. "He lost all his money, which is more than a million pounds. Melody lost only half of her savings, which is just over a hundred grand. George....."
"GEORGE!" yelled Eliza, without waiting for the police officer to finish. "You don't have a credit card, how did you subscribe to this game?"
"Mum let me use her credit card to pay for the subscription fee," answered George.
"Don't worry, George didn't lose any money," reassured the police officer. "Luckily, as he was using his mother's credit card, he didn't know the password. Okay, everybody, time to face reality! Escapism can be useful as a temporary method, but not a long-term solution to release your life burdens. I'll take you home and your money should be returned to your accounts in the next few days."
~The End~
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