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The car was rushing on the road, passing large grass fields. The 5 Inklings' mouths were all sealed: Mirii's head was turned to the right, as her sight was looking forward and her right hand was petting her right tentacle. Hun's head was turning left and right, after a small pause of one second.
Grina's right foot was resting on the dashboard, as her posture was tilting diagonally and her hands were staying on her stomach. Her irises were tilting down-right. She sighs loudly.
"Mirii…"
Mirii's head turned forward.
"… I have to be honest…" Grina's right forefinger was forming circles around her bellybutton, as her irises were watching it. "… I knew that you were following that so-called art for a personal matter."
"Girl, then why you kept pressing on that?!" Bars' eyes were staring the road, as his hands were grasping the steering. "Like, you could had hurt her feelings!"
"I didn't expect something THAT personal!" Grina's head turned to the left, as her face starts frowning. "From whatever Fara said before… it seemed something far from any self-esteem problem!"
"No, girl… Mirii isn't a girl who has that funk." His head turned to the right for a moment, as her eyebrows were down. "I knew that from the beginning."
"How?! She was barely even speaking to us!" Grina puffed her cheeks, as her hands went behind her neck and her head turned forward. "Don't tell me you forgot about that, already…!"
"Nah… but I can tell who doesn't have much of that, actually." He shrugs. "Not that I'm always correct…"
"Do you have a little secret too?" Grina smiles, as her eyebrows went down and her head returned towards the boy. "It's kinda weird how you are the only one who doesn't have much to say…"
Bars chuckles a bit.
"Girl, do I really need a secret weapon too…?" He smiles, still facing the road. "Or should I say… do I really need one from the past?"
"Hmm?" Her left foot rests on the dashboard, next to the right one. "What do you mean?"
"The very fact that Bars belongs to a perfect team…" Mirii rose her head, as she swallows quickly. "… before Inkinators, he has nothing to tell."
"Ha ha! You got the bullseye yet again, girl!" He grins and closes his eyes for a moment. "Like, if you really want somethin' out of me, I could tell you all the videogames I finished… except one or two which were so"
"So, you got nothing to share." Grina puffs the right side of her fringe. "Kinda weird considering the fact you knew that Mirii didn't have self-esteem problem."
"Her silence was quite effective on me, actually…" He smiles a bit. "She's a serious Squid… better not joke with her!" He chuckles a bit.
Grina grins a bit, as her right eye closed.
"Look at that Bars… he has tricks up on his short sleeves." Her irises rotate counter-clockwise. "Anyway, I still didn't finish my speech with Mirii."
"… I understand, Grina." Mirii's head lowered, as her eyes closed. "I appreciate the will to comprehend"
"It's more than just explanation." She smiles. "It's an apology."
"… I see." Mirii's head rose, as her eyes opened and her arms folded. "However, you weren't the one causing the entire scene."
"But I was the one pushing all out with the perfection"
"DON'T SAY THAT WORD!" Mirii bends forward, while frowning a lot.
"Huh?!" Grina lifts her posture, kicking her legs down. "What… wh-what did you"
"Fara is going to have that vision, if you DARE to repeat such word!" Her head turned to the left, as her eyebrows went up.
"No no, Technie…" Fara shakes her head, then she smiles. "I 'hink tha' word only works for you…"
"Really?" Her eyes blinked two times.
Fara nodded.
"If you say perfect, nothin' really happens…"
Mirii's eyes closed, as she sighs silently. Her eyes reopen, while smiling.
"… I was thinking…" Her right forefinger was resting on her right cheek. "If someone says a word which they are very fond of… you'll see more positive scenes?"
"Yes!" Fara lifted her posture, while closing her eyes and smiling widely. "That will work!"
Mirii smiles a bit.
"Then… what happens if I say Rof?" Her eyes closed, as her right hand was petting her right tentacle.
"… I'm seeing myself humming down a song, while walking with someone on my left side… we are laughing too!" Fara starts laughing.
Mirii laughed a bit, while closing her eyes.
"Yes, I do agree with that type of vision…" She reopens her eyes, as her right hand fell on her left hand. "… and as you just said, you perceived a positive scene."
"Ye', it's true…" Fara's smile grew.
