Chapter 6 - Friendly Advice

Kazuya lay in his bed, resting on his elbows as he scrolled down through the latest feed on the screen of his laptop. He was hungry for more information on the new machine announced at TechCon. Different supposed "leaks" had popped up online about the product, but the one that seemed the most valid contained the most logical yet unexpected predictions about what Scarlett Online was going to be all about. The most interesting part of the blog post was...

"Scarlett Online is pitched by most speculators to have a groundbreaking story with likeable characters and complex villains in an open, bright, and colorful world of medieval myth and fantasy." Well, while that would be a good thing, it would most surely contradict what the CEO said about the game standing out from the rest of the other games, as they also had all of the aforementioned qualities.

Besides, anonymous leakers from within the company would agree with this, as one source claims that what would make the game beyond interesting and addictive is the fact that it had no central plot or set of characters. The revolutionary thing about the game is that all of its elements will be fabricated from the thickest depths of the player's imagination; in other words, the game would be everything the player wants it to be, so the game's actual content would vary from player to player, satisfying their deepest cravings for what they want a video game's content to be like...

The animated trailer shown at TechCon earlier today was nothing more than a visual showcase of what the machine could accomplish if put to proper use by the player's wild imagination, and it is safe to say that we can expect that what was shown is barely scratching the surface of what players are yet to enjoy from the new Crimson VR.

"The insider who leaked this out for the blog post chooses to remain anonymous, as doing otherwise would surely cost him his job and possibly a few months in prison."

Kazuya read through this part of the blog post over and over again, and no matter how pessimistic he tried to be about the whole thing, he could not help believing it, even though it seemed too good to be true. 

If a machine could do this, then it would revolutionize game development beyond anything anyone in the world could hope for. Now, a game could be fabricated in real time based on what a player wanted at the time.

Buying different genres of games for different occasions wouldn't be a thing anymore, and it felt insane that such a groundbreaking technology would be released in just a month! It was something Kazuya never thought he would be alive to witness, and even at the present moment, he still had his doubts. 

But what should he be skeptical about? Crimson Industries had always been the type to break boundaries when it came to updating their tech products, so if this turns out to be true, he shouldn't be too surprised. In the comment section of the blog post, save for a few hateful comments, he could see that a lot of gamers were pumped and excited about what the company had to offer.

Immediately, he flipped out his phone, texting Neji about what he had just read before sending him the link to the blog post. From the text he received back, it was safe to say his friend shared the same optimism he had about this, even with a slight skepticism.

He dialed Neji's number, but right before he could click the "call" icon on his phone's screen, he got a sudden call from Erika.

"What?" he almost said out loud as he looked at the time, which read "22:46," and he wondered why she was calling him at such an odd hour.

He reluctantly picked up the call, putting the earpiece phone to his left ear. "Hey, Erika? Not to sound weird or anything, but why are you calling me at this time? I thought you were a passionate advocate for an early night. I hope there isn't a problem, is there? "I mean, of course, there is a problem; if not, why would you be calling me at this time?" he said all at once. 

He could hear her sigh through the phone: "You know, sometimes I feel like I barely know you; I mean, sometimes you talk less, other times you talk a lot." Anyway, don't worry; there is no problem yet," she replied.

"What do you mean, 'yet'?" asked Kazuya.

"It's about the VR machine." "You know, the information I got about it from the little meeting I and the other selected journalists had with the CEO?" she replied.

"Oh yes. "On our way back, you said that you didn't want to discuss it but rather keep it confidential until it goes public on your blog post," Kazuya reminded her.

"Yes, and I admit, that was lame. I'm sorry. "Several other blog posts on the internet would have given out the information before I could, so there was no need for me to act, all "classified" about it," she admitted.

"It's okay," Kazuya replied. "So, tell me more about what you found out during the press conference."

"Well, how do I put this... "I don't think buying the new Crimson VR is a great idea," she said to him, knowing how passionate he was about it.

"Look, if this is going to be another long lecture about "how video games are bad for you," then I'll pass, okay?"," Kazuya replied, remembering that they have had conversations like this before.

"No, it's not that, it's just..." "Have you heard of Shockwave Enterprises?" she asked, trying to take another route. The last thing she wanted was for her friends to be using a dangerous machine every day for mental recreation.

"Yeah, I think so, if you mean the company that stopped making hardware and instead focused on making game software in the recent years," Kazuya replied.

"Okay, great! "Do you know the reason why they went out of the hardware business?" she asked.

"Well, I hear it's because their hardware wasn't properly tested, and as a result of that, they were temporarily banned by the government from producing hardware—but where are you going with this?" asked Kazuya, not sure what she was getting at.

"Do you know they are now working in conjunction with Crimson Industries to produce the hardware for the new VR machine?" she asked. 

"No, that's news to me; maybe it was mentioned, but I never got that," he replied. 

"Doesn't that bother you?" she asked. 

"No, not in the slightest," Kazuya replied. 

"Why not? The same company whose products caused multiple gaming-related disorders among players some time ago is now involved in the manufacture of the product you and Neji are about to get for yourselves! "Is that not concerning?" she asked. 

"Well, they are not working as equal partners with Crimson Industries, but underneath them. This means that all of their resources would first be tested and approved by the superior company before getting released to the market. "Kazuya replied, "There is nothing to be worried about, Erika." "Is that all that is bothering you?"

"Well, yes... That's pretty much it," she replied. "Look, man, I'm just looking out for you guys, alright?" Don't take it the wrong way."

"No, it's alright; I understand you," Kazuya replied. "But if it'll make you happy, I promise that I'll look more into it before going ahead and buying the machine." "Would that be fair?"

"Yes, it would." "Thanks" she replied. 

"Alright then, good night," he said to her. 

"Wait! I... I was wondering... I was thinking if we could — "You know," she said, stuttering over the phone so much that Kazuya almost thought that the problem was from the service provider. 

But he knew her better than almost anybody else in the world, or at least had a vague idea of what she was getting at. 

"You want to hang out?" asked Kazuya. 

"Yes," she answered, "but just the two of us."

"Oh, okay, you're still pissed at Neji, aren't you?" he said to her. 

"Does it matter?" Let's just hang out, okay? "Just the two of us," she replied. 

"So be it, then. "Have it your way," he replied. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know... "Where do YOU want to go?" she asked back, causing Kazuya to laugh. 

"It was your idea for us to go out, and yet you do not have a place in mind?" "You're funny, you know that?" he responded. 

"Okay, how about the movies—tomorrow?" she suggested. 

"That's not bad, but there are no major movies debuting tomorrow—or is there one you have in mind?" he asked. 

"No, nothing I know of," she replied, not knowing what to say and wondering what was wrong with herself. 

"Oh well, why don't we just go to the park and have fun with whatever we find, huh?" "What do you say?" he asked. 

"That sounds good to me," she responded. 

"Excellent. "I'll call you tomorrow," he replied. 

"Hey!" she called out to him before he could end the call. 

"What?" he asked. 

"It's a date," she replied boldly. 

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" Kazuya replied with a tone that gave his smile away: "Don't worry, we'll talk more tomorrow, alright?" Sleep tight."

"You too," she replied before ending the call.