Barely out of his night’s sleep, the young Caucasian let out a deep groan as the vibration of his cosy cocoon still warmed his slumbering muscles. Under the gentle cradling of his angelic bed - that also rubbed him with a dozen of mechanical but smooth arms - Loris sank deeper and deeper into the softening mattress.

The cradle bed rocked and fluttered, carrying him like a baby with the purest artificial love and delicacy. Proving that nothing is eternal, the bed slowly came down to floor level as if gravity was waking up too.

After gradually coming to his senses, he took a deep breath of the purest air he could enjoy, the cockpit of his bed still tightly closed. Not to mention the muscle massage and the various virtuous sound signals he could enjoy on a whim. If heaven existed, it must have such furniture.

Despite being a low-end model, Loris needed nothing more. It had everything necessary for a night of optimal and restful sleep. All the rest was superficial.

Opening his eyes, the galactic walls stroke him with a bit of the wistful ambition that embodied him in the past. The drowning nightmare still haunted him, though he could more or less ignore it in such a soothing emotional state.

When the bed reached the floor, the top part, which appeared to be made of glass, opened—allowing Loris to wake up.

What a heavenly feeling, yet Loris didn’t lose his sense of priority. He checked the time.

10:00 a.m.

He slept almost six hours, much more than usual. Yesterday’s training had deeply shocked his body.

A warm sense of nostalgia lulled his thoughts. It reminded him back when killing himself in training formed his daily routine. The only notable difference being his current lack of muscle soreness and pain. Sigh, It meant that he didn’t give it his all.

Sadly, yesterday’s training was only low to moderate-intensity to allow for long-term training. As if the current medicine couldn’t put him back on his feet in a matter of minutes. Indeed, he couldn’t afford it, but still… Thankfully, his angelic bed included recovering properties by loosening his muscles throughout the night. Its wide range of resources could replace any stretching session, whether vibration, micro-swinging, or even altering its shape to rub his muscles.

His stomach growled. Hungry as a wolf, he hurriedly ordered Aina to prepare his breakfast and went downstairs.

In the living room stood Fabrice. He was upright, floating a few centimetres above the ground. His lean arm was stretched out and slightly tilted upwards. His palm was wide-open as if he held the world within. With his eyes turned against their socket, Fabrice looked like some fanatic in a spiritual trance. His usual deep-thinking pose.

When the young Caucasian ended his breakfast, Fabrice’s eyes rolled down, returning to their normal position. It was much more comfortable to see his obsidian iris.

“Morning.”

“Morning.”

Loris remained profoundly grateful for the favour his friend did him last night. Lending or giving thirty thousand merits was no Joke. He could survive for years in the Silver City with his modest lifestyle. Even so, in order to thrive rather than survive, he spent it all within minutes. Grinning with glee, he addressed his long-legged friend. “What kind of news has our big Brain?”

Fabrice didn’t seem to share his delight. He sighed. “The situation couldn’t be more serious, Loris.”

Fist in front of the stomach, the birthday boy, assumed a butler’s stance. “Swift and serious. My ears are wide open.”

The black teen touched the ring—circling his overgrown dreadlock—turning it on. It had the same functions as Loris’ p-watch. Most people kept their personal objects turned on, allowing them to get or send information in a few micro-movements. Still, some considered p-objects as a visual and auditory nuisance. That’s why they turned it off when they weren’t using it.

A hologram appeared between the two teens. [122 450 257 983]

“Does it ring a bell??” Fabrice asked.

Loris gulped down a mouthful of his saliva. The resulting noise was quite disturbing.

“Yes…”

Last night, once again, he experienced the same...- Weird dream.

An endless white void that had yet a stable ground, a levitating black diamond, intel about a scheduled purification. It was the same setup, except for one difference. This time, the leaderboard was available. It displayed the number of living humans or, rather, Samplers and their ranking.

There were two odd points, though. First, the number displayed by the hologram was smaller than the one Loris had seen by a margin of the few tens of millions. Second, this number was way more significant than the official global population, merely above a hundred billion.

“… but the number I’ve seen was higher,” Loris answered.

Fabrice sent him a website where people uploaded the last number seen before waking up. “People are dying at an alarming rate.”

“Are we at risk? “

“Not for the moment. Most murders occurred in the UCA and within the underworld. Only a few cases have been reported in Merigen, none in Brussels. However, we should stay home for a few days.”

Loris shrugged. “Better be safe than sorry.”

The further away people died, the less concerned the two boys became. Besides their inherent egotistical nature, mourning every extraneous death had nothing healthy.

Loris pointed at the hologram. “122 billion, ugh. Could it include Human OIDs?”

“It’s unlikely. Over 20 billion of these things live in the Cyber Empire alone.” Fabrice said, his voice distorted at one point, harbouring a deep loathing.

“Do you have a plan?” Loris asked.

“We’ll talk about that with Anastasia. But be aware we might experience the fourth world war. According to my mother, it will happen; when being the only question. So you better not waste a single second of your time.” He insisted on a few words to get his point across.

This news should have frozen his blood, yet Loris remained calm. Since his last mental collapse resumed - in the white void - he had already accepted what was happening and stood ready to face it, at least mentally.

Loris hopped onto his no-gravity seat, taking a comfortable position in the air.

His mixed reality lenses allowed him to display complex audio-visual information and navigate the net with a few eye movements.

