"Deep in enemy territory, a hellish start."
"Help, the density of these red names is giving me trypophobia!"
"If you can't beat them, join them (dog head)."
"Harmonious and friendly Rattle Bowl Street."
"Danger—"
Looking at the screen full of "Danger" characters, the extremely distressed Byte chose to close the map and open his personal panel to see if his randomly assigned ability could save him.
Character Name: Chubby Zaemon
Character Level: 1
He quickly scrolled past the remaining basic stats, dragging all the way down to the skill bar at the very bottom.
Ability: Dynamic Lightwave
Skill Description: A finishing move that can only be activated at the most critical moment.
Ability Review: Coming from "Crayon Shin-chan" yourself, you must know how to use this skill, right?
Byte: ...The viewers, who could also see the panel, burst into laughter.
Some people suggested that Byte open the world channel to see what was happening with the other four, and if they could form a team. Others told him not to be a coward, just go for it, what's there to be afraid of in a game?
Byte felt the comments were right; playing games was about not being a coward. The worst that could happen was a restart. So, he immediately picked up a steel rebar from the ground, deciding to ambush the nearest red-named enemy from behind.
This path wasn't long, but it was enough to leave a deep impression on Byte and the viewers watching the live stream.
Along the way, there was stinking garbage everywhere, as well as plastic sheets supported by wooden sticks. Clearly, these were their tents.
"Seriously, I'm already starting to wonder if there's a contagious disease here." The strong, strange smell rushed into Byte's nose in waves.
The environment here was truly unbelievably bad.
Soon, he reached the vicinity of the closest red-named enemy on the map. He used a plastic sheet as cover and peered at the opponent.
It was a sparsely clothed child, curled up in a plastic 'tent,' with a red ID above his head: Severely Injured Sota.
Sota, who was very alert, had already prepared for battle when he heard footsteps. Sensing someone approaching, he quickly sprang up and pulled a dagger from his pocket, holding it in front of him.
Sota immediately saw the man hiding behind the plastic sheet. It was a rather comical sight; the man seemed to have no accurate perception of his own physique, as his entire body was almost completely exposed, without any combat awareness.
In the past, Sota might have had a chance to fight.
The gap between an adult and a child was not easily overcome, and with his injuries, he couldn't possibly win against the opponent now.
Being flexible and adaptable was always what the orphans of Rattle Bowl Street excelled at.
"This is all my food." After a moment of hesitation, between food and life, Sota chose his life. He put away the dagger he was holding, showed the man his harmlessness, then took out the bread he had hidden in the furthest corner and pushed it outside the 'tent.' After all this, he returned to the innermost part of the 'tent' and curled up.
This series of actions left both Byte and the live stream viewers stunned.
The imagined red-named enemy: fierce and evil, holding a poisonous dagger, and even licking it with a hiss.
The real red-named enemy: weak and fragile, severely injured, disheveled, and automatically surrendering materials.
Looking at the bread Sota had placed outside the 'tent,' Byte silently emerged from behind the plastic sheet.
"Do people often snatch your food?"
The bread looked black, hard, and dirty. If the system hadn't confirmed it was indeed bread, Byte would never have believed it.
Byte's words were met with a bewildered glance from Sota, as if asking why he was stating the obvious.
It was too real.
The NPC named Sota, the complex smell constantly stimulating his sense of smell, the steel rebar in his hand, the feel of the ground beneath his feet.
He could clearly see the dirt on Sota's exposed skin, his hair matted and tangled from not being washed for a long time, the black grime in his fingernails, and the large amount of fresh bloodstains on Sota's clothes.
All of this made Byte once again feel the realism of this game.
"Why don't you leave here and go outside?" Ignoring the frantically scrolling comments, Byte put down the steel rebar he was holding and sat on a relatively clean discarded cardboard box outside the 'tent.'
Sota scoffed, his brown eyes full of sarcasm: "You're from outside, aren't you?"
"Yes, this is my first time here."
Byte's words deepened the sarcastic smile on Sota's lips.
"Give me your jacket in exchange, and I'll tell you why I don't leave."
"Quest Triggered—Sota's Transaction."
"Quest Description: Sota seems to be hiding a secret."
