Doug sighed into his paper cup of coffee, gazing out at the sunset that was barely peeking out through the clouds. The sky was enveloped in a warm, endearing shade of orange that embedded spots of feathery clouds, and mesmerizing streaks of gold that slipped out from the horizon.
Such a warm display reminded him of his youth. It reminded him of creamy pumpkin pie, cozy sheets, and bright, genuine smiles...
He couldn't help but wonder if he could ever help create such memories for Emma...
After her father left a year ago, she hadn't really recovered...
And then there was Doug, the replacement father until he and Allison could scramble up a new normal...
Easing him out of his thoughts was Rob, sidling up next to him.
"Hey," Rob greeted softly, "sorry about what happened to your break..."
Right, the Amusement Park. The one good memory they tried to create together, and also the reminder of guilt he so desperately wanted to push down...
But work came first. It had to. Not for some righteous reason but because of the money and insurance provided. If he lost this job then...
"Some things can't be helped..." Doug replied, sipping his coffee. "I heard you got assigned to the 'System' case. How are you holding up? If you need any help just let me know."
Rob stared out of the high-rise window, thoughtfully fiddling with the paper cup in his hands.
"Honestly--no offense," he delicately started, "I don't think you can help... Heck, I don't even know what I need help with... Not even the internet could help at this point. Though... admittedly they did give us a base line we could follow..."
"That seems about it..." Doug absentmindedly nodded.
Rob took a sip of his watered down coffee. "Yup."
Both gazed out the window, sharing a brief moment of silent peace.
Rob chuckled, breaking the silence. "Do you think I should try the occult? Ask Jesus?"
"I don't think The Bible mentioned anything about a 'System'."
"Hey, maybe The Bible is what they called their 'System'!"
Doug furrowed his brows shaking his head. "You've never read The Bible, have you?"
"Nope. I'm just tossing out whatever ideas I can think of." Rob carelessly shrugged.
"... Can't really say I can blame you."
Rob turned his head to face Doug, studying his expression. "What about you? Got any ideas on how you want to pursue the 'Gusto' case?"
"I'll wait until the results come back from that fingerprint and hair sample. If they come back positive, I'll need to study her past criminal record; try to find a pattern. If it comes back blank..." Doug took a sip of coffee and held it in his mouth, savoring the bitter flavor. "Then I'll be in for quite the ride."
"You're not going to the apartment complex before that?"
"What for? If there was a witness, they'd have spoken up when you guys went and visited the apartment complex."
"Fair enough." Rob turned his gaze back toward the setting sun.
***
Evan, the Eternally Depressed, had left the apartment at some point, leaving Mell behind in his room.
Mell had turned his bedroom light on, rearranged the room to accommodate her make-shift weapons and gathered supplies, and proudly occupied his computer, browsing at whatever content she wanted.
Having placed her elbow on the desk and her hand cupping her chin; she murmured softly to herself, puzzled. "What the hell is this?"
While browsing the game forums on the Arcadia website, she found something strange. One user named "DinosaurFan123" was linking a website. That in itself wasn't strange--they usually removed such advertisement as Spam. What was strange was that she couldn't remove it. And it wasn't in just one forum either. It was in the Market Place, the Q/A Hub, the General Discussions, and the Help forums.
Some of the replies found under the spam pointed out that the same kind of advertising was happening on Witter and other Social Media websites as well.
Something like this had never happened before, meaning an Administrator had something to do with this...
Mell gave into her curiosity and clicked on the link. What she saw shocked her to her core.
It was a simple website titled: "Beginner's Pack" which had rows upon rows of items listed. Category tabs were provided which made navigating the available items easier. There were swords, bows, iron armor, potions of various types, and small artifacts. All of them were priced under Human currencies.
And found at the top right, slowing ticking away, was a digital clock.
[1 Day, 5 Hours, 29 Minutes, 43 Seconds]
Mell straightened, her eyes widening, mouth agape. That was how long it took until the Tower opened!
