New game area

Jacob was driving with the lights off on the deserted streets of Tokyo, once bustling and vibrant, now engulfed in darkness and silence. The neon lights that used to illuminate the streets are turned off and faded, leaving only a ghostly twilight. The buildings that once housed crowds and activities are now abandoned and covered in dust, with broken windows and weathered facades.

The sound of the engine resonates in the empty streets, creating a sad and melancholic echo. The air is filled with a sense of desolation, as if life itself has faded from this place. There are no laughter, no conversations, and no hustle and bustle of the city that used to fill the atmosphere.

The traveler ventures into parks and squares, where groups of friends and families used to gather to enjoy outdoor life. Now, the swings sway in the wind with no one using them, the benches are empty, and the playgrounds are covered in tall and neglected grass. The once joyful and lively park has turned into a gloomy and silent place.

As Jacob continues to explore the streets, he finds closed shops and metal shutters protecting empty shop windows. The words "closed" and "out of service" can be seen on worn-out and faded signs. The brightness and vitality that once characterized this city now seem distant and unattainable.

"It feels worse than I thought." Usagi, who was holding her shotgun and sitting in the passenger seat right next to Jacob, looked out of the closed window.

Although they believed they were alone, the sense of depression they both might have felt if they weren't together would be unimaginable. In silence, they were grateful to be able to be together in this and, what's better, to have trust in each other.

Gaining someone's trust is not easy, but Jacob had shown Usagi that he was a good man through simple aspects he didn't realize. For example, when sleeping, Jacob stayed awake watching the surroundings until late hours of the night, and when he knows it's safe, he falls asleep without making any strange movements.

She knows that he has also suffered a lot. She doesn't know much about Jacob's life, but she believes it is much more painful than hers, although she doesn't like to compare. At least they are here, away from that imprisoning world.

Boom!

At that very moment, a noise echoed throughout the city, attracting Jacob's attention and interrupting Usagi's internal thoughts. Bright lights suddenly turned on, illuminating different areas of Tokyo.

"Shall we go to the first one we find?" Jacob asked this question because Usagi's opinion mattered a lot to him.

"Yes, any game can be deadly, so it's good to go to the one closest to our shelter."

"Is that huge place okay?" Jacob pointed to a sort of enormous stadium and asked Usagi's opinion on it.

Usagi looked at the enormous place and said, "We don't have a very good experience with large places, let's go somewhere else."

"You're right about that." Jacob drove to what seemed to be an amusement park, parked the car on the side, and after looking at Usagi, said, "Not sure if this place is bigger than the stadium earlier, but I think it's better."

Usagi looked at Jacob, who had driven to a place much more eye-catching than a stadium, and said, "Well, it doesn't matter."

Upon getting out of the car, Jacob took the shotgun from Usagi's hand, and they both walked toward the amusement park. Inside, there were cell phones on a long table.

"Should we take one?" Jacob reached out and took a cell phone, which lit up when it came into contact with his hand.

While walking into a spacious area, Jacob could see that there were no more than twenty people, including them, so it seemed that the game wouldn't be that big.

"It seems we are the last ones. Welcome," said a man who seemed friendly.

Jacob turned his head and looked at that man, lowering the shotgun in his hand after nodding slightly.

"Oh... I understand, no need for violence."

"Haha, old fool, if it weren't a game, I would have blown your head off myself."

[Ting-aling-aling!]

It doesn't seem to be a really difficult game...

[Registration closed.]

Everything is about to begin, as long as it's not a game of hearts, anomalies won't happen.

[There are a total of 20 players. The game is about to begin.]

Looking around, Jacob felt that these people didn't seem normal, but some others were asking questions to which certain individuals responded.

"Don't take it the wrong way, we are good people. If you have any doubts about a certain game, you can ask me," a man wearing glasses, who seemed to be the friend of the old man who approached Jacob, said.

"Worry about passing this test first, then you can think about helping others," Jacob said in an indifferent tone.

[Ting-aling-aling!]

[Difficulty Level: Eight of Clubs]

"Damn it, I knew they would screw us over in open places." A man shouted angrily upon learning the difficulty level.

"It's a team challenge." Jacob looked at Usagi and reminded her of the type of challenge.

"We need to warm up." Usagi began to stretch, and Jacob, wearing a bulletproof vest weighing over six kilograms, started doing the same.

[Ting-aling-aling!]

[Game: Maze]

"Maze?"

"Listen, has anyone seen a damn maze in this place?"

[Ting-aling-aling!]

[Master, the scanning of the game area is complete. There are a total of ten paths, all of which converge with each other inevitably, so considering that there are twenty people, the tests will be in pairs!]

"At least something..." Jacob muttered as he looked at his potential rivals.

[Ting-aling-aling!]

[Rules: Follow one of the ten paths in pairs and overcome all obstacles until the end of the game. If one teammate dies, the other will die too!]

[Winning conditions: The main objective of "Deadly Maze" is for players to work together to overcome all challenges and reach the last level of the maze. They must demonstrate their skill, intelligence, and cooperation to survive and become the winners of the game.]

[Please line up with your duo!]

"Are you ready?" Jacob asked.

"Yes!"

[Time limit for each test is 5 minutes. The game begins in 10... 9... 8...]

When the countdown reached zero, Jacob and Usagi ran along the line separating them from other players and advanced into the unknown.