VIP 4 curiously asked VIP 3, "What's the game tomorrow? Can you give me some spoilers?"
VIP 3 spread out his hands and replied, "You have to ask the Front Man. I didn't design the last level of the game."
VIP 2 laughed softly and said, "Wow, so mysterious."
VIP 1 then added, "This year's players are so stupid that there are no special games this year."
VIP 3 smiled and looked toward the Front Man.
"I believe the Front Man must have a method."
The Front Man looked at them meaningfully.
The masked guards escorted the winning players back into the dormitory.
Yi Dieok-nyeong looked around at the empty dormitory. Only seven beds remained.
Lim Sang-hwan suddenly grabbed Song Zhengli's shoulder.
Zhengli stopped walking and looked at him.
Sang-hwan questioned angrily,
"Why did you kick Player 6 down earlier? Did you forget he used to be our teammate?"
Zhengli impatiently replied,
"He had already run out of strength. I only helped him get released sooner."
Sang-hwan stared at Zhengli unhappily.
"If that person had been me… you would've kicked me down too, right?"
Zhengli laughed in anger before cursing,
"Sang-hwan! When will your brain finally wake up?! The fact that I kept your hands from being stained with blood is already more than enough!"
Sang-hwan nodded slowly.
"You're no longer the same person who once saved me."
Pointing at Sang-hwan's head, Zhengli shouted,
"People like you, who only know how to eat and sleep and blame themselves over every tiny thing, are the definition of idiots!"
Sang-hwan's voice became colder and lower.
"Yeah, I'm an idiot. Then how did a smart person like you end up in a hellhole like this, playing these damned games together with me?!"
Before their argument could continue, the main door suddenly opened, and masked guards walked in.
Some time later, all seven remaining players had changed into suits.
Several tables had appeared in the middle of the dormitory, decorated with luxurious ornaments and filled with extravagant food.
Sang-hwan, Dieok-nyeong, Zhengli, Player 91, Player 356, Player 422, and Player 154 sat at the tables and began eating.
Weakly, Dieok-nyeong lifted her spoon and fork.
Meanwhile, Zhengli and Sang-hwan devoured the rare feast hungrily.
Sang-hwan glanced toward Zhengli and noticed he was eating with chopsticks.
Then he turned toward Dieok-nyeong, who slowly placed a small piece of meat into her mouth.
Soon, dinner time ended.
The masked guards quickly cleared away the dining tables.
At that moment, the main door opened again.
Seven masked guards entered while carrying seven small gift boxes.
One of the masked guards announced,
"Here, we have a mysterious gift for all of you. Please make good use of this gift tonight."
The VIPs sat together watching the dormitory surveillance footage.
VIP 3 even held a bucket of popcorn in his hands.
One by one, the players stepped forward to collect their gift boxes.
Sang-hwan opened his and discovered a small knife inside.
Dieok-nyeong exchanged worried looks with him.
Zhengli sighed before glancing around silently.
Player 154 looked at the knife and revealed a sinister grin.
The announcement echoed:
"In thirty minutes, the lights will be turned off. All participants, please return to your beds."
Everyone sat on their beds holding knives.
Sang-hwan walked toward Dieok-nyeong's bed.
Dieok-nyeong immediately raised her knife toward him.
Sang-hwan placed his own knife into his pocket and said,
"I'm not here to kill you."
Dieok-nyeong slowly lowered her guard.
Sang-hwan sat beside her and said,
"After the lights go out tonight, I'll come find you."
Looking at her with determined eyes, he continued,
"The two of us have to survive and leave this place together."
Dieok-nyeong remained silent.
Sang-hwan looked at her and asked,
"What's wrong? You looked really weak while eating earlier."
Dieok-nyeong lowered her head.
"I'm fine. The last game just took too much out of me."
Looking ahead, Sang-hwan asked,
"Why did you come here?"
Dieok-nyeong softly replied,
"My husband needs a heart transplant. I came here to earn money so I can save him."
Sang-hwan looked at her and smiled.
"My luck has always been terrible. But for some reason, ever since I came here, it suddenly became better."
Dieok-nyeong forced out a faint smile.
"Actually… that money wasn't mine."
Sang-hwan looked at her in confusion.
She continued,
"That day outside the subway station, the money you picked up wasn't actually mine. I only pretended to check my pocket… but you believed me."
The two of them revealed long-lost smiles.
Dieok-nyeong then said,
"If either you or I die here… promise me you'll help take care of the other person's surviving family."
Sang-hwan smiled bitterly.
"I don't have any family left alive anymore."
Soon, the countdown on the screen reached its final ten seconds.
Everyone lay on their beds while holding knives.
"10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"
Beep.
The dormitory instantly became dark and silent.
Zhengli quietly climbed down from his bed.
Suddenly, Player 91 screamed and charged toward Zhengli, tackling him onto the bed.
The dormitory lights began flickering violently.
Watching the surveillance monitor, VIP 1 excitedly shouted,
"I like that!"
Sang-hwan looked around in panic.
Player 154 charged toward Player 356 with a knife.
In desperation, Player 356 stabbed the knife into Player 154's stomach before pulling it back out.
Yet Player 154 acted as if nothing had happened.
He violently stabbed Player 356 over and over again.
At that moment, Player 422 rushed over.
Dieok-nyeong stood frozen helplessly amid the chaos.
Meanwhile, Zhengli flipped the situation around and pinned Player 91 onto the bed.
He then grabbed the knife and repeatedly stabbed it into Player 91's back, making horrifying sounds with every strike.
Player 154 effortlessly sliced open Player 422's throat.
Like a zombie, he then charged toward Dieok-nyeong, who stood directly opposite him.
The moment Sang-hwan reacted, he also sprinted toward Dieok-nyeong.
Dieok-nyeong backed into a corner and looked toward Zhengli nearby.
Zhengli stood still without helping her.
Player 154 rushed forward and repeatedly stabbed Dieok-nyeong in the abdomen.
At that moment, Sang-hwan arrived and kicked Player 154 away.
Suddenly, the lights turned on completely.
Masked guards stormed through the doors.
Player 154 attempted to continue attacking Sang-hwan, but halfway there, he collapsed from blood loss.
Sang-hwan pressed against Dieok-nyeong's wounds.
Tears streamed down her face.
Crying desperately, Sang-hwan said,
"Hold on… just hold on…"
With her final breath, Dieok-nyeong whispered,
"My… husband…"
Her eyes slowly closed.
Sang-hwan began crying loudly.
He slowly raised his head and looked toward Zhengli, who stood nearby.
Then, filled with rage, Sang-hwan grabbed a knife and charged toward him.
Before he could reach him, masked guards knocked Sang-hwan to the ground and pinned him down.
Zhengli looked at Sang-hwan with an expression impossible to describe with words.
Dieok-nyeong's body was placed into a coffin gift box.
The masked guards slowly closed the lid shut.
Sang-hwan cried out in complete despair.
The screen changed to:
"2 Players."
"45.4 Billion."