We have time, don't we?
*[luck is not really smiling on you]
Not now
I was surrounded by Kim Young and my teammates but also by our ENEMIES
[50 SECONDS LEFT]
The mechanical ding of the watch sounded like a cleaver.
Each invisible tick crushed the lungs, sucked in the air, twisted the muscles.
Kang, on his knees, his fingers buried in the trapdoor, was shaking all over. His nails scraped the metal, searching for something, anything. His eyes were red, bloodshot, but he didn't let go.
-Go on…, I whispered in spite of myself.
Kim Young snapped his fingers. His allies closed the circle around the platform. The fallen bodies, still warm, formed a morbid barrier that they stepped over without flinching.
"No one gets through," she roared. "If anything comes out, it's ours."
She stared at Kang like a predator ready to pounce, a carnivorous smile on her lips.
-Hurry up, they won't watch us forever
[45 SECONDS]
Ji-Yun Woo stood back. His dark gaze swept the scene. His three allies, Jae-min, Yun-seo, and Jun-ho, waited for his signal. He didn't move. He watched,
"They'll tear each other apart," he murmured. "There's no point wasting our strength."
Jun-Ho clenched his fists.
-If Kang finds something, they'll kill him.
- So what? Ji-Yun Woo answered bluntly. It's the last round anyway, whether you find someone or not, you don't have the highest score.
An icy silence. Even his allies understood that they were no different from other pawns in his eyes. But what could they do?
40 SECONDS
Kang yanked. Something hit metal. His eyes widened.
-I… I have it!
A golden glow appeared. A small, tiny box, barely the size of a closed fist, but its glow was enough to illuminate the tense faces around it.
-GIVE! Kim Young yelled
His cry tore through the air. But his enemies rushed forward, weapons in hand.
But Kang, in a desperate reflex, closed the hatch and pressed his torso against it.
-Never !
35 SECONDS
She barely had time to resume formation before the blows fell immediately. Fists, feet, stones. The human barrier took it all, the formation broke step by step.
- KANG! I shouted, my voice strangled.
I took a step forward. Just one. But Kim Young glared at me.
- Move again, and you'll see.
I turn around, frozen, my legs shaking. My whole body wanted to run, I wanted to get back to the bench, back out of sight.
30 SECONDS
In the buyers' room, there was hysteria.
The screens broadcast the images
-anyway we know the winner now
-and what is this golden box?
Another snickered.
- Maybe it's just a decoy.
But this time, no one intervenes, leaving them to discuss their little fortunes.
His voice resonated, calm, sharp:
- 5 billion, for the box
"The buyer".
Everyone else fell silent. It was obviously him… The most nothing of them.
25 SECONDS
I felt a burning sensation in my back, as if an invisible weight had just crashed down on me. My heart raced. And I turned around.
Kangs stood in front of me, looking me in the eye,.... And without a word, he slid the box towards me
-....
Why did he give it to me?
I stare at him without understanding but discreetly slip the box into my pocket.
-GET OUT IT'S OVER YOU BUNCH OF MORONS
Her crazed eyes shone. She was no longer the icy manipulator, but a raging beast.
20 SECONDS
MORE THAN
15 SECONDS
- Kang…, I whispered, unable to move, for fear of revealing myself
His eyes looked up at me. Full of pain, but also... hope.
- Ki-Moon…, articulate it,
*[some nice gifts]
Then his fingers, trembling, relax
10 SECONDS
The strain had been too much for him, he collapsed from exhaustion right next to A-05.
*[open it, go open it]
Moi.
This isn't even my box
Is it….. No No… C
It's not good
I can't
*[do it, no one will know you got the box]
Why not, after all I was the one who was thought to die from the first day.
He won't know
I tightened the box in my pocket and made myself part of the team as if I was playing a role or helping them repel his crazy
5 SECONDS
-No, move, damn it, screamed the desperate viper. I don't want to die, I don't want to die, damn it
A dull rumble rose, like a gigantic heart beating in the platform.
[ 4 ]
[ 3 ]
[ 2 ]
A flash.
[ 1 ]
The doll reappeared, floating just above me. Its glass eyes stared into mine. Its fixed smile widened, almost distorted.
[CONGRATULATIONS. THE KING OF SILENCE HAS MADE HIS CHOICE.]
[THE NEXT PHASE BEGINS.]
The box opened by itself.
An icy breath burst forth.
It's what….
Everyone's eyes were fixed on me
And a voice rang out.
A voice that was neither human nor mechanical.
- …Who woke me up?
I'm in deep shit