Yuri walked away from Kath and Drake to give them space and to gather his own thoughts after the dram they have just had. He knew that it is hard to accept the situation they have now and that he still need to do something right away even if his thoughts are not even stable at the moment. He walked towards their tent with his mind full of confusion.
"Yuri.." Tori greeted. She stood waiting outside the tent. She wore a pink nymph dress flowered with laces under a dark green blazer and a wing-like cape hang on her back. She brought a twig lamp with her.
"Oh, Tori...why are you here?" Yuri looked surprised as he noticed the game update. He didn't imagine he could see his sister wearing that outfit. "I can't believe we've changed a lot.." he sighed, more of a giggle. He found himself in a reflection from an aluminum bucket on the corner of the tent. He saw himself wearing a purple robe with golden highlights on the hem and the ends. A glowing blue orb hangs on his chest and a sword clings on his side. "Why didn't you go to sleep?" he said.
"I could say that to you, too." Tori giggled. "Well, I know it's tough but its not time to talk about rest.."
"I know. After all the stuff? I bet I can't even close my eyes...." Yuri replied.
"Ya right..." Tori said. "I kinda feel the same. Anyway,.."
"Is there something wrong?"
"Jayson and the others need to talk to everyone..." Tori replied, showing the way in. "He's inside the tent."
Yuri felt nervous as he entered the tent with his sister.
....
They all gathered around the table and the air felt cold and nervous as the stares and grins rained with the storm.
Dave and Sandra were left with Hachiro to watch over him. It was Ned's decision so they followed the order. Ken and Brent came with Ned to meet with the others.
"Let's break the ice here.." Jayson said and everyone felt heated. "Ne," he eyed Ned. "Why are we here?"
"First, let me ask you if you already know about the update..." Ned replied.
"Ahh.. we read and finished the tutorial session. What about it?" Jayson said.
"Well, I guess we have these troubles on our hand now and I can't think of how to defeat the enemy..." Ned said.
"Why are you here then?" Alex demanded. "I suppose you have better words to say.."
"I'm here because of another mission..." Ned answered. He showed them a badge with the GSTech logo. "Reiko and the Bureau formed a task force, a team, to fix this mess with the Scorpio."
Everyone fell silent and Ned got all their ears.
"My wife—"
Ex-wife Ken and Brent screamed in their minds.
"Monica, was sent as a representative of the Bureau and I was sent as the GSTech's representative. She was tasked to destroy the routers without the enemy noticing us. I am helping her to establish the connection to create a glitch we'll use to take everyone out of the city."
"Is that possible? To make a way out?" Michiyo asked.
"That is what we are hoping to accomplish," Ned said. "Markus and I created an algorithm to manage a crack on the Stonehenge. Maybe enough for a passage for our way out." He faced Michiyo and said, "I bet you've seen him use that already, haven't you?"
"Ahh..Hai..." Michiyo nodded. The others stared at her. "When we're at the market area. He said he'll get resources outside the game. I guess he said something about getting items from ROA-RPG and he actually was able to use it against our enemy at that time. We're able to utilize the resources up until Deimos."
"It took us about half a year to complete that prototype.." Ned continued.
"Prototype? Is that what he's used?" Yuri exclaimed, mesmerized by the idea of using a prototype in a real battle. "He's insane.."
"I know." Ned agreed "And we don't have the real copy of that algorithm. There's only one copy and I was not able to memorize it. He was able to run that program because he has the Phantom Algorithm.."
"That wolf?"
"Yeah.. that wolf was a big lifesaver..." Ned said. "Anyway, if we manage to create the glitch, you guys need to open the gate using the keys, I know you have those right? The ones the hacker was giving as rewards... If we gather all those in one place, we can make a way out."
"The keys!!" Jayson said. "But we still don't have all of those.."
"You should gather them." Ned's brows crossed. "It's our only way to lead everyone out..."
"But how can we do that? Where will we open the gate?" Yuri said. "The Stonehenge spreads across the whole island to ensure a no way out. Where will we create the glitch?"
"The Stonehenge is not evenly placed around the area, it has flaws, and Markus knew that. There are places where the concentration of the barrier is lesser than the other side."
"How did you know that, sir?" Jayson asked.
"Our standby team is surrounding the whole island. They scanned the area before we entered the game and found the safest route we could take." Ned replied. "Marky and I were sending signals to them too until the game was updated."
"Where could that be? The safe place?"
"The place where you've entered, the Port."
"Are you serious? That place was flooded with heavily armed guards."
"That's because the concentration of the Stonehenge is lesser there."
"You have a point. They'll place guards on weak spots..."
"At any rate that is our only route," Ned said.
"But, even if we manage to get the keys and open the gate, we don't have the means to cross the ocean...I don't think we can just swim to get to the other side..."
"That's where the GSTech will take over," Ned said.
Everyone's eyes glimmer with hope. They all felt a moment of relief when they heard that help was almost at hand. Hearing the GSTech's name left them with a ring of assurance.
"Reiko stationed 2 cruise ships outside the waters of Luna, overseeing the island. They lie in wait to rescue everyone. A few Bureau agents and Numbers from Orion came along with them. At first, it was just for Marky's escape route, but that kid fought to bring the other ship to be of use here." Ned said.
"Fought for the other ship?"
"Yeah, he fought the Bureau to get another ship enough for all the participants. He won that tournament just for this very day.." Ned continued.
"Tournament?" they all murmured.
"Anyway. That's what you should do. Gather all the keys, get everyone to the port, and open the gate." Ned said. "You'll do your end of the job and we will do ours..."