Chapter 25

“Amazing. Absolutely nothing. I really don’t know if I should be delighted or pissed off at such an anti-climactic turn of events.” I heard senpai sighed.

“It is too quiet. Such a thing should make no sense in this place.” The president responded gruffly. “How I despise this world...”

“How much further? We’re close, aren’t we?” Hideyoshi asked while looking around.

“It should only be about 30m from here. And I’m still not detecting anything at all! Good damn, I’m feeling like a real idiot just for checking anymore.” Mitsuhide-senpai laughed. “Hey, maybe we’ll be done with this before night back in Artificial. Ha ha ha!”

“Heh heh...” I found myself laughing along with senpai.

It was strange. The small moment of rest earlier have given me such peace, despite us still traversing this desolated land. I felt calm. The smell of this world was still nauseating, yet it was not choking me anymore.

Of course, I was still uneasy. With every little footstep and flickering of shadows appearing within my sight I could feel my heart jump, as I firmly gripped the coilgun in my hand, but at the same time I felt slightly relaxed. There was now a strange sense of anticipation; to finish our mission and to return, but not like before when I first stepped into this world. It was a much more positive feeling.

I looked over to Hideyoshi and sneaked a glance of him smiling at me.

“Something wrong?” He asked.

“No, nothing.” I smiled back.

“Look at you two, so happy and relaxed. Hey, maybe you could spread some of that joy over to me too. You know, the one having to do the most work in this hellhole?” Senpai snickered.

“Stop being such a prick, senpai. That would be my first advice.” Hideyoshi snapped back.

“Psh, dumb advice.”

“Ah, that reminds me. Senpai, I know this might not be the best time, but could I ask you something?” I suddenly asked.

“You might as well. Heck, we can even just sing some tunes now, cause this has pretty much just became a literal walk in the park. What is it?”

Thinking for a bit, I tried my best to express my curiosity and the question that had lingered in my mind for some time.

“Senpai, I’ve asked about this place, Eden, before, but you and the president told me that you do not know anything. Do you really have no information at all?”

“Huh?” I saw a look of dumbstruck, as if surprise by my sudden questioning of this matter. Scratching his head, it looked as if he was struggling to find a good way to answer me.

“Senpai?”

“Err ... nope, none at all. Hell, we just recently learnt the name of this world from you. Eden, was it?” He chuckled. “Good grief, that Alma person sure has a sense of humor. I can’t tell if it is a hilarious joke, or some terrible irony. Don’t you think so, Kenjirou?”

“Hmph...” The president gave us a grunt in reply without even looking back at us.

“But ... you were able to get information on Artificial. How is it possible you did not find anything at all about this place? It couldn’t be that you never came to this world before, since it seems all of you knew enough to thoroughly prepare yourself for it.”

“Unfortunately, you’re right. We’ve been to these places more times than necessary, that’s for sure.” He sighed. “Isn’t that right, Takuya?”

“More than necessary and it never gets better.” Hideyoshi grumbled.

“Heh heh. Well, to answer your questions, I’m able to get information about Artificial through the electronic networks within the city. I’ve said that enough time to not have to explain how that works, but this place, I’m not able to find anything because there aren’t any networks or terminals I could jump into. In other words, this entire craphole is a deadzone. There is nothing I can do here.”

“Huh?! But what about these streetlamps? There are lights and electricity ... aren’t there?”

Senpai let out another tired sigh, as if it wasn’t the first time he had been asked such a thing.

“The electricity that power those things aren’t the same as an electronic network. I can’t just jump into them, at least not without being killed.” He said in a slightly irritated tone.

“I see...” I replied, a little perplexed. “I don’t really understand but I didn’t know it would be dangerous for you.”

“Think of it like this; in my electronic world, it’s like the streets. The places I could travel through, the network, is the sidewalks, and each device with a terminal and outlet I can enter into is like a store or a building. However, there are also the roads, which is the electrical currents. They move like a nonstop super-fast highway, and if I try to step into it, I’ll get run over and die. At least, if I stay too long without jumping out.”

“How long is too long?” I asked curiously.

“Eh..., less than a blink of an eye. It is electronic waves, so they move instantaneously. Don’t worry too much about it. All you need to know is that, there are places I can go and can’t go. To survive I need devices to jump into, like a cellphone, and I can get hurt as well.” He suddenly started chuckling. “I guess in the end, I’m still human. Ain’t that so, Takuya?”

“You’re such a pain, senpai...” I heard him mumbled.

“Heh heh.”

I thought carefully about what senpai told me. I had figure it was strange that him, being a being of data, would even be possible to feel anything at all or that he was at any risk compared to the rest of us. They told me he was trapped in his own world, yet I had assumed out of all of us, he would have the most freedom not being flesh and blood.

“Senpai, from the way you spoke, you would still be able to move along in this world, although just slightly. For example, a lightning strike or even a small spark of electricity, could still allow you to travel as long as there is someplace connected you can jump to, could you not? Maybe even just a small burst of static as well?” I pondered, a little intrigue.

“Hmm ... I suppose. Never really tried it, since that sounds risky as hell and I would prefer not dying.”

“God forbid you have to worry about risking your life like we do, senpai.” Hideyoshi chuckled.

