2
The five participants stood in an elevator, its doors sliding open to reveal a dimly lit room with two doors.
One marked "Live" (生). The other, "Die" (死).
The timer on their phones ticked down: 2:00.
"What kind of game is this?" Chota muttered.
The high school girl, shaking, whispered, "It has to be obvious, right? You choose 'Live'!"
She rushed forward, flinging open the "Live" door. A heartbeat later, a searing laser shot down from the ceiling. She crumpled instantly, a perfect hole burned through her skull.
The others stumbled back in horror.
The countdown reached 0:30. Smoke began to flood the room.
"THE OTHER DOOR!" Arisu yelled.
They barely made it through before the room was engulfed in flames.
The next room was identical—two doors, a faster countdown. Panic threatened to take hold. But Arisu took a deep breath, his mind racing.
He analyzed the layout. Nine rooms. A grid. A pattern.
Using his footsteps and memory, he charted a safe path. They moved swiftly, his strategy leading them through each successive room, just in time.
Until the final door.
It wasn’t where Arisu had calculated.
Sweat dripped from his forehead. His mind reeled. Then, a thought—he played back the earlier footage of the girl’s death.
One room was split into two halves: one safe, the other deadly.
He adjusted their path.
They lunged for the right door just as the flames roared behind them.
Outside, in a dark alley, they collapsed in exhaustion. Chota groaned—his leg had been burned.
And then, the final revelation.
Their phones displayed "Visa extended: 3 days."
An old man, standing nearby, smiled sadly. "My visa… it's up."
A laser from the sky pierced his skull.
Silence. Horror.
Arisu stared at the body, his breath shallow.
This wasn't a game.
This was survival.
And the only way to live—was to keep playing.