CHAPTER 18

  I should have played more video games.

  “The similarities are, frankly speaking, unbelievable.”

  Mr. PTA Mom was speaking animatedly, very much in his element.

  “It shares so much with typical game tropes that it is hard to ignore. The heroes use monster cores to power up. Basically, the monsters drop loot, and the heroes hunt and harvest it to get stronger. It’s a standard game mechanic.”

  Monster cores? Didn’t that kid call it something else before?

  “What actually is a monster core?”

  “Well, we don’t know. We only know what the heroes tell us. They say they can hear voices that tell them what to do. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but that’s also how it works in games. There is usually a navigator, or helper, that runs new players through the game mechanics, but only the players get that information.”

  This description made me feel a little uncomfortable. It was starting to sound similar to the AI, telling me things that were certainly never programmed into it.

  They said I wasn’t a Hero, though. I didn’t have any reaction at all to that stone.

  “This store, too, didn’t the message at the beginning call this place a ‘Safe Zone’? That’s another common game design mechanism. When the game is too difficult, a safe zone is placed in the field so players can rest and recover their energy. It’s like we are all inside of some kind of game… except we are all just NPCs.”

  “NPCs?”

  “Non player characters. Just like the villagers or other people that the players in a game interact with. No powers, just there to add atmosphere and give quests.”

  Aaand I’m lost.

  “Actually, NPCs have become far more influential in games, especially since AI has been integrated to generate dialogue. It makes it a lot more immersive and realistic.”

  “Uhh”

  “If we are the NPCs, you would be like the shopkeeper, and I… Maybe I would be like a wise librarian or something like that.”

  Stop. Please. He’s doing it again.

  I broke in when he took a breath.

  “But this is real life. Not a game. Why… no, how would real life be just like a computer game?”

  “Oh, yeah. Ah! That’s the thing. This is a key point that we have to incorporate into every game. There needs to be a rational explanation for any special powers. That’s why games have writers. Even mobile games need writers these days. I don’t work with them a lot, but there are two in our company, and we usually contract in some bigger names to put on the marketing.”

  This went on for a while, and I couldn’t follow along with a lot of it, luckily, it eventually came back to the topic I was interested in.

  “It totally makes sense that your store should sell magical items. Especially things like healing potions.”

  “What? Why does that make sense?”

  The geeky man rolled his eyes in a way that made me want to eject him out of the store, cannonball style, like the sumo wrestler had been a few days ago.

  “Because, it’s the way games work. You start off with a basic store, and you only can buy stuff like low-level armor and food. Then, as the Hero gets stronger, the store gets upgraded with more items, healing potions, stronger armor, and crafting materials. The trick is to make sure that everything is done in balance. The items can’t be too powerful, or too expensive, but still need to be useful—”

  I put up my hand to stop the man from droning on.

  “Wanma. What is the store level right now?”

  [Store #11,512 is currently a Tier 2 store.]

  [Progress to Tier 3, 8,832,100/10,000,000]

  I was surprised that the progress counter had gone up so far. It was getting close to Tier 3.

  Well, those groups have been buying up all that expensive camping gear and survival food.

  Mr. PTA Mom was reading off the monitor screen beside me with focused interest.

  “Umm. Wanma?”

  “Yes, how can I assist you?” The AI responded to the man’s interruption.

  “What happens when the store is upgraded?”

  “I’m sorry, customer, store operation inquiries are limited to staff only. I am happy to assist you with any shopping or service questions. Would you like to hear about our promotional products?”

  He had a crestfallen look on his face, then he turned to me with a pleading look.

  “Wanma, what happens when the store is upgraded?”

  [When store #11,512 is upgraded to Tier 3, numerous products, features, and services will be enhanced.]

  I don’t know what’s worse, a customer who talks too much, or a store AI that just spouts useless stuff.

  “What specifically will be enhanced?”

  [Product and service offerings, Facilities improvements, and Promotional benefits.]

  “Like what? Specifically. What products and services?”

  I’m not sure why I was getting irritated. Perhaps I felt like the store AI was being intentionally obtuse.

  [Details of the Tier 3 upgrade will be specified only after the upgrade has been completed to ensure that the enhancements will best meet the needs of the community.]

  “Useless…” I muttered under my breath.

  “Oh! This is great!”

  “What?”

  “This is something we have just recently started to use in fantasy games. AI-generated upgrades that adjust to the individual player’s needs and play style. It’s a lot harder than it sounds, the AI has to take a lot of variables into account, like promotions schedules, updates, global events, and feature enhancements. I was starting to worry that the AI would put me out of a job…”

  He gave me a wistful half-smile, then continued.

