In East Capital, inside a pitch-black basement.
Not even the lights were on. A ring of screens gave off a faint glow, barely illuminating the basement.
Behind the screens sat a young man with sunken eye sockets, hair like a bird's nest, and a sour stench emanating from his entire body. Leaning back in a large chair, he scanned the circular array of computer screens.
The screens displayed one surveillance feed after another.
The feeds showed different locations—some rooms, some intersections, and some cruise ships.
People of all kinds appeared in these places, but they were all doing the same thing: holding a phone and playing the same RPG, "Baldur's Gate—Mobile Edition."
Baldur's Gate was a hugely famous Western-style RPG based on the rules of Dungeons & Dragons, or DND. One of its defining features was "using dice rolls to determine the course of battles and adventures."
It told the story of Bal, the God of Slaughter, who foresaw his own death before he died. He spread his divine power among different offspring, preparing for his resurrection through their mutual slaughter and devouring.
"Very good. Keep killing each other. A new god will be born from battle, just as humanity itself was born from battle. Labor created man? No, battle created man. Humanity wiped out the vast majority of large beasts before climbing to the top of the food chain."
The young man spoke smugly.
After watching for a while, he opened another screen and checked the latest news.
"To prevent and control the growing number of uncontrollable incidents, a new round of international cooperation is underway. Rumor has it that a super international coordination center will be established this time, with the Intelligent Computer at its core, carrying out real-time surveillance and control over every Ordinary Person..."
Seeing this,