The game changer (Book 3 of IA)

[2] Filling in the details

The moment we stepped out of the elevator and onto the roof top, we were greeted with a wave of fresh night air and the exclusive spot light of the moon. 30ft in front of us was the open hanger of the hovercraft which looked like a giant gray fish trying to swallow us whole.

"I am afraid this is as far as I can accompany you. I will stay connected to you through live video chat on Kard's end. Good luck~" Dr. Cherrylove waved from the elevator.

"Cya!" I turned and waved back.

"Sayonara." Kuro said with a quiet voice.

Just like that, Dr. Cherrylove disappeared behind those close elevator doors, as me and Kuro began advancing towards the gaping mouth of the hovercraft. Once inside the belly of the great metallic beast, I noticed two giant human sized iron cases, which I can safely assume contained me and Kuro's MS (Mobile suit).

"Mother says the passenger cabin is right past that door there!" Rin's hologram face popped up.

"Alright." I said, walking over the door, with Kuro tagging behind me. Past the door there was a 5x10 meter space with seats arranged to the side facing each other. Then without thinking further I took to seat on one side, and Kuro sat next to me with one seat in between.

"Alright, we are all seated and buckled up now. Tell Dr. Cherrylove we are ready to VC now." I said to Rin.

"Np!" Rin's did a thumbs up hologram icon, and a brief moment later it was replaced by a holographic figure of Dr: Cherrylove:

"Alright, I am going to explain to both of you about the situation in detail now." Dr. Cherrylove made a clearing throat gesture. "Alpha city is located in the south coastal region of Kyo. It's one of the 6 experimental cities, where its citizen's liver under what is known as the social point system."

"I heard a little about it before..." I scratched my chin.

"I haven't heard of it before..." Kuro spoke softly.

"Alright, let me quickly explain then." Dr. Cherrylove winked. "Basically all the citizens start off with 100 points. The more points one have, the more benefits from society you are offered, like discount on hotels, higher bank loan, free public transit...etc. And if one's points drops below zero, you can no longer access any government service, denied any passage to public transit, unable to loan from bank...etc. You can earn points by doing something that contributes to society, like volunteer work, donating to charity, getting a degree...etc. You can also lose points for rude behavior, such as budging in front of lines, vandalizing public property, jay walking...etc."

"How long has it been like this?" I asked.

"Well, the project took form in beta 7 years ago, and it became official just about 2 years ago." Dr. Cherrylove answered.

"I see."

"Yes! And in the past half hour, the mysterious culprit who goes by the self-alias Mr. Six, have sent a message to the public through phone and public electronic billboard."

"What's the message?" I asked.

"Society is a game. A game with corrupted rules. And I intend to change them. –Mr. Six." Dr. Cherrylove read.

"Sounds like 3rd degree Chunnibyo to me." I commented.

"What's that?" she asked.

"8th grade syndrome. Usually involves the delusion of one thinking they live in an anime and that they are the MC that will save the world." I explained.

There was a brief moment of laughter from the other end, followed by the sound of clearing throat:

"I would hope so as well if the situation wasn't so serious. As I previously mentioned, Mr. Six has somehow find a way to hack into the social point system and stole away everyone's points."

"So that means..." I paused for a moment, as the moment of realization slowly came upon me like a rising sledge hammer. "OOOHHH!!! Without any points, no one could access any sort of public transit or government service!"

"Correct. You will be working with other Iron fist agents to capture the culprit. It is most likely he will strike again soon."

"En..." I narrowed my eyes.

"You will be arriving in Alpha city in approx. 7 hours. You should both rest up for now, tomorrow, or technically today will be a big day. One of the members of Iron fist is already there ready to welcome you two." She said with a sunny voice.

"Alright." I replied.

"And that's going to be all. The hovercraft should be taking off any minute now. I wish you two good luck once again~"

And just like that, the VC ended.
Though I do kind of have to mention here, I personally don't really sleep on planes, since I am more kind of a talker. But one side glance at Kuro and are peaceful resting face, I decided to call it a night as well.

Hmm...

I leaned back and let my sleep do the rest of the work...

***

Darkness...

Voices...

Light?...

I forcefully tried to lift my eyes once, then twice before fully opening it.

"We stopped." Came Kuro's calm voice.

"Huh..." I said, still half sleepy. "I see..."

I sat straight again, and unbuckled my seat belt, then proceeded to walking to the doorway. After pushing it open, I found the hanger door already open and judging from the outside that is shown, it appears that we were in some sort of runway. Curious, I exited the hanger and stepped out onto the runway. The sun was in a shade of dying red, and there bathed in its blood red spotlight, stood a sole figure on the runway.

There was a moment of utter disbelief, as I look to her then back to Kuro. The two were basically twins, except this one was like the more slightly older version of Kuro, like in mid-twenties. The older twin basically had a taller more mature build, same silky long black hair as Kuro, soft chocolate brown eyes instead of red. She wore a blue uniform dress with white shirt coupled with black stockings and dress shoes.

"Konichiwa." the older version of Kuro said with a gentle voice. "I am Asano Hakuya, you can just call me Hakuya. I have been informed by our superior to pick you up. Please come this way."

Q: Do you think the social point system is a good idea?