The Virtual Mass Murder

Prologue

Prologue

“What’s up, guys?” Manabe greets us as he enters the coffee shop. Akie trails behind him, looking a bit nervous. “I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you guys beforehand that we would like to come to see you in the coffee shop this weekend. But Manabe stopped me, saying that it would be epic to barge into the coffee shop unannounced. He wanted to catch you slacking off during work,” she says to us with fidgeting fingers.

I let out a loud sigh after hearing Akie’s explanation. “Now that you’re already here, what do you think about us then? Do we look like we’re slacking off to you?” Manabe chuckles at me as he and Akie take a seat at the counter. “It seems like you’re not fooling around here. You do have so many customers coming here even during the weekend. I thought that the coffee shop is only busy during weekdays.”

Dad who has been hearing our exchange all this time shakes his head, chuckling. “I wish that’s the case, kid. But it’s too bad that the coffee shop is bustling with people pretty much all the time. And it’s even more when we introduced a brand new coffee to our menu. Hayato and I can manage the coffee shop ourselves during weekdays. But we need extra help to manage the coffee shop during the weekend.”

Akie’s eyes are brimming when dad mentions a new addition to our existing menu. “What kind of coffee is that? Can I have it now?” Dad smiles as he looks at her. “Sure, you can. It’s a pumpkin spice latte. Would you like to have that?” Akie nods her head in excitement. “I’d like to have that as well,” Manabe says to dad. He seems curious about our new menu too. Dad then asks Hayato to make two pumpkin spice lattes for both of them. I can tell how eager Akie is to give our new menu a try since she takes a sip right away when dad serves her the drink.

Yuuto stands not far from Manabe, looking straight at him. “What brings you here today? It doesn’t look to me that you’re here to have a pumpkin spice latte. I won’t lie that our pumpkin spice latte is to die for just like our regular black coffee. But I’m sure that you have a far more reason to be here.” I nod my head, agreeing with Yuuto. There must be a reason why Manabe is here. And Akie is only tagging along with him, not knowing why they’re here in the first place.

Before Manabe can say anything, Mr. Sakakibara enters the coffee shop and takes a seat at his usual spot. He seems surprised when he sees Manabe and Akie at the counter. “Guys, meet Mr. Azuma Uehara. He’s the owner of the bar next to our coffee shop. He always has his coffee here first before he opens the bar,” dad introduces Mr. Sakakibara to Manabe and Akie. He then orders Hayato to make another pumpkin spice latte for Mr. Sakakibara.

“Nice to meet you,” Mr. Sakakibara greets them. Many of our customers who are also regulars at Mr. Sakakibara’s bar know him as Azuma Uehara. That’s the alias Mr. Sakakibara is using in our current mission. The kanji for Azuma is different than his real name too. But none of them know that Mr. Sakakibara is from Special Activities Division in PSIA. He’s only using his bar as a front to gather intelligence for our current mission. And that mission is to track down our target, Satoru Yuuya, and arrest him.

Dad has his own alias for this mission too. Among the customers, people know him as Akira Kimizuki. Like Mr. Sakakibara, he’s also using the coffee shop as a front to gather information to track down Satoru Yuuya. The only reason why he sticks with using our family name is that the mission involves Yuuto and me. Both Yuuto and I are PSIA agents who work under dad’s supervision. After all, dad is the head of the Special Activities Division. And Mr. Sakakibara is the second-in-command for that division.

Manabe and Akie greet Mr. Sakakibara back. “You must be Manabe and Akie then. They talk a lot about you two,” Mr. Sakakibara says to them as he’s reaching out for his cigarette pack in his pocket. Manabe’s and Akie’s cheeks flush when they find out how much we talk about them to Mr. Sakakibara. “Well, I didn’t expect that they would tell you about us this much,” Akie says to him while looking at me.

I turn away from Akie with a sheepish smile. “Of course, we talk a lot about you two. You’re our close friends. It’s nothing strange about that, right?” I say to her, trying to look composed. I then turn to Manabe. “So, what brings you here? You have yet to tell us why you’re here in the first place. I’m sure that you’re not here to check on us and also to drink pumpkin spice latte. I bet that you have something that you want to tell us.”