  “Guess that doesn’t matter anymore, right? Anyway, the last time the store updated, it gained the ability to restock the shelves when they were just about empty. It also reactivated the ATM. These changes kept the store from losing its usefulness. In fact, it made it practically indispensable. Did anything else change?”

  I thought about it for a minute. I was hesitant to explain my new comfortable bed, considering how hard it was for everyone outside now, but decided I might as well explain it all to this sort-of-expert.

  “Well, the store added a sofa in the back?”

  “A sofa? Like a chair?”

  “It’s a big sofa. Big enough to sleep on.”

  “Why would it… Wait, where have you been sleeping? I forgot you can’t leave the store.”

  “Well, I sleep on the sofa now. I got a sleeping bag and a pillow from the camping goods. Before that… I made a bed out of boxes of supplies.”

  He gave me a look of pity that took me by surprise.

  “No. No. I mean, it’s actually not bad. I feel pretty lucky. After all, I still have water and power, and a working bathroom—“

  “You have a working toilet?”

  He lunged across the counter so fast I almost let out a yelp. I hadn’t exactly kept that a secret. It’s just that no one, including myself, had made that connection.

  “Uhh, yeah.”

  “So… is it—“

  “Sorry, the store won’t allow anyone except employees into the back. Trust me, people have tried, and you know what happens—“

  “Yeah, they get yeeted out into the street. Oh well, I had to ask. Anyway, Ming, I know what it’s like to be isolated. You can always talk to us, right, girls?”

  He turned to call out to the two children who had been staring motionless at the desserts in the cooler display.

  “Saki, Haruhi, what do you say to Big Brother Ming?”

  “Hello, big brother!” Both girls turned and bowed, then immediately spun around again to look at the sweets.

  “Is it really okay for them to be outside?” I asked their father.

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  “Yeah, at least during the day. It’s been weeks since anyone spotted a gob anywhere in the area. They mostly show up around the rivers now. The patrols seem to be working, so during the day at least, people are starting to come out.”

  That would explain the increase in new customers lately. This was the second day in a row that Mr. PTA Mom had brought by their daughters for an outing. They appeared no worse for wear for their experiences so far. They acted like normal children, although during their first visit, they stayed attached to their father the whole time they were in the store.

  “Wait a minute,” I said as I went into the back.

  I came back with a small cooler box. Placing the cooler behind the counter, I opened it up and took out two items.

  “I happened to find these in the back. Do you two know anyone who would like them?” I asked the girls, who turned and approached the counter to see what I was talking about.

  PTA Mom had already shared the girl’s preferences with me, and I expected that they would be back again today, so I special ordered a couple of items.

  In order for new supplies to appear in the delivery room, I had to completely unload everything and either stock it on the shelves, or store it in the back room. If I put anything back into the delivery room, it would disappear. This was how I had figured out how to deal with trash. This had been a much-appreciated discovery.

  The only problem was keeping my personal orders cool if I wanted something I had special ordered. I could, of course, grab anything from the store refrigerators, but only products could be stored there. If I bought anything for myself, I could only leave it in the slightly colder than room temperature back room. The compromise had been to pick up this cheap picnic cooler.

  This, along with an ice pack, kept the fruit sandwich and milk crepe cake slice from melting. The look on the girl’s faces made the effort worth it. I hadn’t seen any young children outside since the earthquake, and almost forgot how adorable children were around sweets.

  To be honest, I wasn’t much of a kid person before. It’s not that I didn’t like them. I just never really noticed them unless they were being annoying. After all the dark thoughts that had crossed my mind in recent weeks, looking at these two innocent sisters in the store was like a palate cleanser, washing away much of the bitterness that had become the dominant flavor of my life, even before the earthquake.

  The looks on their faces were worth the effort and cost. More than worth it.

  “Haru likes foot sammie!” The younger one squealed. She was just over three years old, and could barely walk or talk, but had still made the intimidating journey here.

  How could I resist spoiling these kids?

  The older sister was around seven, and was shy. She didn’t say anything, but I saw her eyes locked onto the cake like a cat about to pounce.

  I nodded to her father, who gave her a nudge.

  “It’s okay. What do you say?”

  I actually saw the older girl gulp, saliva filling her mouth.

  “Can I, really?”

  “Sure, it’s our store’s special service for being brave.”

  “Thank you, big brother Ming!”

  Both kids smiled greedily as they reached for the desserts.