“I AM risking my life! Just as much as you are.” He snapped back angrily.

“Sure you are. That’s why you installed all of that into your gun. I bet you could watch an entire movie in there.”

“Oh shut up. There isn’t nearly enough space in here. The best I could do is maybe a 20 minutes short video, but even that is pushing it. Then again, like you would know anything about electronical processing or engineering.”

“Try me, Mitsuhide-senpai. I can outperform you within a week.”

“You arrogant piece of shi-”

“Either way,” I quickly intervened. “It does make sense now why the coilgun you gave me have so much components compared to a more simpler one. Not to mention, you’re probably doing a lot of work just running everything and keeping us safe right now. You’re very impressive, senpai.”

“Heh, I am pretty cool aren’t I? Compared to those two, I am the best.” He boasted with his arms crossed, a big grin spread across his face. As he laughed, I heard the sound of groaning from the president and Hideyoshi in response.

“But I still don’t get how you could have no information at all. When we were at that bookstore earlier, you were all surprised that there were even books with contents! There is no doubt that if we searched this place, I’m sure we could find lots of information.” I said eagerly.

“I’m sure we could if we had the same leisure as now, without the worries of being killed by those monsters.” Hideyoshi interjected.

“Ah...” The thought had nearly slipped my mind. “R-right.”

“You really didn’t think the way this place is today is how it normally is, did you?” Senpai laughed. “Unfortunately, all the times we’ve been here, this place was swarming with those damn monsters. They attack anyone they could find, and nobody is safe. Yeah ... nobody was safe...”

Senpai suddenly got quiet, as a sad look sprawled across his face. “Dammit ... why is it like this today? Why couldn’t it have been like this when we were with her?”

“Her?” The sudden mention of somebody piqued my interest. “Whose her?”

“Ah, you wouldn’t know of course. I’m talking about our original club pre-”

“Mitsuhide!” The president interrupted. His sudden voice caused us to jump in surprise, as it nearly echoed throughout the empty ruins. Turning back to us, I saw on his face a look I have never seen before.

“W-what is it Kenjirou?”

“Maybe instead of yapping, you should focus! The same goes for all of you.” He commanded while adjusting his glasses. “Now, how much further are we?”

“We’re already here.”

“Are you sure this is the right location?” The president asked.

“I’m positive. This is the exact coordinates that was given to us from the app.”

“But ... there’s nothing here.” I said.

The coordinate we shortly arrived at was no different from the rest of the areas we’ve been walking through. As we searched around, looking for clues to the reason we were sent here, we found nothing. The same ruined buildings and ominous flickering streetlamps that hung over us, with no sign of life anywhere to be seen.

“This doesn’t make any sense. Takatora, did Alma tell you anything else about what to do when you arrived at this location?” The president asked me, slight wariness in his voice.

“Eh? N-no. All they told me was to go here and that I’ll be given answers.” I replied nervously.

“Then why...?”

“Hmm ... Prez, something is not right.”

We all turned to Hideyoshi. The entire time he had been silent as we were discussing the strangeness of our destination. He was scratching his chin, as if in deep thought.

“What is it Hideyoshi? Do you notice something?” The president asked.

“I’m not entirely sure but, senpai can you do a scan of the surrounding buildings for us? Check for its composition and internal structures.” He suddenly requested.

“Why would I do that?” Senpai snapped but the president glared at him. “Err ... r-right on it!”

“What’s going on? Please tell us.” I asked.

“Take a closer look at these buildings.” He replied as we walked towards an abandon building. “Although from a distance they look the same as the rest of the environment, there’s something strange about them.”

“Really?”

Taking a more careful look at the building, he was right. None of the walls looked like they were melting. In fact, they looked almost brand new.

“These buildings, they’re not the same as the rest we’ve passed by.” The president exclaimed.

“But, how could that be?” I gasped.

BEEP BEEP

“Hey, I’m done with the scanning. I hate to admit it, but seems Takuya was on to something. All the buildings within a 10m radius, they’re hollow!”

“What?”

“Yeah. There is nothing inside them, almost as if they were just giant boxes. I also scanned the elements in them and compared to the rest of the other buildings, none of them match. It’s almost as if we’ve wandered into a whole different world.”

“What does this all mean?” I asked, completely lost.

“It means, this area isn’t a part of the rest of this world.” Hideyoshi explained. “Could it be possible, that this entire area was created by Alma for the sole purpose of meeting us?”

“I see ... but if that was the case, then where are they?” The president pondered.

“Heh, maybe we just have to call them out. You know, a greeting to let them know we’re here.”

“HEY ASSHOLE! WE’RE HERE!” Senpai took a deep breath and shouted.

“Senpai! What are you doing?!” I gasped.

“What? I’m sure the bastard already know we’re here. They could at least have the curtesy to show their faces if they’re to make us wander through this craphole.”

“Mitsuhide, that was a poor choice of decision. We don’t know what awaits us, so it is still best to keep your volume to a minimum.” The president reprimanded.

“What’s there to worry? I have a full diagnostic of this entire area. Nothing can come up to us without triggering my scanner, so we’re as safe as safe can be. If anything, I’m pissed off that I have to strain myself dealing with all this crap, but our VIP still hasn’t shown us their pretty little face yet.”