The ground trembled beneath me, a faint quiver that barely disturbed the dust at my feet. Then the sky itself cracked open, splitting into a thousand flickering holograms, each fragment reflecting the panic in the crowd below.
A voice, bored and amused, slithered through the air:
"What an amusing situation… more than half of you are still alive."
I tilted my head, noting the way the words sank like poison into their minds. Everyone froze. Hesitation, fear, confusion.
"So I'm changing the rules."
A ripple of dread swept across the arena. I felt it, a wave of collective panic
"Two participants will enter the room. Either volunteer… or I will pick randomly. The survivor stays inside until someone eliminates them OR until the number of players reaches half. Every round, at least one person will die."
One person must die means they are making us betray each other; we have to manipulate opponents to submit the wrong answer so they will die and also guess their answer correctly by doing both we can survive. What a perfect rule.
Holographic numbers flashed above us:
[ Starting Players: 100
Remaining Players: 60 ]
A bright red timer materialized beside it.
60 seconds.
Chaos erupted. Screams, pleading voices, people shoving each other aside. Kyle's presence at my side grounded me—wide-eyed, panicked, and frozen in the perfection of instinctual fear. He was mine to keep alive… for now.
I lifted my gaze toward the flickering holograms, my mind already racing.
This rule… advantageous. Dangerous.
If I volunteer, I gain control. The sequence of death becomes a machine I can operate, farming coins at will. The worst-case scenario? Kyle gets called. He's fast, capable he might dodge machine beam but there is probability that sky red beam will shoot and sky beam isn't something anyone can truly dodge. Probability favors death. I exhaled softly, calculating the risk. Even if he falls, I'll adapt. Replace him. Use another pawn.
For now, though… he's useful. Vital.
Before he could reach for my arm, I stepped forward.
"I'll go."
The crowd parted instinctively, their fear palpable, almost delicious. Kyle's voice, hoarse, trembled behind me:
"Alice—wait—"
I didn't look back. I never had to.
"If I stay outside, someone else will die uselessly," I said.
Lie.
But a useful lie.
"If I go in, I control the pace."
True.
And the truth always hits harder.
Kyle's shoulders slumped slightly, the tension leaving him. He couldn't argue. I never sounded wrong.
---
The room sealed behind me with a hiss that carried the finality of a tomb. I inhaled once, measured, and let the calculations begin.
The first opponent materialized—a trembling figure whose fear practically radiated off their skin. I barely registered them before they collapsed, my movements fluid, precise. Thirty seconds later:
[ Acquired 200 coins ]
Another followed. Dead.
[ Acquired 100 coins ]
Another.
[ Acquired 200 coins ]
I moved through them like a ghost dressed in human skin. Their cries, their tears, their desperate lies—they were nothing to me. I cataloged their attempts, their weaknesses, their futile bravery. And then I ended them.
A rhythm emerged. Red light. Silence. Coin notifications pinging against my bracelet.
[aquired 200 coin]
[aquired 200 coin]
[aquired 200 coin]
[aquired 200 coin]
[aquired 200 coin]
[aquired 200 coin]
[aquired 200 coin]
By the tenth body, serenity had settled over me. Not triumph. Not joy. Calm. A machine performing its task.
---
When the door slid open, I stepped out without a trace of strain, brushing invisible dust from my sleeve. Kyle's gaze was fixed on me, wide, almost devotional. He wasn't scared of what I had done—he was awed. He had no choice.
The sky's voice thundered:
"CONGRATULATIONS PARTICIPANTS! On completing your first game. Next game will be held next week—enjoy your time in this city."
The hologram updated:
[ Half of Players Eliminated ]
"The person who eliminated the most participants will receive 1000 coins"
A bonus pinged into my bracelet:
[ Acquired 1000 coins ]
No smile. No satisfaction. Just observation. I scanned the crowd. They weren't looking at the scoreboard. They were looking at me. Ten eliminations. One girl. Expressionless.
The whispers started, quiet at first:
"Monster…"
"No one should be that calm…"
"Don't look into her eyes…"
But others-
The smarter ones-
Felt something different.
Admiration.
Fear.
Awe.
The kind of feeling you have when the lighting hits ground near you and you realize how small you are.
---
Kyle moved instinctively, a half-step ahead of the crowd, between me and any who dared approach. Not because I needed protection. Because he needed to be useful.
A man nervously advanced.
"H–Hey, um… if you don't mind, can I—"
Kyle stepped between us so fast the man stumbled back, eyes wide.
"She doesn't want to talk to you," Kyle said flatly.
I said nothing. Let him perform the role he needed.
Above each bracelet, holograms showed coin counts. Mine blinked:
[ Coins: 3,000 ]
The next highest barely reached 200. Their eyes weren't envy—they were terror. And that was exactly what I wanted them to feel.
---
Silence settled. Everyone knew: approaching me uninvited was suicidal. Observing me, learning, respecting—maybe survivable.
I pivoted my attention to the city itself. Patterns. Exits. Crowds. Potential threats. Kyle mirrored my movements half a step behind, unwavering, silent but present.
"Alice… what should we do next?" His voice was low, reverent.
I didn't immediately answer, I calculated.
Who is following from afar
Who fears me
Who can be manipulated
Who is weak
Who can be useful
Optimal positioning for next game
Coin advantage exploitation
"We gather information," I said softly. "Another game is coming. This break… it's only temporary."
Kyle's nod was sharp, precise. Determination replaced fear in his gaze.
I walked forward—not fast, not slow—just confident. He followed, half a step behind- like a knight following his queen
He didn't need permission.
And I didn't need to ask
He would follow by choice or by instinct.
---
The city waited. So did the next game. And I am ready to dominate both.