Manabe takes a sip as he’s about to tell us about his purpose for being here. “You’re right about that. I’m here because there’s something that I’d like to discuss with you. I want to talk about it during the weekend since it’s going to be a long discussion. I don’t think we have enough time to talk about it during lunchtime at school. Sure, we can talk about it online. But I prefer to talk to you about it in person.”

Yuuto and I become intrigued by what Manabe is saying to us. “Please don’t say that you got yourself into trouble or something,” Yuuto says to him. Manabe turns to Yuuto with a scowl. “Of course not, I’m here because you told me that you already have a computer for each of you. And you also told me that you just started playing Fatal Bullet.” Manabe pauses for a moment before he continues. “I was thinking about asking you to join me to take part in the regional Fatal Cup tournament this winter.”

Akie turns to me when she finds out that Yuuto and I already have our own computer in our room. And not only that, but we have a VR headset for each of us too. “Wow, both of you now already have a computer of your own? It looks like the coffee shop business is making a windfall, huh?” She says to me. I only chuckle at her remark. “Yup,” I say, “Dad rewards us as a token of gratitude for helping him in the coffee shop.”

Well, the truth is dad doesn’t buy the computers and the VR headsets as a reward for us. He happened to get them from PSIA. At that time, PSIA was in the middle of replacing their computers with a higher spec. Since these computers and the VR headsets were still in great shape, dad decided to bring them home. But he could only do that after he received the clearance from DS&T, though. It’s an acronym for Directorate of Science and Technology.

It wasn’t easy to get a clearance for these items despite dad being the head of the Special Activities Division. And even after that, he still had to do another round of inspection. He had to be sure that these things wouldn’t have anything that could hamper our current mission. It took us a while to get our computers and also the VR headsets. But it’s all worth the wait since now we have the chance to play Fatal Bullet.

Sure, the computers that we got were an old batch. But the computers’ spec was perfect enough to run Fatal Bullet without a glitch. For us, that was the most important part. After all, the game has a high spec even though it’s a free-to-play online action game. We also had the chat app, Unplugged, running while we played the game. To our amazement, the game was able to run smoothly despite having so many apps running in the background. What’s more, these apps are resource-intensive apps too. The computers passed with flying colors.

“Fatal Bullet? Is it some kind of online game or something? What kind of game is that?” Mr. Sakakibara asks us as he starts to light up his cigarette. Manabe nods his head. “Yup, it’s a free-to-play online game that you can download at Vapor. It’s one of the most popular free-to-play military action games to date. Just to let you know that Vapor is an online marketplace for video games. You can get all sorts of games there, ranging from free to paid games.”

It’s understandable why Fatal Bullet is all in the rage today. Many people love the game not only because of its amazing graphic. But the missions in the game imitate the real world too. Even many game critics praise the game for the same reason. The game also has won many high prestige game awards. That makes Fatal Bullet a force to reckon with even though the game has only been around for about a year.

The game has three different modes. And they are single-player mode, multiplayer mode, and VR multiplayer mode. In multiplayer mode, there’s a multiplayer co-op mode and multiplayer versus mode. The multiplayer co-op mode allows us to team up with another player to complete the mission. And the multiplayer versus mode allows us to fight against another team in the same mission. These options are available in VR multiplayer mode as well.

Yuuto and I prefer to play the game in single-player mode. But we also play the game in multiplayer co-op mode when we have a hard time completing the mission on our own. We never play the game in VR multiplayer mode since we have no interest in playing the game in the virtual world. But it looks like we may have to do that if we’re going to take part in the regional Fatal Cup tournament this winter.

Many people who are playing the game are so looking forward to the Fatal Cup tournament. After all, it’s the first official tournament for Fatal Bullet. And the fact that the prize money for the tournament is 1.3 billion yen gets many people excited too. Vector One, the developer behind Fatal Bullet, must be raking in the dough, huh? I doubt that they’re able to offer such huge prize money if the game isn’t profitable at all. I was thinking of taking part in this tournament. But I never put much thought into it until Manabe brings this up.

“From what I know, we need to complete five missions in VR multiplayer co-op mode first to qualify for the entry. And we also need to have at least four players in a team. If Touka and I are joining you, then who is the other person? Do you know anyone else who wants to join our team?” Yuuto asks Manabe.

Manabe smirks at us. It seems that he already has everything figured out. “About that, you don’t have to worry,” he says, “The fourth player is right here with us.” Yuuto and I look puzzled as we try to figure out our mysterious fourth player. Akie only giggles when she sees our reaction. “Actually, the fourth player is me,” she says to us. Our eyes are about to pop when we find out that the fourth player happens to be Akie.

