After my death, the virtual reality headset blinks, and I am sent back to reality. I take the headset off, to see myself connected to a bunch of sensors and modules. Most of the players killed in the early game have already dismantled the setup and visited the spectator's lobby, while the few late survivors are also taking off the setup with the help of the assistants.
Then, in a corner, the familiar figure is smiling triumphantly, while still wearing the setup. After that, a voice is transmitted across the virtual reality field.
- And, announcing the top three players, in the third place, Heinrich Lenz from Eastern Europe cruise, with seven kills. In the second place, Yuusha Takahashi from Japan cruise, with three kills. And in the first place...
I just put my right hand on my face and sigh.
- Mirai Sasaki from Japan cruise, with twenty-five kills! The diamond trophy and other related prizes will be sent to your home within a few hours. Other players, thank you for participating in the one-hundred-and-fifty-second battle royale tournament. We hope to see you in the future. Now, please quickly dismantle the modules on your body if you have not done so. The area will be returned to public use in half an hour.
In the long announcement, the only thing that enters my ear is that Mirai gets twenty-five kills. How is that even possible?
After the tournament, I find Mirai who is currently walking along the bustling streets and looking at the buildings. I quickly catch up with her and tap on her shoulder.
- Mirai, that was insane. How did you do that?
She just smiles.
- Well, after you say that you do not want to involve in this mess anymore, I start to think that I should also have some rest when you are busy enjoying the cruise. I stay back in the lab for some time to map out the islands and fix some of my slightly malfunctioning modules. Then, I go for a walk and see the virtual reality field.
- That does not explain your insanely high kill count despite how rigged the game is.
Mirai knocks on my head.
- Ouch! What was that for? - I hug my head while turning to her.
- Just listen to my story first. So, it has been a long time since I played a battle royale tournament, so I sign up to relive my memories.
Mirai synchronises my spectacle vision with hers. A photo album from her memories appears. She flicks her finger to flip through the pages.
- What? How? - I gasp.
Mirai stands in the victorious pose and pats my shoulder.
- I do not plan to tell you this, but I am one of the top players in the physical virtual reality games from 2095 to 2100. Even with a wealth gap, I still pose a threat to the players in the future. These inexperienced players cannot do anything against me.
- So this explains...
- Yep. I model everything in the arsenal based on this game. I am not hard-working enough to make the design myself, but I love something that looks spectacular, so I can just take them from games. I love metal 3-D printing.
I think that further questioning would bring me nothing but discombobulation, so I stop the conversation, while Mirai is still exerting her dominance after the outplaying performance.
The game takes the whole afternoon, and as soon as the award ceremony ends, the evening comes. We head to a restaurant near the front of the ship, which has a spectacular sea view. They serve seafood to match the ocean theme.
- Welcome to the restaurant. Table for two? - The receptionist greets us with a smile.
- Yes, please.
- Noted. Please take this key card and go this way. The card will lead you to your table.
- Thank you. - I grab the card and exchange greet with her.
The key card has a digital arrow on it, which points us to a table on the second floor, next to a window. I insert the key card into a hole on the table. It then starts blinking, registering that there are guests.
The table surface turns transparent, and a menu interface pops up. I scroll down the menu, looking for a meal.
- What the hell is this food? I cannot even spell them. - I continue scrolling just to see the dish and the names that even for once in my life, I have not ever heard of.
- That is what you get for a five-million yen luxurious cruise trip. They have the budget to import the most exorbitant food from all over the world. - Mirai makes a bland comment.
- Wait, so you mean...
- Yep. - She taps on the image of a dish that looks nothing less than pure fanciness. - Except for the companies which rent a spot on this ship to sell luxurious goods, all of the services on the ship have been covered fully in the fee. In other terms...
We effectively have them for free.
Without a second thought, I order the dish that looks the most extravagant. After sending the request to the kitchen, I wait for half an hour, before the table turns back to the jade colour, and a banquet of seafood appears on the table. All the food is placed on a rotating table and oriented to represent a small volcanic island. After I press a button, the volcano-like structure in the centre erupts a viscous sauce that spreads to the food around it.
