Chapter 4: 004 – Hope

"Learn from yesterday, live for today and give hope for the future."

These words were inscribed on a plaque under a bronze statue placed right outside the gates of Mount Vernon High. There was another inscription at the lower right corner of the plaque, 'Signed by James D. Anggelo.'

Alan glanced at the statue for a moment, carefully looking at the features of the statue's model as the name brought back a memory. Those were the words of his great grandfather, the school's founder.

It had been passed down amongst his family, which was one reason he became a teacher.

But right now, he was looking at the statue with a different look and belief.

"Great grandfather, unfortunately, these days, hope is not a luxury anyone can give."

After saying those words, Alan drew his gaze back and entered Mount Vernon High's premises. He made his way to the administrative building and quickly handed his resignation letter to the related department.

The news shocked most of the students and elicited various reactions, as Alan was one of the most popular teachers in the school. Hence his departure caused quite a scene.

As Alan was on his way out of school after, a commotion broke out as several students cheered him and wished him well, while some burst into tears at his departure.

Exiting Mount Vernon High's school gate, Alan went to the nearest flower shop and bought a bouquet of fresh yellow lilies before going to the cemetery. His tracks stopped at a particular spot, and he placed the bouquet on the gravestone.

[In Loving Memory of Sarah D Anggelo]

Looking at the grave of his wife, Alan's chest aches. It wasn't just the memory of his wife's last moment that reappeared but also his friends, and his teammates who died one by one while he could only watch helplessly.

Alan looked at the sky and took a deep breath. A hint of unease flashed in his eyes as he briefly wondered about his decision, but it was quickly replaced by a firm determination to change his fate.

"Wish me luck, Sarah."

He left the cemetery and went to the bank, withdrawing all the money in his savings account, which amounted to a meager 3,000 dollars.

With only a large backpack filled with a few clothes, Alan took a bicycle and cycled westward.

Alan had four months to prepare before the next Apocalypse Game began;

One of the secrets to surviving the game was increasing his stats before he started the game,

Strength, Agility, and Endurance were part of the main attributes that players could influence by improving their overall physique and fitness.

It was one of the first ways to get ahead of his previous self.

Hence. His plan was to do a four-thousand-mile track across the country, from east coast to west coast, that passed through 12 states, all traversed by bike alone.

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Thus it started.

The first two weeks were the toughest for Alan as his body obviously needed time to adjust. Even though he was already in reasonably good shape, it still required a lot of effort and adjustment for the kind of result he wanted to achieve.

He would find himself gasping for air, throwing up several times, his legs giving up entirely, and so on. Even so, Alan continued pedaling his bicycle, pushing past his body's limit.

Every time he passed through a big city, Alan would stay in it for a few days to resupply. During that brief period, he would stop by the gym for some intense weight training to develop his strength. He also went for several swimming sessions to relax his muscles a little.

In the between, Alan would be on the lookout for the latest news to jolt his memory and make necessary notes about the upcoming game.

He started to plan multiple scenarios, the best way to replay the games and make the most out of them.

Alan had to be creative; for that, he needed people to help him and money.

This was when Alan started to check the news on upcoming sports events. While stopping in each town, he would stop by a sports betting venue and bet on a famous sports team he had heard of before to multiply his money, just enough for what he was about to do next.

Eight weeks. The time it took to finally reach the city on the western coast of the United States – Seattle.

Alan's arrival in Seattle coincided with when world governments announced their new policy to the public. The Meritorious Service Lottery, as the government called it – even if it would be best known as the Apocalypse games lottery in the future.

Some countries had their own variations of details regarding the lottery. Still, they all came to one unified conclusion: they had to involve civilians in the Games.

Some offered monetary prizes to entice their citizens to participate, while others threatened their people with imprisonment.

Alan's home country, the United States of America, apart from giving 30,000 dollars to those who participated. They would also treat those selected for these lottery tickets as an official soldier going to war, meaning that death gratuity would be given to one's family if they didn't return.

Most of the public's reaction to the policy was negative. But a cluster of daring people was excited with this policy because they could finally access the Apocalypse Game's benefits such as abundant money, extraordinary power, or like what Alan was aiming for, medicine for incurable diseases.

In their eyes, all that was previously only accessible to the government and military were finally up to them to grab.

Right now, on the TV, there was the figure of Chinese president Xu Jiping, giving a speech about the new policy agreed by governments around the world.

"People Republic of China, 1000 years ago, when facing the invaders, our ancestors would send one brave man from each family to protect our nation. Now I will ask for 500,000 brave volunteers to be stationed in five cities where the Apocalypse Game will take place: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. My people, the republic's future, the world is in your hands."

Alan remembered watching and hearing this speech before, so he knew that within two weeks, all 500,000 volunteer slots would be filled by people without the need for a lottery to take place.

As for Alan, his lottery ticket arrived at his home in due time.

Alan threw away his well-worn bicycle, cleaned himself up well, and bought the necessary supplies with the lottery money to make some preparation for his following plans before buying himself a plane ticket to the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu.

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