Volume 1 - Chapter 13

Mia Haoyu

Mia Haoyu and I looked each other over for a long minute.

Our conversation was already going off the rails.

I held up my hands in a placating gesture. "Fair enough. I was just making conversation. I didn't think the NPC could have missions for multiple players."

It was Mia's turn to be dumbfounded. "What? Why? Have you never played games before? There's probably a million missions in this game all interconnected with each other. There's only so many NPCs they can assign missions too, genius boy."

Her attitude was already getting on my nerves. She wasn't as bad as Stalvek, but it was obvious Mia didn't think I knew anything about games.

I'd never been the best gamer, but I understood enough to get by. I’d created some of the best cities in the Skylines Builder and I had a sweet No Man’s Air character, but those were both sandbox games.

All these players were acting the same. They were all in a rush to fight each other and prove themselves, just to garner attention for invisible cameras. They’d fallen into the influencer drama trap, in my opinion.

I had just met Mia, and she was calling me by some stupid nickname. Likely to try and set herself apart from the competition, even if just psychologically.

My first impression of Mia wasn't a good one.

"I meant the same mission," I clarified, "you're obviously not doing the same story I am.”

Mia's eyes narrowed again. "That's true. Are you aligned with The Green Fists or not? That might really make the difference whether I tell you more than I already have. It seems like being on different sides in this game is going to be a big deal, and you might be my enemy."

I hesitated for a moment, considering how much to reveal. Once again, this whole choosing sides thing had come back around.

It was no wonder why she was acting so guarded.

Deciding not to lie, I said, "I have an arrangement with them for a mission, but I haven't picked a side yet. If I'm being honest, I probably won't. I might try to make my own path."

She seemed to study me closely, as if weighing the truth of my words. After a tense pause, she gave me a nod. "Alright, then."

There was a brief silence between us as tensions eased. I decided to try a different approach. "Listen, maybe we can help each other out here. An information trade of sorts?"

I judged by her reaction that she was interested, and then wondered if my Negotiator talent influenced other players.

How the NPCs deciphered conversations didn't make sense to me. I wasn't even about to try and understand real players. I could hardly do that in the real world.

Mia raised an eyebrow, looking intrigued. Despite her guarded demeanor I could tell she wasn't completely against the idea.

"I'm listening."

"Well, you found this place, and you mentioned it's not the first part? Maybe I know where the other place is and I can point you in the right direction."

She considered this for a moment, chewing on her lower lip. Mia was acting like telling me what this place was might give away something important.

Finally, she gave a small sigh. "I suppose it can't hurt, yet. We can't fight each other until level three, so don't get any ideas about following me around!"

I shook my head, having not even considered that. Mia was really taking the game serious.

That guy Stalvek had been far too serious as well. I knew they were playing parts for their audiences, and trying to get as far as they possibly could, but in the end, it was just a game.

She said, "I need to find a place called Lantern's Pharmacy."

I frowned, the name not ringing any bells. "Lantern's Pharmacy? Well, damn, I can't say I've seen that one, and I've walked all up and down Whitaker."

Mia shrugged, looking like time had been wasted. "It's fine, I can find it on my own."

"Alright, I'll be quick then, and maybe you can help me out," I said. "I'm looking for a police station around here. Have you seen one nearby?"

To my surprise, Mia let out a short laugh. "A police department? In this part of the city? Are you crazy!?"

I cracked a smile at her amusement. "I guess that's a no then?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

She shook her head, still grinning. "Not a chance, genius boy. The law doesn't do anything around here!"

We shared a laugh at our failed attempts to help each other. In that moment, the tension between us dissipated, replaced by a shared understanding of the harsh realities we found ourselves in.

"Well, my mission does say there's one around here," I finally said, "even if we don't believe it."

Mia nodded. "I bet it's some tiny place tucked away between a bunch of abandoned stores."

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Well I should get going," Mia said, once our laughter subsided. Her tone and demeanor had shifted to one of a good nature. “Good luck out here... you're going to need it, genius boy."

With a parting nod, she turned and headed off down the street. I stood there, not really knowing what to say or do for a minute.

Mia Haoyu was only the second player I'd talked to in the game. She hadn't been all that kind to me at first, and she had even started calling me genius boy.

It seemed as though I'd already made one enemy in Stalvek, and I might never see Mia again. Who knew? It was a big game with tons of world to explore and many other players.

I figured I might as well start my search for the police station by walking down Whitaker Street, since it seemed like the main drag through this area.

With a small shrug to myself, I walked in the same direction Mia had run.

The sidewalks were cracked and uneven in places, weeds poking up through the concrete. A few old cars lined the street, most of them looking rusted out with flat tires.

Brush-painted graffiti covered nearly every available surface on the buildings. Some of it looked decipherable but I had no way of knowing for sure.

My mini-map showed a smattering of light grey dots, indicating the NPCs going about their business.

