After a journey involving subways and buses, Eric finally arrived at the research institute two hours later. The entrance was guarded by armed officers, and the towering electronic screens on nearby buildings continued to flash updates of the wanted list.
Entering through the main gate was out of the question. Eric circled the perimeter, only to find the institute was a fortress, impenetrable and without a single flaw.
Could the portal be inside the institute? And how could she verify this?
A shrill siren suddenly pierced the air, jolting Eric from her thoughts. She watched as the officers at the institute's entrance sprang into action, her heart leaping into her throat. Had they discovered her?
Eric turned and headed toward the escape route she had scouted earlier, quickening her pace only when she was out of sight.
The sirens echoed everywhere, and Eric even spotted a helicopter circling overhead. She ducked into the shadows, her heart pounding wildly.
Fortunately, she soon realized the officers weren't after her.
"Another player?" Eric murmured, her curiosity piqued by the commotion the other player had caused at the institute. What had they done to provoke such a response?
Perhaps that player had information about the institute?
With this thought, Eric made a bold decision.
Two kilometers away, Matsuhara dismantled the laptop he had painstakingly acquired and tossed it into a trash bin. He lifted a manhole cover and jumped into the sewer, enduring the stench as he navigated the drainage system in an attempt to escape.
He was meticulous. After emerging from the sewer, he found a public restroom, waited for an NPC to enter, knocked them out, and swapped clothes, taking their wallet and phone.
The sirens still blared in the distance. Cursing under his breath, he shoved his hands into his pockets and slipped into an alley.
Eighteen hours into the quest, the wanted list updated for the second time. Matsuhara's newly acquired outfit was immediately exposed. To his misfortune, an NPC happened to open a window and spot him, shouting, "Stowaway! There's a stowaway!"
Matsuhara bolted for his life.
Before the officers could catch him, he was chased by a dozen NPCs, his lungs burning. Suddenly, a hand grabbed him. Before he could pull out the fruit knife hidden in his sleeve, the person whispered urgently, "Player!"
The stranger dragged him along, tossing him a set of clothes. "Change, quick!"
Minutes later, a seemingly affectionate couple emerged from the alley, strolling leisurely past the panting NPCs.
Matsuhara was forced into a pair of platform shoes, their height concealed by fashionable bell-bottoms, making him appear eight centimeters taller. Eric clung to his arm, resting her head against his chest, their demeanor loving but her tone icy. "Was it you who attacked the institute?"
Matsuhara was stunned. "How did you know?"
"Is the portal inside the institute?"
He hesitated, then decided to be honest. "I don't think so. I hacked into the institute's surveillance system and didn't see it."
"...I helped you. Don't lie to me."
"I'm not lying!" Matsuhara insisted.
Eric believed him. "Then let's leave the Oasis together and head to the wasteland. Are you in?"
Even if he was lying, they'd be in the same boat.
Matsuhara was willing. The player who'd saved him seemed capable, and he knew his own strengths and weaknesses—he was skilled in hacking but physically limited.
"As long as you don't mind me slowing you down."
The two set off together.
"The first update to the wanted list was 12 hours into the quest, the second at 18 hours. If this pattern holds—0, 12, 18, 24—the next update should be at 24 hours," Matsuhara explained. "We have six hours left."
Eric had a different theory. "It could also follow the sequence 12, 6, 3. That would mean only three hours remain."
Matsuhara sighed. "Are you a pessimist?"
"Not really," Eric denied. "I just prefer to prepare for the worst."
"Fair enough."
"Let's go." Eric stepped onto the subway.
Three hours wouldn't be enough to leave the Oasis. Eric checked the route online: from their current location, it would take 15 hours to reach the nearest Oasis wall. She had wasted too much time the previous night, but the old district lacked the electronic screens constantly displaying the wanted list. When she entered the quest, it was already dark, and she hadn't heard any residents watching TV—
Gains and losses. Her cautious instincts had spared her from exposure upon entry but had also cost her the chance to gather crucial information early.
Two hours and forty-five minutes later, Eric and Matsuhara exited the subway station, moving away from the crowded areas and avoiding all surveillance.
Fifteen minutes later, the wanted list updated.
"Damn it, you were right!" Matsuhara frantically changed clothes. "It really is three hours! So the next update will come in an hour and a half, then forty-five minutes, then twenty-two and a half… Time's slipping away! Before we even exit the Oasis, the wanted list will be refreshing every few seconds!"
The thought drove him nearly mad.
