Raden's brows furrowed, but a confident smirk spread across his face.
"Yeah. I think I'm ready."
Mora twisted the dial on her watch clockwise with her index and middle fingers. A wardrobe slid open automatically with a mechanical hiss, and a full set of clothes hanging neatly on a rack glided swiftly to her side.
She unhooked the hanger and handed it to Raden.
"This is the mandatory gear for your task."
Raden took the clothes. His eyes lit up the moment he saw what he was holding, his jaw dropping in sheer delight. A few seconds later, he looked up at Mora, arching an eyebrow.
"This is cool! But... do I really have to wear the bulletproof vest?"
Mora smirked. "Well... that's entirely up to you. If you want a hole blown through your stomach by some stranger on the street, be my guest," she said, letting out a soft chuckle.
Raden laughed nervously.
"Right. Ah, okay, I'll wear it."
Raden turned around, intending to leave. But he had barely taken a single step when Mora called his name. Raden froze mid-step and turned back to face Mora, who was still sitting casually in her chair.
She tapped the face of her watch.
"Remember, 9 PM. You need to be ready. Michael hates it when people drag their feet."
Raden nodded quickly.
"Alright, I'll try to be on time."
"You must be on time!"
"Yeah! Okay, okay! I'll definitely be ready on time."
Mora chuckled softly. "Good."
Raden turned and walked out of the workspace, heading toward his room. Once there, he immediately hung the clothes Mora had given him in the closet.
Before leaving again, Raden paused, a wide smile touching his lips as he gazed at his father's trophies and medals displayed neatly in a row on the desk. After a moment of appreciation, he continued out of the room.
Raden walked to the elevator and punched in the command for the fourth floor.
Upon arriving, he sat calmly on a wide chair, gazing up at the light blue sky scattered with white clouds. A spring day that looked incredibly bright. The sunlight reflected off Raden, casting a thin, dark shadow on the floor beneath his feet.
He rested his arms on the wide armrests, inhaling the fresh morning breeze, savoring the gentle way it filled his lungs, cycling in and out with every breath.
"You know the part I love about the fiction comics I read? It's moments like this... when the atmosphere just gently soothes my heart," Raden mumbled.
I love those moments too. Especially enjoying them with warm tea in the morning, gathering with family while the bright sun starts to heat up, hiking up a hill carrying a basket of hot rice and eggs, Oni replied.
Raden tilted his head as he leaned back against the chair.
"That sounds fun. But that feels like a moment from very, very far away from this city."
Raden lifted his head slightly, looking left and right.
"I don't see any mountains around here either. But if there were, I'd really like to experience that atmosphere," Raden continued, leaning back again.
Yeah, don't be weirded out. I was shocked myself seeing how drastically the world has changed, Oni said.
"Really? I was actually surprised when you said you were shocked by this world. I mean, where exactly did you come from?"
From what you've glimpsed... what do you think my world was like?
Raden rubbed his chin.
"I don't know... swords? Houses made of old wood? Clothes that cover everything up?" Raden guessed.
Yeah, that's more or less my world...
From inside his trouser pocket, Raden's phone vibrated repeatedly. He grabbed it, hit the 'answer' button, and raised it to his ear.
"Yeah, what's up, Michael?"
"Hey, I need your help right now. Can you come down for a sec?"
"Yeah, I'm heading down now."
The call ended instantly. Raden shoved the phone back into his pocket, rolled his eyes, stood up, and walked back toward the elevator. He took it down to the second floor and stood in front of Michael's door.
The automated door slid open. Michael squinted as he looked at Raden.
"Your legs recovered already?"
Raden tilted his head briefly, then said, "Yeah, but I don't think I'm strong enough to run yet."
Michael laughed softly.
"At least you're better now, rather than sleeping in your room like a retiree, right? Haha. Anyway, come on in."
Raden stepped into Michael's room. He glanced to the left. Several polaroids were pinned to the walls. The photos showed various men and women. Some crossed out with red marker, others just silhouettes that remained untouched. These pinned photos were connected by a complicated web of black marker lines.
When Raden looked to the right, he saw Michael's computer monitor still glowing. Right behind the desk was a bed that looked a little messy.
"Here, try sitting in front of the computer," Michael requested, pointing Raden to the chair.
Raden sat down. For a moment, he looked around like someone who had lost their bearings.
"Um... if I'm not mistaken, you needed my help, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Just look at my screen."
Raden turned to Michael's monitor. He saw a game with a simple UI displaying a trivia question:
What is the name of the mythical magic stone that can amplify auxiliary magic for the user who finds it?
A. Orrha C. Runa
B. Essence D. Stone of Anigoma
Raden's eyes looked bored the moment he saw it. His mouth set in a flat line as he clicked the mouse on answer 'C. Runa'. The box blinked green, accompanied by an overly dramatic cheering sound effect from the game.
"Wow, didn't think you could answer that so easily..." Michael said, dipping his head to look at the screen.
"This was history class back in elementary school. Do you really not know?"
