Terror Infinity - Side B

Chapter 6 - 2, Btooom

Well, we found them. A half hour of tracking through the jungle after leaving the cave/base behind, we caught up with the group of four chips and their holders moving together. At the last moment Hikari warned me that they might have already noticed us and are preparing for a fight. We would have done the same thing if we found a group trailing behind us on the day the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander appeared, so it was within reason. Especially if they really were our comrades, who most of them have military experience.

Shin: I have an idea.

What I was about to do would really give us away if the four were in fact NPCs and not Players, but what the hell. I was in no mood to play the waiting game and if they are the enemy and try to runaway I'll kill them all. I've felt depressed since the arrival of the Btooom Soldiers and Commander anyways, so I can hope for a fight to relive my stress.

- *BANG*!

I took out my gun and fired a gunshot into the sky. 10-15 seconds later, the two of us heard a gunshot from their side as well. My idea worked. The only individuals on the island who possess firearms are us players, and specifically the Players that I personally bought and handed off to. These two gunshots confirmed that we were all Players. Even if someone was killed and had their gun stolen, it was unlikely that anyone could understand my actions and so quickly beside a Player... and I was right.

Coming towards us now out of the thick cover of the jungle and revealing themselves were our comrades. Our new comrades to be specific. That was how Hikari and I were reunited with the group of four newbies. Saki, Zero, Kampa amd Shuai.

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Our group of now six had found a temporary place to rest and to discuss our past and future actions. The Btooom Soldiers and their Commander were definitely the immediate threat, but first we needed to understand what we have all experienced. It may lead to clues on to our current problems.

Saki: Then if you like I'll start off.

Saki than began by telling the story of their Day 1 till now on Day 2. Saki, Kampa and Zero were able to quickly met up with each other. The three were just as blind in the dark night sky as the rest of us, but they all at one point our another had parachute training. Even in that darkness they were able to make sure they were at the very least in the same general area when they touched down on the island.

Together, they decided to take advantage of the darkness of the early morning and go looking for NPC's and chips ( So hard core ). By helping each other, they were able to each gain one chips to survive the Midnight Execution before the light of sunrise made an appearance ( So hard core ). From there the three decided to use the rest of the morning to find everyone else and potentially look for a good base of operations. It was around that time that they discovered Shuai with his parachute stuck in a tall tree similar to Ryuta Sakamoto in the manga when he first arrived to the island. Saki didn't like how long it took to get him down, but it would have been to pitiful to just leave him there.

Then the group of now four were able to obtain supply cases when they dropped down to the island around Noon. It was an excellent chance to also get the chips from NPCS going that way, and although Shuai with his low stamina slowed them down they were able to gain both chips and supplies. Saki's group wanted to gain all 8 chips ( ×4 ) by the end of the first day, but it was harder then they expected to find anymore NPCs. I might have been in the same position as them if not for Hikari's laptop. My last chance could have been the time of the supply drop. They stopped trying to look for chips around evening when Shuai finally acquired his first NPC Chip.

They were really disappointed that they couldn't get any more chips, but luckily for them and to my surprise, an actual group of NPCs working together attacked their camp site at night. It was unexpected even for Saki for their to be a large group battle on the very first day, but it wasn't like they were unprepared for a fight. They possessed several Remote BIM that were already spread out to protect the camp and the enemy were quick dealt with. The battle could have turned out badly if they had let their guard down, but not only did they didn't, they were able to gain even more chips that night.

The next day, Day 2 which is today, they didn't have a need to quickly go out for chips and rested like Hikari and I had. There plan for later was also the same as ours. Attack the NPCs going for the supplies dropped on the island and gain the remainder of their chips, but once again like us they were met with an unexpected threat. The Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander had arrived to the island and although they never got too close to them to see them personally, they all saw their handy work as they watched them burn down an area of the island to kill any NPC or Player that they could.

And that was when they met up with the two of us. Hikari and I quickly explained what we have gone through and that we haven't seen any of the other Players on the island. I also made sure to tell them that we saw the enemy fight from a distance as well, but we visually saw them. Saki and the others were very interested, but it wasn't that great of information.

Besides only making out their appearance, the only thing that we knew was that they had more then the average number of BIMs and possibly special equipment as well. I could still remember the gun like object on their hips that made me shake with fear on first sight.

Now that we were all caught up, Saki moved on to our immediate issue of survival. First up was our food supply.

Saki: We weren't able to pick up any supplies today, but yesterday our group captured two cases filled with supplies. There was food, clean water and clothes inside. If we ration what we have right now without going out for more... Between the six of us this won't last another day.

Shin: You don't have to look at the two of us like that. We have our own case from yesterday as well. We won't cut down on your food supplies.

Saki: I didn't exactly mean it like that. So did you leave it back at the cave you were talking about? If so we can take the risk of going out and retrieving it.

Shin: No. I have it on me right now. I took everything with us when we left the base since it was too close to where the Btooom Soldiers and their Commander were seen last fighting.

Shuai: Where?

Hikari: It's inside his Na Ring.

Saki and the others were confused since originally Aqua forbade me about talking about things like this at first, but times were desperate, so I knew she would understand that there was no need to keep hiding things. A display would be better for words, so I channeled Ki into the Na Ring to take out yesterday's case we gained and the other supplies that I brought along from the Terminal Lobby. Everyone was shocked as they saw my magic trick I just pulled right in front of their eyes, especially Saki.

