[Welcome dear gods! Pick your playground!]
[Planet Earth: 6605]
___
"CATCH HIM!!! CATCH THAT FUCKING THIEF!!!"
Fèi Míng bolted through the slum street. His dirty brown coat snapped behind him as he squeezed between the broken market stalls and the rusted frames.
Someone threw a bottle at him. He ducked, and it shattered somewhere behind him. Many heavy boots pounded after him, five… maybe six sets, chasing him. "DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!!!"
A faint-blue screen flickered into place at the edge of Fèi Míng's vision, its borders carved with thin chess pawn static silhouettes.
[This System Was Sponsored By The Supreme God Magistrate.]
[Name: Fèi Míng]
[Given Name: Fateless]
[Ethnicity: Player]
[Skills: — ]
[Coins: 2.]
He clutched the stolen bread tighter against his chest and veered into a side gap between two leaning buildings. The noise behind him thinned. He pressed forward, shoes kicking up dust until he slid into a shadowed corner.
He dropped to a crouch, chest rising hard, breath scraping out in uneven bursts. The bread came up to his mouth instantly. He tore into it like he hadn't eaten in days, crumbs sticking to his lips as he swallowed too quickly.
He picked up an old stainless bottle he'd grabbed off a crate and drank its water. Some spilled out of his mouth, soaking his dusty scruffy clothes.
Until a voice broke through the quiet.
"Hey. You. You were the one being chased by those men. Aren't you scared they'll catch you and cut you up for parts?"
Fèi Míng stilled, then lifted his dark eyes.
A girl stood a few steps away. There was dirt smudging her cheeks, her wavy red hair tied back with a thick dirty thread that used to be white. Her frame was lean, carrying a sagging sack over one shoulder, the strap patched in different places.
He ignored her and kept eating.
He saw a ginger cat wandered close, meowing without shame as it rubbed on him. Fèi Míng exhaled through his nose, tore off a chunk of bread, and pushed it toward the cat with two fingers. It snatched the piece and retreated under a crate.
The girl shifted her sack. "What if I call them back here? You don't look like someone who can pay off that kind of trouble. You'd get pawned off for fresh meat. Stealing food in this scarcity."
"You won't." He unscrewed his bottle and took another long drink.
She blinked. "Why not?"
"You're also a thief," he replied, raising his gaze at last. "Your shoes don't match anything you're wearing, but your brown cap is clean and the color fits the jacket. Picked from a stall today, I'm guessing."
His swallowing slowed. "And since you've been standing there this whole time, it means you were already watching me. I know I'm handsome, but… Only a dirty thief lets another thief walk in this era. Nice haul in that bag, by the way."
She stood there speechless for a minute, half offended, half impressed by the fact that he was right.
"I'm only trying to survive," she muttered.
"Same goes for me."
Her eyes drifted over his scruffy clothes, then his face. "Are you the nameless fool who kept… killing off your teammates after every Game? If you get caught even by the lower level Krats, you're dead."
His jaw paused mid-chew.
It's been 7 years since these games started. Every week, a new game arena suddenly appeared. No one really paid attention to it at first.
But then twenty-four hours later, the first "Game" activated. Every human received a blue interface they couldn't remove or ignore. They were called Runic boards, classifying them as players the moment the game starts.
The rules were very simple: complete the task or die. Most people didn't understand what the tasks meant, so the death count exploded immediately.
Bodies vanished instead of remaining behind. The second Game triggered a week later, then the third, then the fourth. Each round wiped out more people than any war had in history.
By the end of the first year, every government had collapsed. Borders stopped mattering because the Games struck everywhere equally. Cities broke apart from repeated Shatter pressure. These were sudden cracks spread, structures failing until they were destroyed, caused by the constant Games.
Survivors scattered into ruins, safe zones, or wilderness areas where the Games hit less frequently.
Now humanity lives under one truth:
These Games run the world, and the true force behind them remains unknown. The Games were endless.
