7 Days Later, Tokyo
A sleek black automobile navigated through the busy streets of Shinjuku, the heart of Tokyo's bustling metropolis. Its wheels spun steadily, creating streams of water that splashed onto the sidewalk. The car's headlights illuminated the rain-slicked road ahead, piercing through the mist and darkness of the night. It was a dreary evening with cloud-covered skies, and a torrential hail of rain. A woman in a typical business attire sat down in the driver's seat, placing both hands at the steering wheel, looking at the rear mirror, where a small but cute star-plushie was dangling beneath it. The car found a comfortable location to rest.
Unfurling the umbrella and donning a safety mask, she walked out onto the granite sidewalks. Policemen with distinct red-uniforms patrolled the streets. Cases of violent street crimes were slightly on the rise, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police was apt to arrest anyone looking suspicious out here.
She adjusted her coat, walking confidently past the carpeted floor of a lobby. In contrast to the Parthenon-like exterior, its interior was rather modern in design, with cooling system vents lining the ceilings. Plenty of socialites gathered in the Opera House to meet up old acquaintances, or catch up on business dealings.
A majestic orchestral tune reached her ears inside a darkened room. It was Tchaikovsky at this time of the year, she reckoned. She entered one of the VIP seating lounges and sat down, starting a conversation with the man sitting to her right.
"The music is most splendid tonight, don't you agree, Toffee? It reminds me of home."
"You only missed the opening sequences, but no matter, did you bring the letter, Aster?"
"Here," she handed him over a sealed envelope.
"Thank you," he said.
"I have heard that the SIS has been well informed about the CIA's activities in the realm of DMMO-RPGs," She whispered quietly whilst the sound of the overture played in the background. "News about how the CIA research into a sentient AI has been public knowledge for a long time. But to pry into commercial intellectual property and involve human research out of all the possible atrocities, even the most incompetent person knows not to interfere with the megacorporations. With Interpol involved, you've now got the entire world watching. I hope that the MI6 is more reasonable than that."
"My superiors would like to propose a joint co-operation. In exchange for access to the YGGDRASIL data, the SIS will be more than happy to provide material and technological support for future AI development in the UK. A reasonable offer to help rectify a situation that the CIA barely understands." The man replied.
"This is a generous offer, but I'm afraid we need reassurances, how does shared intellectual property for the project sound?" Dr Sophia Lee replied. The MI6 operative signalled her to follow him outside for a more private conversation.
"Shared intellectual property is acceptable, but we would need to discuss the terms and conditions in more detail," replied the MI6 operative, Agent Robert Brown. He sat across the table from Dr. Sophia Lee, the lead scientist of the YGGDRASIL project.
Dr. Lee nodded, her expression serious. "Understandable. We want to ensure that our work is being used for the greater good, not for any nefarious purposes."
Agent Brown smiled, "Of course. And I assure you that we have no intentions of misusing the data. Our government is simply interested in advancing our own AI research, and we believe that working together would be mutually beneficial."
Dr. Lee considered the proposal carefully before responding, "Alright, I will take your offer back to my team and we will discuss the terms. But I have one condition."
Agent Brown raised an eyebrow, "What would that be?"
"That we have complete transparency throughout the process. We need to be involved in every step of the collaboration, and have full access to any new technology that is developed from our data."
Agent Brown nodded, "Understood. We will do everything we can to accommodate your requests."
It's been 10-days since the investigation into the Source of Corruption had started. Today, the group of investigators have gathered together to enjoy themselves one last time before they begin one of the most dangerous virtual leaps into 'a world of dragons and magic' as Dr Sophia had explained. The venue they chose was a maid café recommended by Sebastian (group's new nickname for Ryuki/Touch Me) in Akihabara. There were several new faces in the group, specifically, scientists, doctors, policewoman, and amongst them, MI6 agents.
And that's how you use chopsticks," Touch Me patiently explained to his guests.
"When I first arrived in Japan, I was honestly shocked that the rice sticks so well to the chopstick, and the consistency feels so different from regular basmati rice back home. It's just like my nonna's risotto, cooked to perfection," Estessa commented.
