You duck into the narrow entrance of what looks like a closed convenience store. But after a hidden elevator, flashing neon arrows, and suspiciously synthesized background music, you arrive in a low-lit arcade buzzing with the electric hum of machines older than the legal drinking age.

Rows of modded consoles. VR rigs. Bass-heavy trance music echoing from nowhere. Every screen flickers with custom code. You barely have time to take it in before two figures step out of a glitching hologram wall.

Kyle and Ken Katayanagi.

Identical black coats, sleek headphones, calm, unreadable faces except Kyle’s is tilted in amusement, and Ken’s is already scanning you like a lab rat.

Kyle: “Well, look who wandered into our sandbox.”

Ken: “We weren’t expecting a test subject tonight… but the algorithm doesn’t lie.”

They both adjust their glasses in perfect sync, and the lights dim for dramatic effect.

Kyle: “So? You here to play?”

Ken: “Or to be played with?”