May 14, 2034 | 11:30 AM | Phayao, Thailand
Amidst the refreshing atmosphere of a large three-story house...
“Num... Num...” Linnea cooed, playfully teasing her year-old daughter who was snuggled affectionately in her arms. She gently set the little girl down on the floor as she caught sight of a familiar car pulling into the driveway. “Go to Grandma Pim, sweetheart. Go tell Grandma Pim to pick you up.”
“Up... up!” The toddler waddled adorably toward the living room, reaching her tiny arms toward her grandmother. “Up... up!”
Linnea walked out to greet her best friends at the front of the house with a beaming smile.
“Hey there,” Linnea greeted Jia and Meena.
“Are you for real? You get married and immediately move into your husband’s nest just like that?” Jia asked, her eyes scanning the massive house behind them—the love nest Mook had built using Linnea’s wealth.
“Isn’t it better this way? I can keep a close eye on Mook to see if he’s up to anything eccentric,” Linnea replied, her face radiating a sweet, happy glow.
Mook in this timeline was still a young man who was a little soft around the middle, with a few scattered spots on his face. He wasn't some heart-stoppingly handsome stud, but he offered her total loyalty and had never once dreamt of being unfaithful. Since the day she decided to confess her love to him, her life had been shrouded in constant happiness. Eventually, she chose to marry him, and they now had a beautiful daughter as the gold chain linking their hearts.
“Right, right... Miss Happy. Here! Take a look at this.” Jia tossed an object shaped like a headband to her friend. It was a ‘GREM’ device.
“If Saito never met Mook, we should have seen this thing in the year '45. But why the hell did it show up so early? Did we accidentally trigger some change without knowing it?” Meena grumbled, her face a mix of gloom and frustration. She then asked with concern, “And what about your Mook? What do you think he can do about this?”
“He’s been sneaking that device into the house since yesterday. Right now, he’s holed up in his room and won’t come out,” Linnea replied, gesturing toward the third floor.
“What! Your man already got his hands on one?!” Jia’s face went pale with shock.
“Yes,” Linnea answered with a hint of annoyance. Ever since Mook got the GREM, he seemed so obsessed that he barely helped her with the baby.
“So right now, he’s probably diving deep into the GREM world,” Jia said weakly, seeing that men just couldn't escape the allure of GREM after all.
“What do we do next? Are we going to let everything loop back to the way it was?” Meena asked seriously.
“I don't know...” Linnea let out a weary sigh. “We’ll have to wait and see. For now, there’s nothing we can do anyway.”
***
April 1, 2035 | 8:30 AM
Inside the warm bedroom where Linnea and her daughter were fast asleep...
“Papa...” The two-year-old opened her eyes as she saw her father quietly creeping onto the bed.
Mook, looking a bit worn out and noticeably thinner, froze when he realized he’d woken his daughter. He quickly looked for a way to lure her away. “Grandma Mai and Grandma Pim are making delicious snacks in the kitchen, sweetie. Go look!”
“Heh!” The little girl’s eyes lit up with excitement. She sprang up and zoomed out of the room instantly.
“May I ask why you just tricked our daughter out of the room?” A stern voice came from the woman Mook thought was still asleep.
“Hehe... I have something special to show you,” Mook smirked mysteriously.
“If you want me to give you a blowjob, go take a shower first,” Linnea maintained her stern facade.
“Hmph! It’s not something below the belt like that!” Mook dismissed her, then reconsidered and pretended to unbuckle his pants. “But if you’re offering a round first, I’m down.”
“Forget it! Just tell me what it is!” Linnea immediately reached out and squeezed his ‘strategic point’ as a threat.
“Ack! I’ll tell you! I give up!” Mook tried to pry her hand off before handing a new, blue-designed GREM device to Linnea and putting one on himself. He lay down beside her and whispered, “Ready?”
“Yeah.”
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Linnea had experience using it before, and she knew exactly where Mook was about to take her.
Beep! Mook pressed the start buttons simultaneously. Suddenly, the vision of the real world vanished.
Flash! They both appeared in the middle of a vast, lush green field, surrounded by nature so beautiful it felt like paradise.
‘This doesn't look like the GREM main server entrance at all. Don’t tell me...’ Linnea thought in wonder, turning to Mook.
“That GREM thing... women can’t use it, right? But I wanted you to see this beautiful world with me. So, I built everything from scratch myself—both the server and the device... Do you like it?” Mook asked with a small, proud smile.
Linnea’s eyes trembled and shimmered as she realized the immense effort and soul the man had poured into creating this for her. This meant that no one could monopolize the virtual world alone ever again.
***
December 17, 2038 | 8:30 AM | London, England
At a skyscraper in the heart of London...
Click, clack, click... The sound of high heels hitting marble echoed with a steady rhythm. Linnea, dressed in an elegant, high-society outfit, walked into the company with a dignified air, heading straight for the elevator.
