September is the "garbage time" of the gaming industry.
This year, as the market transitioned from 8-bit to 16-bit consoles, even Nintendo—focused on preparing the Super Famicom and Game Boy—had to divert its game development resources. As a result, there were few truly outstanding titles on consoles.
On September 4th, at four in the morning, Kobayashi Tetsu woke up with a heavy feeling in his chest. He pulled open the curtains to find the sky gloomy and overcast, a sight that only deepened the oppressive weight in his heart.
"Please don't rain... I really hope it doesn't rain—"
Tetsu took a deep breath, trying his best to relax.
"Tetsu-kun?"
A familiar voice called from behind. Without turning, Tetsu asked, "What's the weather forecast?"
"The forecast says it won't rain today."
"Is that so?"
Tetsu said no more. He quickly washed up and ate a simple breakfast.
Anegasaki Nene glanced at her elegant wristwatch. It was only 4:10 AM. No matter how you looked at it, it was far too early.
"It's not too early," Tetsu said. "The participants can arrive later, but the organizers need to be there as early as possible. If anything goes wrong on-site, I need to be able to handle it in time. And there's the food—I don't want anyone getting diarrhea or a stomach bug from unclean food at a major event like this. If that happens, the whole thing is ruined."
Anegasaki Nene bowed slightly.
Old Dixie Restaurant was on the list of food vendors for this event, providing a portion of the catering services, so she could understand Kobayashi Tetsu's concern.
For a large-scale event like this, with a potential attendance in the tens of thousands, any accident would be the responsibility of the organizers. This wasn't something that could be resolved with a simple bow of apology.
"Let's go," Kobayashi Tetsu urged. "The sooner, the better."
Kobayashi Tetsu drove himself to the Wanteng Convention and Exhibition Center.
At four in the morning, the guests for the exhibition had not yet arrived, but the staff were already there and prepared.
When Kobayashi Tetsu arrived, Iwata Satoru was leading a team in conducting the final inspection.
The balloons and decorations on-site had to be secured as firmly as possible to prevent any collapses.
Seeing Kobayashi Tetsu approach, Iwata Satoru hurriedly bowed. "President."
"Hmm—Have you eaten breakfast?" Kobayashi Tetsu asked a seemingly irrelevant question.
Iwata Satoru shook his head vigorously.
Of course he hadn't had time to eat!
Kobayashi Tetsu's gaze swept over the others. Several employees and hired laborers shook their heads in turn.
Who would come to work at this hour if the pay wasn't so good? There was no time for breakfast.
Kobayashi Tetsu casually waved over one of the employees.
"Kondo-kun, no restaurants will be open at this hour, but the catering suppliers have already set up. Go buy some food and bring it back to share with everyone. We still have time. Get everyone's bellies full before we start working."
After giving these casual instructions, Kobayashi Tetsu pulled Iwata Satoru aside and quickly inspected the area to identify any missing details.
"Has the airspace permit been approved?"
"Yes, we're cleared to launch flying objects for the next week. As long as we stay away from a few specific restricted zones, we'll be fine."
"What about crowd control?"
"We've hired some volunteers, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has agreed to dispatch officers to assist. They'll be patrolling outside the venue, ready to respond immediately if we call them."
As they spoke, the two stopped in the parking lot in front of the convention center.
A massive object lay deflated on the ground.
It was a hot-air balloon, over ten meters long, emblazoned with the word "Atlas." Renting one for a day was expensive, and a flight plan had to be submitted to avoid being shot down by the US military.
Kobayashi Tetsu had rented five such balloons in total. They would float over Tokyo throughout the duration of the event.
The two walked a bit further, arriving at the back of the stage, which was hidden by boxes and curtains. Stage plays would be performed here during the day. After all, stage plays were an indispensable part of any major event in Japan.
The actors participating in the stage plays were mainly borrowed by Kobayashi Tetsu from Sonny Chiba's JAC Sports Club. Some were suit actors trained by Toei Company, and others came from various action enthusiast associations across Japan.
