Thanks to Akemi, I opened a bank account under my name. Now I would be able to cash out points into money from the NTL app to deposit and withdraw without suspicion. Obviously, big purchases were out of the question. Tetsu was going to suspect something if I suddenly bought a big flat screen television.
To my side, my childhood friend Akemi helped herself to rice crackers and tea I brought out for her. It was the least I could do, especially after I wiped her memory. My chest ached dwelling upon what I did to her. She came over out of the goodness of her heart, and I betrayed that kindness. This turned into another sin added to the tally.
There was one silver lining.
I knew now that the NTL app was capable of so much more than just forcing me into a round. As much as I didn't want to believe it, this mobile game affected reality. For better or for worse, I was able to make use of effects within the shop to my benefit. At the cost of points, of course. [Memory Wipe] had cost me an incredible amount of points. Having sex with someone during an NTL round could be anywhere between 30,000 to 100,000 points, and going with the upper limit still required doing it twice to afford that effect. It almost felt like robbery.
"Hey, Marika. Can I talk to you about the NTL app for a sec?" Akemi asked, putting me into panic mode again.
"What is it?" I tried to play it cool.
"I'm getting freaked out. These rounds haven't stopped coming. I stop by in the city to pick medicine up for my mom or buy groceries, the phone hits me with a notification. A few days ago, I sucked a guy off in a convenience store bathroom because it was the tamest choice! Sato, the guy I've been talking to… he's so sweet, and here I am cheating on him. What should I do? How do I get rid of this app?" The more words that spilled from Akemi's lips, the more she trembled.
I remembered. Sato was the guy from Osaka who Akemi had a thing for. They hadn't even met yet, and she still felt guilt from getting intimate with other men. Meanwhile, I…
"I'm sorry, Akemi. I wish I knew the answer." I rested a hand on her back.
"I just wonder how long this is going to last. Forever? What if I want to get married? What if I ignore the game, and it starts hurting people I love?" Akemi sulked.
"Maybe… Maybe there's a way out. I think I saw in the shop there's a five-million point purchase. It's a question mark, but I can't imagine it being anything else. Have you tried asking your Saya? Mine won't tell me a thing," I explained.
"Saya?" She cocked her head.
"Your digital avatar that helps you navigate the NTL app. You have one, don't you?" When I showed her my phone, Saya entered into view and waved.
Akemi brought out her phone, too. The avatar inhabiting her app looked different from mine. She had shorter dark brown hair, blue eyes, and tanner skin. Most of the angelic features that Saya once had, Akemi's avatar still possessed. The only impurity on hers is a partially blackened halo.
"Yours is named Saya, huh. Mine calls herself Rei. How come yours is wearing different clothes from mine?" Akemi asked.
"They're cosmetics!" I exclaimed before either avatars could answer.
[Why, yes they are!] Saya agreed enthusiastically. [You can find cosmetics in the Effects category within the shop. Buy things to apply to me, and they will affect you! For example, if you buy the Dog Collar for 20,000 points and put it on me, the world will see you as a doggy for a short duration. Lets you slip around, and people will be none the wiser! Or, or, or you put Night Vision Goggles on me for 15,000 points to allow you to see better in the dark. Oh, there's this really cool effect that costs a lot called Doctor's Appointment. For 100,000 points, you can buy a stethoscope and heal any injury! Sometimes, people have such rough sex that things go a little awry. It's important to keep players healthy so they continue playing the game!]
"As you can see, my avatar is pretty gung-ho about wanting to play." I sighed.
"I think that's true for both. Mine is kind of…" She grimaced.
[Yahoo~ It's ya girl, Rei! What's up? What's up! We gonna play another game with Marika?] Rei sounded like one of those hip city girls, her voice particularly pitchy and suffocatingly upbeat.
Somehow, I felt a lot more at ease knowing that Akemi also had a digital avatar. Artificial intelligence was what Saya called herself, if I remembered correctly. Still, they were a very unnerving piece of technology to be able to talk to us with human-like personalities.
