CARD 6: "BLOCK WATERFALL"
Location: Neural Arcade, Akihabara Electric, District 4
The Block Waterfall lives up to its name - a cascading wall of holographic rain flows down the building's exterior like a realistic waterfall. Overtop the doorway, the word DRUGS glows in pink neon letters.
Inside, YAKUZAI models in sleek gear host underground parties, but they're not just getting high and measuring high scores. They're monitoring neural abilities as kids jack into bootleg consciousness accelerators disguised as racing and FPS games. Warning signs in glowing kanji mark machines as "bio-sync enabled" or "dream-state compatible."
303 sees a YAKUZAI slumped over a modified Street Fighter II cabinet, his eyes rolling back as illegal bio-feedback processors sync with his nervous system. He's getting a neural rush on Chun Li repeatedly kicking him in the face.
303 observes another ancient console machine that has been gutted and rebuilt with banned dream state modules - its player lost in some euphoric syntho-memory crystal.
Deeper towards the back we see the real merchandise: black market neural enhancers, prototype lucid dream state manipulators that never made it past clinical trials, dream-sync VCR tech that's been illegal since the Reality Wars. A cluttered makeshift clinic operating behind a curtain of static, fitting customers with unlicensed spike drives and consciousness bridges.
303 finds LC-727 tinkering with an original NEO•GEO console - now retrofitted as a neural interface station. His system corruption is evident in the way he spasmodically glitches around the space.
"Let me see it," he says, extending a loopy hand for the Source Key. His fingers dance through floating data streams as he analyzes it.
“Sure, it’s early Swarm tech," LC-727 mutters, “but more importantly, it's a three-way dream state compiler. The encryption, the quantum signatures - this SOMEHOW predates the original YAKUZAI development kit." He glances at a reinforced door marked ‘JANITOR SERVICES’. “The real lab's above us. But to hook this up, we'll need a third for the Swarm link. Dream state Swarms require a neural buffer triad. Last few solo attempts..." He trails off, eyes distant. "Let's just say the mind is not meant to compile multiple realities at once."
303 scans the arcade floor. YAKUZAI models move with precision, their fashionable exterior hiding sophisticated security protocols. One catches 303's eye - platinum hair, leather and plaid aesthetic, moving with an animal grace. Something about his pattern seems familiar, as if he's been dancing between moments of time his whole life.
"Him?” LC-727 gestures toward the platinum-haired model. "YH-891. He's been running neural buffer ops since the Third Protocol. If anyone can help stabilize a dream state link, it's him.”
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Sensing their attention, YH-891 glances over. His movements become quicker as he approaches, each step perfectly timed between blips of reality. "I felt a pulse from across the universe," he says. 303 replies, "We need a third to complete our neural swarm."
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The three of them gather near a row of modified claw machines. YH pauses. "2 MILLION YAKUZAI•CORP and I'm all yours", he demands. 303 agrees and transfers him the tokens.
A kid nearby screams bloody murder as his illegal spike drive misfires, but nobody flinches - just another night at Block Waterfall. LC-727 explains the risks: dream state connections can fracture consciousness across multiple timelines. The triad link will help stabilize the connection, but there's always a risk.
"The lab's through here," LC-727 says, approaching the 'JANITOR SERVICES' door.
"But understand - once we're linked, we're vulnerable. Any reality shifts, any consciousness fractures... we all feel it. We all suffer it.
The maintenance door opens to reveal a set of service stairs. As they ascend, the arcade's neon pulse fades, replaced by the low hum of banned reality manipulation tech.