In the year 2200, mankind arrived at a golden era that would not be an exaggeration to call a genuine utopia. A total of more than 190 countries, or less than 200 countries, have relinquished their respective names and authorities and joined in one unit under a sole absolute government, the Citadel.
No one knows where the exact location of the place is, even the people who are directly related to the place are people whose identity and credibility are strictly protected. However, under the management of the mysterious Citadel, the world is surely moving towards the dreamed future.
The world is trying to move on from the disasters and misery of the former world war 3 which broke out a century ago.
This year, each region is divided into states that can only bear the name Sceptre starting at 02, which is a former British territory, and ending at 200, which is a former Vatican territory.
Two years later, the zoning system was put into effect. Each Sceptre will be divided into 7 Zones and each Zone will be further divided into 12 Districts. From the highest number to the lowest number are places that are least habitable to places that pay the most attention to the comfort of their inhabitants.
And a point system was applied as a standard for dividing population groups.
Every citizen who is 12 years old as of January 1 will be given 100 starting points as a guarantee before debuting in society, provided that they were born and raised in zone 4 and above. As long as a citizen is under the stipulated age, any violation sanctions will be imposed on the guardian. Where any sanctions for violations of local to international law and order will be subject to points reduction sanctions based on the applicable provisions.
Provided that residents who are allowed to enter Zone 6 from a Sceptre have a minimum number of 0 points, residents who have minus points will all be allocated to Zone 7 as a general rehabilitation place. Later, those who behave well and manage to collect enough points, will be allowed to use their points for two things, i.e. debuting to a Zone above it, or using points to get something, whatever it is, as long as it is equal to the amount earned.
In this era, entities from points felt more valuable than money. No matter how much money a citizen has in his pocket, as long as he doesn't have enough points, there aren't many things he can buy, and not all places he can go. But having a lot of points, even the poorest people will be chased by money. A new resident can go to zone 4 and above only if they have a minimum of 100 points, and even then they cannot get a permanent residence permit, except if there is an acquaintance who promotes residency rights for them. Assuming that one resident of zone 4 can only promote residency rights to 2 people other than his family, it seems a bit impossible to get that promotion.
Residents from Zone 4 and above are provided with public elementary schools evenly until finally each student takes their final exams and makes their debut in society at the age of 12. It is the final test scores that will determine which junior high school they will go to. There will be an additional number of points beyond the initial 100 points as long as a student gets the set grade. General junior high schools apply a point limit of under 120. Meanwhile, intermediate junior high schools set points above 120 and less than 150. And elite junior high schools only allow students who get points above 150.
The same goes for senior high school. With a note, the minimum points for general high school are above 200, intermediate high school are not less than 250, and elite high school must be more than 300. Students cannot be dropped out of school if they experience point deductions below school standards, but they will not be able to advance to the next level as long as their points are not enough. That way, they would be forced to expel themselves.
Work in the community also has a system that is not much diverse. The difference is that the point limit is set by the internal company and not by a government agency. But there are still standard points that serve as a reference. Only civil servants whose point standards are still set by the government.
In this era, humans weren't required to obey rules, but to survive, they had to force themselves to obey.
—[0]—
Friday, June 20, 2436
Sceptre 12 - Zone 3 - District 1 (Former Japan)
Approaching summer, the weather is truly unbearable. Summer uniforms had already started to be put on, but even with their clothes cut short, the students were still complaining about how hot it was today.
"Two more people who haven't collected their homework yet. Anyone?"
The class president in class 3-A of Southeastern elite junior high school taps the table loudly with a wooden ruler to gather the attention of his sluggish friends. Break time has sounded a while ago, but no one is allowed to go out because there are still 2 people who haven't collected their homework.
One of his friends replied lazily, "Hamada Tadashi has a sick leave. Isn't there someone to drop off his homework? Otsuka, you're his neighbour, right?"
Otsuka Rei replied annoyedly "If there were, I would have collected them ahead."
"Maybe he forgot."
"Who's the other one?"
"Hurry up, I'm hungry."
"The yakisoba pan must be finished by now!"
"Haish..."
Everyone was pointing fingers at each other, until they finally realized that one person was missing.
The girl with the high ponytail hair wondered in surprise, "Where's Nozaki?"
"That's right, he hasn't been seen since the last hour of class, right?"
"Jeez, that damn kid!"
"Yui, keep your voice down. Do you want your points to decrease?"
"Good grief... "
"The bag is gone..."
"Is he home yet?"
"No way. It's impossible to get through the street scanners at the gates without setting off the school's warning alarm."
"At most, he's on the roof of the multi-purpose building as usual."
"Ahh, that haunted place?!"
"Nozaki that kid, his points are already below the school's standards, right? Just because it's hopeless, he's just going around."
"It doesn't matter if you want to skip class, but don't bother everyone in class either."
The class president who heard it could only sigh. The class was disbanded as soon as the main culprit was found. People soon rushed to the school cafeteria to fight for lunch. Rice and side dishes have been provided by the school with great care so that students can't go hungry. But Yakisoba pans, sandwiches, and even other prepared foods are only sold in limited quantities. That is what makes the students create the cafeteria their place of law of the jungle.