She scrolled further down the website, stopping at the comment displayed at the bottom.
[Please buy whatever you would like. Don't be shy, indulge yourselves! Supplies last until the grand Tower: Frozen Dreams begins its marvelous introduction!
Note: Fear not, any unpurchased items and goods will be refunded into Stardust and returned to Creator therefore avoiding any possibility of needless waste. It's good to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle folks!
From, yours truly, Administrator Rose]
Who the Hell was Administrator Rose?!
Having been a viewer since the birth of the Tower Frozen Dreams, she had seen all twenty-three Administrators. Not one of them was called Administrator Rose--not even as a nickname!
What happened? An Administrator hadn't been killed in the Trials yet so that left replacement... Nothing should've happened for that to happen though?!
And its not like an Administrator called it quits on a tower--they can't kill themselves and only the System could reassign them!
Mell chewed on her nails nervously. This changes things, literally. When she had started this third playthrough, she was basing her strategy off of what happened in the first and second playthroughs. She was also relying on some of her knowledge on the Administrator's she had seen--their attack patterns and ways they designed their maps. Even when they collaborated, traces of them could sometimes be found.
That's why she was able to progress to the 6th Floor despite the horrible trash she had to carry. It was because she understood some of the Administrators that she dared to remove herself from being a Constellation and started this absurd challenge!
This new Administrator... what are they like? Depending on their personality, this could get really dangerous...
They're most likely the sadistic type--to match the competitive drive of this Tower. Are they as close-minded to pursue the Sports path, or is this shop a sign that they're trying to go down the normal entertainment-focused path? Mell thought to herself.
She hastily pulled out her phone and called Evan.
"Come on you idiot, pick up." Mell muttered, shaking her leg. "Come on..."
Click.
Before Evan could even say "Hello", Mell screeched into the phone.
"Evan! Get back home right now! We're in serious trouble!"
"What?" Evan responded. "What do you mean? What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything! Get home, now!" She hung up, glanced at the computer screen and hid her face in her hands--trying her best not to drive her fist through the screen. She growled in frustration.
"Urrrrrghhhhh, you guys are just lapping this up! I can feel it! I won't let this stop me! I'll prove all of you wrong!"
***
For a while, Rob and Doug just chatted about mundane things. Fun facts, gossip, random thoughts. Anything that came to mind.
Disturbing the comfortable atmosphere was Rob's phone vibrating.
"Who's this?" Rob wondered aloud, rushing down the rest of his drink. He threw the crumpled paper cup into a nearby trash can and answered his phone.
"Rob speaking. Who this?"
Doug raised an eyebrow curiously, watching his friend's expressions.
His eyebrows raised on his delicate face, bright eyes blinking rapidly. "Wait, seriously? Wha-- You gotta be joking."
Muffled gibberish could be heard as the person on the other end continued speaking.
"I'll be right there!"
Rob excitedly hung up the phone and hastily turned to face his friend. "You will never believe this!"
"What happened?" Doug asked instinctively.
"We just got a lead! And someone to look into!" Rob's eyes glittered.
"What? Who?"
"Some Administrator of a Website called 'Beginner's Pack', their username is Rose!"
Doug furrowed his brows. "Wait, take me back to the beginning, why does this website matter?"
"Because it's linked to the System!"
Doug practically choked on his coffee. "If it's linked to the System, and the person administrating the site is some random netizen called Rose..."
"Then they're bound to have a footprint!"
Doug's eyes widened, understanding immediately what he was hinting at. "We have a suspect."
"Exactly!"
A wide grin overtook his face. He couldn't help but feel proud for his friend. Out the blue came a lifeline that set them toward a possible path of investigation.
"I have to go, I'll see you later!" Rob rushed off, waving goodbye, a toothy grin on his face.
Doug chuckled, shaking his head. "If only I got that lucky."