"We don't want to buy anything. Saya, Rei. Tell us how to finish the game for good. There's gotta be a way, right? Is that five-million point thing what we want?" Akemi put our phones together side by side on the table.
[That's a secret~] Both of them responded at the same time.
[Why do you want to stop playing anyway? You're having so much fun!] Saya giggled.
[We're like totes getting along, too! Don't you wanna see how far you can go with the NTL app?] Rei asked.
Akemi picked up both our phones, pressed the power buttons, and shut them off completely. I'd never seen her more spooked before. Eyes wide and petrified like a deer in the headlights. When we were younger, Tetsu and I always looked up to her as that brave older sister figure in Togetsu. Now, she looked just as meek as a frightened rabbit. I thought to comfort Akemi until her eyes snapped in my direction.
"You got your circumstances for playing the game, and I got mine. We can at least both agree on one thing— we need an off-ramp to stop playing eventually," Akemi said.
"Agreed. But you heard Saya and Rei. They want us to keep playing. If they won't tell us how to end it, how are we going to find out anything else?" I sighed.
"After the scare with my mom, I started looking into the NTL app. I thought it was weird an app didn't have a developer listed. Well, I got Maruyama to help me look into it. We found out a computer hardware company based in Japan had developed the app. They were called Ushigome Enterprise."
"Were?"
"Ushigome got absorbed by a bigger fish in the artificial intelligence industry overseas. They needed computer parts or something, and Ushigome was their key to Japan's supply. That's all we got from a leaked shareholder statement. It's confusing for me, too. Maruyama had this grim look when he dove into it though," she explained.
"H-Hold on. Was it okay to tell Maruyama about the NTL app?" I trembled to imagine this information going back to Tetsu.
"Don't worry." My childhood friend reassured me with a hard pat on the back. "Couldn't find shit about the specifics of what the NTL app was online, which was weird. Far as Maruyama's concerned, this is just a shady app developed by a shady company."
I breathed a sigh of relief. For once, the mysterious app being mysterious served to my benefit. Akemi handed me my phone back and had to leave. She couldn't stay gone for too long. For how much she wanted to be free as a bird, her mother always came first. I waved goodbye to her from the door, then turned my phone back on as soon as I closed the door.
Booting up the NTL app, Saya didn't seem to suspect what Akemi and I had talked about. Shutting the phone off did the trick, but I doubt it would save us from a game. She did, however, question why everything suddenly went black. I distracted her by asking for help to cash out 200,000 points into my bank account.
It exploded from 0 to 400,000 Yen in an instant. A life changing amount for someone like me, or anyone living in Togetsu for that matter. Every fiber in my body wanted to spend it on something. Anything. I had the wherewithal to purchase whatever I wanted, but not the freedom to do so.
I turned on the television and derived no pleasure from the rebroadcasting of old dramas. Dead pixels sparsely populated the screen. The speakers had a slight static to them, too. I looked at the clock. 3:00 PM. Around this time, Keita would come home and greet me. Instead, my son was carving out a new life elsewhere.
[If you're bored, you can choose to start a round with a Partner~] Saya said.
"I'm not going to do anything with them. I want to limit any and all sexual encounters as much as possible. I am a little bored though… Keita is gone. Work eats up all of Tetsu's time." I frowned, gazing at the empty couch.
[Boo. Now you're being boring. Since you don't want to play… hmm. What if I told you there's another way to earn points? You want to earn more money, don't you?]
"I… I'm listening."
[The NTL app is planning to roll out a new update soon. It has a new mode called, Glimpse. You can livestream and record videos for people to watch. The more people that watch and like your content, the more points you can earn! You will be completely anonymous. Just say the word, and I'll opt you into the beta right now.]
"People will be watching it? No thanks. I'm sure I can find something else to do."