Inoue Kai was left alone in class. A pile of homework books was placed on the teacher's desk, and he went to Nozaki Kanami's desk to check if his homework books were left in the drawer. Chances are less than 10%, but who knows if you don't try.
It was just as he had expected, there was nothing in the drawer except trash. There was a pair of shoes that were damp and smelly, with various kinds of organic waste thrown into them. Not only that, but there were also scribbles on paper filled with obscene words which were unpleasant to look at. There were cutters and scissors inside, which Inoue Kai couldn't imagine what they were here for.
Inoue Kai is not ignorant, but like most of his classmates, they turned a blind eye to what happened to Nozaki Kanami.
Inoue Kai instantly got up after crouching for quite a while. He could have just ignored Nozaki Kanami's homework and gone straight to the staff room. But Mr Takada's lectures are really troublesome to listen to, so he should look for Nozaki Kanami all over the school and snatch his homework book by force.
He opened the sliding door of the classroom and found a cute girl waiting for him outside. Inoue Kai ignored her and went in the opposite direction. The girl pursed her lips and didn't give up by rushing to grab Inoue Kai's arm and pin it between her arm and chest. She also spoke spoiled, preventing the boy from scolding her as usual. "Kai~ I'll help you find Nozaki~"
"No need. "
But the girl didn't listen.
The two of them walked side by side along the corridor, seen by everyone who passed by and misunderstood as the perfect couple. Inoue Kai felt disgusted and uncomfortable, but he felt even more uncomfortable when he had to appear as a bad man who pushed women roughly, so he didn't reject her anymore.
In 2436, progress in the field of technology increased rapidly compared to previous centuries. All two-dimensional digital media are based on holograms which are place-friendly and can be opened anywhere. Every legal citizen has a serial number that makes it easier for them to get all kinds of technological conveniences for free. One of them is a portable communication device which is only in the form of a small chip that can be customized to be whatever the user wants. The government gave it the name "Davis" as an abbreviation of Device Analytics Visual System.
Inoue Kai wears Davis in the form of a thin chain bracelet on his right hand, while others may wear it as a ring, earrings, or even clothing. Like Anzai Chiaki next to him who prefers to wear Davis in the guise of a jewel necklace that hangs around her neck.
Davis is just an interface window trigger that can be placed anywhere. The way of turning it on can be adjusted for the user. And the Davis interface window can only be seen by the user. And even if the user wants to show someone their interface window, just create additional options to expand the audience, and Davis will allow it in two ways. First, scan for nearby devices. The names of every other user will appear. Second, by adding other people as friends. So even if they are far apart, they can still share information quickly without interruption.
Therefore, while Inoue Kai was busy looking at his Davis interface, Anzai Chiaki could not even guess the content that he was looking at.
Anzai Chiaki scowled again. Sighing, she turned her gaze to the corridor window right beside her which faced directly to the school gate. From her place, she could see a unique figure that stole attention standing in front of the school gate.
Anzai Chiaki pulled Inoue Kai a few times to come along to see what she was seeing, but the boy still ignored her. Enraged, she finally let go of the boy and stopped in her tracks. Her anger was soon swept away as she looked at the stranger once again.
Because it was too unique and rarely to be found, Anzai Chiaki decided to immortalize it through photographs. She instructed Davis inside her mind. An interface window suddenly appeared in front of her, preparing to aim at the desired figure. When the shutter was about to be pressed, a hand covered her view, preventing her from taking the illegal shot.
The culprit is Inoue Kai. Anzai Chiaki looked up and found the boy's chin directly above her head. "Oh, Kai..."
Inoue Kai scolded, "Taking pictures of someone without their consent is wrong-doing."
"But that woman is very unique, take a look."
Inoue Kai is likewise looking at it without being asked.
There was a figure of a woman in a traditional dress that he didn't surely acknowledge. But if he could guess, wasn't that Hanfu from Sceptre 7?
In this era, touring abroad was as difficult as accidentally encountering a meteorite on the road.
Anzai Chiaki muttered to find Inoue Kai giving her no response at all. "Foreigners? Cosplay? But why come to our school? "
"Just don't take pictures." Inoue Kai paid no further attention and hurried away. Afraid of being abandoned, Anzai Chiaki chased after him. But she really left out.
Inoue Kai looked for Nozaki Kanami in almost every corner of the school, but he couldn't find him anywhere. When he almost ran out of ideas about where the quiet boy was, he remembered that one of his friends had said that Nozaki Kanami likes to go to the roof of the multi-purpose building.
It is an abandoned area whose access is restricted. Apart from being said to be haunted, which Inoue Kai would not believe in such things, the old building was in the process of being demolished to make way for a new, more sturdy building. The reason for the restriction is definitely not because of the ghost, but because the building itself is dangerous.
Inoue Kai has a habit of giving up easily in his normal circumstance, but now he doesn't even have a choice but to go after that delinquent boy. At least Inoue Kai doesn't need the boy, he needs the bag!
The multi-purpose building is relatively clean and orderly even though it has been used as a warehouse for a while. When he entered, not much dust greeted him. It seems that there are still many people who secretly visit this place. He doesn't know what they are doing here, but it seems their goal is not much different from that of Nozaki Kanami who often comes here.