Next to the food island, there is a bottle of expensive wine, with two glasses. Mirai points her finger directly downward at the cork, and three small needles poke it. The needles spin, drilling deep into the cork. She lifts the cork out of the bottle and pours the wine into two cups. A perfectly transparent, dark red liquid quickly fills up the glass, making a characteristic glugging sound of pure liquid.
Mirai hands me one of the glasses. We raise our glasses.
- Now, cheers. My treat.
- Haha, good joke.
We have the most sumptuous dinner.
__________
In the silence of midnight, there is the sound of a car rushing on the road. It swifts through the roads and streets and the drifting sound can be heard clearly from afar. Somebody is in a rush.
The car finally parks in an isolated area. The car headlights are turned off, and the sound of the engine stops reverberating through the area. A tall figure steps out of the car. He is typing something with his phone, before switching it off and leaving it back in the car. He closes the door and walks on the straight path that leads to a lit house in front. In fact, it is the only house in the whole area.
He knocks on the door. He knows that being here is already signalling his very demise, but again, he stands no choice. It is either him or the lives of the people he knows that are at risk.
After some silence, he hears a footstep, then another, then successive footsteps that grow louder and echo throughout the empty space he is surrounded by. The footsteps halt right behind the door.
Then, there are the creaking sounds of someone inserting a key and opening the door. It ends with a faint click, and the door slowly opens.
- Oh, so you come, Issac. I am surprised. - The tone sounds like a man greeting his long-time friend, although they are just colleagues who work in the same laboratory every day.
- OK, you can throw away that facade of yourself. Who are you?
The man is Issac. After receiving a piece of certain morning news, he knows something is wrong. Thoughts have been bothering him since that day, but instinctively, he knows he should not risk his own life.
However, morally, as if he is the only person realising the abnormality, a strong sense of obligation is ignited inside him, that he must do it. If he tells others, who knows what catastrophe would befall? But if he decides to ignore that, nothing changes.
Something he cannot tell others, but also cannot keep to himself. That leaves the only choice.
He must confront the root of the trouble before it manifests. He takes a deep breath and raises his voice.
- Come on, it is just your pal, Albert. Why are you so hostile to me? Just a few weeks ago, you are still making jokes with me. - The person pats Issac's shoulder.
The hands are immediately deflected by Issac.
- You can hide it from anyone that does not listen to the news, but not me. Also, that is not how Albert would act. Now, I will ask the last time. Who are you?
Even though pretending is no longer useful, the doppelganger still keeps his act. It is either an attempt at sarcasm, or the doppelganger is still trying to deceive Issac in vain.
But then, the question is quickly resolved.
Issac feels some cold metallic tube-like object pinning at his stomach. It is a barrel of a long pistol. To carry such an act while still keeping a sinister smile on his face, how reprehensible. But obviously, that is just a bluff. Issac knows by heart that the fake Albert cannot kill him here, and tries to make an apathetic face.
- Anyway, if you die here, it will raise a lot of ruckuses and I do not like to forge evidence. So, let's make a deal. You will make it away from this incident, but do not tell anyone in exchange. - The fake Albert is still grinning.
Even if it is just a bluff, putting his very life at risk makes Issac scared. But he must face it.
- What if I do not?
- I will make sure that this bullet finds its way into your skull. Understand?
At this state, Issac knows he has underestimated the threat. His sacrifice should be a useful one, and dying here is not. And of course, a sacrifice is the worst scenario that can come. Keeping his life unscathed is the ultimate goal. Issac negotiates.
- Fine. But an additional condition. You must not kill anyone.
- You know that you are in no condition to bargain here, don't you?
Issac raises his voice. It is just a psychological battle at this point.
- Condition accepted. Now, leave.
Issac greets the fake Albert and leaves. The sound of the igniting engine once again breaks the silence, before slowly fading away into the night.
Issac is still scared and blaming his complacency as he does not anticipate this. However, in this battle, he wins.
His smartphone notification pops up. He looks at it and smiles.
A microscopic microphone module has been successfully attached to Albert.