UP UP DOWN DOWN

Still in my room, it was 9 PM. Strange, I thought I had spent hours in UP UP DOWN DOWN. Odd indeed. I had overused my stamina during the last confrontation. I should limit the use of codes that consume too much energy and focus on combos instead. I remembered that when I played the game on my computer, the maps were filled with a series of obstacles and some enemies before reaching the final boss—Marmiton.

While reflecting on this, the virtual interface of UP UP DOWN DOWN manifested holographically in my room, accompanied by a digital voice.

Digital Voice: "You have failed, young human. That's regrettable."

McLovin: "Just shut up, I don't need your negativity."

Digital Voice: "Nonetheless, Marmiton continues to wreak havoc in the real world, causing more catastrophes. This is manifesting somewhere on Earth, in Hawaii. For several hours now, there have been earthquakes and boiling eruptions. Marmiton is causing these disasters from within the virtual world."

So, if I understood correctly, what the digital entity was explaining was that Marmiton was triggering natural disasters in the real world through his attacks in the virtual world. It was as if the virtual world was a mirror of the real one—everything reflected in the real world originated from the virtual world.

Digital Voice: "But this is only Phase One. If the bug on Map Earth 009 is not fixed, Marmiton could fully gain power in both the virtual and real worlds, existing simultaneously in both planes."

McLovin: "And what am I supposed to do?"

At that moment, a bright light appeared in my room, and I saw an object shaped like a futuristic phone.

Digital Voice: "This is a code key, an Exo Lock."

I remembered that in the game, Exo Locks were important artifacts, often illegal, developed by rogue creators. These artifacts allowed players of UP UP DOWN DOWN to execute cheat codes. In essence, they enabled players to manipulate the internal mechanics of the game, adjusting factors like time, numerical data, or gravity—even rewriting fundamental aspects of the game itself. However, this depended on the player's experience level.

But the digital entity had some surprising information to share.

Digital Voice: "However, I've created two Exo Locks for you: one for the real world and another for the virtual world, which you're already familiar with."

McLovin: "What's the purpose of the real-world Exo Lock?"

Digital Voice: "The real-world Exo Lock allows you to mitigate and activate locking functions relative to the reality you traverse—for example, temporarily stopping the damage caused by the virtual world on the real world, with a 48-hour duration renewable every 24 hours."

McLovin: "Sorry, but could you simplify that? I didn't understand a thing."

Digital Voice: "Try manipulating the device and perform an automatic scan."

I opened my phone's interface and accessed three menus: Auto Scan, Stop, and Resume. When I clicked on Auto Scan, a beeping noise began. After the scan was completed, I could see one of the bugs on Map Earth 009 linked to the incidents in Hawaii. I then clicked on Stop, and suddenly, a holographic interface began displaying a series of messages.

[INTERFACE]:

You have stopped the convergence between the real and virtual worlds. However, you have 48 hours to fix the bug on Map Earth 009.

At that moment, the disasters in Hawaii must have subsided thanks to the real-world Exo Lock. But I still needed to return to UP UP DOWN DOWN, restart the first map from the beginning, exterminate the monsters, defeat Marmiton, and fix the bug.

The problem was that I no longer knew how to return to that universe. I had accessed it by pure chance before, so I asked the digital entity for guidance.

McLovin: "Hey, genius, how do I rejoin UP UP DOWN DOWN?"

Digital Voice: "You need to execute a combination of codes on your virtual interface and then shout 'UP UP DOWN DOWN' loudly to be transported. But you'll also need the Gamer's Glove."

McLovin: "The Gamer's Glove? What's that supposed to be now?"

Digital Voice: "It's a gadget that will allow you to execute codes, enabling you to switch between the virtual and real worlds. However, complete some tasks in the real world to gain experience and unlock the gadget."

With those final words, the entity vanished. It was late, and I decided to close my eyes and get some sleep. A good night's rest would ease some of the daily stress I was dealing with.

The next morning, at 7 AM, I woke up to a notification from my interface displaying:

[Daily Challenges]

•Unclog 10 toilets in your city.

