As an arrow struck and fell to the floor, my legs gave way and I collapsed.
Is this… disqualification?
Both arrows are gone, so there’s no hope…?
Who threw them in the first place…?
My mind was filled with confusion.
I wanted to resent the person responsible to death, but no suitable curse words came to mind.
After all, they must have been desperate too…
Recalling the tentacle incident from before made me feel hopeless about the future.
[Now, we will announce the penalties for the arrows.]
[Participants with 1 or 2 dropped arrows will receive penalties prepared in the auditorium.]
Huh…?
Dropping arrows doesn’t necessarily mean disqualification?
Come to think of it, when the initial announcement was made, it only said that inserting 3 arrows meant passing…
I don’t remember anything beyond that.
So… I won’t have to endure that tentacle torture?
“Nice…!!”
Filled with newfound hope, I jumped up from my seat.
Just moments ago, I was sitting there as if the world had collapsed…
[And those disqualified with 3 dropped arrows will receive the punishment as planned.]
“Aaaaaaaah!!”
As the announcement echoed, cries of despair rang out from all directions.
Perhaps because there were far more women now, the tones seemed to rise to the level of gongs.
‘How unfortunate…’
It reminded me of myself during the flag snatching game, so I felt a little sorry for them.
But what could I do? lol
I survived, and they were eliminated.
In fact, the more eliminated, the fewer competitors I had to contend with, so I was secretly pleased.
The game was ostensibly based on absolute evaluation, but… it was mostly designed to encourage competition.
And ironically, the more you were modified, the more disadvantaged you became in the game.
Being modified generally made your body weaker overall.
After the body weakened, even your actions and mind seemed to become frail.
Depending on the situation, some people worked harder to avoid modification…
But eventually, as their energy dwindled, the participants who were already likely to be eliminated were further eliminated.
Polarization was occurring within the game.
Looking at it this way, it felt like this game was a small society in itself.
[Now, we ask all participants except those who have been eliminated to move outside the building.]
As the announcement rang out, I suppressed the feeling of wanting to soar into the sky and ran towards the door.
I didn’t pass completely, but at least I avoided elimination, which was incredibly satisfying.
“Haa…”
In contrast to the heavy atmosphere throughout the game, I now felt lighter than a feather.
The remaining participants seemed to be reminded of the shuttlecock kicking game and were quickly leaving the building.
At that moment…
[Tss-]
A slightly pinkish gas was descending from the building.
It was a similar situation to the shuttlecock kicking game.
…I had to get out even faster.
[Thud, thud.]
But before I knew it, the surroundings were obscured by the smoke.
…Was this going to be a déjà vu of last time?
[Grab-]
“Uh…? Who…”
“Over here!”
Someone grabbed my hand and ran somewhere, but I couldn’t even make out their features properly because of the smoke.
Judging by the deep voice, it didn’t seem to be a woman.
[Click-]
As if I was the last one, I heard the sound of the back door locking as I stepped into the kids’ cafe.
And…
“Kaaaaaah…!”
[Bang!, Bang!]
Along with the sound of gas leaking, there were gunshots and screams.
If you misheard, it might sound like a massacre.
…Hearing the sounds triggered my trauma, and my pace quickened involuntarily.
“Haa… haa…”
I felt like I was suffocating, probably from running continuously and inhaling the gas.
Come to think of it… if it weren’t for the person who grabbed my hand, I would have collapsed.
“Are… you okay…?”
I looked up at the awkward Korean and saw a man who appeared to be Black.
He was quite large, giving off the vibe of a typical American Black dude.
“Anyway, thank you for helping… cough…”
I managed to get out of the building, but I coughed and staggered, probably from inhaling too much gas.
My vision kept blurring and I felt dizzy, as if I would faint if I lost focus for even a moment.
“Shall… I carry you…?”
I wanted to refuse, but I couldn’t even speak properly.
My body wouldn’t listen to me anyway.
“Ugh…”
[Thump-]
…
“Where…”
When I woke up, I saw a familiar crimson blanket.
It felt soft and plush, so it seemed to be… a bed.
Looking around, I could confirm that it was the auditorium.
“Um… are you okay…?”
I was startled by the sudden voice next to me and turned to see the Black man I had seen before waking up.
Now that I was conscious, I saw a white patch that read ‘199’.