Saki immediately inquired about the Na Ring and when she learned that it’s a item created by Xiuzhen and costed a fortune to exchange it from God, she got very excited. She took my hand into hers and studied the ring. It was embarrassing for a woman like Saki to hold my hand and what made it worse was that Hikari looked upset. Why? Were they all jealous of my cool ring?

Saki: It is really a item from Xiuzhen? It's really a real item from Xiuzhen!? God, I've guessed this type of items existed from historic documents, but still... Hahaha, so they all originate from this dimension! If I can crack the secret of this technology, I can’t imagine how much we humans can advance!

Saki ignored the weird looks from everyone, and she continued with a zealous expression on her face.

Saki: Did you know? We actually unearthed some items that can’t be explained with our current level of technology from our own and other countries. They no longer have energy in them, so we couldn’t activate them with electricity or other kinds of energy. From analyzing the materials, we deduced that there once existed an advanced civilization, yet the years that this civilization appeared was strange. These items range from over ten thousand years ago, to a thousand year ago. There’s such an advanced civilization hidden within our society and we never realized it. Do you think this is possible? So the researchers are separated into two parties. One party believes the items were created by aliens that hid in our civilization. I very much disliked this kind of analysis, attributing every unexplainable phenomenon to aliens. This attitude towards research is very unlikable. The other party thinks these items are created by the mythical Xians or Gods. Even though this is equally hard to believe, at least people from this party still look for clues through ruins like I do. Moreover, they actually found some indirect evidence!

Saki is usually expressionless and calm, but now she stood up and looked at everyone in excitement. She was really into this subject, but interrupting her was the cool Russian Mercenary Kampa.

Saki: Do you know what this means? It means the advancement of humans are not limited to technology, even though this kind of technology is also natural science, but they have broken the limit of external (Physical) science. This is the most advanced internal science!

Kampa: External science and internal science... Do these things have anything to do with our current situation? I’d rather have the food and water from that ring.

Saki: ...Forget it, you won’t understand it. Anyway, cracking the secret of Xiuzhen will be the next biggest step for humans after genetic constraints.

Hikari and I looked at each other with a bitter smile. Even though Saki was usually calm and rational, she was more of a researcher then a soldier. Once Saki encounters a field she’s interested in she will be more fanatical than anyone. Just like she wouldn’t let go of my hand right now!

Shin: Since we have enough food and water, what’s your plan? Even if you want to research Xiuzhen, you will need enough points to exchange for those items. That would take tens of thousands of points and many rank rewardsmand we have to survive to earn those.

Saki: Ok then. For now... everyone say out loud how many chips you have so far and your total BIM count, both type and numbers. For the purpose of deciding our next move.

Hikari: Next move?

Saki: Yes. We need to know if have room to spare, or none at all when we eventually confront the Btooom Soldiers and Commander. If it is the former then they could avoid them for the time being and observe their moments and fighting patterns before confronting them, but if it is the latter we will attack them directly to learn of their power and if it's at all possible defeat them.

Hikari: What did you actually have in mind? Even though I don't know you that well, I do not believe you are the type to bring up subjects like this and have no opinion of your own.

Saki: You are correct. I believe we have two plans of action. We will effectively give up hunting for NPCs today, so that we can all observe the Btooom Soldiers and Commanders in shifts starting from now, and into sunrise the next day. Then, before the next unit of enemies arrive to the island around Noon of Day 3, we will take out the first unit of Btooom Soldiers and Commander with the information that we had gathered.

Shuai: What about the latter? For what reason would we confront them right now without a proper plan?

Saki adjusted her glasses, while all the while looking at Shuai intensely. He wasn't supid enough to not notice this, but he kept quite for now.

Saki: The latter doesn't mean that we will absolutely face them, but it will be highly likely that they will attack. What I mean by no time... is that we don't have enough Chips to survive the Midnight Execution to go for such a passive strategy. I am not just talking about todays, but tomorrows as well. With my former strategy, some of us could still get injured and will be unable to go after anymore chips for the rest of Day 3. With the latter strategy, we could focus on going after NPCs for their Chips and avoiding the Btooom Soldiers and Commander, but I wouldn't advise this since the enemy might come after us if we make a scene. That is why instead of risking our lives on the off chance that they attack us while we are gathering Chips, we will take the initiative to attack them. So the deciding factor is...

Shin: Whether we have enough Chips to survive Day's 2 and 3's Midnight Execution and the battle potential of our BIMs, right?

For a while after all the facts were laid out to bare no one said anything. Ten minutes pass like this, and finally Saki spoke up to get our strategy session moving again.

Saki: So okay everyone... Won't we all show each other our hands? Afterwards, we will decide if we will attack and gamble on victory, or plan out or attack!

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Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 10.

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 2.

4:03 PM

Players Alive: 8/15.

NPCs Alive: 74/150.

Btooom Soldiers Active: 25/25.

Btooom Commanders Active: 5/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1. Unit 1 have begun the extermination of all players on the island. After an initial sweep, they will immediately turn their focus to terminating the person(s) who has infiltrated the system on the island. Continued.

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Authors Note:

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