The room was bathed in the sickly green light from the computer screen.
It was late at night. Outside the window, the Tokyo streetlights stretched endlessly, but Hiroshi Takahatsu, 30 years old, paid them no mind at all. His world at this moment was confined to the 27-inch screen, where every bullet, every footstep held life-or-death significance.
-"Okay, cover me! Cover!" Hiroshi muttered, his voice slightly hoarse from concentration. His fingers flew nimbly over the WASD keys and gaming mouse. His eyes were fixed on the crosshair.
In the game, he was a virtual special forces soldier, crouched behind a ruined wall in a desolate urban area. The harsh clatter of AK-47 fire rang out from the opposite side. Bullets whizzed past his head.
Boom! A grenade exploded nearby, the screen shook.
-"Damn it! There are too many of them!"
Hiroshi gritted his teeth. He was a programmer, but when playing games, he was a true warrior. Every skill, every reflex was poured into this virtual gunfight. Sweat dotted his forehead. His right hand clenched the mouse, index finger poised on the fire button.
-"Reloading!" He pressed R, watching the ammo bar fill up.
Suddenly, the voice of a teammate in the game echoed: "Help! Help! I'm hit!"
Player [Idiot_Teammate_A] eliminated by [Enemy_Player_01]. Player [Noob_B] eliminated by [Enemy_Player_01].
-"What?! Again?!" Hiroshi growled. "I told you to cover me?! They're all just chickens who don't know how to look at the map!!"
Frustration surged. He quickly glanced towards the cup of water placed next to his keyboard. He needed a sip to cool down. Still with his eyes fixed on the screen, he reached out with his left hand, fumbling for the cup.
His fingers touched the rim of the cup. He lifted it...
But due to being too focused on the screen and his frustration with his virtual teammates, his aim was off. His left elbow hit the edge of the desk.
Thump!
The cup tilted.
-"Whoops!"
Splash!
The entire cup of water spilled onto the keyboard, mouse, and a corner of the desk. Water splashed everywhere.
-"Damn it!!" Hiroshi let go of the mouse, instinctively jerking back to avoid it and assess the "tragedy".
It was at that exact moment, as he flinched from the spilled water and was consumed by frustration, that the real "incident" occurred.
Beep... A strange sound, not from the game or the spilled water, echoed in his ears.
The computer screen, parts of the keyboard and mouse already wet, suddenly lagged violently. The pixels distorted terrifyingly. Colors flashed wildly, as if the very game bug he was frustrated with his teammates about had leaped out of the screen and attacked him.
-"Eh? What the hell is this?!" Hiroshi was startled, forgetting about the mess of water on the desk.
The beeping grew more rapid, louder. Beep! Beep! Beep!
The sound was like an overloaded system, shaking the entire room.
The light from the screen, instead of blinding white like before, this time flared a vivid red, flashing intensely, mixing with the initial sickly green, creating a scene of visual chaos.
SCREEECH! A piercing sound, like tearing metal, rang out, combined with the rapid beeping.
He felt his body being violently seized by an invisible force, pulled into a cold, dazzling vortex. The sensation of wetness from the spilled cup seemed to blend with the feeling of being "sucked away".
-"Ugh... GAH!" He screamed in vain.
Everything went dark. The noise fell silent. The feeling of being pulled away vanished.
There was only darkness... and disjointed thoughts.
...Severe system error occurred... ...User data [Hiroshi_Takahatsu] irrecoverable... ...Searching for alternative environment... ...Initiating reconstruction process... ...Gender selected randomly...
Those invisible words were etched into his consciousness in the void.
Then, the emptiness faded.
A strange heaviness, followed by an unusual lightness. The wet sensation vanished, replaced by dryness and warmth.
A gentle, familiar scent wafted faintly.
Light. Gentle, natural.
He felt himself lying on something soft and warm.
The familiar chirping of birds echoed from a distance.
The soft sound of footsteps in the hallway outside.
Hiroshi Takahatsu... slowly opened his eyes. This time, the first sensation wasn't the blinding light from the glitching screen, but the gentle morning light. And the feeling of his body... was completely different.