'I Gotta Feeling' by 'Black Eyed Peas' played on an antique 2009 MacBook. Matthew lounged on his comfy hammock, studying the holographic interface before him.
The interface displayed a map with marked locations - 'Converted Garage Safehouse, Riviera Stellata (Starlit Riviera), Continental Hammer Gallery, St. Elysium Cathedral, Voile de Velour (Velvet Veil),' and several question marks scattered across the map.
This is how the Exploration mode of the map works. The undiscovered 'Points Of Interest' are marked on the map as question marks (?). Each POI has some kind of connection to the underworld. When Matthew discovers a new location, he gets rewarded with a 'Bonus Cache' containing Creds. Creds are the currency for the System 'Shop.'
Yesterday, Matthew visited 3 POIs - an Auction House, closed at the time, a speakeasy-like bar, also closed in the afternoon, and a Church. He obtained '216 CRD' from it (Randomly between 40 to 100 creds for each discovered location).
Closing the interface, Matthew rose from the hammock. 'Now, where did I keep my phone?' Instead of manually searching for his phone, he activated 'Street Sense.'
Instantly, the world around him turned grayscale from colorful. But, it wasn't fully gray; the knife on his kitchenette softly glowed green, as did some other tools. One of his drawers glowed blue, as did his MacBook, and one part of it glowed silver. His documents emitted a golden glow.
He walked straight to the drawer that glowed blue while turning off street sense. The color instantly returned to the world. Opening the drawer, he took out his phone. Tuesday, May 26, 2009. 7.45 pm.
He got dressed up. Pulled the drawer that glowed silver earlier and grabbed some cash. Pulled on his hood and got out humming to the song he was listening to earlier.
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Matthew stood in front what looked like a car dealership. It was a secluded lot in the heart of The Downtown. Right now it was past 10 PM. Most shops were closed, but this place was buzzing. People moved in and out of the office building.
A neon sign above said "Fritz's Autos" in bright lights. The lot had sleek cars, shining in the dim light. The air felt hush-hush, like a secret club. There were a lot of security cameras which glowed blue in Matthew's street vision.
Some men in sharp suits chatted quietly by the entrance. Matthew noticed a big guy at the door, he was glowing red - A Viable. Inside, soft jazz music played, giving a fancy vibe. The place had an air of secrecy.
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[ New Point Of Interest : 'Fritz's Autos'. 'Fritz's' Autos is now marked on Map ]
[ New Cache : Bonus Cache (Exploration). Opening........ ]
[ Obtained 60 Creds ]
[ Obtained Dossier Item 'Dossier : Fritz Keller' ]
[ 'Dossier : Fritz Keller' will now be available in 'Shop' ]
[ Reward Progress : Unlock Shop - (4/5) POI visited ]
'Well that's new. A Dossier Item, huh? Need to buy from shop...' Matthew pondered. He approached the entrance, but the big guy stopped him.
"Do you belong to the darkness?" he asked coldly.
"No, but I know of the Shadows. They are indeed real." Matthew replied confidently.
The big guy nodded at him curtly and Matthew walked in.
Matthew approached the office and scanned the surroundings. 'Three more Viables, huh? Two of them customers.' Matthew quickly accessed the visible and hidden cameras to hide his face. He approached the only desk in the lobby.
'Not a Viable' Matthew made a mental note, "Hey there, I want a car, practical and reliable" Matthew cut straight to the chase.
There was a young man sitting at the desk. He scrutinized Matthew from head to toe, he could barely see his face through the shadow of the hood Matthew wore, "The Boss isn't here, come back tomorrow." the young man also cut straight to the chase.
"Oh? Why can't 'you' sell me a car?" he stressed the world you.
"The Boss decides which car to sell. *sigh* Why the hell am I even telling you this? just fuck off dude come back tomorrow."
Matthew looked at this guy. He quickly recognized, that this guy, was the kind of person who thought a quarterback was a refund for a faulty toaster. He was not the brightest bulb in the chandelier neither the sharpest tool in the shed. If brains were horsepower, he'd be riding a tricycle in a Formula 1 race. Bless his soul, but he was navigating the sea of wisdom in a leaky canoe.
The First Law of Manipulation - The Law of Bribery -The human heart is greedy and fickle. Always seeking benefits. Bribery - an age old strategy of Getting benefits, by Giving benefits. There is nothing wrong with it. After all, its nature's inclination to give something to get something in return. The difference occurs when you exchange peanuts for gold.
Matthew looked at the young man, and switched to a friendly tone "Hey, come now, help a friend out, will you? I really need a car. Is there a way I can convince you" he said as he put down 10 bills of 50 Alpenas on the counter.
The young man looked at the money on the counter and gulped visibly. He looked at Matthew who had the friendliest of smiles on his face, as if he had all the good will flowing through him like a river of honey.
We have already confirmed that 'help-desk-guy' was not the brightest pixel on the screen. But even he was smart enough to understand what was going on. He quietly pocketed the money and gestured Matthew to follow him.
Matthew's reason behind doing this was, the owner of the dealership was away, so why was the shop still open? The answer was simple, this dealership dealt in something else beside cars. It was clear by the number of Viables in the lobby who were at least at the Adept Level. After all this was a POI and must have a connection to the underworld.
Matthew entered the lot with the 'help-desk-guy'. "These are the cars that the boss was planning to sell." he pointed at a few cars under a neon light.
Matthew activated street sense and something quickly caught his eye. It was a black 'Opel Insignia 2009'. It's trunk was glowing green!