“A little too much. I half-believe that she sleeps with real-life replicas of them.”
Lily laughed. “I could picture that, her hugging a grenade launcher tight as she tosses and turns in the night.”
Ethan laughed along with her. It felt great to relax and laugh with a friend. However, his eyes caught a flash of movement down the tunnel they were standing in. Glancing that way, he saw a camera drone fly into sight. Its big circular lens glinted as it turned to look in their direction
Reacting quickly, Ethan grabbed Lily and pulled her into the shadows. “Watch out. Camera drone.”
Lily didn’t resist. Leaning into him, she allowed herself to be moved to a cluster of pipes in an out-of-the-way corner. Ethan’s back hit the wall and then Lily fell against his chest. They were basically hugging, but instead of drawing back, Lily glanced toward the camera drone, which actually caused her to press against him more. After enjoying the feeling of her next to him for a moment, Ethan followed her gaze. The drone was slowly moving toward them as it flew through the tunnel. They both watched it hover past them.
“So, how have you been feeling? Better?” Lily whispered to Ethan.
“Yes, thanks to you. No more shadows for me. You have a gift for cheering people up and helping them sort through their issues.”
“Well, I know what it’s like to be down on yourself and feel useless.
“Oh?”
“I’ve had some health issues in the past, and it’s not hard to end up alone and without support these days,” she replied. “That’s why I know how important it is to have someone to talk to.”
Down the tunnel, the drone finally vanished from their sight as it turned a corner.
“All right, you don’t have to hold me so tightly anymore,” Lily told him with a knowing smile.
“Are you sure? The drone might turn back and see us,” Ethan teased.
Lily gave him an unamused look, so Ethan sighed and let go of her. “You know, reaching you through the game is a little inconvenient sometimes. Do you have a phone number? Or maybe we can meet up offline sometime to discuss some stuff?”
Stepping away from him, Lily looked frustrated. “We should just stay friends, Ethan. Going beyond that would be a mistake.”
“Why?”
“We’re teammates. We need to work together to climb the tower, and we shouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that. This game has real stakes that we have to take seriously.”
“I feel like that’s an excuse and there’s another reason. I’m not a child, Lily. You don’t have to lie to me to spare my feelings. If you want me to stop pursuing you, just say so. I’ll respect your wishes, but I’d like to know why. You obviously like me, and don’t think I haven’t noticed that you only pull back when I mention the real.”
“Let it be, Ethan. We really should focus on climbing the tower.”
“And, what about when this event is over? Will you give me some answers then?”
Lily looked down, making her seem uncertain and vulnerable, but then she glanced up and nodded stiffly. “Yes, we’ll talk about this then. Now, come on. We should be getting back.”
Without hesitation, Lily turned away from Ethan and walked back toward the base, so Ethan sighed and followed her. Their interaction hadn’t gone like he’d hoped, but he supposed it could have been worse.
Once they got back to the base, Ethan was pleased to see that Kyle was there. The young player gave him a wave and then Michael called the entire team over for a meeting.
“Right, we’re all here now, so let’s get down to business. First off, we should talk about this new data key that Ethan and Kyle earned. Did it come with a message like the others?”
“I haven’t checked yet. Let’s see,” Kyle answered and pulled the data key out of his inventory.
It did seem to contain a message because a moment later a video box popped up in front of their faces. The second the video started playing, the man they’d all been waiting for appeared.
Victor Crown gave his viewers a tired smile. “Hello again. It seems you now have all three of the keys you need. You’re not there yet. You need to find the door, but you’ve earned a little trust from me. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific, but you never know who is listening.”
Ethan was unsurprised to learn Victor was going to be vague and mysterious. He’d been hoping to finally get some answers about what was going on in the tower, but he hadn’t really expected to. Also, that might be for the best anyway. Victor had a point about listeners. So much had happened that he’d almost forgotten, but the bureau had learned about the data keys somehow. One of his teammates might be an informant.
“By now, you’ve probably run into some of the factions that are working in secret to get the prizes I’ve hidden within this game,” Victor said. “These prizes aren’t something you can buy. They are far too valuable and far too dangerous for that. Their emergence will cause much harm, and that weighs heavily upon me, but it is necessary. Knowledge cannot be suppressed forever. It is already leaking as those in power grow desperate. Many will disagree with me, but to prevent the worst abuse and horror, it needs to be disseminated freely so people can find their own way. Humans need meaning to live properly, and it can’t be given to them. It can only be earned via struggle. Doubt and pain can’t be avoided. They are part of us, and sometimes we are lost without it. This is a lesson I learned the hard way, and only after losing that which was most precious to me.”
As Victor leaned forward, a serious expression appeared on his face. “Those players who face this truth will earn the greatest prize of all, which transcends even the most secret of knowledge and deadliest of weapons. I cannot give you it; it can only be taken. So, you brave few, shed your illusions and embrace your destiny. Then, all worlds will lie before you. Good luck.”
The video ended, and there was silence as the players digested the CEO’s words.
“Ominous man is ominous,” Kyle remarked dryly a moment later.