This system prompt woke Byte from the confusion of reality and illusion.
Yes, no matter how real or pitiful the other party seemed, he was just a game NPC.
Encountering a quest, Byte, as a player, certainly wouldn't let it go. He very simply took off the black suit jacket provided by the system and handed it to Sota.
Sota accepted it without ceremony.
"If I leave here, where do I go?" Sota put on the black suit jacket, which was too loose for him. He ignored Byte's hesitant expression and continued, "Here, at least I have a place to live, but what about outside?"
Without much thought, the obvious words blurted out.
"Of course, find an orphanage, find government agencies..." Halfway through his sentence, Byte himself fell silent. If it could be solved, it wouldn't have dragged on until now.
"This is Rattle Bowl Street, a slum. We are abandoned existences." Sota's tone was flat, and not a trace of light could be seen in his eyes, clearly showing he held no expectations for the outside world.
"I advise you, outsider, it's best to leave here quickly." With that, Sota adopted a posture refusing further communication.
"Quest Completed—Sota's Transaction."
"Quest Reward: Experience 2."
"Current Level 1, Experience needed for next level 2/100."
The system's notification sound completely shattered the emotions Byte had just built up.
"Two experience points per quest? Is this game even letting people level up?"
High-Dimensional World Forum.
Someone had already screenshotted Byte's live broadcast from Rattle Bowl Street and posted it online.
1st Floor OP
As shown, what do you all think?
—[Image]—
3rd Floor
Which slum is this? It's 2202, how can there still be such a place?
7th Floor
No way, this environment is too horrifying, isn't it?
24th Floor
Which remote corner is this in the picture? Our special zone couldn't possibly have such a place.
64th Floor OP
A unified explanation: This is a game screenshot from "Dazai Osamu's Trans-Dimensional Plea for Help." The game is really realistic.
I command all of you to follow this game!
For details, you can watch Byte's live stream video.
[Link: World's First Virtual Game Live Stream]
Port Mafia Boss's Office—
This office had a wall that, when powered on, would become a transparent floor-to-ceiling window. Through this window, the entire streetscape of Yokohama could be seen.
At this moment, the boss of the Port Mafia—Mori Ougai—sat on the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window, legs crossed, leisurely looking out. Sunlight streamed through the glass into the room, and Alice's golden hair sparkled in the sun.
There was a subtle sense of warmth in the quiet room.
"Dazai-kun has been absent a lot lately." As if he had admired the view outside enough, he turned his head to look at Dazai, who had been standing in the room's shadows, seemingly merging with the darkness, and complained, "He's always disappearing."
"Did Mr. Mori specifically call me here just for some boring small talk?" The boy, dressed in all black, scrunched up his features, revealing an extremely disgusted expression, and his body recoiled two steps.
"What's with this tone, as if you're concerned about your son!" The moment he spoke, he became vibrant, as if his previous appearance, blending into the air and about to dissipate, had been an illusion.
Dazai's long-unseen liveliness made Mori Ougai raise his eyebrows.
"Did something happy happen?" Mori Ougai carefully observed Dazai, who was much more relaxed than usual.
"Dazai-kun seems to be in a very good mood today."
"Yes, he is." Hearing Mori Ougai's words, Dazai simply gave up on concealing it. A smile curved his lips, and his kite-colored eyes also curved, as if talking to himself, and yet also explaining to Mori Ougai, he whispered, "The day I've been looking forward to is one step closer. Just thinking about it makes me so happy I can't breathe." By the end, Dazai's voice was so low it was almost inaudible, lightly dissipating into the air.
For a moment, the room fell into a brief silence, with only the rustling sound of Alice's crayons and paper as she drew.
"Then congratulations, Dazai-kun." Mori Ougai's soft chuckle broke the somewhat eerie atmosphere in the room. His purplish-red eyes reflected Dazai, who was somewhat lost in thought, having seemingly associated something with the situation.
It wasn't until Dazai left that Mori Ougai straightened the curve of his lips and sighed softly.
"What's wrong, Rintarou?" Alice, who had unknowingly come to stand beside Mori Ougai, tilted her head and asked.
"Sometimes I wonder if I've been pushing Dazai-kun too hard?"