Last Shelter Online

[System off]

Hiro decided to log out when Liberty was sound asleep and leave her alone for the time being. Back in his apartment which now felt colder, Hiro relaxed the muscles of his sore arms and neck. He then hurried to find Alice, but…

She wasn’t there. Even her room was empty.

“Where did she go?”

He didn’t find any messages about where she went, either.

While waiting, Hiro made some time to wash his face. The water was freezing cold.

In the kitchen, he found two slices of frozen pizza in a box. He heated one with the microwave in the kitchen and ate it while it was still hot. At a glance, his life really seemed normal.

Hiro suddenly missed his ordinary life atmosphere.

“Those good old days…” He sighed after finishing the cold milk from the fridge.

It was already evening, but the weather that day was cloudy. Hiro couldn’t tell that it was already evening without checking the time on his android bracelet.

He then decided to sit back down on the sofa that had become his throne to catch up on whatever news he missed. However, before he could open his web browser, an incoming call from Aunt Yuma came.

It was only then that he remembered. He forgot to tell her about his situation.

“Hiro, where are you?! Why didn’t you let me know?!”

Aunt Yuma was yelling to the point as always, and she sounded drunk. Hiro had to decrease the volume on his android bracelet because of that.

“I’m out of town right now. Um… a friend of mine invited me. I’m sorry I forgot to tell you, Aunt Yuma,” Hiro lied with an idea he came up with on the spot. Though, he wasn’t good enough in doing it, so Aunt Yuma could quickly tell.

“Don’t lie to me. Tell me the truth, are you in danger?” Aunt Yuma’s voice became a little deeper. The alcohol was really burning her throat.

Hiro sighed. There was no merit in lying to Aunt Yuma anyway.

“It’ll be too long if I tell you everything,” Hiro warned beforehand. Even so, Aunt Yuma didn’t mind listening.

Hiro explained the general gist of everything honestly, from how he found the VR gear from the person he was now living with, how he was kidnapped and brought to America to witness his brother’s preserved body first-hand, and how he was still staying there for who-knew-how-long.

It took him half an hour to tell Aunt Yuma everything, and when he was done explaining, Aunt Yuma didn’t respond.

“I knew she would fall asleep.” Hiro wasn’t sure if Aunt Yuma heard his story.

“Good night, Aunt Yuma.”

Beep.

Slam!

The room’s main door was suddenly opened. Alice was there with her body covered with a thick jacket.

“We need to talk,” she suddenly said. On the other side, Hiro was looking at her wide-eyed, startled by her abrupt appearance.

Alice quickly took off her slightly wet jacket and hung it on the coat rack near the door. Without a word, she then hurried into her room and signaled for Hiro to follow her.

And Hiro did.

In the room, Alice suddenly closed the door and window curtains, instantly darkening the atmosphere in the room.

Hiro didn’t know what was going on, but he could see that Alice was unusually anxious. Her eyes couldn’t even stay at one spot for more than a second.

“What’s wrong?”

Alice sat on a chair and looked at Hiro, who was still standing in front of the door confused.

“We have to move soon like now,” Alice spoke in a low voice, almost whispering as if the room was bugged.

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know how, but they found us. I’ve been seeing two mysterious people keeping watch in front of our building lately.” Alice looked uneasy. She was even biting her fingertip.

Hiro didn’t know what she was talking about and why she was so uneasy. Wasn’t she capable of doing everything? Of doing anything without limit with her ability to manipulate softwares?

“I already found a new place. We have to hurry, pack all your things.” Alice abruptly stood up. She took out the suitcase she kept under the table and hurriedly crammed in the clothes scattered in the room.

Hiro understood the situation even less. Who were the ‘they’ Alice mentioned, and why were they looking for him and Alice?

“Why don’t we just go back to Japan?” Hiro genuinely asked. If this place was making her so anxious, wouldn’t it be better to leave?

Alice stopped and looked at him with disbelief.

“Are you serious? If you want to know what happened to your brother, being as close to information sources as possible is crucial. We’re not going back to Japan, even if you get deported by this country.”

Alice was clearly annoyed, but she still didn’t explain what or who the two were actually avoiding.

Hiro silently looked at her for a moment.

“Aren’t you going to tell me anything?”

He could no longer wait for Alice to take a hint. He wasn’t interested in packing his things before he knew whatever Alice did and he didn’t. He seriously looked at her without softening his expression, causing her to once again stop.

Alice ignored her suitcase and walked toward Hiro. She had to raise her face a little to return Hiro’s sharp gaze.

“They want you, Hiro. Do you still not understand? The people who kidnapped you, they have a special connection to WynterRain. And they know something probably not much of the public knows.”

Hiro still didn’t quite get the connection. He just stayed silent and waited for Alice to finish her words.

“They know WynterRain has a brother.”

Alice explained that ‘they’ whose identity she never explained really wanted him. This was because by having Hiro, they could control WynterRain to do whatever unscrupulous things they had arranged.

She explained seriously as if she knew who the person behind ‘their’ plan to get Hiro was.

“Aside from that, they would be more furious after they find out that you also play that game. They’d want to get you even more. You know, you’re considered both a hindrance and gold to their plan.”

Hiro didn’t fully understand the information Alice just gave him. However, he knew that she wasn’t lying.

He became even more curious about the people Alice was talking about. He still remembered the face that appeared in the video call, the masked man who talked to him a few hours before he was flown to another country.

But… weren’t those people capable of accessing the special room in Johnson Hope Hospital? Hiro even vividly remembered how nobody stopped them when he entered through the front door with the person who kidnapped him.

Did that mean they also have a connection to the founder of Ninecent? Or were they actually a Ninecent insider?