Jude sneered at the empty air. “He’s just toying with us to pass the time in his rich entitled life. We should ignore him and get the prize.”
Michael shook his head in disagreement. “Did you hear the part where he mentioned losing what was most important to him? I believe he was talking about the suicide of his daughter. He wouldn’t joke around about that.”
“She committed suicide? I didn’t know that,” Ethan remarked in surprise.
Michael nodded sadly. “Yes, it’s not common knowledge, but that’s what happened.”
“Why would she do that? She must have been one of the richest and most powerful people in the world,” Ethan asked. He didn’t understand. It was dregs who were supposed to be committing suicide.
“She was basically a spoiled little princess,” Jude stated.
Lily threw them both a disapproving look. “Everyone has their own burdens, and depression doesn’t care about how much money you have or if others have it worse than you. Everyone’s life experience is subjective. You cannot measure your pain against other people’s.”
“Indeed. Historically, suicide was the provenance of the rich, not the poor,” Michael said. “It is only recently, after the rise of the UETO, that the pattern has flipped.”
A light went on in Ethan’s brain. “Because of economic support.”
Michael sighed. “Perhaps. It is a very complicated issue, with many causes, not just one.”
“So why did Victor’s daughter do it?” Kyle asked, bringing the conversation back to where it had started.
Michael hesitated for a moment. “I can’t say for sure, since I never met her, but I heard she was suffering from depression and believed her father was too controlling. He pushed her quite hard to become his heir, but apparently that wasn’t what she wanted.”
“That’s a super sad story,” Kyle observed aloud as Ethan nodded in agreement. It was. Victor didn’t seem like a bad guy.
“How do you know all this?” Jude asked Michael as she ey
ed him suspiciously.
“Oh, you know. Us government workers need to do something all day, so we gossip like high school girls,” he answered with a disarming grin. “We talk about all sorts of things.”
“All right, so maybe we should take Victor seriously,” Ethan suggested. “What about the rest of the message? Does anyone have any idea what he was talking about?”
The players looked at each other and shrugged. They all claimed ignorance. Frowning, Ethan declined to mention his own theories as well, since one of his allies might be an informant. The bureau agents who had interviewed him had suggested that illegal technology was being traded through Worldshift. That was probably the knowledge Victor had been talking about, but it still left Ethan with far more questions than answers.
Michael broke the silence. “Well, if no one has anything else to add to that, then it’s time to move on. We need to figure out how we’re going to beat this floor and advance to the next one.”
Lily turned to Kyle. “Do you mind if I borrow the key for a while? Something about the message was bothering me and I want to go over it again later.”
“No problem. I have no use for it right now,” he replied as he handed her the item. Jude frowned as she watched the key disappear into Lily’s inventory, but she didn’t say anything.
“Obviously, we need more information than the key can give us,” Ethan said. “We’ve been so worried about being discovered that we’ve had to hide away here. That’s meant we’ve been stuck in the dark and blind.”
Kyle nodded. “Yeah, but now we’ve got our hands on a workbench and a whole bunch of new gear that should help us move around undetected.”
“What exactly did you make?” Ethan asked.
“I fabricated stealth cloaks for everyone. Michael designed some bugs we can use to easily hack the cameras, and Lily created some scrambler bombs.”
“Scrambler bombs?” Jude asked with a frown.
“Since I’m not an expert hacker, I decided to go with something a bit more brute force,” Lily explained. “When activated, the scrambler will begin broadcasting a shifting mix of signals that will attempt to overwhelm all nearby electronic devices and shut them down with viruses. The bombs themselves are smart enough to adapt to their surroundings and target vulnerabilities, but they’re not precise devices. They’re meant to disrupt surveillance across a wide area, not take out specific cameras or drones. Don’t count on them getting everything or helping much in a fight.”
“What good are they then? Jude asked.
“Use one if you have to make a run for it. It should throw most of the nearby drones into disarray and severely limit their ability to track you. That should buy you enough time to escape their surveillance net.”
Michael gave Lily a thoughtful look. He seemed almost concerned. “Those do sound like… useful devices. I’m curious as to how you came up with them, since in your own words, you’re not much of a hacker.”
Lily shrugged. “I found some blueprints a while back. I collect all sorts of odd stuff.”
Michael seemed like he wanted to question Lily some more, but Jude had other ideas. She energetically punched her open palm and stepped forward. “All right, it sounds like we don’t need to worry about being so sneaky anymore. So let’s get out there and take what we need! I’m sick of hiding.”
Sighing, Michael turned to look at her. “We still need a plan of action.”
“We can’t be the only players who have made it this far. Somebody out there must know what is going on,” Ethan mused aloud.
Michael nodded. “I’ve seen traces of other players but never more than glimpses.”
“Oh, like what?”
“Some of the cameras I’ve scattered about go down unexpectedly or distortions appear on the feed, as if someone in a stealth cloak passed by. I even have one clip of a player running past, although I lost him after that. All the other players who have made it this far are being as careful as us, which makes sense considering how this floor is structured.”
“Which means it will be hard to find other players and get answers out of them, if they even know anything,” Lily said.
