Free Warcross by Marie Lu

my ears, a female voice comes on.
    “Welcome,” the voice says. The glasses turn completely black, blocking my surroundings out. “Please look to your left.”
    When I do as it says, I see a red sphere materialize in the left field of my vision, hovering in the black space. A pleasant
ding
sounds.
    “Confirmed. Please look to your right.”
    The red sphere vanishes. I obey, and when I look to my right, there is a floating blue sphere. Another
ding
.
    “Confirmed. Please look up.”
    The blue sphere disappears, too. I look up and see a floating yellow sphere.
Ding.
    “Confirmed. Please look forward.”
    In the darkness, a gray sphere appears, followed by a cube, a pyramid, and a cylinder. Again, the
ding
sounds, followed by a brief tingle along my temples.
    “Please touch your forefinger and thumb together on both hands.”
    I obey, and it runs through a quick series of tests for my movements.
    “Thank you,” the voice says. “You are now calibrated.”
    These new glasses have such a better system than the oldones. With this simple calibration, the glasses should now be able to know my brain’s preferences and variations enough to sync up everything in Warcross to me. I wonder idly whether my hacks will still work now.
    The glasses lighten and turn clear, so that I can see the inside of the plane again. This time, a layer of virtual reality lies over my view, so that the flight attendants’ names hover over their heads. As I look on, transparent white text appears in the center of my vision.
    Welcome on board Henka Games Private Jet
    +1,000 Pts. Daily Score: +1,000
    Level 24 | N1,580
    Then the text fades out, and a virtual video feed appears, displaying a young man sitting at a long table.
    He turns to me and smiles. I’ve seen this man’s face enough times in interviews to recognize him right away—Kenn Edon, the creative director of Warcross and Hideo’s closest confidant. He sits on the official Warcross Committee, those who choose the teams and worlds that will appear in each year’s championship tournaments. Now he leans back, runs a hand through his golden hair, and offers me a smile. “Miss Chen!” he exclaims. I offer a weak wave of my hand in response.
    He glances over his shoulder. “She’s on. Want a word?”
    He’s talking to Hideo,
I realize, and my heart leaps into my throat in panic at the thought that he might see me right now.
    Hideo’s unmistakable voice answers from somewhere behind Kenn that I can’t see. “Not now,” he replies. “Give her my best.”
    My moment of panic turns into a stab of disappointment. I shouldn’t be surprised—he must be busy. Kenn turns back to giveme an apologetic nod. “You’ll have to excuse him,” he says. “If he seems a bit distant, I assure you it has little to do with his enthusiasm for you. Nothing can pull him away when he’s in the middle of working on something. He wants to thank you for coming here on such short notice.”
    Kenn sounds like he’s used to apologizing for his boss.
What is Hideo working on?
Already, I’m trying to figure out what kind of new virtual reality they have installed in their headquarters. Kenn’s not wearing any glasses, for one. The fact that I can hear Hideo reply even though he’s not logged in or wearing glasses, or that I can see Kenn talking to me live like this, is definitely new tech. “Believe me,” I reply, glancing pointedly around the plane. “I’m not bothered.”
    Kenn’s grin widens. “I can’t give you many details yet about why you’re coming here. That will be up to Hideo. He’s looking forward to meeting you.” Another wave of warmth washes over me. “But he has asked me to tell you a couple of things, to prepare you.”
    I lean forward in my chair. “Yes?”
    “We’ll have a team ready to take you to your hotel once you arrive.” He holds both hands up. “A few of your new fans may be gathered at the airport to greet you. But don’t worry. Your safety is our