A couple walked together down the sidewalk ahead of me, their names hovering above their heads: Roger and Janice.

A group loitered outside a dilapidated storefront, the words Vinnie's Bar barely visible on the sign.

As I passed by, I glanced at the dark grey squares on my mini-map, each one representing a business or building of some kind.

I noticed O’Malley’s, Tony's Machine Shop, and Mike's Pawn & Jewelry. It was nice having the map, and I knew I had made the right choice with my first talent selection.

After a couple blocks, Whitaker Street intersected with another road called Jameson Avenue.

The buildings lining Jameson were just as run-down, but the vibe was different. It somehow looked far more dangerous than what I had already seen, with no street lamps, greenery, or signs of life.

As I continued, there were few businesses marked on my map, just a couple clusters of NPC dots inside some of the structures. I could hear muted talking from within, but the characters were too far away for me to understand them clearly.

I kept walking, passing the street. Up ahead, Whitaker met another intersection, this one being Gannon Boulevard. In contrast, Gannon seemed lively.

There were some open businesses marked, such as Park’s Dresser, The Tipsy Pig bar, and a place called Lady's Choice with a neon silhouette in the window.

Clusters of NPCs crowded the sidewalks and spilled out of the establishments. Raucous laughter and loud conversations filled the air.

Neither of the cross-streets looked particularly inviting to me, so I continued down Whitaker, keeping an eye out for any signs of a police station.

I had had no luck yet, and most of what I'd just found probably wouldn't come in handy anytime soon.

Walking for at least half an hour, I realized just how big the game was. Sure, I'd considered it, but all this walking and I was still in the heart of The Grims.

Out of curiosity I looked at my mission for exploring Grimsborough Heights and saw that it was only at 17.6%. I still had a long ways to go.

I'd also barely seen any other players for a while. If my previous rough math had been correct, this was just one of at least a dozen different districts.

A couple blocks further, I caught a glimpse of the street name Superior Boulevard.

That rang a bell. One of the missions mentioned that Stalvek Dyomin had been seen near an apartment building on Superior. I frowned, trying to remember the details. It came back to me before I had to open my mission screen.

The Bleeker Building.

My curiosity piqued, I decided to head down Superior Boulevard and have a look around. If I didn't spot any signs of law enforcement, at least I could try to find that tall brick building.

I turned down Superior Boulevard and found much the same scenery as everywhere else in Grimsborough Heights.

The heat was oppressive, but I had things to accomplish. I couldn't let some sweat get in the way of my progress.

The Grims was falling to pieces. Rubble from buildings that had caved in littered the sidewalks. The burnt-out husks of brick structures remained abandoned years after going up in flames.

Brush painted graffiti was scrawled across every available surface. What words and images I could read were crude and obscene. Piles of trash spilled out from shadowy alleys, attracting rats that skittered away as I passed.

Another group of NPCs huddled together, their tattered clothes and sunken faces a picture of abject poverty. Names like Crooked Chris and Weedy Wendy hovered above them.

Their names were a little tacky, but I remembered it was just a game, after all. Some of the things in the game didn’t actually exist in the 1920s, so I had already seen where the developers took liberties.

I averted my eyes from some of the NPCs, suddenly feeling like an intruder in their personal hell. The smell of burning garbage and other foul odors assaulted my senses.

Further down the block, an old brick building had partially collapsed, rubble strewn across the sidewalk. I had to step into the street to get around the obstruction.

Some blue player names bobbed in the distance, but they never came close enough to show up on my mini-map or for me to read their names.

Occasionally a vehicle bumbled by on the streets, the machines narrowly missing one another as they passed. Very few cars were parked in the neighborhood I walked, and the ones that did barely seemed valuable.

The air seemed to press down on me, thick with hopelessness and the stench of urban rot. I found myself glancing over my shoulder more frequently, my heart rate elevated.

Even though I wasn’t afraid of being attacked by other players yet, every shadow looked like a threat was hiding there.

I was in a place that looked like the blown up warzone of a European city during World War Two, only that hadn't happened yet in this fictional world.

This place was the antithesis of anything I'd ever known. An open wound of poverty, addiction, and crime festering in the heart of the city.

I couldn't fathom how people could allow such misery to exist right in their backyards.

The gangs were responsible for this. It was obvious as day. Everywhere I walked in Grimsborough Heights, it was clear this business they were up to had destroyed the very fabric of society.

I wondered if I could reshape my storyline to do something about this. I didn't want to pick the side of The Green Fists or The Cortez Family or The Borrell Family.

Seeing the results of their management told me all I needed to know. It would be cool if someone came through and wiped them from existence.

Up ahead, towering over the surrounding wreckage like an ominous sentinel, I spotted what could only be The Bleeker Building.

The red brick structure was taller than every other building in the area, standing at what looked like ten stories.