"Mirii, thank you for making my little sister smile!" Hun hugs Fara from behind, as his mouth was smiling. "Seeing her like this… it makes me so happy!"
Mirii blushes a lot, as her mouth opened a bit.
"Ooooohh… I would take some notes about that." Grina was smiling, as her eyes were closed and her hands were behind her head.
"Wh-what are you mumbling about?!" Mirii turned forward, as her hands were grasping the seat.
"Nothing in particular…" Her eyes opened. "… you would have done that, anyway."
On the road, an Inkling boy wearing glasses and a white shirt was staying on the road, as his right hand was holding a smartphone which was pointed down.
"WHAT THE?!" Bars bended forward.
SCCREEEEEEEEECCCHHHH!
… the 5 Inklings were all watching the boy still looking down.
"… preposterous…" Mirii's irises were shrunk, as her voice was whispering.
Grina frowns down a lot: her right hand pulled the car's door and jumped out.
"HEY YOU!" Her hands went on her hips, her head lowered, her face was still frowning. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, DOING PHOTOS TO THE DARN ROAD?!"
The boy's right hand was moving his smartphone left and right.
"… huh?" Her right eyebrow rose. "Hey… I'm talking to you, wise guy!"
The other 4 Inklings went out of the car.
"Whoa… either he's dumb or extremely brave." Bars opened his mouth, watching the boy taking two steps forward.
"… hmpf." Mirii folds her arms, raising her head and lowering her eyebrows. "His careless attitude is his problem."
She starts walking towards him: the boy's eyes were still watching the smartphone.
"And I intend to make this boy realize his own mistakes… ahem." Mirii's head lowered, as her right fist was in front of her mouth and her eyes closed. "Excuse me?"
"… longitude… area size… …" He was whispering.
"… excuse me?" The girl folds her arms.
"… walk requirement… … where is the Check Point…"
"Excuse me?!" A vein popped out from her forehead.
"… the fields have only farms… … hmm…"
"EXCUSE ME?!" She bends forward, as multiple veins popped out from her forehead.
"… the area is interesting… … but it misses a"
Her hands picked his shirt, as they lifted the boy's posture a bit.
"ARE YOU INCAPABLE OF COMMUNICATING WITH THE REAL WORLD?!" Her eyes went a bit red, as her right cheek starts twitching.
"Aaaaah!" His eyebrows went up.
He jumps behind, as he starts looking around.
"… huh… but… but you are common life forms…" His knees were bending down, as his mouth opened. "… wow, I'm lucky!" He jumps, while lifting his posture.
His left wrist rested on his left side, as his right hand was showing his smartphone.
"Booyah to all of you!" His right hand waves, as his eyes closed. "I see I wasn't the only one who got the smart idea here…"
"The smart idea…?" Grina grimaces. "… staying in the middle of the road?"
"Ah ah ah ah!" His left forefinger pushed the middle of his glasses. "What's the matter? It's a road for everyone… I can stay here, right? No law can punish me or anything… besides, I know that drivers stop when they clearly see a pedestrian staying in the middle of the road!" He lifts his posture, while smiling and closing his eyes.
"Dude… like, what if they don't?" Bars' right hand scratches the top of his head.
The boy turns over him.
"… good question." He lowers his head, as his left hand lifted his glasses a bit. "… the save would still be in my smartphone… my account makes backups every 3 minutes, too… … ah ah ah ah!" He lifts his posture, while smiling and closing his eyes. "Why, that wouldn't matter too much in the end!"
"Dude… did you said something about a save file?" Bars' eyes expanded.
"Why yeah, dude!" His right hand lifted, as the smartphone was pointing down the boy. "I'm playing a game, right now! It's called Inknet Wars." He smiles.
"Whoooaaa…!" He starts walking a bit, as his right arm stretched a bit. "Can I take"
A left hand holds down his right arm: Bars' head turned behind, as his eyes tracked Grina's face lowered. Her eyes were hard to see…
"… no."
"Wh-what's the matter girl?!" Sweat appears on his forehead. "Like… eeehhhmm… I-I wanted to give it a little"
"No." Her head rose, as her face was frowning.
"… well… ok!" His arms rose. "I could always take a look later on my smartphone!" He chuckles a bit.
