Hvisland: A VR Colony Sim Game

Are they really just a collection of data and instructions created by humans?

That question has been haunting my mind lately, to the point I can't sleep because of it.

If they're just data, why do I feel so attached to them?

I crouched down, rubbing the young man's head. Of course, he wouldn't respond. To him, I don't exist.

"This must be hard for you, especially when you feel like you've killed someone close to you." I talked to him, even though I knew it was pointless. "I can't do much for you, other than to try to make this place friendly to you and accept you as you are. I'll try to make sure this place is really home for you."

"Aahhh!!!"

Pif looked up, and time stopped.

What? Auto pause? At a time like this? Didn't we just get attacked? This game won't give attacks from enemies in a row, right?

I warp to my colony shelter, and the scene before me turned into something terrifying. Seb sat on the ground with his mouth wide open. He looked like he was about to inched away.

Meanwhile, Manu has entered the cage with a rusty machete. His expression was so ferocious, like a hungry beast. He was clearly going to attack Theo. The prisoner had shifted to the corner of the cage with a hysterical face.

This can no longer be prevented. The machete was so close to the curly-haired man's neck.

Why, Manu?

I held my head, very frustrated by this incident. Besides wanting my colonists to grow, I wanted to save Theo. He was tortured by members of his own tribe.

And now Manu will destroy everything, but I can't do anything. Why did the auto-pause trigger so late? This is unfair.

Having no other choice, I turned my back on the cage, froze for a moment, then pressed the play button.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! The sound of a machete piercing through a human's body was heard.

"Nooo! Aaah! Aaaahhhh!!!" And then, Seb ran away.

I waited, not wanting to see Theo's corpse. The curly-haired man was silent.

What I heard was something dragged. It seemed Manu was dragging the man's corpse out. I do not know. I still haven't dared to look.

Not long after, Pif came back with a run, immediately dropping his fiery piece of wood. The fire from the wood started to devour the grass. I immediately pressed the pause button again and woke Kat to bring a wooden bucket filled with water from the corner of the shelter.

When Kat came out, the fire had become bigger, and Pif was already inching away. Kat doused the fire, which fortunately was extinguished instantly.

"I'm so sorry..." Pif apologized with tears in his eyes. "I accidentally dropped the wood…. I saw Manu had already killed Theo…."

Kat looked at the young man, of course with an expressionless face.

"I avenge our group."

Pif, Kat, and I turned in the direction of the voice, at Manu who had just returned.

"I saved our group. He deserved to die." Manu continued his speech in a flat tone.

"What the fuck happened!?" Leva, who just came out of the shelter, cursed when she found a trail of blood that came from the cage and stretched far. The woman looked at Manu, immediately glaring at the sight of blood splattered on the clothes and body of the bearded man. "What are you doing, Manu!?"

"Theo is my friend!" Pif shouted and got up. "And before this, I killed Ella! I lost two of my best friends in one day! This shouldn't have happened! You don't have to kill Theo! Why are you doing this, Manu!?"

Manu didn't answer and just stared at the skinny man's face.

"Arrgggghhh!!!" Pif hit Manu's body, but the bearded man didn't react at all. Pif's punch looks weak and powerless. The skinny man continued to punch. But still, it had no effect on Manu.

And then, Leva punched Manu hard in the stomach. The bearded man collapsed, holding his stomach and coughing violently. Leva did not stop there. She kicked Manu's body, but I saw she wasn't aiming for the injured part.

I just stood there, watching the scene. So did Kat and Pif. They froze in place. Perhaps, Manu deserved all that, and maybe he thought so too. The bearded man didn't resist at all.

"You're crazy, Manu." Leva said with a heavy breath. "I told you, you have to fight that demon within you!"

"Forgive me …." Manu moans and cries. "Forgive me …. I really don't want to do this…."

Pif sobbed again. The young man chose to leave the scene. Maybe Pif wanted to avenge Manu, but he wasn't that kind of person.

I then said something in Leva's ear.

"Sorry, but we have to lock you up. We cannot tolerate this kind of behavior any further." Leva's eyes were also filled with tears. "You really need to be punished, Manu."

I didn't know that punishing Manu would bring him to his senses. However, if I close my eyes to his actions, I feel something is wrong.

Manu stood up with a staggering motion. He looked down and said in a low voice. "How about you just kill me, Leva?"

"We still need you." Leva's voice was muffled. "But remember, if you do something like this one more time, then I won't hesitate to slit your throat. Theo did take Seb hostage, but he didn't want to do that. I'm sure he could still change. And you took his opportunity."

Manu closed his eyes for a moment, walked a few steps, then entered the cage by himself. Leva put a wooden latch on the door of the cage, then tied it in such a way that Manu could not unravel it from the inside.

After she finished, Leva had already opened her mouth, perhaps wanting to ask. However, she chose to get up, walking away with a bit of a stagger.. Kat stopped in front of the cage for a moment, watched Manu huddle in silence, then followed Leva back to the shelter.