I stood in the darkness of the stairwell, holding my breath, listening to the police searching outside. The radio static crackled, footsteps sounded, flashlight beams shone through the small window. My heart was still pounding as if it wanted to leap out of my chest. My whole body trembled, not just from the cold, but because adrenaline was still surging.
They searched for a while longer, then the sounds gradually faded. Perhaps they had expanded the search area, or had given up searching that specific spot. In any case, the immediate danger had temporarily passed.
I waited a few more minutes to be sure, then gently peeked the door open, looking out into the hallway. Empty. The dim lights were still on.
I tiptoed back to my apartment. Opened the door, stepped inside, closed it quietly. Every action was performed in absolute silence.
Back in the room, I sank onto the bed, breathing a sigh of relief. It felt like escaping death itself. The fear that I had tried to suppress while acting now truly erupted. My limbs were like jelly. I hugged myself, feeling the cold and the lingering tremor.
I did it. I went out in the middle of the night, went to a 'Drop' point, and took a gun right under the noses of the police.
A 30-year-old programmer who had never done anything illegal or dangerous, now a 16-year-old girl who had just completed a stealthy "heist". It was unbelievable.
But alongside the fear, there was another feeling. A feeling of... accomplishment? A strange thrill? I had faced my fear and acted. And succeeded.
System. I called with my consciousness.
[Welcome, Master.]
The item... G17... Where... where is it?
[Item 'Handgun: G17' is in the Master's Spatial Inventory.]
Can I... see it?
[Confirmed. Master can access Spatial Inventory to view the item.]
I focused my consciousness, and a virtual interface appeared before my eyes. Like the inventory screen in RPG games. There were empty slots, and in one slot, was a 3D image of the G17 handgun. It looked exactly real, detailed down to every slide serration and trigger.
I "touched" the image of the gun with my consciousness.
Detailed information appeared next to it.
[Item: Handgun] [Type: G17] [Manufacturer: Glock Ges.m.b.H. (Earth)] [Caliber: 9x19mm Parabellum] [Magazine Capacity: 17 rounds (Standard)] [Condition: Excellent (Just 'Dropped')] [Description: Popular, reliable semi-automatic pistol.] [Transferred to Spatial Inventory: Yes]
Information from the System... combined with knowledge about guns from Hiroshi's endless hours of playing FPS games. G17. 9mm. 17-round magazine. Reliable. A basic handgun, but effective.
Earth? It listed the manufacturer as 'Earth'. Does that mean... it's a real gun from Earth? Or was it perfectly copied from Earth?
[Analysis: Many Item types, including Weapons and Machinery, originate from designs of Earth-like civilizations.]
"Earth-like civilizations"? This System... and these items... What the hell are they, really?
I stared at the image of the G17 in the virtual inventory. It was there. With just a thought, I could "take" it out. Hold it in my hand for real.
A real gun. In the hands of a 16-year-old girl.
Its weight. The feeling of cold metal. Inspector Tanaka's words about criminals using 'Drop' guns.
With it in hand, I was no longer a passive witness. I was a weapon owner. In a chaotic world, having a weapon could be the difference between life and death. Especially now that I knew I might be targeted by those involved in the Shibuya incident.
But... knowing about guns in a game is different from knowing how to use a real gun. In games, I just needed to click the mouse, aim, and shoot. Recoil, how to hold it, how to load it, how to change magazines, how to fix jams... All require real-world knowledge and skill. Especially with this 16-year-old body, my strength and control are completely different from my 30-year-old male body before. The recoil of a 9mm could be a major problem.
Having a G17 in my inventory... is like having a powerful tool that I don't know how to use. It's both potential safety and a potential danger if I handle it incorrectly.
I can't just leave it sitting there.
I realized that clearly. Having a weapon you don't know how to use is more dangerous than having nothing. I needed to learn.
System, do you have information on gun usage training?
[Data on combat training and weapon usage not available.]
Damn it! I cursed the System silently. All you can do is give dry information!
So, there was no shortcut. I had to teach myself.
But where to learn? Where to practice? Shooting is illegal without a license (which I don't have). How to get ammo? Do bullets 'Drop' regularly?
Countless difficulties. But a new determination had sprung up after that chaotic night. I didn't want to just keep running and being afraid. I wanted the ability to protect myself.
I lay down on the bed, looking at the ceiling. It was almost 3 AM. Outside was quiet again. The police must have left.
I, Yuuka Hatsumina, a 16-year-old high school girl with the soul of a 30-year-old programmer, now owned a G17 handgun in my "virtual inventory".
This wasn't an FPS game anymore. This was reality. And in this reality, weapons are real, danger is real, and if I don't save myself, no one else will.
I will have to find a way. Find a way to learn to shoot. Find a way to practice.
A new path, full of danger and difficulty, was opening before me. But I wouldn't back down. I had the G17. Now, I needed the skills to use it.
Yuuka Hatsumina's life, the girl learning to survive in the Drop Item world, had just taken a significant turn.