Kai crossed his arms, looking unimpressed. "Coach, I think this is a life-or-death game. We'd better not let our emotions cloud our judgment, right?"
Li Enhui frowned. "If it's a physical game, my stamina's far better than most men's. With me here, you don't need to be scared.
Besides, listening to your conversation just now—Number 67's been in a coma for a year, and her limbs aren't exactly flexible.
Compared to Number 222, she's more of a burden, isn't she? You still brought her along."
Kai replied calmly, "Even if Kang Sae-byeok's body isn't back to full strength, she's someone I can trust.
Can we say the same for Number 222? Anyone who joins a death game while pregnant? That's not exactly reassuring."
Li Enhui's eyes narrowed. "Regardless, I'm not abandoning her. And this round's a team game. If she pulls any tricks, she dies with us. She's not an idiot."
Kai weighed the situation. Losing Li Enhui's support right now wasn't an option. Not when Hwang In-ho could turn on him at any time.
If Wu Lingyi called in the Guards, or even fought him directly, he and the still-recovering Kang Sae-byeok wouldn't stand a chance.
Li Enhui was the only one here strong enough to take him on.
Seeing her determination, Kai reluctantly agreed, though he muttered inwardly, Why the hell do I always end up with weak teammates in every team game?
Once the team formations ended, all the groups sat cross-legged in a line on the open ground. The broadcast crackled to life.
[This game is a five-person, six-legged, five-event competition. The legs of all five players will be tied together, and the team must start simultaneously.
Every ten meters, a checkpoint will be set, and the team will assign one member to complete the task there. Only after completing a task may the team proceed to the next stage.
All five tasks must be completed, and the finish line must be crossed within five minutes to succeed.]
[The voice continued listing the events:
1. Picture Flipping
2. Tablet Smashing
3. Stone Grabbing
4. Top Spinning
5. Shuttlecock Kicking
Please decide which member will complete each event.]
Kai rubbed his chin. "Alright, what's everyone good at?"
Li Enhui quickly answered, "Tablet smashing. I play basketball and bowling, so the principle's probably similar."
Number 222 raised her hand. "Picture flipping. I played that game with someone on the subway once… and won."
Kang Sae-byeok spoke softly. "Stone grabbing."
Kai nodded. "That leaves top spinning and shuttlecock kicking. What about you, Mr. Wu Lingyi?"
Hwang In-ho pretended to think deeply before replying, "Hmm… I'll just take whichever one you leave behind."
Kai smirked. "Alright then, I'll take shuttlecock kicking. Back in school, it was part of every PE exam. I'm confident."
"Then I'll do top spinning," Hwang In-ho said evenly.
"Settled."
A gunshot rang out—signaling the start for the first two groups.
Kai's sharp eyes immediately scanned the field, analyzing the sequence and searching for loopholes.
"The rules never said each event has to be completed by a different person," he thought. "So if one of us fails a task, we can switch. That's the loophole."
His confidence rose.
Meanwhile, the first two teams were already struggling.
At the first checkpoint, the player successfully flipped the picture on the ground.
At the second checkpoint, a man tried to hit a small standing tablet with a stone—but missed again and again.
The third task required catching small plastic stones after flipping them in the air.
The fourth, spinning a top by wrapping and throwing it with a string.
The fifth, kicking five shuttlecocks in succession.
Even after completing all tasks, there was still a ten-meter sprint to the finish line.
But neither of the first two teams made it far.
The group on the right got stuck on the tablet-smashing stage, with barely a minute left. The bald man wearing Number 61 finally knocked the toy over with a wild throw.
The Red-Clad Guard overseeing the game raised his arm in an X. "Failed."
"What?!" Number 61 shouted. "It fell over!"
The Guard's mechanical voice came through the speaker. "You stepped on the line. Players must stay behind the white boundary."
The rest of his team grabbed him furiously.
"Why the hell did you step over?! You cost us the game!"
Kai idly picked his nose. "Idiots. Wasting their last seconds yelling instead of fixing the problem. Do they want to die faster?"
A minute later, the rattle of submachine gun fire echoed across the open ground.
"Players 7, 61, 121, 132, 189, 201, 202, 289, 297, 328—eliminated."
Kai turned to Hwang. "Which round are we in?"
"The last one," Wu replied.
"The last round, huh?" Kai smiled faintly. He already understood what that meant.
By the time their group's turn came, most of the players would be dead or back in their dorms.
If the game failed, all eliminated players would be shot—except maybe one.
Number 001, who could easily fake his own death.
Kai clenched his fists slightly. If we lose, I'll take him hostage before the Guards can react.
Li Enhui, unaware of his plan, smiled. "Last round's good. We can learn from everyone else's mistakes."
Kang Sae-byeok nodded. "Exactly. And with fewer people watching, there'll be less pressure. That'll help."
Number 222 added quietly, "Then… we should be able to win, right?"
Kai calculated quickly. "There are thirty-six teams total. Two groups go each round, so eighteen rounds. Five minutes per round—that's about an hour and a half before our turn."
He frowned. "It's the long wait that'll mess with everyone's heads. That's what kills people."
Hwang In-ho smiled faintly. "Still, we have two champions from last year on our team. What could go wrong?"
Kai forced a polite smile. "You flatter me."
But in his heart, his thoughts were sharp and cold.
No, Number 001. With you here, I really have nothing to fear. Because if I die, I'll make sure you die first.
His hands tightened, knuckles cracking softly in the quiet tension of the waiting field.