Chapter 3 Paradise Game

7

I went out to eat but could not enjoy the food, so I only took a few casual bites. When I walked out of the restaurant, a BMW 730 honked at me on the side of the road. Looking over, I saw my college friend Ronnie.

After graduation, we had both come to this city.

When I had begun to work, he had still been idling around because he could not find a satisfactory job. I had lent him five thousand dollars long ago, but he had not given it back yet.

But why was he driving a luxury car now?

He got out of the car, walked up to me, took out five thousand dollars in cash, and stuffed them into my hand, saying, "Old friend, thank you for helping me. Since I bumped into you today, I must return the money to you. How is Kara doing?"

I took the money over and said, "She's at work. You look good! Did you make a fortune? Where's Amanda?"

Ronnie smiled, "We broke up. I have a new girlfriend named Linda now. Linda, get out of the car to meet my old friend!"

Then, a pretty woman got off the car in flesh-colored silk stockings, a short skirt, and a deep V top. What a stunner she was!

Ronnie was handsome with well-defined facial features. He had played the field in college. Now, he had money, so he became more dissolute. Meeting his new girlfriend, I politely nodded at her.

"You rocked!" Although I had critical eyes, I admitted Linda was pretty and thought she must be wild underneath.

Ronnie suddenly sighed, "Linda is my colleague, and she works in the PR department. I have spent a lot of money on her! But this is a task that I must complete. I am well-off now. I have a luxury car and a pretty girlfriend. Not bad, right?"

I pulled him aside and said, "Ronnie, it's OK for you to play the field. But don't overdo it. She looks wild. If you want a serious relationship, you should date a reliable girl. Otherwise, you will get in trouble sooner or later."

Ronnie's face became gloomy, but he kept silent. I couldn't help lowering my voice when saying, "We've been friends for years since college. And we're working in the same city. I am financially overstretched now. Since you have succussed, can you kindly tell me how you made a fortune? Can I make money together with you?"

He showed an embarrassed face and said, "Bro, to be honest, I'm just keeping up appearances. I must go back to the company right now, so I can't talk with you any longer. See you!"

After finishing speaking, he immediately tried to slip away. Seeing this, I knew couldn't force him to stay.

After getting into the car, he started the engine, rolled down the window, and said, "I saw Kara and a man driving a luxury car go to the Splendid Hotel the day before yesterday. Be careful!"

Hearing this, I had a blackout. After stabilizing myself, I realized my premonition was right! Kara had cheated on me!

Ronnie didn't want to help me make money, and Kara had cuckolded me. I was disappointed in both friendship and love and suddenly realized I was a failure.

When I was in depression, Kara sent me a message, saying,

"Eaton, let's leave this city and go to Braden together after I succeed. We will live the life we yearn for!"

Looking at the message, I did not know whether to cry or laugh.

Was she trying to achieve success by sleeping with another man?

She did not believe I could give her the happy life she wanted, right?

Fortunately, she was still in love with me. After all, she believed she was working hard for our future.

But I felt at loss after seeing the message.

I looked forward to a new mission more because I wanted to prove that I could give her everything she wanted including money!

.

8

I received the third task on the bus to the company on Friday morning.

"Dear game player, the third game task is released. Please hug the red-haired woman in a white t-shirt, express your love for her, and get her contact information within 10 minutes."

.

Then, the countdown began.

I looked around and spotted a woman with heavy makeup and red hair. After a closer look, I found her appearance was "shocking". She was less than 4.9 feet tall and fat like a giant pumpkin. Her face was full of pimples, and there was a round birthmark on her left cheek.

Seeing time flying, I plucked up my courage and set my teeth as if when I made up my mind to stay up all night to debug my program. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, I hugged her, expressed my "love", and successfully got her contact information.

When the "beauty" offered to have a date with me at night, the bus finally arrived at the station. So, I sprinted off like lightning.

Immediately, I got a message from the bank.

Ding! I received one million dollars!

That was great!

I quickly transferred six hundred dollars to my sister and called Kara.

I was excited because I had succeeded and solved all my problems! I would no longer worry about money!

I wanted to share the joy with Kara, but she did not answer the call.

So, I decided to go to her rental apartment.

But I received a call from a stranger on the way.

"Hello, is that Mr. Brown?"

"Yes."

"This is Mr. Bruce. I am a criminal police officer. When your girlfriend traveled with her colleagues, she accidentally fell off a cliff and passed away. We found out you are her boyfriend. Would you please come to the police station now? We need you to go through some procedures..."

I froze in place. My head was buzzing, and my legs were heavy.

Was Kara dead?

Impossible! I could not believe it!

9

I went to the Police Station in a daze, gave a statement, and was questioned. After a set of procedures, it was already afternoon.

Kara was dead, and her body was horrible. The police suspect homicide, but they couldn't find any evidence, so they could only let it go.

I had asked for leave with the company in the next few days. I really couldn't believe that Kara just had died like this.

The next day, I received a letter that Kara had sent a week ago.

There was only one line in the letter, but I was horrified after I read it, "Eaton if you're reading this letter, it means I'm dead. Remember, don't play Paradise Game!"

.

I was shocked. It was Paradise Game. Did Kara die because of Paradise Game?

I didn't have time to find out the truth about Kara's death, because my fate took a 180-degree turn. The suitable kidney that matched my mother was officially in place, and the transplant would begin next week.

The company's performance also suddenly improved. Gail got a large sum of money from nowhere and acquired a similar company. She was currently doing IPO financing. Her company was growing. I was also promoted to department manager, and my salary tripled.

She told me that the company needed employees like me. At the end of the year, the company would give some senior employees option benefits. Once the company went public, I could get at least five million. I decided to follow Gail to work hard, and I selectively left the game of Paradise behind.

But what surprised me was that Gail seemed to only suggest dividends to me. We had dinner several times in private, and her attitude toward me became more and more kind and intimate.

Just when Gail and I were getting closer, I got a call from Ronnie after I returned home from a company dinner one day. On the phone, Ronnie told me to go and save him because he was dying.

Before I could ask further, the phone hung up.

I didn't take it seriously when I thought of Ronnie's luxury cars and the beautiful girls around him. I thought that he was just joking.

But I had never expected that heard the news of Ronnie's death that night.

It turned out that Ronnie had recently hooked up with a married woman whose husband was a gangster. Her husband came home and caught them in bed. During the chase, Ronnie climbed onto the balcony. He fell from the 20th floor and died.

It was another sudden death, and that was when I noticed Ronnie's latest WhatsApp signature, "From Paradise Game, you're going to kill it or you're going to kill yourself."

His signature brought my memory back to the game. Game! Could it be that every player of Paradise Game would end up dead?!