Two figures moved through the corridor of the living quarters, passing door after doors in silence.
One wheeled himself forward in a wheelchair, a tray of food resting on his lap, while the other quietly walked behind him.
'I should probably help him carry the tray.'
Mitchell glanced at the figure ahead, her mind wandering through countless thoughts.
'I probably should not. He hates being reminded of his disability.'
Jason suddenly stopped and turned to face a door, causing Mitchell to almost bump into him.
Lost in her thoughts, Mitchell hadn't even realized they had already arrived at Jason's door.
"Come in." Jason pushed open the door and wheeled himself inside. Mitchell followed, closing the door behind them.
Jason approached the desk and set the tray on top of it. He then went to the bedside drawer, opened the lower drawer, and fished out a brand new credit card.
Turning around, he held the card out to Mitchell.
"I would like you to purchase a few things for me," he said.
'He wants me to purchase something for him?' She thought in surprise, but still reached out to take the card.
"Uhm... S-Sure. What do you want me to purchase for you?"
"I need you to get me a smartphone and a laptop." He replied.
'That's it?' she thought, but outwardly, she asked, "A... Any particular model in mind? What's your budget?"
"Fast and reliable. Any brand you deem fit is fine," Jason replied as he returned to his tray of food.
"The card should cover it."
"Very well. How soon do you need it?" She asked again.
"Right now, if it's convenient for you," Jason replied in his usual concise manner.
"Oh! Al... Alright then I'll go right away." Mitchell replied and proceeded to leave while Jason went ahead to eat.
*****
The night in Richmond, Virginia was just as lively as always. Nightclubs, late-night restaurants and even live DJs were still active, giving the city its laid-back nightlife.
Inside an electronics store somewhere in the city, Mitchell picked out suitable models while lost in thought.
'I wonder what he needs the smartphone and laptop for?' Mitchell thought as she picked out suitable models and headed to the counter.
Since it was already nighttime, there weren't many people in the store. Seeing her dressed in camouflage, the clerk wasted no time serving her.
Tapping Jason's credit card, she paid for the goods and quickly left the store.
*****
THUD! THUD!
Jason, who had just freshened up after eating, was in the middle of getting dressed when a knock sounded on his door.
"Give me a minute." Jason quickly finished dressing and went to open the door.
"I'm... I'm back mister Jason."
Standing at the door with a brand new laptop backpack over one shoulder, Mitchell offered him a smile, to which Jason responded with a nod.
"Come in." Jason turned and wheeled himself back inside, with Mitchell following behind.
"I picked models with good performance, but they turned out to be more expensive than I expected, so I..."
"It's fine as long as they're of good quality." Jason cut her off as she began explaining.
'Does he trust me that much?' Mitchell was stunned by the way Jason easily brushed her explanation off.
"O... Of course. If you don't mind me asking, what are they for?" She asked as she handed him the credit card.
"Intel gathering." Jason said, turning to return the card to the drawer.
"Ohh! Alright then. Would you be needing anything else?" She asked.
"No."
"Then I'll be heading back." With that she turned around and headed for the door.
"And, Miss Michell."
Jason's voice stopped her at the door as she turned to look at Jason who had also faced her.
"Thank you." Jason's face remained as expressionless as ever, but Michell suddenly smiled and nodded.
"You're welcome Mister Jason. See you." She said and left the room.
Jason on the other hand moved on to unbox the items inside the bag.
'She even got a backpack for it. How thoughtful.'
Within five minutes, he had already connected to the facility's Wi-Fi and completed the necessary registration requirements.
After setting the laptop on the desk, Jason opened the Apex search engine.
His fingers hovered above the keyboard briefly before typing.
| War Online
He pressed enter and the results came back almost immediately.
____________________________________
| Search Results for: War Online
286,000,000 people searched this.
A next-generation full-neural military survival MMO created by Anonymous.
Survive. Adapt. Conquer.
Available in both Partial and Full Neural Synchronization mode.
| Features Include:
• Full Neural Synchronization
• Persistent Open World
• PvPvE Survival
• Military Realism
• Dynamic World Events
____________________________________
However, Jason's eyes narrowed at a particular part of the details.
'Anonymous? What an odd name for a company that creates games.'
