Zack dialed Phil again. The call went to voicemail. “Look, you’ve had your laugh. I’m outside in literal hell trying to find a woman while my team probably thinks I’m dead or ditching them. The tournament starts today! You’re ruining my life, man!”

As Zack hung up, a text message from Phil opened.

A little sunshine never hurt anyone.

A little sunshine? That was the understatement of the century. The afternoon sun was blinding and giving him a headache. Zack opened the settings for his OptiGlasses and tinted the lenses to reduce the glare. Normally that would happen automatically, but apparently, that feature required an internet connection or had been blocked by DaEvo as non-essential.

Zack took a deep breath and stomped away from the building. He was officially late for warmups. If he hurried, maybe he could still make it in time to discuss the Armada drones he had encountered before they began the tournament. He just had to play along until he satisfied DaEvo or until the freaking heat killed him. He was already sweating and undoing all the good from his shower.

He scrolled through DaEvo’s menu as he paced the sidewalk, which was annoyingly empty of people and offering no options for a conversation. The app cared about his hygiene and public decency. Maybe there were other ways to get points that didn’t require interacting with another human. Some quick poking around showed that there were other rewards available, but they were all locked out at this time.

He had one quest available. Talk to a woman.

Damn dating sim.

Zack swore and walked, staying in the shade whenever possible to minimize exposure to the heat. There was a park nearby. Maybe he would have better luck there. When he finally reached the park, he winced. Whoever thought a park should be made up of flat ground, sparse trees, an unmanned basketball court, and a jogging track really needed to be forced to stand outside in the Oklahoma sun as punishment. At least the lack of trees let the breeze through, though the hot air did little to cool his sweating body.

On the other hand, sure enough, a woman was jogging along the track. She looked a little older than him but based on what he had seen in the gym, she should still be fairly high level. Zack waited for DaEvo to populate her stats, but instead received a different notification.

Social network scan unable to complete. Please provide a complete facial view to activate facial recognition.

She must have her social network privacy features turned to maximum. Damn luddites and privacy enthusiasts. Zack watched her jog and tried to get his overheated brain to form a plan. Providing a complete facial view was easier said than done. The only way to get a good view of her face was to get on the track and jog in the opposite direction. Jogging was the last thing he wanted to do, but she was the only woman around. Zack had no choice.

“Stupid buggy app.”

Your alpha test bug report has been logged.

Thank you for your help in making DaEvo a success!

Zack swore softly and stepped onto the track. He jogged, his feet pounding against the pavement. The wind grew stronger and rushed through his still-damp hair. Ten steps in, the light sweat he’d worked up became a flood. Zack felt sweat beads popping out of his face as he panted for breath.

Detected increased heart rate and low oxygen level.

Fitness quests not yet available.

Scanning status.

Attempted exercise…

Please reduce physical exertion levels to achieve optimal results.

Complete current quest before attempting others.

Current Quest!

Hold a conversation with a woman face-to-face!

Restrictions: In-person. Non-VR generated. Unpaid interaction.

Difficulty: Variable

Reward: Access to electronics and internet

Zack swiped away the notifications as fast as they came. He could barely read them anyway since sweat was pouring into his eyes.

Maybe he should walk instead. Walking would give the app a better view of the woman’s face. That was why he was slowing down. He just needed the program to work if he was going to complete this quest and get back to his team.

Zack walked at a brisk pace so he could pass the woman on the track sooner and get this whole nonsense quest over with. He was hyper-aware of every second that passed. How long would his team wait for him before they decided he had bailed?

The track seemed a lot longer once you were actually on it. Heat radiated off the concrete and burned his feet. He might as well exercise in an oven.

Halfway around the track, Zack stopped and leaned against a lamppost to catch his breath. He looked at the woman, who had rounded the corner and was jogging toward him. How did she keep moving so quickly? A light sheen of sweat covered her tanned skin, but she didn’t seem to be putting out much effort. Her long black hair was pulled into a ponytail that swished behind her as she ran, and her dark eyes showed no signs of exhaustion or even heavy exertion.

She noticed Zack and nodded a greeting as she passed him. DaEvo chimed.

Facial view acquired. Beginning facial recognition and importing stats.

Target does not meet current difficulty requirements (Hard, over level 75)

Would you like to downgrade difficulty to medium?

Zack selected yes, and a stream of data filled his vision as DaEvo calculated the woman’s level. In short order, Zack had a glimpse of her life as she had shown it to the world. Admittedly, that wasn’t much. Her social media profiles showed her job as a pediatrician, links to her blog, and a blog in which she posted about her latest meal recipe for a chicken salad. DaEvo seemed to be pulling more information, maybe bypassing her privacy settings, but most of it flashed by too quickly for Zack to read. A moment later, the data consolidated.

Cassie Jones (Social Level 65)

Physique: 81

Style: 59

Reputation: 34

Occupation: 87

Zack glanced through the stats. She wasn’t anywhere near Kayla’s level, but maybe it would work better to start off easier. He just had to talk to her. Bonus points for the sexy growl, laughter, and physical contact.

By the time Zack had read the stats, Cassie was nearly around the track again. Honestly, how did she move so quickly? He pushed away from the lamppost and continued walking along the track.

Target acquired. Moving in for the kill. This was easy, just a milk run like the first missions in Star Fury, where you had to do a delivery quest to prove you had what it took to be a Corsair.

Talk to Cassie for one minute and get his life back. Simple.