Suddenly, Grina jumps behind Bars as her right hand took his smartphone out of his pocket.
"WHAAA?!" His irises shrunk, as his right arm swings towards the girl.
"I'll keep it for a while." Her right hand makes the smartphone rotate on itself. Her eyelids were a bit down. "Don't worry, I can give it back… only for calls."
"C-come on, girl!" Bars bends down, as his mouth downturned. "I-I'm not THAT geek, you know!"
"Actually, I'm a nerd…" His right forefinger rose, as his left hand went behind his back and his eyes closed.
"No, you are a mindless drone."
The boy turns behind. Mirii was folding her arms, as her head rose.
"Walking in the middle of the road, playing your little game… where do you think to belong?!" Her eyebrows went down. "If I was your mother, I would already confiscated that device from your hands…" Her eyes closed. "… and I would give you books to read."
"I love books!" He smiles. "I often read them… well… that's, when I'm home for the night." His eyes fell towards the smartphone. "… what?!" His eyes expanded. "200 players are already around here!"
Mirii's jaw dropped.
"… no… you are bluffing!" Her right forefinger points down the boy. "It can't be 200 mindless drones are walking around the roads!"
"Not 200… maybe 10." His left hand adjusted his glasses. "They all had my idea… if I cared to look at the presence list, I would run wild around those roads!"
Mirii's irises shrunk, as her right forefinger lowered.
"… speaking of players, I should start running!" He starts walking in place. "Well, it was a pleasure to speak with you… maybe someday we can exchange some books to read!" His eyes closed.
SWISH!
Suddenly, Grina's left hand was grasping his smartphone!
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" His glasses went up for a moment! "GIVE ME THE PHONE, THIEF!"
"It's your at one condition…" Her left fingers were holding the smartphone's edge, as it was waving a bit left and right. "… answer me those questions."
"I-I COULD GIVE YOU ALL MY MONEY AND LUNCH FOR THAT!" He fell on his knees, as his hands were clasping and his eyes were watery. "ALSO ALL THE BOOKS, MY SCHOOL SCORE, MY OTHER VIDEOGAMES"
"BE QUIET!" Grina frowned a lot. "I said to just answer those questions… not a Squidsmas List!"
His arms were bended, his mouth was wavy, his fingers were twitching… Grina sighed loudly.
"Alright… what's up with this Inknet Wars? Since when this game is out?" Her left hand was rotating the boy's smartphone.
"ARGH!" He grits his teeth, without breathing. "S-stop toying with m-my smartphone… I-I only have this one!"
"Then, answer!" Her left hand grasped the smartphone. "All of it…"
"Ok! Ok, I-I'll do it! Inknet Wars… … it's simply, the most famous mobile game ever!" His arms opened wide.
… a heavy silence fell in…
"Actually… it's more than a game." His head lowered, as his right fist stood on his chest. "… it's life… it's pure satisfaction!" His head rose, while gritting his teeth. "Without th-that, me and more than 1.000.000 players are NOTHING!"
"IMPOSSIBLE!" Mirii stomps the floor. "I have never seen idiots like you on the streets… that number is a total fake!"
"… idiots you say…" His head lowered. "… you must be scarce at Turf War matches…"
"False." Mirii rose her head. "No one ever dared to directly challenge me..."
"… you are a Charger user, aren't you?"
"Wh-what?!" Mirii opened her mouth wide. "But… how did you…"
"Yes… your personality really fits the mentality of a Charger…" His head rose, as his eyebrows were down and his mouth was smiling. "A Charger who can dominate the E-liter 3K Scope… maybe the Regular version."
Mirii's mouth opened even more.
"… you… you saw me during a Turf War match?!" Her mouth flattened.
"No, it's just experience." He stands up, as his hands were patting his red pants. "As a veteran Dual Squelcher who inked 99999 worth points, I can read my opponents quite well… even by just glancing at each of them."
His head turned towards Bars.
"… Roller user…"
His head turned towards Grina.
"… Shooter user…"
His head turned towards Fara.
"… too young…"
His head turned towards Hun.
"… huh… you look like a newbie… but you are not."
"Huh?!" His head tilts to the left. "Wh-what does that mean…?"