They were all familiar faces. For instance, the "Ohno Kenshukai," an action enthusiast group whose members had participated in numerous Japanese tokusatsu works, including Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, were seasoned veterans when it came to performing in suits on stage.
Even the most arrogant person would have to feel a sense of awe seeing these actors. Not just anyone could don a suit weighing several or even dozens of pounds, complete with a skeleton, and still perform various complex movements.
As the saying goes:
There's no air conditioning inside the suit.The performance must be all-out.The actors will never be remembered.
When Kobayashi Tetsu arrived, two stage actors were rehearsing their lines. Seeing him and his companion, they immediately stood up straight.
"It's fine, don't mind me. Please, sit down," Kobayashi Tetsu said casually. After asking their names and learning them, he nodded solemnly.
"Do a good job as a suit actor. It's a promising career—who knows, maybe someone will buy Tsuburaya one day."
Kobayashi Tetsu took one last look around. Even though he felt everything was in order, he still couldn't shake a sense of unease.
He stopped abruptly and asked Iwata Satoru, "What did the weather forecast say for today?"
Iwata snapped to attention. "The forecast says there's no rain."
"Yeah, that's what I saw too. But... I still can't shake this feeling."
Kobayashi reached out, feeling the air.
It wasn't humid, exactly, but there was a faint, stifling heat in the air.
Mai Yaozu, a young man from Tsim Sha Tsui, knew nothing about Atlas and didn't play many games. But he was a regular at Street Fighter, and he was good enough to earn an invitation from Brother MK's Arcade. Now, he was in Tokyo on a company-sponsored trip.
According to Atlas, as a competitor in the esports tournament, his benefits included a free three-day pass to the Carnival, accommodation, and discounted meals.
As for transportation, a dedicated shuttle bus ran between the hotel and the venue.
Atlas, however, would not cover the costs of traveling to other sightseeing spots.
Still, Mai Yaozu was quite satisfied.
At ten o'clock that morning, Mai Yaozu boarded the shuttle. The driver glanced at him and made a gesture toward his chest.
"What are you groping for, you old pervert!" Mai Yaozu cursed, before suddenly realizing his mistake.
The driver was asking to see his badge.
Competing players had special badges; without one, they couldn't access the free on-site services. After all, his face didn't have the word "Player" written on it.
Fortunately, Mai Yaozu had brought his. He hurriedly pulled it out of his pocket and hung it around his neck. Only then did the driver bow.
"Ohayou gozaimasu."
Mai Yaozu quickly mimicked the bow.
"Gozaimasu, gozaimasu. Sir, when are we leaving?"
The driver stared at Mai Yaozu with wide, innocent eyes.
He can't understand Cantonese!
Mai Yaozu could only offer an awkward smile and find a seat.
The bus waited for over ten minutes before pulling away with a half-empty load, heading for the venue.
Mai Yaozu leaned against the window, glancing back to see another identical bus pulling up outside the hotel.
"Are all these buses just for shuttle service? How many of them are there?"
Mai Yaozu did a rough count. At least seven or eight buses were parked nearby, each carrying a fair number of people, yet none seemed crowded. They all seemed to be departing half-full.
"No wonder they filmed it like this in the movies!"
Mai Yaozu's mind immediately flashed to the Jackie Chan film, Police Story 2 (also known as Street Fighter). In the movie, a gang of robbers plotted to kidnap the President of Atlas to ransom him for the latest game consoles to sell.
If Chan Ka-Kui hadn't dropped from the sky at the critical moment and pummeled the terrorists into submission, the President of Atlas would have been captured!
The movie claimed that Atlas was so incredibly wealthy that robbing them was more lucrative than robbing the Pacific Bank. A single heist at the Pacific Bank only netted 1.75 million US dollars, but robbing Atlas would bring in at least a hundred million!
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