“Latte is the weapons specialist in Underground, so I have to rely on her the most,” Thanh said cheerfully, but by this point I was completely lost.
She pointed to someone who looked quite young, sitting hunched over a large computer screen. He was wearing a coat that reached down to his knees, with the collar pulled up almost to his nostrils. His eyes were as dark as a panda’s.
“His name is Manh Linh, but everyone calls him Jin. You should call him that too, it’s shorter.”
I didn’t understand why I had to call him anything at all, but I nodded anyway.
“And this is Dai Hung, our physical training master. National middleweight boxing champion in 2050. He may look scary, but he’s actually very kind…”
“I told you to call me ‘brother’! I’m only 37.”
The man barked while scratching his stomach. If he shaved his scruffy beard, he would definitely look much younger—barely thirty at most. He had been sitting with his arms folded, leaning against a table, but now he stood up and walked toward me.
“Stand up.”
I did as told. He examined me carefully from head to toe with a frown, as if searching for fleas.
“Not bad. You practice martial arts, don’t you?”
I slowly shook my head. All four of them were staring at me, which made me extremely uncomfortable. Finally, unable to take it anymore, I turned to Thanh.
“That’s enough. I don’t mean to be rude, but what is going on? Why do I need to know who they are? And what the hell is Underground?”
Minh Thanh glanced at the others awkwardly, then said gently,
“We’re inside Underground!”
Twenty years ago, a group of Japanese engineers led by Takemura Hiro invented an operating system that allowed the human mind to be transferred into a virtual world. This operating system allowed different participating units to create their own sub-operating systems within it. It was like creating a parallel world where people could build their own nations inside it. That was Underground.
What made Underground so fascinating was that the level of each sub-operating system depended entirely on the technical capability of the participating unit. There were no limits to creativity. The absence of restrictions turned it into a technological arms race among software companies. Underground became an arena for powers seeking to prove their influence over the global economy.
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In response, the organization that gathered the world’s largest software companies - Association of Information Technology Software (AITS) - built a battle system that allowed companies to compete through virtual matches called DIG. DIG was a true combat match, where Fighters were equipped with weapons and special abilities to fight one another. The more advanced a company’s technology, the stronger its Fighter.
Besides spontaneous matches, AITS also organized a periodic tournament called DIG Tour. DIG Tour was held once every three years, with over 100 companies, enterprises, and software organizations from around the world participating. Winning DIG Tour would elevate a participant’s reputation to an entirely new level, almost making them rulers of the software technology world.
That was what Minh Thanh spent half an hour explaining to me.
I knew about DIG. The entire world knew about DIG. DIG Tour matches were broadcast globally, more popular even than the World Cup. However, as for this Underground thing, I had no clue. I had always thought DIG Tour was simply some kind of exclusive virtual game for the wealthy. Even in this era, transferring the human mind into a virtual world still sounded incredibly vague.
But at the same time, another big question arose in my mind.
“If we’re inside Underground, then…”
Latte glared at me and snapped,
“It means exactly that, you idiot!”
Thanh smiled apologetically.
“Sorry. When we k… ki…” She frowned, struggling to pronounce it properly. “I gave you a little anesthetic.”
My head spun.
“When we kissed?”
Almost instantly, the other four turned sharply toward Thanh.
“Kissed?”
Her face turned red, but she tried to stay calm.
“It was just… just a kiss. I’m already 16, not a child anymore.”
Dai Hung lowered his voice angrily.
“So you’ve kissed all seven guys you brought here?”
“Forty-eight,” I blurted out.
“Forty-eight?” he growled, enunciating each syllable.
Minh Thanh hurriedly explained,
“No, only… only the ones who didn’t drink the water with the anesthetic.”
Latte stepped in front of Thanh, furious.
“Why? You didn’t have to do that.”
“I did it for everyone’s sake. We don’t have money to hire a Fighter, no one even remembers the name M&T anymore. If I didn’t do this, everyone would be trapped here forever!”
At that point, I couldn’t take it anymore and cut in,
“Sorry, I know this is serious, but can someone explain why I’m here?”
Thanh turned to me.
“Nguyen, we want you to be Crow’s Fighter!”
“Crow?” I repeated.
“No, Crow is the name of this sub-operating system. Seven years ago, my father founded a software company called M&T and joined DIG. Everyone here was part of the company’s DIG team back then…”
“You already had a team, so why look for someone new?”
Hung looked at me seriously.
“Why do you think we let only Thanh handle recruiting?”
Thanh’s earlier words flashed through my mind—‘trapped here forever.’
“You’re all trapped here? Inside Crow?”
Thanh nodded sadly.
“It’s been five years. We have to participate in DIG Tour to find out who caused this. Otherwise, they’ll be stuck here until they die. But DIG Tour takes place in different sub-operating systems, and they can’t leave this one…”
“So you and I…?”
“No. We can still go back to the real world normally. Only they can’t.”
Everything slowly became clear. Thanh’s father’s company joined DIG, and his team became trapped inside their own Underground system. That was why they looked younger than their real age—their age didn’t increase in the virtual world. Thanh dated boys at school not because she liked them, but to recruit new team members. She kissed them not because she was easy, but to disguise the act of drugging them.
That last thought left me feeling both relieved and strangely unsettled.