"Risotto is not proper rice, it's like like saying American cheese is the same as Brie cheese," Rea, the British-Asian argued.
"Or that the Brits can cook," the Irish person, Ashley, in this group put down her fork when she noticed the rest of the group staring at her, "what?"
"We're in Japan, fingers crossed we get another chance for a trip like this, and you're getting yourself a burger?"
"Chill guys, stop taking the piss out of each other," Dr Lee gestured them to stop.
"The way this agedashi tofu melts in your mouth — amazing," commented the only woman out of the loop, Emma, her face brimming with glee. They all laughed afterwards, glad that the team had managed to get together so quickly without a hitch.
"This maid café has really nice food, thank you for recommending this place to us Sebastian." They all laughed while Touch Me blushed with embarrassment at the fact that it was him who brought them here.
"It must really be nice being Japanese, there's just so many things to do in just one city, and everywhere is easily traversed by public transport." Emma innocently commented.
"Not exactly true, but I'm glad to hear the sentiment." Touch Me explained. "It's actually really tough living in Japan in the modern day. Akihabara is one of the nicer areas to be in, since it attracts a lot of tourists, but the pollution in other parts of Neo Kyoto are worse than this."
"Can't say London is any different," Estessa nodded, "but hey, at least we're having fun."
"I wish I could move to the Scottish Highlands, I heard it's one part of the world where the air and water is still clean." Touch Me commented, surprising everyone.
"You've visited the UK?!" they all shouted in anticipation.
"No, but I heard about it from tourists returning from Scotland during my time in LA." Touch Me said.
"I still think New Zealand is much cleaner, far away from the pollution centres of the world — that is Eurasia. I have cousins living there and they are able to go outside safely without PPE (protective masks)." Rea said.
"Alright, let's play a simple game of what-if," Sophia clasped her hands together. "Suppose everyone here had the chance to create a character in YGGDRASIL 2, what would you go for and why?"
"Cheers to Sebastian," Sophia shouted, and everyone followed suit, raising their glasses for the one man who arranged this lovely occasion — Touch Me-san.
Touch Me ended up driving the drunk passengers back to their accommodations, apologising profusely for making a mess of the maid café. In the end, he had to pay the extra bill with his own money.
Back in the lab, a masterpiece of a device stood. A device that allows Sophia to transport the investigators to the realm beyond the codes — the foretold Isekai world, governed by the rules of a sentient AI that was constantly evolving. She switched on the power supply and the machine slowly whirred to life. The only flaw was that it required YGGDRASIL 2 as a transport medium.
The Japanese Government had partially funded the project to rescue their citizens — a project called Operation Nexus. One of the requirements was to have a full medical staffing nearby to monitor the investigators in case they go comatose. The objective is the mission is to minimise the number of casualties in terms of physical bodies. The physical body is just as important as the metaphorical spiritual body in order for this mission to be considered a success. The government had prepared artificial bodies — still prototypes, for the Japanese citizens in case they want back to this world. In any case, there was no guarantee the isekai world will survive forever if the AI did not deem it necessary to maintain it anymore.
"The DMMO-RPG helmet should have a protective firewall-like programme installed in it that prevents the AI from gaining access. It's like a one way valve that can't be stopped from the other direction. As long as this firewall remains, our consciousness can't be breached." Sophia explained.
"That sounds reassuring," Touch me said, "let's go."
"[Initialising….] [Game Loading at 100%] [Welcome to YGGDRASIL 2] [Connecting to External Server {X192…,Y027…,Z293….}]." The loading screen faded, allowing Touch Me to see the rest of the environment. It was an empty white room that was plain on all sides.
Touch Me was quite nonplussed when he found himself inside the body of lady, with the avatar name "Tsaritsa". Coincidentally, he noticed Estessa in the distance as the brunette with a dark green heavily decorated military uniform. On the other hand, Sophia was dressed as a petite scientist, the others: one dressed in an indigenous Siberian dress, another as in an Orthodoxy church adherent robe, and the final one in a musical composer uniform. "This is unexpected, what's with the Russian theme?" the lady in white royal dress, Touch Me shot a dirty glare towards Sophia, the woman who designed their characters.
