“Why did you suddenly hide?”
“Please be quiet for a moment…”
Something’s strange.
No defense at the base means they’re giving up on both defense and offense.
Even if they give up on defense and go all-in on offense, they still have to return to the base.
Even if they try to exploit the rules, they shouldn’t accumulate warnings to the point of penalty.
A surprise attack is highly likely.
…But even looking around, there’s no place to launch a surprise attack.
What on earth is Seong-ho thinking…?
I can’t think of anything.
I don’t understand any of the opposing team’s actions.
But I was sure that Seong-ho would have a reason.
[01:42]
Before I knew it, more than 3 minutes had passed.
“Number 456… we can’t win if we don’t go now.”
“Aren’t you worrying too much?”
Number 72 said anxiously, and I realized there was no time.
But if we get ambushed, not only will we lose the score, but we’ll also be at a disadvantage in the next round due to warnings.
What should I do…?
Even as I’m thinking, time is still passing.
“…Let’s pick it quickly.”
[Thump! Thump!]
As soon as they heard me, Number 72 and Number 281, including myself, scattered and started running.
Fortunately, the distance wasn’t that great.
[Thud!]
I picked up the flag and looked around, but there was still no ambush.
I immediately turned around and started running at full speed.
“Let’s go quickly!”
[Thump, Thump]
But what if we get ambushed on the way back to the base…?
The score was still 0-0, so we had to think about the next round as well.
The moment most of our team gets warnings… it’s over.
“Stop for a moment!”
As if obeying my words, Numbers 218 and 72 hid behind an obstacle.
“But Number 456…! Time…!”
“…Please be quiet for a moment.”
Running at full speed, I had reached the middle of the gymnasium, but now I had to be careful.
Besides, the opponent would have already figured out our location with the sprint we just did.
…Above all, anxiety washed over my whole body.
[00:43]
Looking at the timer, there was less than a minute left.
If we sprint while minimizing the time spent being cautious, we should be able to arrive just in time.
But… maybe they’re preparing an ambush.
It was unclear how the opponent was moving, but time was running out.
…Now we had to move.
“There’s no time left…!”
“…Let’s run quietly while being cautious.”
[Thump, Thump]
But is this really right…?
My best was to run while being cautious of my surroundings.
Anxiety continued to tickle my back, but there was nothing I could do.
…I had to rationalize it that way.
[00:22]
As I was thinking, I could sense that I had almost arrived, judging from the surrounding obstacles.
Now, I just had to pass a few obstacles in front of me to arrive.
I should be able to arrive just in time.
[Click-]
[The second round has ended]
“Huh…?”
The round ended before time was up, which means…
“Number 456!? How did this happen??”
The score wasn’t out yet, but I was sure.
It clearly meant that the blue team won.
[Both teams, please return to your respective flags]
Then, the flag in my hand slowly began to disappear.
…Is it a hologram?
If it’s a hologram, how could I touch it?
But that wasn’t important.
…First, I had to return to the base.
…
“Number 1 trolled, I’m telling you?”
“Huh? What are you talking about~? I didn’t do anything, heh.”
When I returned to the base, Number 320 suddenly pointed at Number 1, seemingly excited.
…First, I had to find out what happened.
“What on earth happened?”
“There were about 1 man and 2 women, so we could have stopped them, but that bitch blocked it!?”
I didn’t understand.
A teammate interfered with the defense…?
No matter how strange Number 1’s personality is, she wouldn’t want to be eliminated.
…Maybe it’s something like a suicide pact…?
“First of all, Number 320, calm down. Number 1, is that true?”
When Number 72 opened her mouth sternly, Number 1 shook her head as if it were obvious.
[Step… Step…]
“That bitch is even lying now…!”
“Whoa, whoa, calm down first.”
Certainly, something was strange if there were 3 women and 1 man.
If Number 320 tried to stop the women, a warning broadcast would have been played.
…It wasn’t entirely impossible.
Come to think of it, why were there only 3 people…?
“Number 320, tell me about the appearance of those 3 people.”
“Um… the two women had black bobs and big breasts, and the one man was well-built, but he wasn’t the runner-up we met last time.”
…Yoo-jin and Mr. Seong-ho weren’t there.
Where were those two while the game was going on…?
It was full of questions.
First, I needed to revise the strategy.
“…This time, let’s have four defenders… no, three.”
“Number 1 and I will attack.”
“We need to go for a long game to figure out the opponent’s strategy.”
There was a possibility of warnings if there were only men on defense, but I had to figure out the strategy.
If possible, I wanted to have 4 defenders… but if Number 1’s trolling was true, attacking was better.
Looking at my left arm, I could feel only this arm trembling.
…If I get castrated, will I react more easily to tension?
I must never get separated.
“Number 1, follow me when the next round starts.”
“Could it be… me…?”
…What on earth is she thinking?
