Chapter 1: Suspicious survivor

Strange.

The man’s gaze turned behind him.

A girl of unknown identity was following the man.

‘How about we fight together?’

It started as a simple proposal. An alliance until the one-on-one situation.

‘I thought she might be useful, even as a bullet shield…’

Until the last person was decided, it was a sufficiently valid and reasonable tactic.

Moreover, the opponent was a small, fragile girl.

He was confident that he could deal with her at any time.

Therefore, he did not refuse the proposal for now.

However, the more other survivors he dealt with, the more suspicious the girl became.

Perhaps his own combat prowess was lacking, but while injuries accumulated on the man’s body, the girl’s body had no wounds.

No, to be precise, all her injuries were mere scratches, too ambiguous to even call wounds.

In the end, the man decided to test the girl.

“Are you alright?”

He acted like a fool who thought the girl’s injuries were serious.

He hid his true intentions with a gentle smile and gesture.

“Me? Are you talking about me?”

The girl raised her head with a puzzled expression, as if she hadn’t expected him to worry about her.

Her snow-white hair swayed gently.

And a question settled in her eyes, which seemed closed yet open, their intent inscrutable.

‘As expected, I can’t figure anything out because of those damned eyes.’

“It’s nothing.”

The man, frowning, began to walk forward again.

Along with the resolution to be even more wary of that girl.

“……”

The man didn’t notice what kind of expression the girl was making behind him.

****

The time for the decisive battle approached faster than expected.

The strategy of ambushing from behind while the girl drew attention had worked.

According to her initial proposal to act as a bullet shield, the girl took on a crucial role.

But that fact made the man very uneasy.

He wanted to stop the girl immediately, but he hesitated, afraid that his suspicion of her would be revealed.

Meanwhile, the girl had already left to fulfill her assigned role.

Until their operation was over, the man had to be consumed by suspicion.

[Two people remaining.]

It was the announcement that roused the man.

The only ones left were the girl and the man.

The alliance was now over.

‘Right. I’ll check for myself.’

‘Whether she was truly the person he suspected her to be.’

It was the moment the man was about to step forward to find the girl.

‘Footsteps?’

Footsteps so faint he wouldn’t have heard them if he hadn’t been trained.

The man quickly swung the wooden planks stacked beside him backwards.

A crude sound, like an axe blade striking wood, was heard.

As expected, his instincts were not wrong.

It was the girl who ambushed the man.

“I could have sent you off comfortably… what a shame.”

When her attack failed, the girl retrieved her weapon and retreated.

There wasn’t a hint of regret in her actions.

The girl’s weapon was something the man also knew.

A folding knife.

It was unsuitable for killing people, but if one intended to hide it, it possessed a portability that made it undetectable without detection equipment.

“Thanks to you, I got here without getting a single drop of blood on me.”

“Haha…”

“I did try my best to help, you know? Though I didn’t expect you to actually make me a bullet shield.”

The proposal, closer to prolongation of life than victory; the trembling fingers; the self-proclaimed bullet shield.

All of her struggles to avoid immediate death were an act.

As the puzzle of suspicion came together, a conclusion was quickly drawn.

The girl was hiding her strength.

It was the worst situation.

His body was in the worst condition from the continuous engagements since the beginning, while the girl’s condition was clearly optimal, not what you’d expect from a bullet shield.

The man wore a smile full of futility. In contrast, the girl smiled, certain of victory.

“I won’t apologize.”

Between the smiling girl’s eyes, a brilliant golden light flashed.

To the man, it felt like the arrogance of a predator looking down on its prey.

****

The man looked down at his chest, which had a hole in it, then promptly collapsed.

It was a blow that left no time for a scream.

It was a quiet death in the empty abandoned factory, without a single voice echoing.

“You did well.”

It wasn’t something the one who pierced the man’s chest should say, but she bade him farewell as usual.

After all, they had been conversing just moments ago.

Naturally, there was no reply.

A series of tasks I had now grown accustomed to.

If anyone wished games would become reality, I would curse them first.

‘You think it would be fun? Don’t make me laugh.’

In this experiment, which replicated the rules of a game, the first thing I got used to was deceiving people.

Not killing them.

In a battle royale game, teaming is an act that game companies would vehemently try to prevent.

Here, where reality had removed regulatory restrictions, there was no reason not to use it.