“Are you serious about that? I thought that you’re not into this kind of stuff,” I say to her. Akie nods her head. “It’s true that I don’t like to play video games. But Manabe convinces me that I have what it takes to play Fatal Bullet. He’s even willing to train me so then I can be as good as everyone else who has been playing the game for a long time. Besides, I know that you and Yuuto will agree to take part in Fatal Cup. So, I’d like to join the fun too.”

I only smile after hearing Akie’s answer. It’s great to know that she agreed to play the game because Yuuto and I will be playing the game as well. But at the same time, I’m doubtful how long she can last considering that the game can be rough on the beginners. And it doesn’t help that she never plays any other games before that. It’s hard to know what will happen down the road. So, I’m going to keep my fingers crossed for now and hope for the best. Maybe she can be the best player we ever have.

Yuuto then turns to dad. “Can we take part in the tournament too? We promise that we will balance out our study and the work in the coffee shop,” he pleads to dad. I also do the same. Dad only sighs when he sees that both of us are pleading to him with puppy eyes. “Fine, I’ll let you take part in the tournament. But you’d better remember what you promise me. I won’t hesitate to confiscate the computer and the VR headset if you break your promise.”

Akie and I scream when dad gives us permission to join the Fatal Cup. To be honest, I don’t know if we can keep our promise to dad. But I’m sure that we can figure it out no matter how hard the situation is. Manabe smiles, feeling relieved that dad agrees to let us take part in Fatal Cup. But his expression changes not long after that. Sure, he feels relieved that dad allows us to take part in the tournament. But it looks to me that he has something else that is bothering him.

“What’s wrong? I thought that you’re glad that Touka and Yuuto are joining us. Please don’t say that now you can’t play the game anymore because you’re slacking off in your study,” Akie says to Manabe. Well, Akie has the right to be concerned about him. Manabe isn’t the type of person who does well in his study. So, it’s possible that his parents already forbid him from playing the game.

“No, it’s not that,” Manabe says, “It’s just that I heard a disturbing rumor about the game. I’m not sure if I should tell you about the rumor because it sounds ridiculous to me. But I figure that I should let you know about it since we’ll be taking part in the tournament together.” For some reason, I start to feel uneasy even though Manabe has yet to tell us anything about the rumor. But judging from his expression, the rumor must be so unsettling to him.

Akie sighs when she hears Manabe’s answer. “If you’re that worried, then you should tell us about the rumor. How bad can it be, right?” Manabe bites his lower lip, still hesitating to tell us about the rumor. He begins to tell us about it not long after that. “Well, there’s a rumor that has been floating around in the Fatal Bullet fan community. Nobody knows about the origin of the rumor. But it has been spreading like a wildfire for the last couple of weeks.”

Manabe pauses for a moment before he continues. “The rumor says that when you die in the game while playing the game in VR multiplayer mode, you’ll also die in real life.” Our eyes widen when we hear about the rumor. I can’t help but feel that Satoru Yuuya must be behind all this. It may seem impossible to kill someone in the virtual environment. But that’s a child’s play for someone like him. I bet that he must be the one who is spreading the rumor in the Fatal Bullet fan community too.

I bite my lower lip. My hands turn into fists, shaken by what I just heard from Manabe. Yuuto is just as surprised as I am. But somehow, he managed to hide his surprised look from everyone else. Same goes for dad and Mr. Sakakibara too. They seem calm when they hear about the rumor. “That sounds too good to be true. What do people think about the rumor? Do they think it’s possible to do such things in the VR environment?” Dad asks Manabe.

He only shakes his head. “Well, it was a heated discussion in pretty much all Fatal Bullet fan communities. But as far as I can tell, many of them find the rumor to be baseless. It sounds like they’re coming straight out of the science fiction movie. And I agree with them. Even if it’s doable, it’s still not going to be easy for the murderer to make the victims die at the precise moment.”

Mr. Sakakibara takes a puff as he’s about to say something to us. “Well, the murderer can still kill the target in real life if he’s close enough to the target. But it’s not something that can be done by one person alone, though. You need two people to pull a trick like this. One person has to kill the target in the game and another person will have to kill the target in real life. It’s not the best solution. But it does get things done just like what the rumor says.”