"Haha, I told you, I'm not originally from he-"
Suddenly, a massive pop-up window burst onto the screen, accompanied by a futuristic mechanical sound effect.
[CORRECT ANSWER! YOU NOW HAVE THE CHANCE TO ADVANCE TO THE NEXT ROUND TO WIN A TOTAL PRIZE WORTH MILLIONS OF ETERNAL COINS! PLEASE FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW COMPLETELY AND ACCURATELY FIRST.]
Raden's eyes slowly widened as he stared at the monitor.
"A-a million Eternal Coins?!"
Michael frowned. He scrolled down with the mouse wheel. There was a UI with several mandatory fields: Full Name, Date of Birth, and City of Origin. When Michael tried to click the 'x' button in the top right corner, the computer refused to close the program. The registration UI forced Michael to fill in the available fields.
Michael tried to shut down his computer via the hologram interface several times. However, the computer stayed on, the screen still locked. He tried yanking the cables connected to the outlet, but the computer remained powered on, displaying the same screen.
Raden looked confused watching Michael pace back and forth.
"The computer won't turn off?"
"I don't know, I'm still trying to figure out how to kill it."
Michael cut the power to his room entirely for a moment, and only then did the computer fully die. He waited a few minutes before reconnecting the power.
The computer booted up successfully. But the display was still there, forcing Michael to fill in the columns.
Michael grabbed his hair and pulled it back in frustration. He immediately bolted out of the room.
Seeing him leave, Raden stood up and walked briskly to follow him.
"Hey! Where are you going?"
Michael didn't respond. He kept running, taking the stairs down quickly to the first floor. He rushed toward Mora's workspace. The automatic door snapped open. The sudden noise made Mora jump in her chair, she had been sitting comfortably, watching a thriller movie while snacking on spicy, savory, crunchy, sweet chips.
Michael was panting by the time he reached Mora's desk, his hands gripping the doorframe. Raden caught up from behind, arriving at a slightly slower pace.
Mora grabbed a glass of water and downed it quickly. Then, she turned to look at Raden and Michael.
"What is it? Why are you guys in such a rush?"
Michael approached Mora. Slowly, he tried to regulate his breathing, then spoke.
"I... I downloaded the game 'He Who Really Wants To Be a Millionaire' last night for some entertainment on my computer. I think I downloaded it from the official website. But weirdly, why does my computer act like it has some strange virus?"
Mora furrowed her brow.
"Huh, a strange virus? Really?"
Michael pointed to the large monitor in front of Mora.
"You can access my computer from here, right? Check it out."
Raden patted Michael's back. Michael turned, stabilizing his breath as he said, "Was it that urgent? I could barely catch up to you. I thought your leg was bitten by a rabid god-tier rat."
Michael smiled.
"Haha, sorry. I just get paranoid when tech, machines, or that sort of stuff breaks."
Mora guided her cursor to the computer icon. After a few seconds, she successfully accessed Michael's machine, and on her monitor, she pulled up the same UI display that was plaguing Michael's screen. Mora scrolled to the bottom and saw the mandatory text boxes. She immediately frowned.
"Hmm... this is a classic scam technique. But the way they've trapped it is pretty clever."
Michael and Raden leaned in on either side of Mora, staring focusedly at her large monitor.
"What do you mean?" Michael asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mora hit the 'x' button on the mirrored display of Michael's screen from her own computer. She then clicked on software labeled "Excalibur Project." The software displayed a progress bar that was agonizingly long and slow. While waiting, she sipped from a cup on her desk. Then, she looked at Michael.
"If you want to know the technicalities, simply put: I rented a boarding room named hewhoreallywantstobeamillionaire.com. People already trusted that this was my official, famous room. But, I forgot to pay the rent for a week. Eventually, the landlord rented my room out to someone else under the same name, and people still thought it was my original room. Even though I wasn't there anymore. Regular people who still believed it was my room voluntarily gave up non-suspicious data—hoping to get to the next round. Obviously, it's just a classic, stupid, outdated scam. But the way he designed it... I admit, it's quite smart."
Raden frowned.
"I still don't get it. They just asked for full name, date of birth, and city. How can they access my data with such limited info? Isn't that normal?"
Mora shook her head, smiling.
"This is what people often misunderstand. Your data is worth more than anything. It's not just a product. With just a full name, date of birth, and city, they can find thousands of access points to your data on the surface web. And that's just the surface. Usually, if they're dedicated, they gather on the super-private dark web and look for people who have already found a mountain of information matching the data you gave. What's the benefit of you filling out that column voluntarily? Your data becomes easy to find, it's easier to target you specifically, and the price can drop multiple times over for data brokers on the dark web."
The Excalibur Project progress bar on the monitor filled up completely. The software opened fully. Mora typed rapidly on her keyboard, hunting for detailed information regarding the newest owner of the hewhoreallywantstobeamillionaire.com domain. Mora's eyes slowly widened as she looked at her monitor.
"This is even more surprising. It turns out the owner of the domain is... our target for tonight."
Michael's eyes went wide, while Raden swallowed hard.