A brief alliance, followed by a swift betrayal.

This method, which allowed me to easily achieve final survival, created immense synergy with my appearance.

My beauty, beyond ordinary, and eyes that easily hid my true feelings, were just as deceptive.

Of course, there were times, like just now, when these eyes actually aroused suspicion and hindered me.

Next was how to kill people.

Not everyone was fooled by first impressions.

Countless people were here, and just as many diverse people existed here.

It was natural for people not to trust me.

The man I just killed had revealed himself to be a former soldier.

Perhaps due to instincts from long experience, he died while doubting me without concrete proof until the very end.

Actually, this is mild.

That person merely stopped at suspicion, but there were also people here who, claiming they couldn’t trust anyone, would stab first upon sight.

There was effectively only one way to deal with those who never lowered their guard.

All-out combat.

Knowing that things don’t always go as planned, I never neglected preparations for all-out combat.

While I couldn’t perfectly master every weapon, I made sure I could improvise with whatever weapon I picked up.

‘What would a survivor like me think if someone said this was fun?’

“Haa…”

I cleared a relatively clean spot on the abandoned factory floor and slumped down.

It’s always like this.

Regardless of whether I fought directly or deceived until the end and swiftly took a life, I always slumped down once the fight was over.

I had given up counting how much time had passed, but I felt exhausted.

No other feelings came to mind.

Perhaps it’s because I’m too used to it now.

“It’s late today…”

‘They say if you wear a mask long enough, it becomes your true face.’

Even though I was alone, the polite speech I had been using showed no sign of fading.

It was time for the announcement declaring the final victor, but it still hadn’t come.

Various thoughts flashed through my mind as I waited.

‘Could someone still be alive?’

‘If so, where?’

‘And if they are, how on earth?’

[Notice.]

“Whew…”

‘Just as I thought.’

A mechanical voice flowed from the crude speakers, like those seen on school playgrounds in childhood.

[The final survivor has been confirmed. Congratulations.]

-Pshhhhhh

Along with a deflating sound, a pure white mist covered the entire arena.

The now familiar sleeping gas.

It was a security system installed by the organizers for the next experiment.

Resisting was pointless, a waste of stamina.

I silently closed my eyes and inhaled.

An indescribable foreign sensation was felt within my respiratory system.

It was distinctly different from breathing in clean air.

After a short time, my eyes began to close.

“Hmm…”

‘Something’s different?’

It felt like they had used something very potent before for the purpose of forced relocation, but this time, it was a comfortable feeling.

Even as my consciousness blurred, I didn’t feel the unpleasant sensation filling my lungs.

I wanted to scoff, wondering if they were finally showing consideration for the participants, but I was in no condition to do so, which was a shame.

Now, I couldn’t see anything.

‘Where will I be when I open my eyes next?’

‘Another abandoned factory?’

‘Since I went there last time, it won’t be the lake.’

‘Will they call me to the research lab for an interview again, like last time?’

[All experiments conclude now. Thank you for your hard work.]

The announcement continued to babble something, but in my completely sunken consciousness, I could no longer hear anything.

****

A soft sensation.

Extremely unfamiliar.

With a sense of vigilance, I quickly opened my eyes.

An unfamiliar ceiling.

Not kidding, really.

When I got up, it was a soft bed.

At least, I don’t recall such a starting point in my memory…

As I leapt off the soft bed, the entire room came into view.

From the bed I had just been lying on, all the furniture looked luxurious at first glance.

To be honest, it was overwhelming.

Without letting down my guard, I walked over and drew back the curtains covering the window.

For a moment, I closed my eyes, dazzled by the light beyond the window.

The scenery beyond was revealed.

“Really?”

Neon signs and highway streetlights shining in the distance.

It was a familiar night view.

Of Seoul, South Korea, on the Earth I lived on.

My mind couldn’t keep up with the sudden turn of events.

To have returned without any warning.

No, perhaps I just didn’t hear it.

As I blankly gazed at the night view, I turned around and saw something I had missed.

A letter paper, pretending to be old, was placed on the desk.

I silently tore open the seal.

The content of the letter was very brief.

FINAL SURVIVOR Lee Ro-ah

[May glory be with the victor.]

I let out a bitter laugh.

‘Did I grow fond of her, that crazy b*tch?’