And right now, the next wave of game was about to begin.
Fèi Míng swallowed calmly and tossed a small satchel of bread toward her feet. "That happened weeks ago. Eat. You'll need it."
Then he pushed himself up and walked away from the corner, dust brushing off his coat as the clouds above began to shift— the early warning of another cycle drawing close.
It wasn't his fault those idiots had expected him to carry them.
It wasn't his fault they tried to use him.
It wasn't his fault he survived and they didn't.
And whatever the next Game was…
Fèi Míng knew… teamwork wouldn't matter much anyway.
He stopped in front of the huge wall because—well—how could anyone miss it?
The thing towered over him. Its concrete stained with old rain, smeared handprints, and patches of moss clinging unto the edges of the wall. It looked like it hadn't been washed since forever, which was impressive, considering that the world had basically stopped believing in cleaning products afterward.
This should be the next game stage…
He squinted at the filth, wondering if he was right. The wall wasn't there when he was being chased. Most times, new buildings, walls, or gates were entrances to a game arena. After making contact with these structures, it teleports them to another realm.
The Game realm. If they don't participate on time, the structure cracks and eventually, everyone would be forced to play the game. However, without prizes and ridiculous time limits.
If his calculations were correct, the next game would precisely be about—
Suddenly, a Runic board message appeared right above the dirty wall.
[WELCOME PLAYERS!]
[If you wish to join, place your hand on the wall to enter the game arena and win amazing prizes!]
"...my calculations were correct," Fèi Míng muttered, a bit proud of himself.
He lifted his hand, already bracing for whatever prize he'd win. Last time he played this game with his 'team', things went out of hand.
Lin had killed—
"Wait!"
He froze. The voice wasn't unfamiliar. His fingers twitched away from the wall.
He turned just enough to confirm it. She was the girl from earlier, still wearing that too-calm expression.
He grumbled something that could've passed as a greeting if you squinted hard enough and refused to make eye contact. No point starting a conversation he planned to regret.
The girl stepped beside him, her hand hovering near the wall.
"You can't just go in alone. What if you were to meet a beast? Together?" she asked.
He eyed her for a second. She wasn't half bad. Her capability to steal jewelry and clothes without getting caught was enough to prove she had survived one of these games too.
"Why do you wish to join?" He asked.
"I am yet to obtain a skill. These games give out skills that make us look like superhumans, right? Right. It would be nice to get a Path too," She heaved. "I'm so tired of stealing."
"You mean being favoured by the Game. You want to be an Awakened?"
Her face lit up. "Yup!"
Fèi Míng sighed. He turned to her again, tilting his head as his dark hair fell sideways. "Why would you want to team up with me? Not scared I'd fucking kill you like I did to my teammates?"
"W-why would I team up with you?! I o-only want to obtain a skill."
He shrugged. "Okay," he said, finally pressing his palm on the cold wall.
"You are one unfriendly guy."
She too, did the same.
Quickly, the ground dissolved under their feet, and colors smeared into a violent whirl. The pressure crushing the air ripping past them. Then the fall snapped into stillness.
They stumbled onto the cold stone flooring.
They were inside a massive underground arena—if you could call this nightmare an "arena." Narrow passages snaked away from a central chamber, walls rising high with rusted bars, broken torches, and weird mark carvings that looked disturbingly fresh.
It was a labyrinth which stretched in every direction, swallowing the light.
Fèi Míng stared at the labyrinth before him. There were three open lanes, all an entrance to start the game.
However, people were already there.
Dozens of them. He stared at their pale faces, their clothes torn, eyes darting in every direction. Others pressed trembling hands against their own arms as if checking they were still intact.
Ding!
[Welcome Players to the Game: The Hunger Gauntlet!]
[Current Players: 33]
[Make sure to keep your tummy full!]
[Time Limit: 3 days.]
[Difficulty: B.]