Mika quickly sprinted to approach her friends. “Orixa! Nikko!” “Hey, Mimi. Where have you been? And what’s with the sweaty face and runny breaths?” Orixa asked. “Are you fine? Are you hurt?” Mika asked frantically. “No! Why would we be? We just interrogated the man inside the Chamber,” Orixa replied. “And don’t worry! Coco, Skaldy, and Lory were there to monitor the situation. They kept us safe while Nikku and I were interviewing the man. Hehe.” “Wait… wha?...” Mika mumbled. Mika is still confused about the situation. Still, she tried her best to hide it to avoid suspicion. She calmed herself down and tried to continue the conversation with Orixa. “What did you find? Have you squeezed something from him?” 

 “Ok. Then… Good luck tomorrow. Prepare yourselves, the man sounds like a formidable foe. You should get your minds and bodies ready,” Raft said. “Yes! We will, Rafty.” “I think that’s all. Just tell me what will be the result of your raid. I’ll end the call now. Good night.” “Good night, Rafty.” “Wait!” Mika halted. “Mimi?” “Uhm… I still want to say something.” “What is it, Mika?” “I don’t know if this is important to our investigation. But… there’s something inside me that tells me this could help us in our search for the missing children.” “Go ahead, Mika. We’re listening.” “I just notic

Raft hears music inside the Room. He assumed that Marco was inside. “Marco. It’s me, Raft. Can I talk to you?” “Oh - Hey, Raft! Just wait a sec!” Marco answered from inside his room. Marco went to the door and opened it up for Raft. “Hey! What brings you here?? Marco’s greetings to Raft. “Come inside!” he offered. Raft accepted the offer; he entered the room. “I just need to talk with you about something.” “Sure. About what?” “About Hierre and his group,” Raft replied. “What about them?” “Uhm… First, do you still have them on your Friend List?” “Wait, let me check,” Marco replied. Then, he opened his UI to check his Friend List. “Yep! He’s still here. Billy and Russia too.” “Can you please contact them? Or if possible, invite them to come over? In our Camp?” “Hmm… I’m not sure if they will accept. I’m not even sure if they’ll reply at all. But hey, I’ll try. Maybe, just maybe… they’ll answer.” “Yes, please.” “By the way? Why do we need to contact them, Raft?” “Ahh… Ther

Lumine’s revelation brought up mixed reactions from the players. They felt surprised, but what lingered inside them was confusion. “What do you mean she’s not a player?” Frenz asked Lumine. Mario answered on behalf of Lumine, “She’s an NPC.” “NPC? What the heck is an NPC?” “Short for ‘Nonplayer Character’,” Mario replied. “In Video Games, usually in RPGs, those characters that are not controlled by a player are called NPCs. Because these characters are not controlled by organic players, these NPCs are controlled by Artificial Intelligence instead. That’s how the NPC System works in most Video Games. I don’t know what’s the case in this game, however,” he explained. “So you are saying that Tusha, here, is a robot?” Frenz asked. Arii moved closer to Tusha and examined her head-to-toe. “Hmm… but she looks like a normal human child to me. Are we missing something?” she mumbled. Being in the hot seat, Tusha is becoming uncomfortable with the situation. “Uhmmm, guys? I don’t know what

“Hello, Raft!” Hunter greeted as they appear out of nowhere. With him is Keeta who is carrying the half-conscious Mario. Raft and the others stand on their guards. Keeta and Hunter saw Hierre, Russia, and Billy. “Oooh! What a coincidence! I didn’t know that your group is affiliated with my Best Buddy, Raft,” Hunter said to Hierre’s group. Hierre didn’t reply. They remained cautious as they knew the capabilities of the two players in front of them. “Hunter, you snake! What are you doing here!? What did you do to my friends!?” Raft shouted. Hunter didn’t answer Raft’s question. He stared at Raft from head to toe while smiling like a maniac. “You’re a big boy now, Raft! Look how much you’ve grown!” “I don’t care! What did you do to my friends!? Where are they!? Where is Lumine!?” “Keehihihi… Before I answer your questions, can we first admire the Security System of your camp? Very impressive, Raft! As expected from the Boy Genius!... However, as you can see, we just went past your