Chapter4
1127 Words
The three of them hadn’t even caught their breath when something even more terrifying occurred.
A narrow beam of light suddenly shot up from the ground in front of them, reaching all the way into the sky.
It was no thicker than a thumb, glowing an eerie red.
And then came another. And another. And another…
Dozens—no, hundreds—of red beams erupted from the ground, densely packed together, shooting straight up into the heavens.
“Look!” the woman labeled No. 2 cried out, pointing above their heads with a stunned expression.
Raine turned to follow her gaze, and her pupils instantly contracted.
The beams of light were rising in a perfect circular formation, spanning fifty or sixty kilometers in diameter. They arched toward the sky and converged at a single point overhead.
It looked just like… a massive birdcage woven from red laser beams.
And they, without question, were the birds inside.
The three stood frozen, mouths agape, too shocked to speak.
Raine was the first to regain her senses. She glanced around, then picked up a branch and tossed it at the nearest wall of light.
The moment it touched the barrier, the beam flickered violently—and the branch was instantly incinerated.
The other two gasped in horror. The tattooed man stammered, “Wh-what the hell is this?!”
No. 2 looked just as shaken. She swallowed hard, eyes fixed on the charred spot. “It just turned the branch to ashes…”
“It’s surrounding us,” Raine said grimly, her tone low. “I don’t think we’re getting out.”
That set the man off. “Hell no!” he shouted. “There’s no way we’re dying like trapped rats!”
He picked up a stone and hurled it at the wall of light in rage.
It didn’t help.
The moment the rock touched the beam, it disintegrated with a sharp crack—nothing left but dust.
The laser barrier shimmered faintly, almost as if mocking him.
The tattooed man clenched his fists and kicked angrily at the dirt, cursing, “Goddamn stupid game! We have to play, huh?!”
He turned to a nearby tree and began pounding on it, fists and feet flying as he vented his fury.
Raine quietly stepped back a few paces, uneasy at the outburst.
Just then, the laser wall pulsed again, flickering rapidly.
A mechanical voice echoed in their ears.
“Player Ten—eliminated.”
The glow surged and faded in jagged bursts, casting a grim pallor over their faces.
“Another one’s dead…” No. 2 murmured, voice trembling.
The man’s brow furrowed. “Ten must’ve run into the laser wall. It’s still flashing.”
Player Ten had used their life to prove what happened when you tried to force your way out.
Raine felt a chill spread across her scalp.
This was it.
They had no choice but to face the game head-on.
Until now, some part of them had clung to hope—maybe they could escape, maybe this wasn’t real.
But now, the wall stood before them like a cruel joke, mocking their naïveté.
No. 2 looked visibly shaken. She turned to the only man in their group, instinctively asking, “What do we do now?”
The man scratched at his brow and said nothing. He was rattled—his mind blank.
Too many shocks, too fast. There was no time to think.
They stood in silence for a long moment. The man kept scratching his head until it looked like he might go bald, but still came up with nothing.
Raine, on the other hand, seemed lost in thought. Finally, she said slowly, “Let’s rest here for a bit.”
No. 2 blinked. “Rest? Right now? Are you serious?”
The man gave a cold snort. “What, we’re just gonna stand here and wait to die?”
Raine ignored the sarcasm. “Just hear me out.”
“It’s getting dark. Visibility in the forest is almost zero now. The only thing still glowing…”
“…are the beams.”
She paused, then asked, “If you were one of the other players, would you rather stumble around in the dark—or move toward the only light source?”
That made both of them pause—and then their eyes lit up.
Of course!
Anyone trying to stay alive would stick close to the lights.
And if that’s where the players went… then all they had to do was wait near the beams.
Let others waste their energy wandering around. They’d conserve theirs and let the game come to them.
The kind of tactic that would earn curses in any other situation—was now, to these two, nothing short of genius.
They both stared at Raine like she’d grown a second head. A clever one.
After a whole day of trekking and fear, they were running on fumes. Any extra ounce of strength could mean the difference between life and death.
No. 2 looked at Raine with newfound appreciation.
The tattooed man didn’t complain this time. He even stopped cursing.
But Raine felt a little guilty. Her reasoning had a hole in it—but she’d said what she had to say.
For certain reasons, she needed these two to stay put.
She had suspicions about the game, ones that couldn’t be confirmed if she joined the others just yet.
In the end, the three of them picked a spot a little away from the beams and sat down to rest.
The day’s high-intensity exertion had left them starving and spent.
For now, all they could do was regroup, eat, and rehydrate.
But a harsh truth hung over them—their water was running low.
Their throats were parched, their lips dry.
Raine glanced around. The man’s bottle was nearly empty, just a sip or two left.
She and No. 2 had both been rationing carefully—about half a bottle each remained.
Raine licked her lips, unscrewed the cap, and took the tiniest sip.
Just enough to wet her mouth—not more. Who knew how long they’d be stuck here?
As for the compressed biscuits…
Raine looked down at hers, hesitated, then stuffed them back into her pack. She wasn’t eating them yet.
No. 2, already chewing her own, noticed and asked with a mouthful, “You’re not eating?”
“No.”
Raine shook her head, then added, “Don’t eat too much. These things make you even thirstier.”
No. 2 immediately choked, unsure whether to swallow or spit it out.
The tattooed man had already devoured an entire pack. He looked up, outraged.
“You’re kidding me, right? You said that after I finished?!”
- Writer
