Chapter Two: Demo Playtest, Day One, Opening, Scene Two

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the dark ceiling.

Is black such a heavy color?

 Kamo shook off the illusion that the ceiling was descending to crush him and propped up his upper body on the bed. A sharp pain ran through his head.

He was in a strange room. No, it looked familiar, but his brain hadn't shaken off the effects of the sleeping pills and he couldn't think properly.

He was sleeping on a wooden single bed. A desk and chair were at his feet. The room was probably a little bit larger than a normal hotel room for one, and had cream wallpaper and furniture in a uniform natural wood color.

He turned his head to the left and was suddenly startled.

There rested a spherical white object with a diameter of about two and a half meters.

If he had to compare it to something, the thing looked a bit like the three dimensional swivel chairs that astronauts use for training. But inside this sphere there was no chair, only a thick black column and several cables and wires.

Kamo rubbed his temples... he knew exactly what it was.

The full body VR control device, RHAPSODY.

It was said to be the first ever full body controller of its kind, and it had attracted a lot of attention at the Tokyo Game Show. It was scheduled to sell with an MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) of 200,000 yen. Although it was very expensive, there were still many people eagerly awaiting the device's coming spring release date.

When he was doing his overtime work at MegalodonSoft to prepare for the event, Kamo had used the RHAPSODY to do debugging tests over and over and over again, so he knew that the device was going to be used for the demo.

...Since there was a RHAPSODY here, did that mean he was still inside Megalodon Manor?

Kamo pushed up his black rimmed glasses, which were about to fall off, and got off the bed.

Black jeans, a casual shirt, and his coat. He was still wearing the same clothes he was in when he'd passed out in the dining hall. Probably because he wasn't finished digesting the sleeping pills yet, he walked with wobbly steps.

The solid wood desk held stationery and loose leaf paper, a floor plan of the building, and... a large cardboard box. The box was full of food and drink.

A message card was stood in front of the box.

 

In the closet you will find a VR operation suit, a pair of glove controllers, and a VR headset. Please put them on and complete your preparation to enter Mystery Maker 2.

Details will be explained in the VR space. Your questions will be answered there as well.

Kurata Chikage

First, Kamo was confused. Then an intense anger welled up in his heart.

This card made it clear that drugging their drinks was a deliberate arrangement by MegalodonSoft. And even Kamo, who played the role of the murderer, hadn't been informed.

...Just what do they hope to accomplish with this borderline criminal act?

 Kamo began to fumble for the cell phone he kept in his coat pocket. He had to contact Producer Kurata or Director Juumonji as soon as possible and get some explanations.

However, the pocket was empty. His wallet... even the business card holder he never left behind when he went out to work as a writer was gone.

Memories fogged by sleeping pills gradually returned to him, and Kamo finally remembered that all of his belongings had been taken away.

He looked down at the message card and hesitated for about ten seconds.

Should he leave the room and look for a staff member, or should he follow the card's instructions and put on the VR equipment?

After a few troubled moments, Kamo chose the latter. His reasoning was that he felt it would be better to get into direct contact with Producer Kurata.

He opened the closet, and there was indeed a full set of VR equipment inside.

Kamo didn't touch the VR suit or gloves, but he did pick up the headset.

To use the analogy of a traditional game, it's the VR headset that's the equivalent of the console itself, while the gloves, suit, and RHAPSODY are just fancy controllers. If you want to contact the staff, then just putting on the headset and using voice chat is enough.

After putting on the headset, a message appeared before Kamo.

This VR headset is registered to Mr. Kamo. Confirming identity through iris scan bioauthentication.

 

.........

 

Welcome, Mr. Kamo.

The moment the text disappeared, Kamo almost fell into a panic.

...Because the figure that appeared before his eyes belonged to his daughter Yukina.

Yukina was sitting on a chair at the dining table, rocking her feet, clumsily holding a pencil in her tiny hand, dutifully doing her math homework.

Far in the background, Rena slowly stirred a pot of food.

From the headset's built-in headphones came a clear voice.

