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A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 55 - Desert Artefact (part 3)
The first month of work passes through like a breeze. I receive my first monthly payment. There is a fixed component and an additional 'work efficiency' payment. I do not pay much attention to it. The fixed component of an IT occupation can help me sustain until the next payment, both in terms of basic needs and the costly technological rampage by Mirai. It feels good to receive my salary, but there is another thing. - Hi, this is Yoichiro. Can you go to the conference room for five minutes? I want to talk to you. Yoichiro is speaking using the microphone near the doorbell. My nerves and muscles suddenly stiffen. - Yes, sir. Please give me a few seconds. Have I done something wrong? I am pretty sure that I have been an obedient subordinate. I finish all of the tasks assigned to me before the end of each working day. I do not provoke any quarrels or tensions with my colleagues. I am used to being put in trouble, but not this kind of thing. After g
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 56 - Desert Artefact (part 4)
- Clothes, checked. Personal hygiene items, checked. Laptop and charger, checked. All good. I am packing up to get ready for the temporary relocation. I need to make sure that whatever necessary luggage is put neatly in the tablet's archive. Even though Mirai's technology allows travelling back and forth in merely fifteen to twenty minutes, it is still a pain in the ass to do so. - Are you ready to go, Yuusha? - All good. I wear my tie, then polish my shoes. I need to keep a bare minimum appearance in front of the higher-ups there. Mirai is also busy gearing up. - Wait... Mirai, are you also going now? - Yea. I need to scout them to see where they would accommodate you, then rent a nearby hotel or house to make easy contact with you. - I thought you can simply intercept their emails or something. - I did, but I could not find any. So I would just fly there in advance and peek at them. Mirai goes to our backy
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 57 - Desert Artefact (part 5)
- You can alight now, Yuusha. - Thanks. The IT department guy steps out of the car and opens the door for me. I thank him and bring my suitcase out of the car. It is a small hotel next to a building with a huge logo of the Anderu Corporation. It looks like the check-in process was cleared before I arrive. The hotel receptionist hands me the key card to my room and asks the staff to lead me to my room, as soon as I enter the hotel. My room is on the highest floor. After we reach the room, I scan my key card to enter my room, and after making sure that the customer has occupied the room, the staff leaves. I wait until no footsteps can be heard and contact Mirai. - I have arrived at the accommodation venue. Have you found yourself somewhere to stay? After a few seconds, there is a signal from the other telecommunication device. I hear a response. - Yes, but actually no. There is a lot of free space around your hotel, so I planned to t
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 58 - Desert Artefact (part 6)
After clearing the payment, the ticket person calls another staff to bring us to the preparation room. There, we are handed a pair of augmented-reality goggles that looks like a head-sized ring and a controller in the form of an assault rifle. - Please wear this and hold the power button for a few seconds. I find a red button on the back of the ring and hold. After half a minute, the game graphics are loaded. Whatever background I see in my vision is the same, but the controller has been coated with a game-like design. It looks familiar. - Mirai, is this game some kind of collaboration with the virtual reality battle royale tournament? They just recycle the photon series design. - I tap on Mirai's back. - Most likely. This is also the first time I know that there are other modes around the world, although I know that the franchise is absurdly huge. A loading screen flashes through my vision, which shows a lengthy essay about the background story.
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 59 - Desert Artefact (part 7)
After a short discussion, I know that the boss has a few skills. The first one is an interruption skill. When we are some distance from each other, we can use our communication devices, but when the skill is active, long-distance communication is disabled. There are mechanisms around the museum that allows faster signal restoration. If the archaeologists are near the ghost, their vision will be slightly interfered with, as a warning feature. The second one is environmental manipulation. It can haunt (imaginary) artefacts, making them move around and disrupting the archaeologists. They can be shot down by the provided assault rifle. It can also randomly cause the rooms to move, either shaking the floor or causing fragments to fall on the archaeologists (of course virtual fragments are used to ensure safety). The third skill allows the phantom to temporarily switch between the phantom form, in which it can pass through structures but cannot interact directly with the archaeol
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 60 - Desert Artefact (part 8)
The people from the Anderu Corporation did not see me in the hotel, so they went to find me. But it is still a coincidence that they somehow reach this exact location and find me inside, playing a game. I take off my headset. The bloody virtual environment disappears, leaving a normal hallway. The man stands high in front of me. - We have been trying to find you since after dinner. But we do not expect to find you interested in our history. You could have just told us. - Thanks for that. By the way, what are you finding me for? - We just want to check on you, to see if you are feeling well. - I appreciate that. I am just bored, so I go out for a walk. And I clear the game already, anyway. - Wait... What do you mean? I meet the weird expression on the face of the man. That is when I realise I just said something strange. - Ah... I mean I lost, haha. The game is so intense. - Of course, it is. We have observed
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 61 - Desert Artefact (part 9)
August 2055, in a small hotel in Cairo, Egypt,... In a small room on the hotel's highest floor, someone is sleeping very soundly. The sun has already risen. The soft sunlight illuminates the room through the small aperture created by the alternating curtains. The birds start chirping, welcoming a new day. This is the typical scenery of the morning, but contrary to people's beliefs, this does not mean the early morning. - Oh crap... It is already seven? I jump from the bed to the ground and quickly go to the bathroom. Yes, the person who just slept very soundly merely a few seconds ago was me. I was so deep in my dreams, that I ignored the first few alarms half an hour ago. Now, I am racing against time. Being late on the first day will make a very negative first impression. On the other bed, Mirai is still sleeping or recharging, or whatever way to describe the action. I better let her have some rest. After properly dressing up, I take the last look in the
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 62 - Desert Artefact (part 10)
My hotel room is empty. There are no signs of intrusion, meaning that Mirai had a premonition and decided to take action before something happened. Yea, what do I expect? Mirai has told me to arrive at the pinned location. I hide a photon pistol in my sleeves. Heading out of the hotel at a weird time again, I look like a thief, sneakily manoeuvring between the corners and the obstacles on the sparsely populated streets, trying to avoid attention from unknown and unwanted entities. As I approach a poorly lit alley the location, I see things that should not be seen. Malfunctioned drones are scattered in the shadow, mostly some unknown units. What has happened? I attach my pistol barrier with a silencer and turn off the safe mode. Raising the iron sight to my eye level, I straighten my arms, ready to fire at any suspicious units. I slowly walk through the alley, carefully checking any potential corners.
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