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… Penny is sure taking her time. She literally left me all alone with this problem!
"Urgh… I hope Kelly comes back soon." Mirii sports a sad face. "Otherwise this man will start questioning her absence…"
Alright, pal. I got the code on my hands.
… wait, it's all blurry! I can't see anything through your video!
You want me to take my more expensive phone and charge you an additional fee?
Harry, why are you an endless cost today? I don't even know what's keeping me from closing down the call.
You want me to remind you the reason and charge you an additional fee?
I want you to act less obnoxiously! Can you please cooperate with me here?!
… squeeze your eyes better, Kyle. I'm not gonna ruin my 50000 phone for pleasing your cries.
Using your phone counts as ruining?!
"I have no words for this man…" Mirii sighed loudly. "… I should press them for getting me out of this basin… but this medicine-filled ink is giving me back some strength. I have to take advantage of this and fully heal myself."
… it's still fresh in the box. It's essentially a golden brick I can sell for a fortune, if I must gather some quick cash as soon as possible. Squids go crazy over those small computers… even more if they are still sealed. A great opportunity I have for gaining quick cash, in case I absolutely need it.
"They are more than just small computers!" Mirii grimaced. "Without my smartphone, I wouldn't be able to face as many situations as possible!"
Harry, no matter how hard I try… I can't read this code! Besides, where I'm supposed to write it?
Press the glitchy window, then you simply type the following buttons… A, B, W, P, X, X, 1, ?, U, (, ), J and Enter.
W-wait a sec! You… you are not adding that reading service in your bill, right?
Free of charge, since I'm going to get triple the payment anyway.
Phew! I was afraid to ask that, just for that reason!
Did you memorize the code? If you make me repeat the code for three times, then you are going to get
Repeat the code very slowly, Harry! I promise that's all I need!
Uff… alright. A, B, W, P, X, X, 1, ?, U, (, ), J and Enter.
"I would have already closed the call, if I was supposed to receive any 'help' from this money-eating being…!" Her head shook.
Suddenly, her eyes were seeing a star-filled sky: below her tentacles, a black ground with shapes resembling a collection of trees and hills.
"Wh-where am I?!" She turned around.
Behind her, she saw a word below a yellow office file… turning her sight up and down, she could track down an entire pile of files and paper, all of them sporting a word below them. Shyly from above, a computer was floating in midair, owning a word in the same way as the other-
"Am I inside the computer?!" Her eyes expanded.
What you have done to the game?!
Meet Desktop Mode, Kyle. This mode exists in case a Squid wants the thrill of exploring a computer in person. Well, it's essentially a first person view of the same desktop program we usually have… with the exception of having a shipload of limitations.
This is crazy! I would never guess that they would add such thing in this software! Aside from this, Primitive Mode and Standard, which other modes-
As far as I know, they are cooking one more mode which is available in the next update… but that's no interest for us. Right now, the player must find a way to turn the computer off. You can do that with this mode… actually, the player can access all the non-hidden files without crashing the software.
Even if it's glitching this badly?!
We successfully shut that mode down, which made all those glitches stop… but we didn't end the software yet. She cannot access on the software window and press the X. That would trigger a bug, which cannot be solved… probably it will not be an issue for the next version, which will be available in a couple of years.
Ehm… I don't understand how you know all this stuff down?
It's the same reason why you called me, Kyle. You know that I'm also called the "Informatiocolic"…
Huh… it's been a while since I heard that name!
In this state, the player could even play a MOBA, by hovering over the options she wants… but that's a stupid way to play any game, in my opinion.
"I wouldn't play any videogame to begin with!" Her eyes squeezed a bit. "In fact, I wasn't told that this virtual experience plays exactly like one… otherwise, I would had refused to utilize the machine!"
You can hear her from here?
Yes. If she keeps ranting about videogames, I end the call.
Mirii growled.
"If I'm on the desktop… do I have the option of reaching the Start button and select the 'Turn Off' option?"
Why don't you look for yourself?
She turned her head down… seeing nothing but a black ground.
… this mode doesn't let you see the bar. Same for the Recycle Bin. That's because this mode wants you to explore the computer… the trick is to follow the first path you see and reach the end, so to speak.