I wandered my spotless house, much cleaner now that I had a lot more free time. Maruyama had his rounds in Togetsu today, so I didn't need to lend a hand to any residents in need unless an emergency arose. Dinner wasn't for another few hours, and I'd only be cooking for myself. Tetsu's potion would be put into the fridge for when he came home late. Before I realized it, I was staring out the window from my living room.
Togetsumura appeared more claustrophobic from inside my own house. An hour had passed, and I got nothing done because nothing needed to be done.
"Saya, opt me into the beta," I said.
[As you wish!]
The digital avatar pressed the gear icon on the top right corner of the app. She navigated to a setting all the way at the bottom, checking an empty box that asked if I wanted to opt into the 'beta client'. NTL restarted, and an icon of a camera appeared next to the shop icon. Selecting that brought up two choices: [Livestream] and [Record].
"Is this safe? No one will really know who I am?" I asked.
[Yep! Any livestream or video done through the NTL app stays in the NTL app. You also have the option to blur out your face or distort your voice. Give it a try and record a video of yourself!]
At Saya's behest, I switched on the effects to blur my face and distort my voice, then selected [Record]. My phone screen turned into a mirror that reflected me. Sort of. A mosaic shrouded my face. No matter how I moved myself or the phone, the blur persisted.
"Uhm, hello?" I said nervously.
The clip lasted only a second long. I replayed it to listen to, and I sounded utterly distorted on the other end. My face remained in a mosaic. No one could possibly know it was me. Akemi and I were the only ones who knew about the NTL app in Togetsu to boot. This little remote village in the mountains of Kumamoto. If I recorded videos for points, the risk of people finding out who I am seemed extraordinarily low.
Should I risk it? To continue earning points?
"What would I even record about?" I slumped down into the couch.
[How about of you masturbating? Solo play is surprisingly popular. Lots of people loooove watching others pleasure themselves. It's called voyeurism. You can record from a seemingly hidden place to make it feel taboo!]
Leave it to Saya to express such enthusiasm. However, I didn't want to expose myself to the NTL app, no matter how secure she made it sound. An idea came to mind. What if I showed them rural life around Togetsumura? No. That was a bad idea. In the off chance someone recognized where I lived, it might draw people to come looking. I thought of something else. Akemi might be able to help me. She made a bit of living off making videos uploaded to the internet. I rang up the most knowledgeable person on the matter.
"Hello, Marika? A little too soon to be calling me, don't you think? I left your place not too long ago. There's no way I found anything new," Akemi said.
"No, I called for something else. I've been thinking about trying out content creation like you do, but I'm kind of at a loss. Any idea what I can do? I really want to try something," I explained.
"Ooooh! Did I inspire you? Hehe. Leave it to your big sis. Let's see… you could try touring Kumamoto. Tons of people love exploring rural places and don't get a chance. So the internet's really their only way."
"I'd rather not expose where I live…"
"Alright, fair. Safety reasons. How about something you're good at? You're a damn good cook. I love your food. Shit, I'm craving your curry now! Argh. If you plan to film, you can hit up Maruyama for a webcam or camera to help. Want me to talk to him?" She sounded a lot more spirited compared to before.
"No, it's fine. I'll use my phone. Cooking is something I can definitely do! Thanks, Akemi!"
"Hey, let me be your taste tester—"
I hung up. Akemi was just going to get in the way, but anything extra I made couldn't hurt giving them to her. I headed into the kitchen and set up my phone on the counter, using a plate to pin it against the wall. Where it was situated gave a nice wide view of my workspace in the kitchen. I pressed the record button and got started.
"Hello, everyone. Today, I want to make some fried chicken. My personal recipe includes pickled radishes which mellows out the spicy kick. My family really loves it when I make them!" I explained in front of my phone.
Over the next half hour, I whipped up some fried chicken with a coat of honey and garlic glaze. Throwing some sliced pickled radishes on top contrasted nicely with the golden color. I plated it and presented them in front of the camera. To prove I didn't butcher the fried chicken, I ate one piece and squealed delightfully. I might have played up my own voice though.