“Yukina, it's almost time to eat, clear the table.”

“Okay~~!.”

There was no mistaking it... This was the dining room of Kamo's home.

Even though the image didn't emit an odor, Kamo could still smell the aroma of beef stew. It was as though he could have just reached out and touched his family. Looking at the clock on the table, it was now 7:15 P.M., and the window was already shrouded by night.

Precisely because it was a scene he was so familiar with, Kamo could be sure that this wasn't CG, but a live feed.

They were monitoring his family... or would it be more appropriate to say they were threatening him by taking Rena and Yukina hostage?

Kamo felt an awful chill in his spine.

From the direction of the view, the camera should have been installed in “something” underneath the TV.

He remembered that there was an AI assistant placed there. About two weeks ago, MegalodonSoft had given it to him for evaluation.

...The AI assistant had a spy camera installed in it?

At that moment, Kamo remembered something else and couldn't help but shudder.

The AI assistant wasn't the only thing he'd been given for evaluation. If the other things had also been tampered with...

Yukina was wearing a smartwatch on her right wrist, and the megalodon logo on it was visible through the screen. Rena was wearing the same thing.

“That's enough... I'll follow your instructions.”

He whispered through gritted teeth and the image in front of him disappeared. A message emerged from the darkness――

The smartwatch that was given to you has a special “death trap” device, containing a poisoned needle that can be activated remotely.

If you value the lives of Kamo Rena and Yukina... as well as yourself, please follow our instructions.

Kamo reflexively pressed his left wrist.

He was also wearing the same type of smartwatch that had been delivered ten days ago. The message in front of his eyes continued.

We have now remotely locked the smartwatch. If you do not wish to lose your life in vain, please do not do anything foolish like trying to remove the watch by force.

If you fully understand all of the above information, please launch Mystery Maker 2.

Kamo pressed the button to raise the lenses.

The lenses lifted up to his forehead and his vision returned to reality. Without realizing, he had started hyperventilating and broken into a cold sweat.

...The poisoned needles hidden in the watches... that must have just been a bluff to scare me.

He wanted to take his chances and leave this place by force. However, the fact that Rena and Yukina were also involved made him think twice. If the worst case scenario was true, their lives would be in danger.

For now, it would be better to follow the instructions and find out what the other party is really up to... After making his decision, Kamo opened the closet and took out the VR operation suit.

The suit covered the entire body except for the head and hands, and was divided into several parts for ease of application and removal. Kamo picked up the top part first and put it on. Since he had put it on several times before, it only took him five minutes to finish dressing.

The operation suit was black and gray, with a heavy fabric with a spandex texture on the back and abdomen.

When worn, it looked a bit like a combat suit from some sci-fi movie. The design was clearly meant to look appealing to gamers rather than be functional. But because the fabric used was highly stretchable, it at least didn't feel like it restricted movement.

Next, he put on the glove controllers. The familiar MegalodonSoft logo was printed on the back of the hand. Although the gloves were generally rated as having poor battery life, when used in the RHAPSODY, they could operate for hours on end.

Kamo walked towards the RHAPSODY with his VR headset on, and the white sphere made a soft start up sound before slowly opening.

This device is registered to Mr. Kamo. The correct VR headset has been identified. Welcome, Mr. Kamo.

After displaying this message, the sphere's entranced opened to meet Kamo's movement.

Upon entering the RHAPSODY, the black pillar in the center bent smoothly, creating a curve to sit on. Kamo leaned his back against the black pillar and lowered his center of gravity. He heard only a click, then felt a slight vibration transmitted through his body through the operation suit.

The back of the VR operation suit had an interface port two centimeters in diameter and two centimeters deep, located in the center of the back, just below the shoulder blades.

The RHAPSODY's black column had a matching connector two centimeters in diameter and protruding two centimeters out, and the two were magnetically connected. When connected, they could synchronize the suit with the RHAPSODY.

Before pressing the button to reset the lenses, Kamo took a deep breath.

Whatever lay ahead... he had no choice but to confront it head on.

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