“Wait for me!” ‘Sophie,’ a cute, short-haired British secretary with thick glasses, ran panting after Linnea into the elevator.
“Hey Sophie. What’s the situation?” Linnea greeted her loyal secretary, who was slightly shorter than her, before pressing the button for the 20th floor.
“Regarding the lawsuit, we’ve won decisively, Ms. Linnea! Mr. Mook was able to prove that he created everything himself and didn't copy anyone. Plus, our ‘TREAM’ system is of much higher quality. The court has dismissed the case!” Sophie reported, adjusting her glasses before showing a video of the verdict on a large tablet.
“And what about Saito Corporation? Any new moves?”
“Yes, they’re trying to appeal, but it’s expected to be futile. It seems they have no new evidence to fight with.”
“Phew...” Linnea let out a sigh of pure relief. “Any other news?”
“Yes! GREM’s user base has plummeted from tens of millions to just over a million. If the decline continues like this, GREM will definitely have to shut down its servers within two months!” Sophie reported with excitement.
After GREM had monopolized the market for nearly a year, causing a crisis of female unemployment, Mook launched ‘Thailand Dream’ or ‘TREAM.’ It was open for women to use and pursue any career path. This breakthrough forced many companies that were planning to fire female staff to suspend those plans and instead purchase the TREAM system, ensuring they didn't lose their experienced employees.
Ding! The elevator signaled their arrival on the 20th floor.
Linnea stepped into her exquisitely decorated private lounge with Sophie before gracefully sitting on a luxury sofa by a large pool that stretched out from the building.
“What kind of coffee would you like today?” Sophie asked, walking toward the coffee station.
“Low sugar, please,” Linnea replied calmly, picking up her tablet to watch a video of her friend who was currently a viral sensation.
“Come on, boys! If you’re man enough, try and take me down!” Meena—appearing as a stunningly beautiful and seductive Demon Queen—wore sexy purple-black spiked armor. She danced and dodged the ‘Heroes’ with fluid grace before counter-attacking fiercely with her signature dual pistols.
Clang! Clang! Bullets slammed into a Hero’s shield as he rushed to protect his teammates. They then combined their power to release a shockwave at the Demon Queen to suppress her movement, ordering the remaining Heroes to launch an all-out assault. But within minutes, the Heroes were forced back on the defensive. Meena had a rapid recovery skill and could escape the encirclement with ease before raining down a barrage of bullets.
“She’s truly terrifying, that friend of mine,” Linnea smirked with satisfaction.
Seeing her best friend become a legendary ‘Hard Boss’ in the game—a character players were obsessed with—meant Meena was earning a salary of 50,000 baht a month just for role-playing as the elegant boss in the game Jia had built.
After Mook successfully created ‘TREAM,’ he secured investors to open servers competing directly with Saito. This caused Saito’s plan to crumble entirely. The fact that TREAM allowed real women to enter and create diverse content made this virtual world feel more alive than a world filled only with heartless AI. TREAM was leagues ahead of GREM, and it saved a massive number of women from facing unemployment.
Of course, the ‘pretty people’ in the real world still faced some impact, leading to some sad events, but compared to the original timeline of only GREM, this world was like heaven and earth.
Mook’s refusal to ban the trade of sexualized goods and his timely launch allowed women to have a continuous income. The jobs lost from the real world were replaced by creative new professions in TREAM—like online games where all NPC characters were played by real people. Having girls dress up beautifully to breathe life into games made players happier and provided a deeper emotional response than interacting with stiff AI. Many companies chose to hire real, talented performers to fill their games.
This reason alone created a massive number of new jobs for women—so many that, in the end, while some unemployment remained, it wasn't severe enough to shatter the social structure.
Furthermore, all the good things GREM once did, TREAM could provide as well—whether it was nature recovering because people traveled less, or drugs becoming extinct because TREAM could deliver happiness to the brain more effectively. Whatever was good... in this world, it remained beautiful.
“Coffee is ready,” Sophie served the coffee, catching a glimpse of Linnea’s face. “What are you smiling about?”
“Nothing...” Linnea looked out the window at the magnificent view, thinking happily to herself. Our mission is a success.
“Ms. Linnea!” A shout from ‘Ruby,’ Sophie’s twin, came from afar. “I have good news and bad news! Which do you want to hear first?”
Linnea furrowed her brow slightly, taking a sip of coffee. “The good news first.”
“The good news is GREM has announced the permanent shutdown of its servers!” Ruby said, beaming with joy.
“And the bad news?” Linnea asked, the smile still on her face.
“Mr. Mook has announced he’s gifting 9% of his shares to Mr. Saito!”
Pfft!!! Linnea spat her coffee out instantly. Her heart raced in pure panic. What on earth is happening now?!!!
