The Pride Game

Chapter 12

They were taken to a vast, majestic house covered in gold paint. The announcement, "This house prize will also be yours if you win this match," made all the participants to be annoyed.

Before they realized that the walls of the house were clad in real gold, they sneered, "What can we expect from having a magnificent house on a desert island like this?"

The other replied, "Yeah, even given a hundred billion, I don't want to either," but then someone came closer to the wall and tried to grind it with their fingernails.

"This is genuine gold!" Someone tried to scrape the wall that was in front of them, and someone with extensive knowledge said, "This is pure gold." Several participants approached the man with long hair.

Several participants who recognized the man said, "He is Mr. Zen. He is known for his sharp wit and intuition."

"Yes, I know about him. He is a quiet man with strong analytical power."

Another chimed in, "He was kicked out of the CDA because his boss loved his wife and then had an affair with her. Mr. Zen found out that his wife had an affair with his boss; he threatened to kill his wife if they were caught together again. Unfortunately, a few days later, Zen was removed from the CDA. Someone kidnap Mr. Zen and made him completely naked in the middle of the street at night and unconscious. The next day when Mr. Zen wakes up, he has become a public spectacle, and he is put in prison for being accused of murdering his wife."

Samuel had seen the news in the national newspaper, which he accidentally read when he passed a shop selling newspapers. At that time, Mr. Zen had become a trending topic in his city. He was charged with murder. However, a month later, he was claimed not guilty because the police had caught the real culprit, a drunk who accidentally passed his wife in the middle of the road. However, something strange happened one day; Mr. Zen's boss died in a fire in his large house. The only victim who died in his large house was Mr. Zen's boss. No stab wounds from sharp or blunt objects were found, nor was there evidence of theft or murder, all pointing to negligence in using the microwave.

However, today the news has been forgotten, and people no longer remember the scandal of Mr. Zen, as if the information had never happened. The other participants began to approach Mr. Zen to hear his accurate explanation. "Pure gold is rarely used in jewelry because the gold with a high purity level will be softer. The nature of gold will certainly make it difficult for artisans to maintain the durability of jewelry when used daily. So gold must be mixed with other metals such as silver or copper to make gold jewelry that is strong and has high durability. This is definitely real pure gold. The walls of this house are practically covered with real gold, and we never know what is really behind these walls."

All the participants were amazed, and their eyes lit up; they were shocked that the house they were stepping on was currently worth billions of dollars. Then they looked at each other, and the question arose in their minds "Can they beat the friend next to them so they can have this golden house?". The other participants scraped off the wall paint with their fingernails without being asked, and their eyes went wide.

"We're going to get rich suddenly," exclaimed another.

"Is this true?" asked a woman; she felt the pendulum in her ear and then felt the gold wall in front of her. Her eyes were wide with a smile of happiness that she hadn't felt in the last few years since she was kicked out of the CDA company. Her self-confidence increased. When she was in the house, it was as if nothing would be able to make her down. Success is in front of my eyes, she thought to herself.

Samuel, Alena, Old Man, and Abdul were standing in front of the wall, and they were also mesmerized by the wall made of pure gold paint.

"Why do I still not believe it?" asked Abdul, his face read so clearly that he still couldn't believe what was before his eyes. He crouched down and began to feel the gold in his hand. I could be rich, he thought to himself, and he again said, "This is real." In his heart, he wanted to win this match.

The old man thought of his children and wife, who needed so much money, he approached the wall, and his tears were about to fall. With only a few gold grinds I can grind with my fingernails, I'm sure I can make a few hundred dollars. I don't need to win this match, all I need is a few scours, and I need to get home safely from this place. And my children and grandchildren will have a decent life after this, he thought to himself. The old man started to look left and right to see what sharp object he could use to take some gold from the house.

While Alena and Samuel were walking towards the wall, each of their hands was groping for real gold, which was of immense value. Their hearts were amazed and wondered what they would spend it for if they got this house and then sold it.

Samuel thought of his son, Haykal. If he gets this house, he will sell it and take custody of Haykal from the hands of Caroline, his ex-wife. He was already rich, so the court would allow him to raise Haykal. His heart was touched. When he imagined Haykal's eyes that had looked at him, he had time to see clear tears from the corners of Haykal's eyes. Caroline just said, "Haykal is fine", but she was not allowed to see Haykal.

Suddenly, Samuel remembered Frans, who was making out with another woman. Did Caroline already know that Frans had an affair? he asked himself. Then Caroline must be very hurt. He feels sorry for Caroline if she finds out about her current husband's infidelity.

Someone behind them looked at the four people with a gloomy look, then looked again at the wall beside him, he looked for metal objects from his shirt and pants pockets, but he couldn't find them. He looked around and finally found a fruit made of clay; he picked it up and knocked it on the wall; When there were small grains that wanted to be released from the wall, there was a gunshot from behind them.

"Aaaah!" screams a woman. All the participants screamed hysterically, and a man was shot dead with blood pouring from the head.

The screams were still going on, and their minds were blank; for a moment, all that was in their heads was ducking. This incident happened very quickly; they all crouched and tried to protect their bodies. Their knees bent to cover their faces that were shaking with fear. A man's body was helplessly lying on the floor.