  It felt good to have this normal interaction. I was glad I had given it some thought and prepared for it. I was starting to feel a change in how I viewed the regulars who kept visiting the store. It was a connection I never would have imagined possible before the disaster, one that I hadn’t had with anyone in a very long time.

  “I’ll pay for the desserts.” Mr. PTA Mom said, smiling a huge grin while looking at his girls.

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s the least I can do for all the information and support you guys have been giving me. Without you, I’d have no idea what was going on outside.”

  “No, no. That’s not alright.”

  While the digital wallet used by the family was still quite healthy, and PTA Mom was regularly adding to it from the stores of cash that she found scouting, it was slowly shrinking.

  After the initial rush of purchases, much of the stored currency in the area was quickly converted, which is why the total needed for a level upgrade for the store grew so fast.

  But conversions had been noticeably slower lately, and the purchases more practical and conservative. People were realizing that the money won’t last forever, and we still haven’t heard anything from the National government.

  “Besides, I know you guys have been sharing the money you find with others. Let me do this much at least.”

  He looked unsure, then shook his head.

  “No, how about this? Here.”

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few of the small green pebbles that the sword hero kid had shown me before, monster cores.

  He put them on my palm and closed my hand around them.

  “I’m not sure where it started, but people have started to collect these and use them as a secondary currency. The only ones who can use them are the Heroes, and they don’t need that many, but people keep hoping that they can get powers too, so we started collecting and trading them. For now, we just exchange them for little favors and such. You should keep some, in case you need something to barter with, for your personal needs.”

  Of course, he knew I didn’t make much money. I had complained to his wife about that several times.

  I looked closely at the stones in my hand. Frankly, they looked kind of gross, very organic, like mints that melted in the sun. They were also not very uniform. Some were larger, and the shade of green varied from dark green, to almost black.

  “Really? You sure they aren’t worth much?”

  “Nah, we have buckets of them now. The heroes don’t even bother collecting them anymore, so the others are picking them up.”

  It seemed harmless enough, though I now desperately wanted to wash my hands. I’d give these things a good wash too, noting where they came from. I had to find out where that other one rolled off to. I never found it, despite cleaning the whole store several times since then.

  I watched the family as they left the store and walked back toward their apartment. Things did seem quite safe now, but they lived several blocks away, and I couldn’t help but feel protective of the little girls.

  The two sisters held hands as they walked, while their father was on guard, holding the aluminum baseball bat that he had previously used as a walking stick. His limp was barely noticeable now, but I felt a pang of concern. I watched them until they passed beyond the view of the front window.

  I need to ask PTA Mom what else the girls like.

  It was starting to get dark, so I was getting ready to start another long and quiet night shift when I heard the door chime.

  BING BONG

  Oh crap. Not this again.

  The doors were completely obscured behind the bulk of the giant meat bun shaped man.

  “Hey, asshole. I’m here for my cigs.”

  He seemed different this time. More confident, less desperate.

  “You better not screw around this time, either.”

  Perfect, Round two, huh?

  “Customer, I need to see your identification in order to sell you any tobacco products.”

  The smirk on his face made me feel uneasy.

  “Lulu, you said you could take care of this punk. Let’s just grab the cigs and get out of here.”

  “What are you even talking about, fatso?”

  The female voice came from behind the wall of a man, bringing a scowl to his face.

  “You said—“

  “I said, we can get the cigarettes. That’s it. And stop calling me Lulu, fatso. I hate these stupid codenames.”

  A young woman stepped out from behind the man. He was so large that I had no idea that a second person had entered the store.

  The appearances of the pair could not be more contrasting. He was a 250kg blob wearing a worn out red and white tracksuit with patches holding the strained fabric together.

  The woman was dressed in hiking boots, what looked like a high school uniform pleated skirt, a black hoodie, with the hood covering her head, and a pink mask over her mouth. The only thing I could make out from her features was the cold look in her eyes.

  “Let’s just get them and go. We’re going to be late. Just remember, you promised to cover Green Park for me next week.” The woman warned, then stood directly in front of the counter.

  “Cigarettes. Two packs.”

  “Ehem. Certainly, Customer. Which—“

  “Hey! Fatso. What brand?”

  “…Golden Rats.” He growled back with murder in his eyes.

  “What? Who the hell smokes those cheap trash sticks?” She spun around to berate her companion.

  “Don’t those things have asbestos in them or something? Can’t you at least smoke something normal? No wonder you always stink like burning gobs.”

  “I’ve always smoked those. I like them, okay? I’m used to em. Who cares? Just get them like you promised.”

  “Cheap son of a…” She muttered under her breath.

