Arriving Mobodoon, Ares sauntered towards the game building. Upon entering, he went to the game station he played on previously. This time he found another game displayed on it. Sands Of Time read the flashy lights atop the game machine. After perusing through how to play the game, Ares soon got engulfed into the game.
A few moments had passed since Ares began playing the game when suddenly, his system avatar reminded him of the time limit.
"Ares, you have less than an hour to complete your mission." came it's slightly monotonous voice.
Ares immediately dropped the game and advanced towards the drinks counter. He ordered for a canned drink labeled Mobodoon Juice. He took a sip but he wasn't exactly interested in the drink but on the gossip around the place.
Most of the teens inside the gaming building were talking about a gamer idol they called Code Enzo. The rumours were increasingly loud until he heard the place called Xenatol. From their description, they said it was a place where most of the hackers resided.
Downing the last drop of the Mobodoon Juice, Ares paid for it and left the building. Reaching outside, he remembered that he didn't know any other places apart from the gaming building.
"YTA, is there a map of Mobodoon?" Ares probed.
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Ares pressed the activate and got the map of Mobodoon. Then a green screen popped in front of him.
<<100 points deducted from your account>>
Ares ignored it as he didn't care about the points. All he cared for was to get to his destination besides they are just points so they have to be used.
Opening the map, Ares analysed the map which was quite stunning. The way the symbols of each building were displayed on the map, were in a way that one could easily understand. The map showed each street and the time taken to reach the street.
However, Ares realised another problem and it was that he lacked transport means of his own. Back in his home town, Morbius, he had a bike of his own. Under the moonlight and the city lights, he felt so frustrated that he had to strive for himself.
He thought for about a few minutes when YTA79's robotic tone voiced out, "Count down twenty minutes left."
"Uggh! This stupid system with reminders," Ares cursed, panicking inwardly. He had twenty minutes and the clock as usual kept on ticking.
Ares darted his eyes from side to side until they landed on a bike parked not far away. He advanced towards it and quickly hoped on it. Igniting the bike, he heard a voice from behind yelling at him.
"You bastard, you're so dead when I catch you," bellowed the voice.
However, Ares left the spot at a supersonic speed as he had to finish his mission. Riding a bike wasn't a problem to him since it was a hobby since childhood.
Five minutes later, Ares arrived at the building. Xenatol, a tall igloo shaped building made of translucent hard glass. There was no building that resembling this in his hometown, Morbius.
A large platinum post hung above the entrance of the building. 'XENATOL, HOME OF TECH' it read. Ares had no time to admire the building for the clock was still ticking. He quickly hoped off the bike and then headed towards the building. At the entrance stood a couple of robotic guards.
"Stop! Please take out your Tech Pass," enunciated the robots in unison.
Ares gazed at the robots, stuck on what to do for he had no idea of what a Tech Pass was. One thing he was sure of, it was like a card for entry.
Ares, turned to his system for help and asked, "YTA, how can I get a pass?"
YTA, "You can't get the pass for now. You have too low points."
Ares felt so down and frustrated for time was running and he hadn't even discovered a single villain. Just as he was about to give up, he saw a person exiting the building.
Dressed in a casual blue classic pants and a t-shirt with a pair of glasses at his nose bridge. He wore a solemn and seemingly unapproachable gaze.
Ares stared at him and he looked to be about his age. Somehow, his appearance reminded him of Yohan Sergei, his childhood friend. Approaching the building entrance as if he wanted to enter, Ares brushed his shoulders and gently pulled a card that peeked at his trouser pocket which he'd just stuffed in.
Using the card, he managed to get into the building. The building was very vast compared to the outside, different gadgets of tech and servers arranged in an apple pie order. Most of the workers inside the building were AI robots with few humans scattered all around the place.
Glancing at his system screen, he saw the digits representing the minutes constantly change as he started feeling a little anxious. Sweat trickled down his forehead as he panicked.
He had wandered down the aisles of the servers and gadgets but couldn't spot his target. Suddenly, he heard a couple of footsteps that seemed to be coming in his direction.
"Hey, young boy, what are you doing here?" Asked a voice behind him. Ares turned his back and came face to face with a young male. His hair neatly cut and ended at his neckline.
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Ares heaved a sigh of relief for having accomplished half of his mission. He had to deal with this guy now. Fumbling in his pocket, he retrieved a card and handed it to the cold faced of Code Enzo.
"Here, this card I picked it outside. Someone must have dropped it," Ares explained with the utmost sincerity and solemnity.
Code Enzo took the card and gazed it then at the young boy who looked abnormal in his eyes. It seemed strange to him that someone dropped his card pass.
Though he still had doubts but he could only swallow them. The boy before him seemed serene and he hadn't detected a single lie.
"Ok boy, now you have to leave the building," ordered Code Enzo.
Ares nodded curtly and left the building. Nonetheless, his system kept on endlessly reminding him of the time left. Ares hopped into the huge stolen bike and headed towards the city.
Along the road, as he was taking a sharp corner towards another street, he heard the sound of a huge motorbike and it seemed to be approaching him at a high speed.
Ares subconsciously increased the speed of his bike. At the sametime, the person behind him began overtaking him: However, Ares didn't allow him to do so. Hence towards the end of the road, he made a sharp drift and stopped in the middle of the road.
Now thinking about it, he just heard a sound of a bike but didn't see it. However, judging from the vibrating sound, it was at a high speed.
Just then he heard a screeching sound of the bike and then a fog of smoke clouded him. Ares covered his nose but amidst the smoke, he saw a dark silhouette sitting on a shiny blue Honda like bike. He had ever seen of these bikes in his home city but on television.
"Boy, you sure are something on the road. I challenge you on a race," vibrated a voice, coming from the silhouette before him.
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<500 points added into your account.>
<100 bonus points added, hidden mission unlocked>>
Ares previously thought that he'd return back to Morbius however, he was wrong for his system beeped again and to Ares, beeping meant one thing, a new mission.
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