A voice from a loudspeaker filled the hall of the house. The voice seemed to pierce the heart, crush it, making a terrible horror hang in the atmosphere.

"Don't take anything that doesn't belong to you in this house. This house will only be the owner who wins the game. Anyone who breaks the rules will be punished."

The bodies of the former detectives trembled with fear; some of them saw gold beads splatter from the man's bloodied shirt pocket. In his hand, he held a pen with a glittering tip. The participants shook with fear, knowing that the man was trying to take gold using a sharp pen. The participants lowered their respective faces, and their hearts seemed to be about to fall out of place because they had just been looking for a sharp object that could pry the gold powder from the wall.

Above them appeared the number four hundred and ninety-nine, which means the current number of participants remaining.

"Once you understand this rule, then all participants are welcome to go to the dining room. You only have fifteen minutes before the first game."

With a pounding heart, Samuel sighed. His eyes closed, remembering the corpse of the man glaring at him. While the Old Man who was behind him, still crouched down, could feel his heart beating very fast and his temples twitching so fast. His shoulders heaved up and down, and fear overtook him, his head lowered very deep; he was thinking about how he could carry the gold grains in his coat pocket. His breath seemed to catch on him when he thought about it. His face was taut. One by one, the participants started to stand up, they followed the guards holding weapons in hand. Horror, a pungent rotten odor filled the spacious room.

"Come on, Sir." Samuel's hands were stretched out towards the Old Man, and only the Old Man was still squatting on the floor with his tense face down. Samuel saw the Old Man's lips trembled violently. "As long as we follow their rules, then they won't hurt us," said Samuel, trying to calm the Old Man.

They entered the large room and sat down at the small round tables scattered throughout the room. There were five chairs at the table. They lined up to get food, then sat on chairs.

The nerves on the faces of the participants tightened when they saw that the spoons and forks on their plates were made of gold. Their eyes were blank when they saw that.

Samuel's heart almost stopped when he held the spoon. If the previous murder had not occurred, then he would be tempted to hide the scoop in his shirt.

"You only have ten minutes," the voice of the enormous guard echoed in the dining room; he was on the loudspeaker.

All the participants bowed to their respective food, and they tried to finish the food as soon as possible.

"Is this place empty?" Jonathan asked the four other people sitting at the table not far from Samuel.

Samuel heard Jonathan's voice, and he just continued his food.

No one answered; they all continued their respective meals, but when Jonathan was about to sit there, the voice of a man with long hair with sly eyes pulled the chair, causing Jonathan to fall to the ground, and his food scattered everywhere.

"Who told you to sit here?" The voice sounded scornful and cruel.

Alena whispered at Samuel's table, and the other two friends gathered, "His name is Mr. Gerry. He's a very cunning detective. Many did not like his presence at CDA. He was kicked out of the company because he did a bad deed to his client."

Jonathan gasped.

When he still worked at CDA, he never like Gerry. He knew about Gerry; he is an impudent young man. Jonathan was angry because of Gerry's treat. His heart immediately heated up, and his hands clenched into fists.

He immediately got up from the floor and ran towards Gerry. "Damn you! Bastard! Damn it!" He grabbed Gerry's collar and punched him in the face. "Insolent man! Cheap! What did you do to my food!"

Also, Gerry didn't like either with Jonathan. He hates him.

Gerry's blood immediately boils, getting a crushing blow from Jonathan.

"Damn, man! Because of you, I finally got kicked out of the CDA! Who do you think you are here! You are not my boss anymore!" Gerry's voice resounded, and a commotion soon ensued. Screams of chairs and cries of women filled the room.

"Security! Security! There's a commotion here!" shouted several people.

Samuel immediately got up from his seat, ran to Jonathan, and separated them.

"Stop it, Jonathan! We're not here to fight! We are here to solve our problems! Let go of that man!" Samuel's voice that reminded him made Jonathan so irritated, and he struggled to be released by Samuel. His legs and arms thrashed in all directions.

"Do not interfere!" Jonathan cried; he was about to turn around, trying to escape Samuel's grip. Previously Gerry's nose had been battered by Jonathan; he got up from the floor, his teeth pressed against each other, and with a fiery rage, he immediately ran towards Jonathan and was about to smack him…

Jonathan escaped from Samuel's grip, so Gerry's punch hit Samuel in the face. "Ow!" shouted Samuel, the blow so decisive that blood came out of his nose.

Jonathan smiled; he stepped up to Gerry and kicked him. Gerry fell to the floor, his body on his stomach, and he became very annoyed, his eyes blazing when he turned around. Immediately he got up and ran to Jonathan, who had felt triumphant, and walked to his original seat. Suddenly, from behind, a fist hit his head.

"Damn it!" Jonathan turned around, and he immediately got a hit from Gerry; Gerry beat him hard. His hands and feet kicked and hit Jonathan blindly, making Jonathan bleed. His face was battered, and blood was freshly flowing from his mouth. The floor below was covered in blood pouring out of Jonathan's body. He could only bend his body, enduring the pain all over his body.