Arisu's Group

The group of Arisu was discussing what this world was, what brought them to this place, and who controlled the games. Like everyone who newly arrived in this world, they asked the same senseless questions without any guidance.

That same night, Chota's friends, who had been injured, were discussing his condition.

"I think Chota needs to see a doctor," said Arisu, walking alongside Kaita and pointing. "From his demeanor, he must be enduring a lot of pain. But he's reached his limit."

"Arisu..." Kaita spoke in a slow tone. "We have to return to the game tomorrow night. Just the two of us."

"What?" Arisu was surprised and pointed out, "We still have three days left on our visa."

"It's better to get used to the game while we still have time," Karube reflected and said, "I think we'll have to finish a game with Chota's injured leg."

"You're right, but..."

"And we could look for a doctor. You know it's easier to meet people while playing." Karube was the toughest among Arisu's friends.

"Do we have to go back?" Arisu was terrified.

"Maybe we'll find a clue about what's happening in this place!"

Arisu thought about it and nodded. "If we join the game, maybe we'll discover its nature."

"Its nature?" Karube was confused by those words.

"If someone really created this game, we'll see its characteristics through the games. If we discover that, maybe we'll find a strategy for the games." Arisu had a plan to follow, something much smarter than just playing for survival.

...

"We'll avoid crowded places, but we won't go too far to save fuel," said Jacob as he drove. This time, he was equipped with all his weaponry since from this moment on, he couldn't afford to let his guard down.

"The lights are on right in front of us," said Usagi, pointing to a relatively large building.

"I still don't trust large places." Jacob parked the car on the side of the road. This time, Usagi only carried a low-caliber pistol and several knives strapped to her leg. For her, being agile was better than nothing in the trials.

However, Jacob was equipped with the best he had. He knew that once the protagonists entered this world, everything would go out of control.

TOEI SENDAGAYA Apartments!

The trial was about to take place in an apartment building, a small area due to its game size and implementation.

"We need to observe the people and the place. This seems to be a limited area, so there won't be many people."

"Yes," Usagi nodded as she looked around. She had had many bad experiences since arriving in this place and knew she couldn't trust anyone other than Jacob, with whom she was familiar.

Once they approached the building, they climbed the stairs, and once inside, they were detected by the game area. When you enter the waiting area, there are various types of people: those who are scared and have played before, the experienced ones who remain silent, and those who have no idea what's going on.

But most choose to remain quiet and wait, just like Jacob and Usagi did once they entered the game area. In addition to the two of them, there were exactly seven more people, so there shouldn't be more than nine in this place.

"They're all terrified and don't seem dangerous..." Jacob thought as he took a step forward and picked up a cell phone, then passed another one to Usagi, and they both looked at the screen.

There were only seven more phones on the table, so this game was only open to fourteen people, including those who arrived before the game closed.

As Jacob picked up the phone, he saw it automatically turn on. "[Facial recognition in progress...]"

"[Please wait for the process to complete in 00:02:06!]"

At that moment, Jacob put the phone in his pocket and his gaze scanned all the people in the room, who avoided making eye contact. However, a young man wearing a black cap approached them and asked, "Hey, excuse me, where did all the people in Tokyo go?"

"Are you talking to me?" Jacob looked at the young man, who seemed terrified, and then looked at Usagi, who remained silent.

"Hey, this thing..."

"There's not much mystery, both you and us find ourselves in this forgotten place by all human beings. We woke up in the same location, appeared here, or simply are here." Jacob looked at everyone with a cold expression and told the man in front of him, "I'll give you some advice: play, win, and don't trust anyone too easily."

"What do you mean?" The man in the cap asked again, but at that moment, a tall and robust-looking man entered the room. Jacob was curious about him due to the way he walked and his confident demeanor.

"We don't know him, he could be lying." Usagi didn't easily trust people and feared that someone might be lying. She could sense an air of mistrust, fear, and above all, protection.

Everyone in this place just wants to be away from others, so no one talks or asks what's happening. Some are alive due to betrayal, murder, or simply by controlling others.

Taking all that into account, nobody really sought to trust people. What everyone wants is to survive and they will do so until they discover a way to survive or can no longer continue playing.

"There are so many people!"

"Will there be a doctor?"

Two more people entered, one with yellow hair and another wearing a blue sweater. Both took their cell phones, indicating that they had played before.

Jacob was interested in one particular person, the one in the white hoodie, who was standing in a corner with their gaze lowered. According to his intelligent assistant, that person had been observing everyone from that angle.

"[Registration is closed!]"

"[There are a total of thirteen participants, the game is about to begin!]"

"Listen, what is this?" The same guy in the cap approached the last two people who joined the game and said, "They brought me here without telling me anything."

"It's a game," one of the men responded.

"Let it go, novices like him just get in our way, that's what I can see. But it would be a good idea to act like Shibuki did."

"[Difficulty: 5 of Spades!]"

"Five of Spades?" asked the man with yellow hair.

"It's a physical game, strength is everything, as well as weapons." A man with a black cap and mustache approached the last two men who joined and introduced himself, "I'm Nitobe. Nice to meet you."

"Does each card have a meaning?"

"Exactly!" Nitobe said and explained, "The club usually indicates teamwork, the diamond represents ingenuity. Hearts... that's the trickiest."

"Trickiest?" Nitobe approached that man and said, "It's a game of betrayal, you play with someone's heart."

"What about the numbers?"

"The difficulty level."

Jacob observed silently as he warmed up. Due to his heavy equipment, he couldn't match Usagi's speed, but he could defend himself.

"[Game Rules: Escape from the Thing!]"

"[Winning Condition: Discover the safe zone, which is in one of the rooms, within the specified time. The game will end when the requirements are completed!]"

"[Time Limit: 20 minutes!]"

"[After 20 minutes, the hidden time bomb in the building will be activated.]"

"It's a simple game if we all work together, but it'll be complicated if no one volunteers to cooperate. The disadvantage is that nobody will listen, so I have to try." Jacob looked at everyone, who was frightened by this game. "But before that, I need to be sure of something. Intelligent assistant, I want you to check room by room and tell me where the safe zone is. There must be something that distinguishes the rooms from the others."

"Usagi, I'll try to convince them..." Jacob looked at Usagi, and she nodded. This could be much easier than they thought.

Jacob took a step forward and stood in the center of the waiting area. He looked at everyone and said, "I want ten seconds of your attention. This will depend on whether you live or die."