Dad nods his head, agreeing with Mr. Sakakibara’s assessment. “If the rumor is true, then there’s a high chance that the murderer already sets his targets from the beginning. And it doesn’t help that we don’t even know the criterion for these targets. We will only know about it once the murder takes place. Even if it does, nobody will connect the target’s death with the rumor that has been circulating around.”

Akie’s face turns pale as she listens to Mr. Sakakibara’s and dad’s discussion about the rumor. “But what if the murderer is targeting random people? Isn’t that always the case for serial killers?” Mr. Sakakibara shakes his head. “Nope, it does look like a random target on the surface. But the truth is the murderer already has a specific target in mind. We can only go after the murderer once he establishes a killing pattern among the victims.”

Manabe sighs when he sees Akie’s reaction to the rumor. He knows that Yuuto and I can take the rumor, but not Akie. I bet that he already expects that Akie will make a fuss about the rumor no matter how baseless it sounds. But then again, I understand why Akie finds the rumor to be unsettling. She doesn’t want to be one of the victims. And it’s even worse when we have no idea the type of people that will most likely be targeted.

“If you’re that concerned about the rumor, then why don’t you come to my house when we play the game? I even escort you every time you want to come to my house and when you want to go home. That should make you feel at ease, right?” Manabe says to her. Akie’s jaw drops when she hears about what Manabe is suggesting to her. She then turns away from Manabe and blushes after that.

Even Yuuto and I are in disbelief with what we just heard. “What about you? You’re not worried about becoming the serial killer’s possible target?” Akie asks Manabe. She stutters as she asks him. It seems that Manabe’s suggestion must be so surreal for her. Yuuto and I know for a long time that Akie has a crush on Manabe. But she refuses to admit it. And Manabe seems oblivious about her feeling towards him.

Manabe sighs as he looks straight at Akie. “Don’t worry about that,” he says, “I may not know the kind of people that this murderer is targeting. But I’m sure that I’m not the person the murderer will come after. And if something does happen to me for real, I’ll be sure to leave tons of clues behind for Touka and Yuuto to figure out. I’m not sure if you can decode the clues I left behind. But I’m sure that Touka and Yuuto can.”

Akie pouts at Manabe, with her cheeks still looking pink. She doesn’t look too happy when Manabe doesn’t believe that she can figure out the clues that Manabe will leave behind. But she knows well enough that she’s not capable of doing such things. She then nods her head slightly, agreeing with Manabe’s suggestion. Manabe breathes a sigh of relief. He’s glad that Akie is willing to go along with his suggestion.

Akie and Manabe leave the coffee shop after our discussion is over. Once we no longer have the customers in our coffee shop, Yuuto begins to lock the door and flips the closed sign. “What do you think about the rumor? Do you think that Satoru Yuuya is behind this?” Mr. Sakakibara asks dad as he takes a sip. Yuuto and I turn to dad, wondering what he thinks about the rumor.

Dad sighs as he crosses his arms on his chest. “Well, it sure does look like Satoru Yuuya is behind all this. Since we don’t have any more useful leads that we can use to track him down, perhaps we can use this rumor as our next lead. Sure, the rumor doesn’t say much about the people that he’s going after. But I won’t be surprised at all that he’s targeting random people this time rather than someone specific.”

Dad then turns to both of us. “Since you’ll be playing the game, I want you to take note of any abnormalities that you notice when you play the game. I will also ask Chiyo to monitor the situation from the outside during the gameplay. You can use Unplugged to communicate with her during the game. Set the date with her so then she can do the necessary preparation to monitor the game from the outside.”

Mr. Sakakibara takes a sip as he’s about to talk to us. “If it’s true that Satoru Yuuya is behind this, then I’m sure that he’ll leave traces to lure us to him.” Dad nods his head, agreeing with Mr. Sakakibara. “Azuma is right about that. It’s not unusual for Satoru Yuuya to leave an obvious hint to us. Once you find any clues, pull out from the game immediately. We don’t know how this virtual killing works. So, pull out from the game once you sense something is off no matter how subtle it is.”

Yuuto and I nod our heads, understanding what we need to do. To be honest, I was hoping that the rumor that Manabe told us will remain as a rumor. But knowing Satoru Yuuya, I’m sure that he already has his plan set in motion by now. And it won’t be long before we discover our first victim.