“Are you the one who should be asking that…”
“By the way, were you waiting here the whole time I was asleep?”
“I was… worried…”
Was it because he was a foreigner?
His speech seemed quite awkward.
Ah… I wonder if Seongho and Yujin are okay.
“Have you… seen anyone with the numbers 107 and 164 on them?”
“Ah…! I have seen someo-ne with 107… but 164…”
It seemed Seongho was already in the auditorium, but Yujin was missing…
There was a possibility that Yujin had been eliminated.
Come to think of it, was the modification already over?
I couldn’t quite grasp how much time had passed.
“…I’ll go get them…!”
[Thud-]
“Ah… it’s okay…! It’s okay!”
Since Seongho was already in the auditorium, there was no need to go looking for him…
He was probably talking to the team we saw during the flag snatching game.
I should probably get my tablet to check the time.
“Um, I need to go somewhere… can I ask what your name is?”
“My name is George Afriyie…!”
I could roughly understand the first name, but the last name…
I should just call him by his first name for convenience.
“Can I just call you George…?”
“And what is your nationality…?”
“Ah… I’m from Ghana.”
Why would someone from Ghana be in a game like this?
Did they not care about the nationality of the participants here?
Still, having someone with a large build on the team would be quite beneficial.
[Step… step…]
“See you later, George.”
“I’ll teach you some Korean next time.”
“Thank… you…! Number 456!”
“…Can you just call me Jiyoon…?”
Even so, it seemed like I was meeting a lot of good people since coming here.
…
When I turned on the tablet, the first thing I saw was March 24th.
I had seen the date occasionally, but it felt both fast and slow.
The time was exactly 11 PM.
It must be quite dark outside now.
I remembered it being morning before the game, so quite a bit of time had passed.
Lunch and dinner had been skipped, including last time, so I was quite hungry.
“Haa…”
Come to think of it, I remembered setting up a table with cup noodles and a microwave two days ago.
I slowly walked towards the table and saw that there was no hot water.
…Did they not allow hot water for safety reasons?
It was practically telling us to pour cold water into the cup noodles and use the microwave.
These satanic bastards…
But I was hungry, so I had no choice.
[Beep-]
After pouring some powder soup and water into the cup noodles and microwaving them, a question suddenly arose.
Didn’t they say there would be a penalty?
But there had been no special announcements until 11 PM.
Come to think of it, it was well past the lights-out time, but the lights were still on.
Was something going on…?
[Beep-, beep-]
Just then, the microwave beeped, and when I took out the cup noodles, they looked surprisingly appetizing.
“Mmm~”
I had skipped almost two days of meals, excluding breakfast, so I was eating so well that it even scared me.
This had never happened since becoming a woman…
Even if I was modified, I was still human, it seemed.
Modification had become commonplace, and I had been questioning it since last time.
‘Are we really human?’
But now I didn’t have to worry about that, at least.
If we have the form, eat, poop, and sleep, then we’re all human.
…
I was so hungry that I even drank the broth from the cup noodles.
I could have just eaten two cup noodles…
I had heard that cup noodle broth wasn’t good for your health, so I usually avoided it.
I never thought I would drink it in a place like this…
I briefly turned on the tablet and saw that it was around 11:08 PM.
Was it because my body was weak…? Or was I just exhausted from the last game?
After eating, I was overcome with fatigue to the point where my eyes were closing on their own.
I should probably get some sleep.
[Step… step…]
When I finally got to the bed, the crimson blanket and pillow welcomed me.
I would usually avoid it, but I was too tired, so I lost strength and collapsed onto the bed.
“Haa…”
The blanket smelled good, as if it was washed every day, even without special care.
Come to think of it, I had brought the tablet to the bed while half-asleep, but I wanted to sleep first.
I just wished it was all a dream…
✦✦✦
[Bang, bang!!]
[Shhh!]
I suddenly woke up from the bed at the sound of thunderous gunshots.
What on earth was going on…?
My mind was confused and my body was languid, probably from waking up in the middle of sleep.
I got out of bed to assess the situation and looked around the auditorium, and it seemed that the other participants had just woken up as well.
“Jiyoon, are you okay…?”
I turned my head and saw Seungho.
“What… is going on?”
“I don’t know either…”
The constant gunshots were making my head spin.
The only conclusion I could draw with my current state of mind was to hide.
At that moment…
[Thoom-]
[Bang!]