"Mmm! These are so delicious, I wish I could share them with everyone. My secret is adding a little bit of soy sauce to the honey and garlic glaze. I'll add the recipe in the video description so you can make it yourself. Thank you!" I ended the recording and sighed.
Saya helped me with adding a text to the video's description and uploading the final thing to Glimpse, NTL app's very own video sharing platform. Now, to wait for the views to come in. According to the app, points are awarded at every threshold of views and likes. 1,000 views awarded 100 points, and every 'like' awarded 10 points.
This was great. I wouldn't need to do sexual things to earn points. I cooked every day anyway.
"Maybe after long enough, I'd be known on this app as a cooking mom or something!" I giggled to myself.
As day turned to night, however, I couldn't stop myself from checking how the video was doing. Fourteen views and no likes. My eyes stung from staring at the phone screen for so long, glued to it hoping for a positive uptick in my cooking video. A weight pushed down on my heart.
Some comments did come in from users. Saya assured me they were merely other users on the NTL app, using Glimpse like myself. They all had unusual and absurd usernames.
User31412: Boring!
Iluvbigboobies: Do this in a naked apron instead.
Blackbull4asians: Fuck it. Cook naked. I bet your tits look amazing!
"Ugh. Everyone is so obscene. I guess I shouldn't expect anything else from an app like this." I groaned.
[Obviously no one is going to care about a cooking video. They'll look elsewhere for something like that! Go ahead and browse Glimpse. Look up some videos or livestreams to see what other player users are doing!] Saya suggested, pointing me to the [Browse] button.
I selected it reluctantly. A scrolling list of short videos between five to twenty seconds long populated the page. The first one was of a woman in bed, bouncing on a dildo shaped like a horse's penis. Another video filmed a mature woman walking through a park at night stark naked. These had tens of thousands of views and hundreds of likes.
"If people can't see my face or hear my real voice…" I took the phone into my room and set it up on a desk to face the bed.
We made sure the face censor and voice distortion were selected, then I hit record. My face was bright red anyway. I worked up the courage taking off piece after piece until I was completely naked. With the cheap vibrator I'd bought before, I began to pleasure myself in bed. At max setting, it buzzed inside me intensely.
"Amazing… Nnh… It feels good!" I found myself muttering. Pushing the vibrator deep into my pussy brought me closer to an orgasm. I grabbed my own breasts, twisting and pinching my stiff nipples the way Principal Iwata did. Pleasure assailed me from every direction. "I'm cumming… I'm cumming!"
The powerful climax blinded me. I laid unmoving in bed, catching my breath. The vibrator had slipped out of me. Embarrassed, I got up and tiptoed over to my phone to stop the recording. That felt dirty, but I enjoyed every moment of it.
"Saya, can you upload this while I go take a shower?" I asked.
[Sure thing, you sexy minx!] Saya did as I requested.
I was only gone for fifteen minutes. When I came back, my phone was pinging from notifications and activity. I raced over to pick it up from my bed, nearly letting it slip in the process. 2,000 views and 43 likes already in the span of a quarter of an hour. Compared to the few comments from the cooking video, this one was already in the double digits. The topmost comment was a familiar username.
Blackbull4asians: Now you're cooking! I knew you had some Grade-A titties.
There were more salacious comments, too.
12inches: I want to fuck you so bad, baby.
Immagrowernotashower: Imagine getting your dick sandwiched between those tits.
Cuckboy4000: You're so fucking hot. Is that a ring on your finger? Does your husband know you do this?
Crap. I looked down at my ring finger, but the moment of panic didn't last long. There were numerous married women around the world. Seeing my ring shouldn't mean anything.
[What do you think, Marika? The crazier and hotter the video, the more interactions you're going to get! How about you try inviting a partner next time?] Saya tapped on the Partners icon on the top left.
"N-No, this is more than enough. Yeah. It's enough," I said, my heart elevating as I watched my masturbation video on repeat.