The sound of his footsteps echoed along the empty corridor. This building was originally a former classroom that is not used anymore after the earthquake 2 years ago. Students of the previous two generations used this building as a place for extracurricular activities before finally a new extracurricular building was built opposite, and now this building was used as a multi-purpose building which in short, became an abandoned warehouse.
Inoue Kai went straight to the roof to check, but was blocked by a bolt and padlock that shackled the metal door leading to the roof. Inoue Kai would have directly turned around and concluded that Nozaki Kanami wasn't here, if he had not heard the sound of two-way chatter on the other side of the door.
But the door is locked...
Are these locks a trick?
Inoue Kai touched the lock lightly to make sure, and it truly was locked. In the end, he had to ask so as not to get lost on the way, as the saying goes.
"Kanami?"
In an instant, the sound of the chatter disappeared. He was getting more and more confused.
"Kanami??"
He called once more. No answer. He tried to find a hole to peek in, but there was nothing such as a hole in a sturdy metal door.
Inoue Kai decides that this is the time for him to give up.
He returned to class just before recess ended. Because he did not have time to go to the cafeteria and buy food, he was starving. His seatmate was kind enough to give him a pack of sandwiches, and he hugged him with enthusiasm.
Anzai Chiaki came over with her two friends. They have independent study hours after break time, so there is no need to be afraid that a teacher will come unexpectedly.
Anzai Chiaki handed Inoue Kai a box of strawberry milk before asking concernedly,
"Have not found him yet? "
"Not yet. "
Itou Kanae asked, "Have you looked into the multi-purpose building?"
"Yes."
Itou Kanae frowned, confused, "Really? I and the 3 idiots were there during recess, but we didn't see you at all."
Inoue Kai's chewing stopped in an instant.
The multi-purpose building was quite large, but everyone who went there would inevitably bump into each other as it only had one corridor joined by a single staircase that connected the two floors. Every glass in each room was removed to reduce the possibility of breaking and injuring students who still violated and entered there, and the sliding doors were also removed, so that as long as someone walked through the building from the front door to the roof door at the end of the second floor, it's impossible not to meet anyone in every room there.
Inoue Kai doesn't believe in mystical things. The logical side of him denies believing in anything beyond common sense, especially topics like ghosts and the like. So in his head, he convinced himself by thinking that they were arriving and leaving at different times.
"Kai, are you sure you really went to the multi-purpose building?"
Inoue kai didn't want to talk about it anymore, so he didn't answer.
Ohno Satoshi, who had been silent all this time, joined in, "Maybe Nozaki really has come home. Even his bag isn't there."
"Damn, where did he go. I also want to know." Another friend replied, greeted by laughter from the others.
-0-
The bell signalling the end of the last class rang throughout the school. As soon as the subject teacher left the classroom, Inoue Kai brought his classmate's homework book to the office while preparing himself to be scolded by his homeroom teacher. Ohno Satoshi and several of his friends helped and lead him into the teacher's room. After that, they ran away to avoid being dragged into their homeroom lecture.
Mr Takada checked the number of books delivered and frowned. He grumbled loudly, "Why two less?!"
"Hamada Tadashi forgot to leave his homework and Nozaki Kanami is nowhere to be found. I've been trying to find him."
"Ah, Nozaki? Hasn't that kid been absent from school for 3 days?"
... What else is this?
The problem is, not only Inoue Kai saw Nozaki Kanami coming in this morning, but all of his classmates saw it too.
Inoue Kai frowned, "Sir, are you sure?"
"What are you doubting about me, young man? His ID was not detected on our school gate's street scanner for 3 days. Do you think there is any other way to enter our school besides the front gate?"
It makes sense. Inoue Kai still had doubts but there was no room for him to deny them. That made him even more uncomfortable.
"More than that, Inoue, go deliver the future career survey paper to the Nozaki residence. Your house is in the same direction, right?"
Oh, shit. Now he has to go home with a new additional task. Is it a sin for him to just take a breath for a moment?
"Yes."
When he arrived at the school gate, the streets were already relatively quiet. Only a few people are to be seen. Recent club activities started half an hour after home time. On average, students go home first before returning to school. Those who live in dormitories will have more time to relax. On the other hand, Inoue Kai joins the astronomy club where most of the club's activities take place at night. So now he is quite free.
When Inoue Kai turned the first alley of his school complex, he met a figure he remembered seeing during recess earlier. A woman with all-white hanfu who looks so elegant and unique. The woman was standing under the street lamp with her eyes straight ahead. Her hip-length black hair moved in the wind several times. Her side features looked so perfect, as if she had just stepped out of a painting.
When Inoue Kai noticed her without any intention of greeting her, the woman turned her head while gleaming a gentle smile. Like it or not, Inoue Kai had to reply greetings with a faint smile in return.
On his way home, he took the time to stop by Nozaki Kanami's house, however, no one was home.
The next day when he was about to go to school, right in front of his school gate, a woman with hanfu covered in blood intercepted him and said something strange to him.
"You, five minutes from now on, will die."