Parallel (A Virtual Gamer's Story) [Vol.1 - Vol.4 Complete]

Chapter 15: Cigars, Books & Paintings

Restricted Sector,

Building 3, Level 5,

Observation Room A.

The observation room's door slid open, and a bearded, muscular man in his early forties walked in. He was dressed in a fitted brown suede suit and had an air of authority about him. Once he entered, all the scientists exited without a word, leaving only Akari and him.

Running his hand through his slick black hair, the man walked up to Akari, who looked less than happy to see him.

"Nagato," Akari greeted, keeping his gaze on the machine in the next room.

"Nice to see you too, Akari." Nagato pulled out a rather large cigar from his inner coat pocket and snuggled it between his lips. "Got a match?" He had a rather light voice witch did not match his intimidating stature.

Akari frowned as he rebuked, "This is a no smoking area."

"Give me a break," Nagato wailed in response. "I've had to sit with the most tight-assed figureheads around the world for the past month. I deserve a smoke."

Akari sighed then relented. He pulled out a lighter from his pocket and handed it to Nagato, who gleefully accepted it and lit his cigar.

Nagato took a long drag on the cigar, then slowly breathed out a delicate plume of white smoke. He leaked out a smile as he looked at the cigar and praised, "Ooh, the good stuff."

Akari snorted at the older man's exaggerated behavior. "That stuff will kill you."

"Then I die a happy man." Nagato chuckled and turned to the observation screen. "You finally let him out. The uppers are really uppity about this."

"Still with the lame puns," Akari condemned as he playfully shook his head in disbelief.

Nagato chuckled as he took another drag of the cigar. "That's why the ladies love me."

"If you say so," Akari off-handedly commented. Eager to change the topic, he asked, "How did it go at the Expo?"

"Bad and good," Nagato replied. "Depends on who's looking."

"Explain."

"For our purposes, everything's going according to schedule, but the government is less than satisfied."

Akari did not seem surprised by the news. He took it in his stride and asked for clarification, "The Americans?"

"Not just them," Nagato revealed with an exaggerated shrug. "The Russians and the Chinese stepped up this time. Japan has once again been left behind. Won't be long before we start receiving more pressure."

Akari's brow rose in interest. "What did they bring to the plate this time?"

"The Americans and the British finally finished their battle suit prototype," Nagato explained. Then he added with a snide smirk, "They've succeeded in turning their soldiers into every sci-fi nerd's wet dream."

Akari's eyes shone as he looked at Nagato, genuinely intrigued by this. "How'd they get it to work?"

"Most soldiers have chips implanted into their brains which they use to control their suits," Nagato explained. "The downside is that they need to undergo augmentation to use the more advanced suits. That's not all. They've made several improvements to their mechs too. They now have improved mobility and response times, though they chose to scrap the humanoid robots. Ineffective, they were dubbed."

"Wonder what that says about humans." Akari sighed. Humanity had a shallow opinion of itself. "And the Russians?"

"The Russians had the same idea and came up with a new mech they call Neith," Nagato answered. "It's a manned spider-like mech that can jump three times its height and possesses a lot of firepower. Its legs can change properties, giving it the ability to scale walls and traverse various terrains. Oh, and guess the best part."