"Drive coins. I can’t believe I forgot about fricking Drive coins,” Danny said. He gave himself a facepalm and slowly dragged his hand downwards across his face.

  The reason for Danny’s stressful reaction was because he didn’t possess enough of one of the game’s currencies to purchase the vehicle in front of him: Drive coins. The conversion of Drive coins to real-world money was quite high, as one Drive coin amounted to a thousand dollars in the real world.

  Quite high indeed. But Danny guessed it made it easier to purchase things in the game, as it hid the true cost of what they were spending to buy whatever was available in the game.

  There was also another form of currency called Gems. Gems were quite valuable, seeing as one Gem was worth a hundred Drive coins. Races were held to win Gems and Drive coins, and Danny hadn’t participated in any official races.

  He checked the amount of Drive coins he had using the digital screen that held all the information about him in Overdrive Online. He went to his wallet and it read: 30 Drive coins, 0 Gems.

  “I guess those videos I watched were true. You do get half of everything you put in if you win the race,” Danny said. What Danny was referring to were the online videos he had watched about Overdrive racers.

  They hadn’t helped him much, except to give him basic tutorials and information about the virtual reality game. One of the things he learned from those videos was about the currencies in this game.

  Many Overdrive racers in those videos stated that if they won the qualification race, they would get half of the money they used each time to pay for the qualification fee.

  Danny had paid the qualification race fee six times, so he had paid a total of sixty thousand dollars, and it seemed he was given thirty thousand dollars in the form of thirty Drive coins.

  “This is quite disturbing,” Cane said.

  “Hey! It may not seem like a lot, but it is. It’s actually thirty thousand dollars,” Danny said, flustered.

  “I was not referring to the low amount of Drive coins you have. I am just confused by the currencies themselves. Where are the rest?” Cane asked.

  “What do you mean by rest?” Danny asked, with a confused look on his face.

  “The only two currencies in Overdrive Online are Drive coins and Gems. That’s pretty well-known.”

  “That’s incorrect!” Cane exclaimed, which stunned Danny and caused his heart to skip a beat. “There are more than this! They should all be listed here. My creator spent a lot of time on them.”

  “Okay, Cane. I didn’t mean to call you a liar,” Danny spoke in a low tone, trying not to upset Cane.

  “I... I apologize. I have analyzed that I unintentionally caused your heart to beat irregularly, which diverges from my primary function,” Cane said.

  “It’s fine,” Danny said. Did an A.I. just have an outburst? That’s weird, Danny thought. Danny suddenly snapped his fingers as an idea popped into his head.

  “I got it! Hey, Cane. Do you think you could do the same thing for the currencies like you did with my hair color? You know, retrieve the code or something?” Danny asked.

  Cane didn’t respond immediately. It was as if he was considering whether he should or shouldn’t do what Danny was suggesting.

  “It is worth a try,” Cane said. “I will begin the currency retrieval.”

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  A little spinning wheel appeared below the listed Drive coins and Gems. Danny waited to see these hidden currencies, and wait he did. Several minutes passed, and the spinning wheel still remained.

  “Uhhhhhh, Cane? I don’t mean to rush you, but what’s the holdup?” Danny asked.

  “Apologies, Danny. It seems I cannot retrieve the currencies just like I did with your hair color. There appears to be a great level of encryption preventing me from doing so,” Cane said. “But worry not. I should be able to bypass the encryption in a month or less.”

  A month? That was a bit disappointing for Danny, but he couldn’t complain. Cane had already don—

  “Wait a minute!” Danny exclaimed, realizing something. “Did you say they’re encrypted?”

  “Highly encrypted,” Cane answered.

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t get those currencies,” Danny said.

  “You seem anxious, Danny. Is there a reason for your sudden disapproval of me retrieving these currencies? They are part of this game after all,” Cane asked.

  “Yeah... but it seems like the developers went to great lengths to make sure they aren’t used. Maybe we shouldn’t mess with that,” Danny said.

  “Your logic is somewhat sound, but I disagree. My programming is to aid Overdrive racers in the best way I can, and I cannot do that without bringing out the game’s full potential,” Cane said. “I spent some time considering this as well. But I analyzed that this was the best option. If it disrupts the game in any way, then my creator can simply program me with new functions.”

  Danny didn’t have a counter to Cane’s argument. If the A.I. said it was okay, then Danny would just have to trust that. Although, the way Danny found Cane was strange.

  Locked away in a glitched cave, as if he were being hidden.

  “I will help you in the selection of a vehicle. Please be patient as I filter cars that cost almost or exactly 30 Drive coins,” Cane said.

  As soon as he said that, the rows of cars started shifting at great speed. They became blurs constantly moving. Danny couldn’t keep track of which car was which.

  The rows of cars finally stopped moving, presenting vehicles that Danny could afford.

  “Filtering process is complete. You may select whichever vehicle you desire. If you require further assistance, I am here,” Cane said.

  “Sure,” Danny replied. He began looking at the vehicles Cane had presented him with. Although Danny had been using a sports car to race up until now, that wasn’t the only type of car a racer could race with in Overdrive Online.

  One could race in muscle cars, SUVs, supercars, and even bikes. As long as it had wheels and an engine, one could race with it. It was one of the things that made the virtual reality game so compelling.

  Mashing up different types of vehicles that didn’t always belong together and racing in them to create beautiful chaos. Danny smirked, thinking about how his first true race in the game would be.

  The qualification race had been a dull event compared to the crazy things he was about to experience. Right after he decided on which vehicle he would purchase.

  The first car Danny looked at was a sports car with a slanted build, two doors, and medium-sized tires. Danny found that he could rotate the vehicle in a three hundred and sixty-degree angle.

  “This car looks cool, but let’s see if it has what I need,” Danny muttered.

  A little white icon floated on top of the car. Danny clicked it, and it transformed into a page revealing the stats of the car.

  Max Speed: 240 miles per hour.

  Acceleration: 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds.

  Durability: 40 percent

  Armor: 2 out of 5.

  “I’m guessing by these stats the car is super fast. Wait, isn’t max speed and acceleration the same thing?” Danny scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I’m really wishing I paid attention in those physics classes right now.”

  The car looked good, but it wasn’t what Danny was searching for. He scrolled to the next vehicle.

  It was an SUV with a bulky build and rigid edges. He looked at the stats just like he had with the previous car.

  Max Speed: 140 miles per hour.

  Acceleration: 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6.5 seconds.

  Durability: 95 percent

  Armor: 5 out of 5.

  “I don’t understand most of this, but it’s obvious that this car is super tough. But I’m guessing it’s slow as well. This is a racing game—I’m not going to earn Jim’s money by being slow but looking tough.”

  Danny scrolled to the next car.

  “Do you require my assistance?” Cane asked.

  Danny bowed his head down and sighed. “Yes,” Danny answered.

  “Just tell me the type of car that you want, and I’ll try my best to search for it,” Cane said.

  “I want a car that’s fast, but not too fast. I’m still a beginner, after all, and I’m terrible at drifting. I want it to be armored to take heavy damage but not so armored that it greatly slows down the car’s speed,” Danny said.

  “Understood. I will select a car for you based on your conditions,” Cane said.

  The rows of cars started to move into a blur once more and did so for a while before finally coming to a stop.

  A car was presented to Danny. “Well, does this vehicle fit your preference?” Cane asked.

  Danny looked at the car’s statistics and grinned. “I think I can work with this,” Danny said.