"I've been such a fool—I should have stormed out of the Oasis immediately! Why did I waste effort hacking into the institute's computers?" Matsuhara lamented bitterly, while Eric's mood was equally conflicted.
Yet she understood hindsight was a luxury afforded to all. Had she left the Oasis the moment she uncovered information on the Oasis, the stowaways, and the wasteland, only to discover the portal lay within the institute? Reentering the Oasis then, with her photo continually refreshed on the wanted list, she would have been utterly trapped.
This quest appeared deceptively simple, yet concealed lethal dangers, allowing no retreat.
Adjusting her wig, Eric said, "The situation is as it is. Let's move swiftly and try to cover ground during the windows between wanted list updates! We can still take the subway for thirty minutes; after that, we must hail a taxi—then commandeer it."
Reassured by Eric's reasoned plan, Matsuhara eagerly agreed: "I'm all in. I'll follow your lead."
Half an hour later, Eric and Matsuhara emerged from the subway again. Minutes afterward, they flagged down a taxi. Mere minutes later, the wanted list updated. Seated in the front passenger spot, Eric swiftly seized the wheel and knocked out the driver.
"Do we really have to kill him? Isn't there another way?" Matsuhara stammered, trembling as Eric produced a fruit knife seemingly from nowhere. "Can't we just leave him behind?"
"And risk him waking to call the cops and having the Pursuit Bureau track this taxi?" Eric retorted sharply as she efficiently moved the driver's body into the trunk.
Matsuhara's complexion drained; clearly, he was a novice player. Eric commanded, "Hurry!"
"Y-yes!"
Before restarting the engine, Eric and Matsuhara changed clothes once more. Eric donned a mask and instructed Matsuhara to lie low in the backseat. "I'll go refuel first."
Shortly after refueling, another wanted list update flashed. Confidently, Eric and Matsuhara remained unnoticed in the cab, even breezing past a convoy of Pursuit Bureau vehicles.
As the wanted list began updating with increasing frequency—eventually every second—the car's radio broadcasted the latest alerts. Matsuhara listened intently. "Including you and me, there are thirteen players left!" He smiled. "At this pace, we're bound to escape the Oasis."
Eric, however, remained skeptical. Spotting the red light ahead, she noted the timer at ninety seconds. Impatient to avoid the queue and wary of being trapped at the intersection, she veered sharply down a side street.
The navigation dutifully guided them. Matsuhara questioned, "Why take the slow side road? Motorcycles and bikes are passing us; I don't get it."
No time to explain, Eric focused entirely on driving.
Meanwhile, a frustrated player behind the wheel angrily tapped the steering wheel. As the countdown hit single digits, he prepared to accelerate—but despite the green light, traffic ahead remained motionless. Honking in irritation at a stationary delivery van, he remained stuck for several minutes.
Finally, he exited the vehicle to investigate. His expression turned pale.
Somewhere along the way, Pursuit Bureau cars had blocked the intersection, halting all traffic. Police officers meticulously inspected every vehicle.
Disaster!
The player immediately opted to turn around, but a dozen cars jammed behind him. Trapped, he abandoned the vehicle, vaulting over a median to flee on foot into a nearby shopping district.
"There! Catch him!"
Not long after, Eric observed Pursuit Bureau officers stationed at every traffic light, stopping and inspecting passersby. Forced into a maze of side streets, she circled endlessly.
Four hours later, a traffic accident jammed the road, compelling them to abandon the taxi.
Quickly, Eric seized a motorcycle. "You can ride, right?"
"I can!" Matsuhara replied.
"Good." Eric took the opportunity to commandeer another bike. "One each."
Matsuhara, having confirmed the absence of the portal at the institute and grateful for Eric's rescue and provision of motorcycles, acknowledged she had done all she could. The journey ahead would be arduous, likely requiring frequent use of supermarket hacks. She could not risk dragging another player along without further compromising her secret.
"Take care." Eric donned her helmet and unflinchingly twisted the throttle.
Watching the motorcycles disappear into the distance, Matsuhara opened his mouth, unable to protest.
"…She probably thinks I'm a liability…" he sighed. With scant quest experience and limited stamina, he could manage only one quest daily, sometimes taking two days for one. A recent venture through the Toxic Fog quest had left him psychologically scarred, forcing a two-day recovery during which he barely ate, living on the edge. Though fearful of Eric's ruthless efficiency, he admired her composure under pressure.
"…She didn't even say her name…" Matsuhara sighed again as he mounted his bike, now on his own.