"How can I recognize the exit?" Mirii's tentacles folded.
You will know it. No reason to make me go into the details, if you can see it for yourself.
"Bah…" Her head shook.
Can we guide her? I feel bad leaving this girl all alone…
We will see just as much as she does. We cannot hover around, like in Primitive Mode… we can just cheer her on and watch her movements.
Mirii's head rose.
"… this man said I could access all non-hidden files… … I have the chance to gather important clues!" Her irises went on the closest file to her. "Since they cannot determine whenever I'm truly looking for the exit or not… my risk of getting caught are almost non-existent. I must capitalize on such opportunity!"
She swam towards the file, stopping in front of it.
Penny! You missed a lot!
Sweat covered her forehead.
"Kelly… don't bring me any more trouble, please…!"
… there is something different about you…
Wh-what?
You look… humbler than usual.
R-really?
"Curses!" Her eyes expanded. "Kelly! Return inside the Shrine! Don't stay here!"
If you want to get inside the file, you have to 'click' on it with your tentacle.
"… thank you for the information, Harry." Her tentacle moved towards the file. "Click… as in, I should tap the file?!"
Mirii tapped the air, while still pointing at the file… as an immense, white square appeared from it! The girl was staring at several line of words, each forming a name.
Well, don't you want to hear what happened?
Oh yes, tell me…!
I activated Desktop Mode and now the customer has to find the exit and shut down the computer.
Ooooh…! I want to get inside too! It looks soooo fun!
"Let's see… which file I should inspect first?" Her eyes carefully read each name.
She stood on the one saying 'Happy Data Results - Overview Report'. Her tentacles moved over the word, as she tapped the thin air: a huge paper appeared out of nowhere, filled with various words! She saw various icons above the virtual paper.
"I will pretend to go around the document…" She moved a bit to the right, while still aiming her sight on the words. "… 'over 100 experiments'?!" She stopped. "'Over 100 experiments confirmed the theory that Squids have a higher rate of happiness, when compared to their other form'… …"
She frowned a bit.
"Other form…? Which one?" Her head tilted a bit on the sides.
I don't think you will find much path in this document… in fact, you should go after the files and not the single documents or applications.
"Nnnnnggh!" Sweat jumped out from her head, as she turned behind and saw nothing but darkness. "Wh-what's this?! There wasn't this pitch black, before!"
That's because the desktop's wallpaper completely covers all the angles… not when you are inside a file or a document. There is a reason for that… can you figure it out, without making me ruin my throat?
Drink some water, Harry.
Uff… I'm looking for efficiency, not waste. That's how I got the big money in the first place.
"Hmpf!" Mirii caressed her right tentacle. "I think I know the truth behind this darkness…"
The Squid slid towards the pitch black background… as she was now facing the previous list of various names.
You got it. If you weren't that ignorant on videogames, maybe I wouldn't mind seeing you in person…
"I would rather face a seabear than your likings…" She snorted.
Whatever. Now, go find the path.
She groaned silently.
"… I will look through that document over there." Her tentacle went on the line of words, which were saying 'Report on Preferences'. "I can still pretend to be after the exit…"
Once more, a huge paper appeared in front of her face.
"'We have estimated that Squids prefer relax and comfort…'" Her irises were moving on each word. "'There is a high chance that Squids will turn in their other form, when they want to forget about their problems and stress…'"
Penny, she's reading your reports…
"Gah!" Mirii's eyes expanded, as she slid to the left. "I-I'm trying to find a path for the exit!" She turned over the words, diving in their direction. "P-perhaps if I get closer to this document, I could find something useful!"
It doesn't work like that. You would simply bounce off the virtual paper.
Mirii gradually stopped.
"Curses!" She frowned.
You are awfully quiet about this, Penny…
I-I don't see any problem with this…! I mean, she's just trying her best to find the exit… let her explore as much as she wants!
… ok, Penny. As you wish.
Mirii sighed silently, as she smiled.
"I would had been caught, if Kelly didn't possess Penny!" She turned behind, sliding towards the darkness. "But I can't lower my guard just because I have an ally on my side…" Her eyes closed. "… I draw too much attention because of my previous actions. I have no choice but to keep those findings and focus on finding the exit…"