Sophia chuckled, "I have taken the creative liberty to explore a different theme for our avatars. I thought it would be interesting to have a Russian-inspired theme."
Touch Me nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, it does look quite impressive. But why did I end up as a woman?"
Sophia's eyes widened in surprise. "I'm not sure. I didn't intend for that to happen. Maybe it's because of the randomisation process?"
"And who am I supposed to be?" Touch Me asked, still feeling a bit confused by the sudden change in his avatar.
"You are Tsaritsa, the Empress of Russia," Sophia replied with a smile. "And the others are various figures from Russian history and culture."
Touch Me nodded slowly, still taking in the new information. He had always been fascinated by history, and Russian history was no exception.
"This is the virtual room that allows us to reconnect to the real world and beyond that door, is the AI's realm. Once you enter, there is no turning back. Keep that in mind."
Sophia remarked to the others, "while we leave search and rescue to Sebastian, I want everyone to focus on gathering information on the virtual realm, the science behind it, and the rules of nature that govern it." Sophia thought back to what MI6 has told her — the reason the CIA kept all of this confidential was because they sent people to this virtual world, but they never returned; that it may not just be a virtual realm despite its appearances.
As Touch Me and his team emerged from the white room, they found themselves standing in the dark interior of an abandoned building. The walls were covered in moss and the air was thick with dust and the smell of decay. Touch Me surveyed his surroundings, his heightened senses taking in every detail of the decaying structure. The window panes, with their jagged cracks, had streaks of light passing through the crevice, offering a view of the light blue sky.
There were several furnitures inside the room. A sofa, a polished wooden cabinet, and a decrepit bed with springs jutting out from places. A staircase on the right-side of the room led to a door that probably went outside. Several photographs of previous residents hung on the rotting floral wallpaper that perhaps used to be nice shades of pastel yellow and dim green.
Touch Me inspected his own gear, but he found the YGGDRASIL interface nowhere to be found. Instead, he simply felt that he had an intrinsic understanding of his own overall strength. "Level 1 huh…"
"Girls, help me with this." The woman with the military outfit, most likely Estessa, was taking down the wooden planks that was nailed to the window with visible frustration. She too was Level 1.
Maybe this world works like YGGDRASIL, where level correlates with physical strength.
Each member of the group contributed in their own way in clearing up this room. This place shall be their base of operations if things go smoothly during their first few days. As the planks went down, the view cleared to reveal a vast body of water that resembled an ocean right in front of the building, and a relatively quiet pier to the side of it. The scent of freshly caught sea bass and the squawking of birds hovering in the sky was something that caught Touch Me's attention immediately. He looked left and right to see some activities going on, first noticing the huge wooden ships with designs akin to Spanish galleons during the age of exploration, docked in the harbour. He could feel the warmth of the sunlight being absorbed on his skin. He observed the dock workers load and unload cargo off ships in the distance.
He then looked directly below and saw that this part of the harbour was partially submerged in water, with the pavement no longer visible. The actual pier started a good twenty feet to the left of the building, as the street sloped upwards, emerging from the depths of the water and surfacing, then rising up at a sharp ninety degree angle for two metres, beyond which he couldn't really see.
Sophia interrupted his thoughts, "…but we need to find out where we are and what kind of dangers we might be facing. Our time is limited in this world before we should return to the real world."
"I still think that it is more tactically sound at the moment to camp at this location while one or two people can scout the city. Staying together is our best bet." Estessa stated, in a discussion with Sophia, as to what their next actions should be.
"This does not have to be our base of operations, am I right? Any location in this world will do should we have to 'log out'?" Touch Me did his best to remediate the conflict. "I agree with Estessa, we should stay together as a team, but similarly, it's best if we take the day to explore the the town. I don't think we'll stand out that much since it appears to be a human-town."
"Does everyone have a weapon for self-defense?" Touch Me asked the group. He spotted few individuals in the group lacking an offensive weapon, and wanted to make them aware of it.
"I only have a conductor's baton and Ashley, a staff." Emma replied.
"I can provide them each a pistol." Estessa grabbed two firearms and handed them over to her colleagues.
"Alright, let's head out." Sophia said.