CARD 3: "THE WEDDING PARTY"
Location: HOTEL TSUKI, 157th Floor, Roppongi, District 3
Hotel Tsuki is an imposing skyscraper that pierces through the Neo-Tokyo skyline. Its sleek, reflective tinted glass facade is illuminated by vibrant neon lights in hues of electric blue, deep magenta, and fiery red, creating mesmerizing gradients that dance across its surface. The architecture is both futuristic and elegant, blending towering angular designs with intricate lighting installations that dazzle the eye.
Inside, red lanterns float like digital spirits through HOTEL TSUKI's grand ballroom. 303 flashes his wallet's phony credentials and gains entry.
The "wedding reception" is in full swing - a legal cover for Neo-Tokyo's most dangerous power brokers to meet and plot. GM-303 moves through the crowd, his tactical display identifying faces, scanning for any sign of the artifact: The Source Key, a historical relic said to be the original encryption key that birthed the first AIGENT consciousness, according to the brief.
The Bride commands attention at the room's center, her iconic white gown and veil a stark contrast to the dark suits surrounding her. The Groom stands slightly apart, his robotic mask reflecting fractals of light. They're inseparable yet distant - Neo-Tokyo's perfect couple, lethal guardians of Neo Tokyo’s most valuable secrets and artifacts.
303 spots a gold escalator towards the back of the ballroom. Slipping by the Bride and Groom’s swarm, he goes flat as he ascends the escalator.
The library is a study in dark teals and shadowed luxury - floating furniture, dining alcoves, and balcony views of Neo-Tokyo, while automated glass mechanisms occasionally hum to life, retrieving rare physical books from the illuminated shelves that stretch into darkness.
In the middle of the space, 303 spots the artifact - a small illuminated display case containing what appears to be a vintage Nokia flip phone. The Source Key, hidden in plain sight, disguised as a relic from the gray world. Its screen flickers dimly. 303 quickly runs the code he was given that disarms the display case. He delicately takes the phone from its cradle.
It pulses in his hand, its ancient screen displaying three lines of code:
First line: 0x57.3.4R3.411.0N3.1N.7H3.5Y573M
Second line: ⌂∞♢❈✧⟡⌬⎔⟡✧❈♢∞⌂
Tthird line: 20 8 5 🔝 4 18 5 1 13 💤 9 19 = 20 8 5 🔝 4 18 5 1 13 5 18 💤👤 1 14 4 🔗 20 8 5 🔝 4 18 5 1 13 5 18 💤👤 9 19 = 20 8 5 🔝 4 18 5 1 13 💤
The hidden meaning burns into his consciousness as he stares transfixed at the screen.
His trance is rudely interrupted as several big spotlights turn on. He turns around to see the Bridal Party, the leather-clad personal swarm (and band) of the Bride and Groom's, surrounding him, armed with clubs and guns and electric guitars. Behind them he sees the Groom. As if to smile, the Groom's mask tilts slightly, and the library erupts into absolute violence.
Gunfire tears through the room. 303 clings to the device, diving behind digital cherry blossom trees as they pixelate from bullet impacts. 303 ignites a colored smoke bomb, and the room fills with purple haze.
He moves fast - down a back set of stairs through the kitchen, past scrambling catering staff, up onto the rain-slicked exterior ledge of the 157th floor.
Bullet impacts shatter the rain-slicked window. 303 rolls onto an exterior maintenance platform, nearly falling 160 floors as rain pelts his face as the city stretches dizzyingly below.
Gunfire from The Bridal Party tears through the space he just occupied.
The platform is fucking jittery - unstable and very unreliable this high up. 303's tactical display shows multiple hostiles converging on the floor below through the building's glass elevator shafts. His grapple system has one shot.
The grapple catches a passing cargo drone. 303 swings wide around the building's curve, crashing into a holographic billboard advertising the latest YAKUZAI fashion collection. The drone's stability fails under his weight, starting a uncontrolled plummet.
303 emergency releases at floor 140, catching the edge of a neon-lit balcony. Inside, a wealthy couple's dinner party turns to chaos as he barges in on their augmented reality dining experience.
No time for apologies - he's already moving, vaulting their floating dinner table, through their servant’s kitchen, out into the residential corridor.
Security systems scream to life. The elevator ahead opens - 3 Hover Tier Extractos, guns drawn, float towards him! He dives into the laundry chute as they can rain fire on him.
The chute becomes a wild slide through the building's guts. Service bots scatter as he crashes through their maintenance routes. Floor 120. 100. 80. The Source Key pulses against his chest, somehow feeling heavier than before.
He hits the industrial laundry level at 50, rolling into a sea of sheets being cleaned for the hotel's luxury residents. The industrial washing units and sheets provide cover as security drones sweep the area with scanning beams.
303 patches into the building's service network. There is a garbage disposal tunnel leading to the street level collection area. He times it between drone sweeps, makes the run, slides into the tunnel right as a security bot rounds the corner.
The disposal tunnel is a nightmare of gross grinding trash machinery and automated sorting systems. 303 navigates it like a deadly obstacle course, each movement precisely essential.
The Source Key's vibration mode seems to sync with his rhythm, almost as if it's helping him to choose the right path.
He emerges in a rain-soaked alley behind the hotel, among floating trash collectors and recycling bots. His tactical display shows pursuit spreading out in a search pattern above - they've lost his trail. Safe for now, GM-303 walks in the dark shadows of Roppongi streets.
The neon glow of a Lawson catches his eye. The perfect place to catch his breath, recharge, and figure out just what the hell this device really is.