McLovin: "Seriously? They think I'm a janitor or something."

I quickly grabbed my red jacket and my Exo Lock, ready to leave the house when my father stopped me at the door.

My Father: "Hey Barry, it's rare to see you up so early... How was your night without the console?"

At that moment, I had the urge to punch him in the face, but I had a challenge to complete and only a day and a half to do it.

As I walked through the streets of Newtown, I noticed job advertisements posted everywhere. While searching, I finally found one at a five-star hotel, the Jackson Hotel.

I pulled out my phone and snapped a photo of the hotel's address, located in a secluded part of Wall Street. Just as I was about to leave, a hand grabbed me. Turning around, I recognized familiar faces—it was those thugs who had a nasty habit of mugging and harassing me.

McLovin: "Seriously, Franklin, leave me alone. I don't have time for this."

Before I could say anything more, he landed a violent punch to my face. One of his friends tackled me from behind, and I found myself on the ground.

McLovin: "ARGH!"

Franklin and his friends were trying to take my Exo Lock.

McLovin: "No, don't take it! It's important to me."

Franklin: "If you don't shut your dirty mouth, I'll mess up your sister. Got it?"

McLovin: "What are you talking about? I don't even have a sister."

My words seemed to irritate them even more. As Franklin prepared to strike me again, the Exo Lock vibrated in his hands.

"Huh? A call?" Franklin muttered.

The virtual interface appeared, invisible to their eyes, displaying:

[INTERFACE]:

The Exo Lock has activated. Danger detected—player BVC4657 is under attack. The Exo Lock will initiate self-defense.

Suddenly, the vibrations stopped, and Franklin attacked again with a jab. This time, however, my body dodged instinctively.

McLovin: "Whoa, I've got Ultra Instinct!"

That's what I thought to myself. I then retaliated with a violent headbutt to Franklin's nose. The impact was loud, and blood splattered everywhere. Franklin, dazed, dropped to his knees, nose bleeding profusely.

His friends lunged at me, but strangely, I began executing judo techniques, which made no sense since I'd never practiced the martial art. After leaving all three thugs in bad shape, the Exo Lock vibrated again and displayed:

[NOTIFICATION]:

•Self-Defense Skill Unlocked

•Judo Skill Unlocked

McLovin: "How are these skills even going to help me?"

I boarded a bus heading to Wall Street and sat beside a young woman with tanned skin and blonde hair—a stunning blonde with blue eyes. As I stared out the window, dressed in my black UP UP DOWN DOWN limited-edition jacket, I heard her voice.

Feminine Voice: "Do you play UP UP DOWN DOWN?"

Turning to face her, I was intimidated but kept my cool.

McLovin: "Yeah, that's right. You into video games?"

Young Woman: "Yes, but unfortunately, I couldn't finish UP UP DOWN DOWN because the servers are down. They've been under maintenance since yesterday, which is strange. The game developers can't seem to fix the bug."

I wanted to explain what was really happening, but she'd think I was crazy. So, I decided to play along, acting as though the recent in-game bug was normal.

However, my stop arrived, and I had to get off.

McLovin: "Sorry, I've got somewhere to be. It was nice talking to you, even if it was brief."

Young Woman: "Wait! I didn't introduce myself. My name's Lisa Parker. Here, take this... It's my contact info. Maybe we can meet again to chat or play some games."

McLovin: "Why not?"

I stepped off the bus and walked along Wall Street toward the Jackson Hotel. After a few minutes, I finally saw the hotel entrance. The building was as tall as a skyscraper. Its internal architecture and the luxury it exuded were unparalleled—undoubtedly a place for the wealthiest people on the planet.

Approaching the concierge, an elegantly dressed woman, I spoke up.

Concierge: "Would you like to book a room?"

McLovin: "Actually, no. I'm here about a job posting I saw in the ads."

Concierge: "Ah, that... You'll need to head to the third floor via the elevator. The recruitment office is there."

I wasn't particularly interested in applying for the job; I just wanted to complete my daily challenge and fix the bug as quickly as possible.