"To play this game. You need to give me time to get ready." Mark told him, his right palm wide open at Detective Nova.

"What?" He asked puzzled, looking at his extended arm.

"Give me money. I'll order food." He answered. "It has no pausing function until you get to the next level. So, eating before playing the game is a must."

Cass opened his satchel. He will just charge it to his client.

"All right. Order me too." Handing him 10 Cros cash.

"Thanks!"

"You okay with Old Asian?"

Mark proceeded to call using his watch.

"Yeah."

"2 Ramen please. 2 Mixed Vegetable Mixed Stir Fry. And 10 energy drinks." He ordered hurriedly. "And a bottle of water. Thanks!"

Mark flicked the watch again. Call Ended appeared.

"That's too much of energy drink, Kid." Cass remarked when he heard the amount he was ordering.

"A player needs a lot of energy." Mark said. "You never knew until what time is the next level. And you can't abandon it halfway."

"You never told me what was the Game title was." He asked while waiting for the food to arrive.

"I didn't because there's no title." Mark answered. "It just say's unknown on the title screen."

"Who produce this game?"

"It's Unknown because it's Underground Gaming?" He said, like everyone knew about it. "The perk is that you are playing a unreleased game. You play something that few have been played before."

"Underground Gaming? Such thing exist?" He asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yeah." Mark confirmed while nodding at him.

He should ask Malcolm to check on this. Especially, he was the one who was in touch in anything underground. The kid's answers were too vague.

"Play it now."

"Like I said. You have to ready to play this." He said with conviction. "Mind and body."

"What?" He looked at him, confused. The young man said it in a very business like tone. He thought at first he was joking. But then, he started doing sit ups in front of him.

"This was not your usual game. It needs stamina. I need to be ready." Mark explained. "Perfectly."

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"You can watch here on the monitor. I'll connected it with my Occular Lenses" Mark pointed to the wall monitor in front of them. "You can hear everything though the Environment Sound System."

They are currently in what Mark's calls his "Game Room". Cass thought it was just an empty room with a single gaming equipment. It pales in comparison with Malcolm's Game Room.

Or Malcolm set the bar too high? Maybe this is the real Gaming Room. There was nothing normal whenever Malcolm is involved afterall.

In the middle of the room, there was a 3 meter wide octagon shaped stage with black rectangular at each side. He guessed it was the sound system that Mark was talking about.

"The speakers had the built-in Environment Function. It gives off environment smell in game, sometimes I turn it off if the environment is at the sewers. The Game Master send this 5 bottles per week." He rambled. "Isn't it the best?!"

"Yes." he responded quite amused on the energy of the person. It was like the kid was selling him the piece of gaming equipment instead of plain demonstrating. He noticed that the after effects drugs puffed from his cigar had taken its side effect. Plus the energy drink this guy gulped a while ago also contributed to the surge of energy that Mark was exhibiting.

"You should've just taken up Game Design or any game related instead."

"I would've. But my parents thinks it wasn't that prestigious enough you know." He went to door and open it. Still, explaining to him. "They wanted me to be Radiation Scientist."

"So this is where your parent's money goes, eh." He stated, remembering the guy's strict parents.

"Nope. This is all free! Including the equipment. I tried to search it online, but it's unavailable." he argued. "The Game Master can only provide these."

"Game Master?" He asked.

"He owns the Underground Gaming... I think." Mark said in a more uncertain tone.

"How did you know all of this "Underground Gaming thing" by the way?"

"Through rumors really." Mark admitted, ashamed.

"After hearing these rumors, you just signed in a website? Then, they give you the game- that's it?" He said, his tone extremely doubtful.

"No. You need the game master to send you the full equipment to play this." Mark explained. "I don't how they select the players. One day they send me off these device and let me play game that hadn't been in the market. It only has the sign of - The Game Master."

When the kid came back from the comfort room. He had black silver suit on. "There is a rule passing around. Well more like a unwritten one. You tell the public, you disappear."

People disappear? He thought. No wonder people are calling it the Underground Gaming.

Cass looked at Mark. His eyebrows knotted at the sight of him.