"… nothing in particular." He shakes his head. "But the weapon you use… …" His eyes squeezed a bit. "… if you were in a match as an opponent, I would probably be careful. Very careful…"
"Really?" His right hand was holding his chin, as his eyes were looking around and his eyebrows were down.
"He doesn't know about Hunley's special skill. Simple." Mirii's eyes were closed. "But why he mentioned Turf Wars…? What that has anything to do with this crazy game…?"
Mirii's right forefinger pointed down at the boy, as her left hand grasped her left hip.
"My eyes can't fool your change of attitude… how could a person this attached to a mobile game, have a knowledge this high for Turf War related matters?!" Her head rose.
"Because…" His right forefinger was pushing his glasses on the middle. "… I was playing Turf War, before playing Inknet Wars."
"So, let me get this one straight…" Her left hand was rotating the boy's smartphone, then her right hand was rotating Bars' smartphone. "The Turf War Station closed and suddenly, the Inknet Wars became the trend all the sudden."
"Yeah! That's the reason!" He nods, while smiling. "Inknet Wars is a revolutionary mobile game, if I have to say so myself…" His hands were a bit opened, pointing forward. "Basically the game consists in walking around, leaving behind ink! You start by choosing your color… and then off you go!"
"Hmpf, that can't be the whole game…" Mirii lowered her head, as her arms folded and her eyes closed. "When near opponents, I imagine players circling around the same area."
"Good point!" He clapped. "That's why… the objective of the game is to walk around, cover the map with tons of ink… then, you validate your turf by stopping near Check Points."
"Check Points, dude?" Bars scratches the top of his head. "Like… you get to a specific place and deposit points?"
"There are certain spot like the main plaza, which has a Check Point… once you arrive, you click on the box and all your turf will be converted into points!" His eyes closed. "Once you do that, the Check Point will not be available until the next day's same time you last validate your turf."
The boy looks around.
"Each Sunday, a Color Report shows up: it tells you the total points racked up from each color, that week. The more points that color gets, the higher the multiplier goes! If you are inside the same team, the next time you will validate your turf, you'll get a multiplier bonus and get even more of them! However, the multiplier also decreases based on the users' quantity: the more of them, the less the multiplier you'll get… so, it really helps out for everyone!" He nods.
"What's the ultimate goal for racking up points…?" Mirii rose her head, as her eyebrows went down.
"The same for playing Ranked Battles: reaching the first place in Ranking!" His right hand adjusted his glasses. "The developers also said to pay up people who reaches a specific rank position…"
"Aaaaaah, now the darn phenomenon shows its logic…" Grina opened her arms a bit, while shrugging. "All about the muney…!"
"Pros like me frequently visit the shop…" He bends down, as his right hand was near his mouth's right side. "… and buy helpful items in exchange of real money."
"Items who secure more points and safely, I assume…" Mirii's right forefinger was resting on her right cheek, as her left hand grabbed her right elbow.
"I truly hope to find the Check Point location around here…" His smile grew, his eyebrows went down. "Even though it doesn't have a Check Point nearby… it's just too easy to hold on my turf and get back to the nearest Check Point, without even worrying about the time!"
He starts laughing loudly!
"Dude…" Bars downturned his mouth, as his neck bended a bit forward. "I thought you were the king of the geeks…"
"Call me nerd, pal!" He grins widely, as his fists were resting on his sides. "This game will make me even richer than the normal Ranked Battles…!"
Suddenly, his irises formed the shape of coins.
"… that's why I said how players are NOTHING, without that game…" He blinked two times. "… alright, I did my part." His irises turned towards Grina. "Can I have my smartphone back, now?" His right hand went forward, with the palm showing.
Grina growled lowly… her left arm stretched, as the hand opened. The smartphone fell on the boy's hand, as the girl left a snort.
"I can't believe what Squids are doing nowadays…" Her head shakes left and right, as her eyes closed.
"… the Turf War Station remained closed for many days… it's only natural, that everyone in the city will learn about this game." Her head rose. "It sounds harmless… but I can't help suspecting its existence."
Her right foot was sliding forward, as her fists clenched.
"People addicted to this game…? Not in the city I live." Her eyes squeezed.