(Probably Found) Searching for a subterranean/dystopian title

[mgall]

Hi all,
I've been searching forever for a book that I read in middle school and I just can't find it, so I'm hoping you can help

The book is about a boy who is living in an underground world as a result of nuclear war. I don't remember exactly why, but he plays these sort of virtual reality video games, and he's quite good at them. The government of the underground world recognizes his talent, and they decide they want to recruit him for their "military." But the military is also digital - no real blood shed, but it's like a tactical video game. The government is planning to fight a war over this last piece of livable land above ground, and they want to use the boy to win it. The boy doesn't know this, however, until he meets a girl who explains the existence of this non-nuclear land above ground. So the boy bargains with the government that if he wins, he and the girl get to live on the land. They agree, so he and this girl get to live there.

Another important detail is that this boy can always remember exactly what time it is, but in the end, as he stands above ground with the girl, he forgets it.

Does anyone have any ideas? I thought maybe This Time of Darkness or Ender's Game or The City Under Ground, but none of them fit exactly. I'm beginning to feel as if this was just an elaborate dream...

 

[CassFrank]

I wonder if this is Virtual War by Gloria Skurzynski (2003). Synopsis:

“By the year 2080, plague, disease, and nuclear war have confined Earth's two million human survivors to a few domed cities, where they are governed by the Western Hemisphere Federation, the Eurasian Alliance, or the Pan Pacific Coalition. When it is discovered that a small group of islands in the Pacific has become livable again, the three federations decide to wage a bloodless virtual war, with the winner to take possession of the island called Nuku Hiva.

All his life Corgan, then fourteen, has trained to be the champion of the Western Federation. Genetically engineered for quick reflexes, superior physical condition, and a remarkable time-splitting ability, he's been raised in isolation inside a virtual reality Box.

Only three weeks before the start of the War, Corgan meets - virtually - his two teammates: Brig, a ten-year-old mutant who is a superb strategist, and Sharla, the same age as Corgan. It is Sharla, with her brilliant ability to break codes, who brings him his first real human contact. She also teaches him to mistrust the Supreme Council, whose orders he'd always obeyed.”

 

[Pyan]

Judging from the similarity of the synopsis to the OP's description of the book, I think this is another candidate for the "Probably Found" label.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Wonderful job with the book searches, @CassFrank! I'm greatly enjoying your detective work on these old search requests. Thanks for taking the time to help clear up so many mysteries, CC