"What are you wearing?" He asked pertaining to the black track suit with silver embellish all over that the student was wearing. He can't take the guy seriously seeing him with his ridiculous clothing.

"Dude!" Mark exclaimed. "This is the best gaming equipment available compared to others out there."

By the sound of his voice, it sounds like Cass lost his mind.

"This look like a body suit and the silver embellish is useful for any sensory feeling in-game. If you touch something, the threads will react to it. Taking on the shape of the thing you touch" He said, pointing out the silver threads. "If you tried to sit in game in any chair, the silver will react to it and the needed to sit outright making you sit like in the game."

Cass only nodded, impressed with the equipment.

The technological advancement was quite different compared to his teens. He was thankful it wasn't developed during his time or else he would have been one himself.

"I think you're just being used as a type of tester for these." He deduced. The equipment was all good, but too good.

"Yes. I thought about that. But, not everyone had the opportunity to play this." He confessed. "Now, Detective, you will see how an underground game works."

Mark stepped in the middle of the black octagon stage. "Game On."

It started whirling. Then, there was a clasping sound that he heard. Cass looked at Mark's feet where the sound came from.

"That's the sound of the boots. It has mini- hooks that clasps on the stage. Look at this." Mark started to walk. The black ground started to move with every step.

"It looks like a big thread mill."

"Good observation. It's like that. " Mark praised his sharp remark. "That's why I told you; you need food- stamina to play this game. You never know if you will keep on standing in-game."

A blue menu appeared.

WELCOME TO UNKNOWN

Continue Load Game

"It's name is really unknown." Cass remarked.

"Load Game. Slot 12." Mark commanded.

The surround of Mark was by different kind of lights. It's hard to look at him. Cass looked at the monitor and started to see what Mark was seeing.

"Nice. Where are you right now?"

"A moonlit Forrest." Mark answered. He continued to walk through the dark path.

Cass smelled a sweet smelling incense. A gurgling sound was heard.

"The Ghost is near." Mark stated.

A girl with a white appeared before Mark.

"Ghrrrghh!"

"Shit!" He started running. The ghost was chasing him.

He tried to jump over a log, but the ghost grabbed his clothes.

"Get off." Mark tried to punch the ghost, but it just went through it. It kept on grasping his trousers. He tried tore off his clothes using his knife.

"I think it's gone. He said, relieved.

"It got something from you." Cass observed. "A rectangular thing."

"Really?" Mark looked around the forest. "It might got one of my tools."

There was a sudden ringing.

"Hey. Someone's calling you." Cass said to Mark.

"That's not mine. My ringtone's different." Mark replied. "Hey Ghost where are you?"

Cass opened his satchel. It's Mrs. Smith's watch. He didn't know he had it with him. An unknown number was displayed. He flicked it.

"Hello?"

"Dara?" The feminine voice asked. "Thank God you answered!"

"Sara?" He asked, his voice uncertain.

It's the prankster.

"You're not Dara. Who are you?" The voice got deeper.

"I'm Detective Nova. Your Mother hired me. Where are you?" He flicked the watch connecting it to a video call.

A box appeared before him. "CONNECTING" message appeared.

An image appeared. But no one is in there only a muddy road was seen.

"I can't see you." He said.

"Wait." The camera changed and a woman appeared.

He was surprised. Her eyes were red and were darkened around. Her cheeks hollowed with different kinds of wound all over her face.

There was a guy sneaking behind her with a knife.

"Behind you!" He shouted. The woman ran.

"Behind you!" Cass heard his voice, like a feedback, but not from the watch. He looked at the monitor. Mark was currently catching the ghost.

"Mark stop." He instructed. "Can I look at your character?"

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"Inspect." Mark commanded. The view came in 180 degrees, his character came into the view.

"Where was the ghost?" He asked.

"It got away. Why?"

"Sneak behind her."

"Hello!" The feminine voice came back again, this time out of breath . Cass looked at the watch.

"Please, tell my mother. I'm stuck in a game! Please-Please tell-." There was static noise in the background. The woman disappeared.

Then, a sound of something fell.

The game character of Mark picked up the phone.

"Hey, why are you in this box?" Mark asked, the same question echoed by the watch.

"That's not a box." He stated. "That's a smartphone."