Jude gave everyone else a disapproving scowl. “You all know what our next move should be. You’re just too afraid to say it. We’ve all explored the underground and found nothing important, so the obvious thing to do now is to go up into the city.”
Kyle grimaced. “I’ve actually been up there a few times. The surveillance down here is nothing compared to what’s going on above ground. There are drones everywhere, both the humanoid ones and the flying ones. I’ve even seen what I can only describe as gunships flying around off in the distance.”
“But the city is the only place left to go,” Jude replied sharply. “I mean, have you seen those towers? They aren’t subtle. The big one in the center of the city is obviously the way to the next floor. You’d have to be stupid to miss it. The way up on the last floor was also a tower that rose into the sky, remember?”
Michael sighed. “You’re not wrong, but we need to be very careful. One wrong move up there will get us eliminated.”
“This is a competition, remember? We can’t afford to sit around. We should be headed over to explore that tower right now,” Jude replied crossly.
“I have to agree with her about that. We’re aiming for the prize, so we need to keep climbing,” Kyle remarked with a shrug of his shoulders.
Michael frowned and gave Jude a thoughtful look. He seemed unusually unsure of what to do and almost suspicious of her. After a few seconds had passed, he let out a sigh. “All right, you have a point. There’s really no benefit in sulking down here any longer.”
“It’s time,” Lily said in agreement as she turned toward Ethan. She didn’t seem happy about it though. There was a worried frown on her face.
“We can handle it. Just count on me,” Ethan said in an attempt to cheer her up.
Jude laughed. “Right, as if. Both of you should just stay behind me and my big gun.”
Lily smiled, but she still seemed upset by something, even if she was trying to hide it. Frowning, Ethan looked around. All his teammates seemed to be in an odd mood all of a sudden. Weird. Was he missing something?
Kyle pumped his fist in excitement. “Man, this mission is going to be epic! I wonder what the boss will be like?”
Okay, Kyle was the same as ever. Maybe Ethan was imagining things. He felt a surge of pride as he studied his teammates. Together, they’d overcome a lot to reach this floor. Now, they were actually in the running for the grand prize, enough money for them all to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.
Ethan coughed to get everyone’s attention and smiled confidently once they looked his way. “Hey, I just want to thank you guys. Honestly, I never expected to get this far, and the only reason I have is because we’ve got a great team. Working together, I have no doubt we’ll beat this floor like all the others and stomp everyone who gets in our way!”
“Onward to victory!” Kyle laughed as he raised a fist, and everyone else quickly joined in the cheer, even Michael and Jude.
With hands raised, the players grinned at each other and contemplated what was to come.
CHAPTER 29
ONWARD
It didn’t take Ethan’s team long to get everything organized for their next mission. They’d already used their new production facility to produce everything they’d need to go out into the tunnels and the city above. Thus, the players were soon assembled at the entrance to their base and ready to move out. Each of them was wearing a stealth cloak over their armor. The cloaks shimmered as they changed color to blend in with the surroundings.
“All right, I already have bugs on all the cameras outside our base, so you don’t need to worry about them,” Michael explained to his allies. “I’ll feed them a loop as we pass, so we should be able to make it to the stairs and up to the surface without a problem.”
“And what about when we’re up there?” Ethan asked.
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Michael shrugged. “We’ll have to move carefully and make sure we aren’t sighted.”
There wasn’t much more to say, so Kyle stepped through the door first and led the way. He was the only one of the group who had explored the city above at all, and he was a good point man anyway. Ethan took up position at the rear of the group, behind Lily, as they exited their base and moved into the passages. As expected, they didn’t encounter any trouble at first and were able to move at a quick pace.
It was only after they neared their destination when they encountered a droid patrol. Hearing something, Kyle stopped the group and peered around a nearby corner. He then quickly signaled for everyone to hide. Thankfully, there was a clump of pipes nearby. Hugging his stealth cloak tightly, Ethan hurried toward them and crouched behind the widest pipe. His teammates took up position nearby.
Within a few seconds, a group of seven humanoid robots turned the corner and walked past. There was a small round hover drone flying above them, and each of the droids was carrying a large pistol or a rifle. The red lights that served as their eyes glowed as they swiveled their heads in search of trespassers, but they looked right past the hidden players and walked out of sight. Ethan let out a deep relieved breath when they were gone.
“All right, it’s clear now,” Kyle said as he left his hiding place.
They continued on, and the team of players reached the location of the stairs without running into any more droids. The way up was located in a square room with concrete walls. The stairs ran along the far side of the room from the door, and there were two cameras and one humanoid droid inside as well.
“I usually just sneak past that droid, but it might be hard with all of us here,” Kyle remarked as they all peeked in through the door.
Michael nodded. “Give me a moment and I can take out those cameras from here, then you can rush that guard and take him out from behind before he can sound the alarm.”
“You don’t want to try to sneak by?” Ethan asked.
“No, trying to rush things is a bad idea. I’m more worried about what we’ll find above ground,” Michael answered as he released two small bugs.
Worldshift- Virtual Revolution Page 33