Oh, does she think I’m looking at Number 1 that way?
That will never happen, so you can rest assured.
“…Shut up and follow me.”
…
[Now, let’s start the third round]
[Bang!]
As soon as the gunshot rang out, I started running.
Certainly, time was too tight.
Rather, there was a merit that you would receive fewer warnings if a woman went on the attack…
In a situation where you would be separated if you lost here again, I couldn’t afford to worry about warnings.
[Thump, Thump]
“Are you following me well?”
“You’re so slow? You’re such a loser~”
…She seems to be fine since her tone is still the same.
More than that, she runs surprisingly fast even though she’s a woman.
Well, maybe she was a track and field athlete when she was a man.
“Wait a minute…! Hide…”
I heard footsteps nearby.
Unless I know what the opponent’s strategy is, I have to be careful even with small sounds.
“…Are you scared?”
She’s getting on my nerves even though she’s hiding.
…She’s cute, so I’ll put up with it.
I can’t properly distinguish whether it’s a woman… or a man just by the footsteps.
What strategy did Seong-ho come up with this time…?
[03:49]
Looking at the time, I was relieved that I had plenty of time.
“Ah~ really! You’re hiding in a place like this because you’re a coward, right? I’m going first~”
[Thump, Thump]
“Wa… Wait a minute…!”
She suddenly ran out.
…I shouldn’t have put her on the team.
First of all, hiding like this would only waste time, so I decided to separate from Number 1 for the time being and move forward while being cautious.
Fortunately, the footsteps were getting farther and farther away.
Did they notice that Number 1 ran out just now…?
I decided to take advantage of the situation where Number 1 was attracting aggro.
[Thump, Thump]
Fortunately, the distance to the blue flag wasn’t that far.
…But what is this anxiety?
If I pass one obstacle in front of me, it’s the flag.
There’s a high probability that my location has already been revealed.
After capturing the flag, I had to run at full speed.
…But even if I roughly know Mr. Seong-ho’s running speed, I didn’t know the running speed of the other man.
If I get ambushed and caught…
Let’s not worry about it and just think about running.
[Rustle]
“Huh…?”
There’s no flag in the hole…
How did this happen?
Did Number 1 already take the flag?
But if so, I should have seen Number 1 in the middle.
…There was only one conclusion.
They deliberately took out the flag from the base.
Why didn’t I think of this?
Then where is that flag?
They hid it… or one of the team members is holding it.
[03:05]
There was enough time, but our base could be attacked within that time.
…Unfortunately, Number 1 ran out first, and the situation got twisted.
First, I need to go back to the base and check the condition…
[Step… Step…]
Someone was coming to this base.
Who is it…? Number 1? Or the opponent?
There was a high probability that it was the opponent.
“Ji-yoon…”
Huh…?
When I turned my head to the side, I saw a familiar silhouette.
Black permed hair… familiar yet big eyes and top-notch looks… a pretty good physique…
It was Mr. Seong-ho.
I couldn’t even speak because of the sudden situation.
Then, when Mr. Seong-ho gave me a look at something behind me, I sensed it and immediately tried to lift my head.
Yellow long hair… looks no less than a celebrity.
“Why is Yu-jin here!?”
What on earth is going on…?
Above all, she was running out with red flags in both hands.
I immediately sensed the crisis and ran out at full speed.
As I got closer and closer, I could see Number 281 chasing after Yu-jin at full speed behind her.
Did they fail to defend…?
“Mr. Seong-min!! What’s going on!”
I called out quite loudly, but Number 281 didn’t answer, seemingly quite anxious.
If Yoo-jin attacked and failed to defend, a warning broadcast should have been played.
I had no idea what was going on, but if this continued, I would be separated.
I had to stop it no matter what.
[Thump! Thump!]
Fortunately, she wasn’t running very fast, probably because she was tired.
However.
“Senior!! Catch!”
[Whoosh-]
She threw the flag at Mr. Seong-ho.
She was clearly aiming for me to get closer.
But… does she throw a flag that looks quite heavy that easily?
Come to think of it, when I held the flag before, it was lighter than I thought, so I could run at full speed without any burden.
In the first place, it was closer to a hologram than being in reality.
[Thud-]
“Ji-yoon… I’m sorry…”
…I didn’t want to admit that it was my defeat.
At least I didn’t understand the last round, even if I didn’t know about this round.
It was too much of a hastily made plan.
I was thinking with all my might about such a plan…?
I felt like I was a fool.
[Step… Step…]
[Click-]
[The third round has ended]
[The game has ended with the victory of the blue team]
Then, two people slowly started walking towards me.
They had the bizarre-shaped pink guns that I had seen before in their bodies.
My heart started beating fast.
When they pointed the guns at me, my whole body seemed to tremble.
“Wa… Wait a minute…!”
[Bang!]
