29 You spoke to me

kiyohira looks around doubtfully. he can't see or hear anyone else other than them. the walls are dusty and full of cobwebs. once or twice, he has heard of mice. haru and iori are showing a brave front, but they are ready to scream and run for the hills at any second. only takeshi and rie are unfazed by this place.

this tiny woman isn't afraid of walking into abandoned dark places like this. then, this place reminds him of her home. she must be used to it.

"hm." she stops in front of a metal door and stares at it thoughtfully. she squats down on her one knee and takes off a sticker from the right bottom corner. "why do they go this far to hide it? it's not like anyone can go through this door."

haru and iori nearly jump when the metal door slides away. haru yells, "that surprised me."

"it's just a door," takeshi shakes his head at them.

the lights turn on as soon as rie walks into the room. there is a laptop on the table in the middle of the room. rie lets out a tired sigh and sits on the chair. she turns on the laptop and furiously types something.

"what is going on?" kiyohira touches her shoulder. "what is this place?"

she doesn't answer him. kiyohira feels like throttling her. is it time to play these tricks? he is only asking some questions.

"kids, the next door won't open unless i hack the system," she replies monotonously. "they like to make it difficult for latecomers."

"you are also a hacker?" kiyohira stands behind her laptop to take a good look of her face. sadly, he can only see her focused eyes. no luxury to like. no luxury to talk.

takeshi can nearly see smoke coming out of his brother's ear. his brother leans closer to his sister's ear and shouts with undisguised childish anger in his voice, "if you don't want to talk to me, just say it."

she glances at him with her cold eyes and taps enter on the keyboard. a string of neon green codes floats on the black screen of the laptop. she looks past him. behind him, the wall suddenly slides away, revealing an entranceway to the main room.

takeshi looks at his brother with pity. he can see that the poor guy is dying to make her utter a word to him, but his sister is hard to please. his brother is good at many things, but he doesn't know how to make a woman happy. his sister is not easy to please either.

takeshi has known it the day when they came to the house. his brother has been acting different toward her. in his brother's eyes, men and women are the same. but, his brother has treated her differently. he has noticed how his brother looks at her.

then, he has seen them leave together last night in the car. he doesn't know how his sister got sick, but his brother even spent the night at the hospital for her. the feared ceo of the kamiyama groups, who treats women like a block of wood, suddenly decides to spend the night at the hospital with dried vomit on his clothes.

grandmother won't be happy when she finds out.

which side should he take? should he help his dumb brother with his cool sister or not? he must be the first younger brother who is helping out his elder brother with his elder sister. this doesn't sound okay, but it isn't necessarily bad.

currently, his brother is fuming with rage because his sister is treating him like air. in any case, his brother is a hopeless case. he should only worry about how to win over his sister to his side. besides, he gave some advice to his brother earlier, but his brother lacks a great deal of common sense in this area. it's a long journey for his brother. what can he do about someone who doesn't have common sense in some areas?

"welcome to the world hack 2019, merciless breaker." a tall slim woman in a black dress with cold demeanour meets them halfway. she smiles at them professionally. "we don't get participants this late."

rie shows them her phone, showing the invitation email for that woman to read. "which phase?"

"we are in the middle phase." the woman glances at rie's masked companions. "do you recommend them?"

"no, i brought them here to watch," rie tells her curtly. "prepare rooms for them. they will be staying here until the tournament is over."

"i see." something flickers in the woman's eyes. things will spice up since this legend has made an appearance. this game master has always hidden her identity. this time, there might be a way to know.

"merciless breaker, are you going to join now or later?"

"i will join it now." rie smiles beneath her mask. her eyes shine brightly. "it's been a while since i had some fun."

"as you wish."

***

nothing much has changed since last year. i see a lot of familiar faces. some of them nod when they see me. there are around twenty people with similar clothes and masks. it's nothing new. a lot of people like to pretend that they are me until the gaming i'ds are revealed. i started gaming a long time ago. i got my first invitation for the world hack series when i was nineteen. they don't invite people who aren't eighteen yet. this yearly competition isn't a legal one. identity security is important. nothing is promised outside the vicinity though.

this place is also a testing ground for top game designing companies of the world. they can't directly come here, but they send their representatives with their games. the organizer is none other than the 'dark hacker guild'. anyway, they are not my concern.

"they are offering a lot this time," i mumble to myself when i see the prize money on the large screen. "they offered only one-fourth of that last year."

"participant, this prize money is not for the competition. the organizers have added one special round," this lady, who is probably the representative of the dark hackers, says to me with a faint smile. "if you win the gaming rounds, you will get half of the prize money. however, if you win the special round, you will get this full prize. if you lose, you will only get one-fourth of the prize money like last time."

"what's the special round?" haru asks before i can utter my question.

her eyes twinkle mysteriously. i get it. she is excited to get me interested. i am guessing that not many people have signed up for the special round.

"the special round is the test of hacking skills. the top three winners will receive the chance to join the dark hacker guild."

"what if i don't want to join?" i glance down at the players who are focused on the gaming laptops screens with earphones on. "i just want the money."

"that's alright." she cocks her head and looks at me solemnly. "the dark hacker guild doesn't force anyone. if you are the top three, then you can accept or reject. do you want to participate in the special round?"

i hide my true feelings and give her a quiet nod. my heart is full of excitement. if i get this prize money, i don't have to work for the next five years even if i spend with my eyes closed. i will buy a house on the other side of this country. all i need is a good internet connection and a house to live in. i can go back to my life in a new place. with this kind of money, i don't have to earn for a few years.

that would be heaven.

"that's not a lot." i hear kiyohira's casual voice behind me. "i earn that much in an hour."

"...." rich people should keep their mouth shut.

"then, i have lost some bucks because i was taking care of you since last night." he sighs. "i even brought you here to play. you are paying me back by ignoring me. that's your gratitude, huh?"

"i didn't ask you to take care of me." i furrow my brows. "i didn't ask you to take me to the hospital or to that place. i didn't ask you to bring me here. keep your mouth shut or i will kill you."

he blinks at me with surprise. after a moment, his eyes shine with happiness. i look at him with disbelief. what's wrong with his head? why is he happy now?

"i won," he replies to me with amusement in his voice. "you spoke to me."

"..." this man is impossible.