Although they should be safe for the next few days or weeks, the situation could spiral out of control overnight. Most people would rather sit back and wait passively for the government, their community or whoever they can leech on to create a safe haven, but this was not how the proud citizens of Merigen behaved. A Nation that preached individual accomplishments through the glorification of merit and genes. A society where asking for help was tantamount to giving the stick to be beaten. A shameful act violating all Merigenian dignity.

Loris wasn’t the team’s brain but remained confident in his cognitive faculties despite everyone considering him worthless. The current problem was clear for him: they needed to prepare both for the purification and any potential human hazard. Identifying potential dangers was easy, but they could hardly face any without financial means or preparation.

About two hours later, Anastasia showed up. Her hair was messy, and the heavy bags under her eyes certified a not-so-reparative rest. Surprising as she was by far the most flourishing of the trio. Although he had never seen her room, Loris had no doubt her bed was light years ahead of his. Maybe she hadn’t slept. Rethinking about it, she definitely didn’t.

Skipping the formalities, she asked in a weak voice. “Already eaten?”

Fabrice gave her a sad smile. Loris was in his own world. With the mixed reality kit turned on, he hardly noticed her presence.

Anastasia exhaled before manually taking a pastry. A habit only she had, given the primordial environment she had grown in.

Over a dozen minutes passed, and the eagle-eyed girl had long finished her breakfast, yet none exchanged a word. As the atmosphere grew increasingly uneasy, Loris broke the silence. “Have you reached the Dark-Core?”

A small ray of sunlight struck her gloomy face. Anastasia sketched out a light smile. “Yeah, I couldn’t believe it at first, but it’s real.”

At the end of her words, Fabrice made a short briefing, repeating the information he shared with Loris.

“What do we do now?” Anastasia asked.

“We need two things. The first is to secure our safety; ensuring a good score is the second. The top 10% is our only guarantee regarding the purification.” Fabrice said.

He continued his speech, but this time with multiple audio-visual supports. “To assure our security, I propose the construction of an underground base at least 150 metres below the house, with quick access from our ground floor cellar. In which we will put two years’ worth of supplies, including energy. I have uploaded a file with all the details.”

A holographic video displayed a simulation of the construction process. An autonomous mole machine dug a vertical 150-metre-deep hole in the ground and then installed a landing platform at its bottom. As the drill passed through, it released a gas that clung to the soil and stone, making it harder and more stable, preventing any underground landslide.

Then, diverse materials and supplies—needed for the underground base’s construction—were thrown within large packages that were slowed down and received by the landing platform.

Once the resources had been expedited, the mole would shape the underground base. On its tracks, a construction robot would place a pre-built lift connecting the house to the underground base.

Lastly, the robot would take care of the underground base by adding cladding layers, installing the various machines and supplies, and finishing with the minor improvements to make it safe and comfortable.

Anastasia and Loris had many questions, but looking at the total cost left them speechless.

“Are you crazy?” Anastasia asked, staring him down.

Loris laughed. “Both crazy and rich.”

Fabrice shook his head as if a bunch of idiots surrounded him.

The estimated total cost was 2,743,000 merits. Owning such a fortune would make anyone a multimillionaire.

“I don’t get why we just don’t go to the inner city. It’s cheaper and safer, no matter how deep we dig.” Anastasia said.

She gasped before looking toward Loris.

Category F citizens couldn’t access such estimated locations. A category G wasn’t even allowed to take residence in any Silver-City—suburbs or lesser metropolis of Merigen. And lower than that…. Thankfully with the current crisis, he hadn’t to think about it.

With a lovely smile, she said, “Don’t worry, my Lolo. I’ll gladly pay what is necessary for you to reach category E.”

Those who seek strong emotional support often assume that others do as well. That was a fatal mistake.

Loris looked away, both ashamed and frustrated at not being able to take care of himself. Her words formed an insult to his dignity, which he wouldn’t answer. To which he couldn’t answer. Being a burden to his friends didn’t help, but something else pained him much more. The thread of her words tickled a deep-seated complex in him, that of inferiority.

It affected most unlucky ones who weren’t born with competitive genes in Merigen. The Ungifted.

“Loris can take care of himself,” Fabrice said. As always, he spoke slowly and in a structured way. This contrasted with Anastasia, who often spoke too fast for her own good. “The inner-city is safer, but only from external threats.” He added.

Anastasia’s face turned red as a tomato, making one wonder what kind of thoughts went through her mind.

“Aina, can you lower the temperature?” She asked.

A laugh broke out; it was Loris. As clumsy as she might be, he still loved her. “I appreciate the gesture, Stasia, but it’s fine.”

She changed the subject once again. “I’m in, but the mole almost cost a million. Why don’t we lease it as you planned for the R-Constructor and the landing platform?”

“Besides the fact we have no way to bring it back to the surface without digging under the neighbour’s land, thus breaching the law, we will need it later in case of emergency.”

Ensued a lot of other questions; most were from Anastasia. Loris only asked one. It was about building rights and privacy regarding the entire operation. If all interested parties could quickly identify the existence of such a shelter, it could attract dangerous people.

While Anastasia and Fabrice mainly financed the house, the land it stood belonged to Loris’ mother. Even if a renowned category A citizen wouldn’t give much importance to a small piece of land on the city’s outskirts, her authorisation was necessary. Thankfully, Fabrice had already contacted her, and everything was alright. Thanks to her status, they shouldn’t have to worry about privacy.

As Anastasia was about to ask an eleventh question, Fabrice interrupted her.

“I feel your enthusiasm, but we have another subject to discuss.”