  His eyes were glowing now, and it was truly frightening seeing the effect this close up. It was like his eyeballs were replaced with LED lights, shining white light that made the skin around his eyes glow red.

  Suddenly, the temperature in the room went up a couple of degrees. The woman had raised her arm, and above her outstretched hand a ball of fire, about the size of a baseball, appeared.

  The ball spun around slowly, and radiated heat so strong that I could feel it from the other side of the counter.

  “Chill out and shut up. We don’t have time for your whining. You don’t want any more of this, do you?”

  Immediately, the light disappeared from his eyes, and the blood seemed to run from his face.

  Just like that, the ball of fire disappeared into a small puff of smoke. As she spun back around to face me again, I thought there was still a dull glow behind her eyes.

  Crap. Dammit. Another one? I don’t need this. What is with all of these weirdos?

  “You heard the pig. Golden Rats, that’s number 4. Two packs.”

  “Uhh. One moment.”

  I reached up and pulled two packs of cigarettes from the top row of the wall display. These were old classic ones that you lit with a match or a lighter, not the ones that used electric heaters to slowly heat the tobacco into a vapor.

  I had sold a lot of the small heating devices lately, since all the old ones had completely stopped working after the disaster. The replacement ones needed to be periodically recharged, however, which required one of the rental power banks. Because of this, traditional smokes were coming back in style.

  “Umm. Customer, in order to sell any… I need to see your identificat—”

  “No, you don’t.”

  Oh crap.

  I said a silent prayer that the store’s defenses would kick in before she fried me on the spot.

  “Customer… The sale of tobacco—“

  “No, it doesn’t.”

  “Customer, please understand—“

  “Just ring it up.”

  “Customer… In order—“

  “Ring it up.”

  She spoke with an annoyed clip in her voice, and I could see the glow in her eyes start to brighten.

  Damned stupid dog! Just kick them out already? What are you waiting for?

  I sighed, then picked up the first pack and scanned it in, then added the second one to the transaction.

  “Customer, in order to sell any tobacco products, I need to see your identification for age verification.”

  The warning screen had popped up on the register, and I knew that regardless of what I did, the sale would not be completed until I verified the customer’s age. Even if I wante—

  The woman suddenly lunged toward me, and I stepped back defensively, but instead of grabbing me or striking at me, she just bent over so that she could see the main register monitor.

  I froze, waiting for the store to throw them both out, but nothing happened. Instead, she reached out and punched several buttons on the screen.

  I watched her select alternative authentication methods. I had used this before to verify using a passport of an overseas tourist, but it was even more of a pain, requiring scanning the document in for verification.

  Instead of starting the verification, she punched a button I had seen before, but had no idea what it was for.

  [TASPO]

  Immediately, a warning appeared on the screen.

  [TASPO verification is no longer available.]

  What the hell is going on?

  I was still frozen, waiting for the store to do something, but it appeared that unless she made contact with me, or damaged the store, the AI was content to let her do what she wanted.

  The only option left on the screen was to cancel, but instead she hit the greyed-out box for verify.

  Tap

  Nothing happened.

  Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap

  “Umm, customer? If you could pl—“

  Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap

  Tap Tap

  Tap

  The machine beeped, and the screen changed to the payment screen.

  “The fu…“

  I barely managed to stop myself before I got a penalty.

  “Done. Now, can we get out of here?”

  Without another word, she turned and walked out of the store.

  Both I and the fat Hero watched as she strolled outside. Then the man slowly turned and grinned at me.

  “Ha! Now there’s no problem, right?” He said, grabbing the packs off the counter.

  “Umm, Customer?”

  He turned back with a snarl on his lips.

  “WHAT?”

  “That will be nine hundred and fifty-four yen.”

  His eyes bulged, then with an angry glare, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a wrinkled and dirty thousand-yen bill and threw it on the counter.

  By the time I flattened out the bill on the counter, he was gone.

  “Thank you for shopping at One Mart!”

  Ass!

  I quickly rang up the sale, and was about to report the overpayment when I noticed a series of new alerts at the top of the screen.

  [Alert! Unauthorized access to Store #11,512 systems detected]

  [Exception: Inactive employee access confirmed]

  [Override: Temporary access allowed. Please reactivate employee status to return to active status]

  [Alert: Regular Employee: Sagesua, Kaho (inactive) detected]

  [Would you like to reactivate employment status for Employee: Saegusa, Kaho? Y/N]

  [Notice: If Employee: Saegusa, Kaho, becomes the attendee of Store #11,512 status, additional upgrades will be immediately available]

  〔 End of Part One 〕