He immediately cleared the search bar and typed in another word, and like before the result came back almost immediately.
___________________________________
| Search result for: Anonymous
5,000,000 people searched this.
They are the creators of War Online, but everything about them remains a mystery. Their location, members, assets, and properties are all unknown. The only known connection to the company is the self-destructive delivery drone responsible for delivering ordered gaming helmets.
___________________________________
'Intel lockdown. These guys definitely aren't as simple as they seem.'
Having determined what it was, he cleared the search bar and typed in something else.
____________________________________
| Search Result for: War Online official website
300,000,000 people searched this.
There is no official website or Forum community from Anonymous.
However, the Global Gaming Authority (GGA) has taken up the responsibility of creating a community for War Online players.
Click the link below to visit the forum.
___________________________________
After reading through the search result, Jason wasted no time in clicking the link displayed below.
It immediately redirected him to a massive forum community, where millions of discussion threads filled the page in a lively stream of activity.
Jason however was drawn to the very first topic on the trending discussion column.
• What do you or don't you like about this game?
(100,000+ Replies)
'This should prove a solid spot for gathering Intel on the game.' Jason thought and clicked on the thread.
Hundreds of thousands of comments immediately flooded his eyes and he began to sieve through them, paying close attention to the ones with important details.
• Hatethegame:
The realism is on a whole new level bro, I mean come on it's like I'm in another world or something.
• Abstract Art:
Who creates a game without devs to complain to? This game is too damn hard, and there's no difficulty adjustment.
• OfficeWorker:
I love the fact that my body falls asleep once I'm logged in. It gives me enough rest while still leaving time for entertainment. Especially for my busy schedule.
Jason immediately paused at the third comment.
'So the body can be asleep even when inside the game. That's some cutting edge technology. It makes me even more curious about this Anonymous people.'
Jason turned and glanced at the game helmet resting on top of the bedside drawer.
'Playing through the night seems feasible. I can cover more ground quickly and stealthily.'
Having made his decision, he turned and continued scrolling through the thread.
However, after scrolling for ten more minutes, Jason was about to exit the thread when a comment caught his eye.
• Phantom123:
I hate the nightbloom. That thing killed my first character, and it almost got this one as well. Why add such a stressful feature to the game?
'Nightbloom? Sounds like another dangerous feature of the game.' Jason narrowed his eyes.
Quickly going through the replies, he discovered that many players shared the same opinion, yet none of them explained what Night Bloom actually was.
'I will look into it later.'
Exiting the thread, Jason browsed through the forum until another topic caught his attention.
• Is Full Synch Mode actually worth it?
(100,000+ Replies)
Clicking on the topic, Jason began reading through the comments. But what he discovered left him stunned.
• Easy lord:
Full Synch is for masochists. I mean the pain alone, na-ah! It ain't for me bro.
• AlmightyNerd:
Partial Synchronization is already pretty difficult for me, even with the aiming assist and gameplay HUD assistance. I can't even begin to imagine the game without those.
• Ladybug:
Only fools would go for full Synch. It's just a game, after all.
'Not a single one of these people uses Full Synchronization. Is it really that bad? And why can't I feel the difference they're talking about?'
The fact that all the comments were against full Synchronization mode left Jason surprised.
BEEP! BEEP!! BEEP!!!
The sudden beeping of the watch on his wrist pulled him out of his surprise.
Looking down at the wristwatch, which was set to beep every hour, Jason saw the time displayed on its screen.
9:00pm
'Normally it would have been time for bed. But let's see what Gato is like at night. I'll go through the forum again in the morning.'
Jason shut down the laptop and transferred himself onto the bed.
He settled into a comfortable sleeping position, slid on the helmet, and pressed the power button.
[Neural Synchronization connected...
Welcome back, soldier]
Then darkness.
Jason opened his eyes inside the barricaded office once more.
Silence.
Suddenly the GEC device on his wrist vibrated, a red warning holographic screen flashed into sight.
[WARNING!!!
21:05
Pathogenic Bloom has begun.
Ambient pathogens have entered their hyperactive cycle.
Respiratory protection recommended
Estimated first-phase symptom onset in 30 minutes.
Time remaining: 25:59]