"Eliminated players are No. 312, No. 89, No. 69, No. 354, No. 126, No. 335, No. 299, No. 441, No. 209, and No. 270," the broadcast announced.
The masked guards placed their corpses one by one into coffin gift boxes.
Sang-hwan and the other nine arrived at the cyan camp. The people at the yellow camp were No. 456, No. 158, No. 25, No. 435, No. 22, No. 115, No. 213, No. 185, No. 66, and No. 42.
With a gunshot, both sides charged forward. Taek-gyeol, Dieok-nyeong, and No. 353 stayed behind to guard the flag.
Using his massive build, No. 200 directly grabbed Yellow Team's No. 456 and No. 66 and pinned them against the wall. He turned to Zhengli and Sang-hwan and shouted, "Go get it!"
Sang-hwan and Zhengli split up and ran toward the enemy flag, while the opposing side fought back fiercely. Yellow Team's No. 115 and No. 213 became entangled with green Team's No. 93 and No. 6, while No. 148 rushed in from the side.
Sang-hwan and Zhengli reached Yellow Team's flag. No. 22 (Yellow Team) was guarding it. Seeing them, No. 22 stepped back a few paces. Zhengli knocked him down with one punch. Sang-hwan grabbed the flag, and Zhengli said to him, "Follow me. I'll clear the way."
Sang-hwan nodded. Zhengli ran ahead, and Sang-hwan followed close behind.
No. 158 (Yellow Team) charged out from the side and shoved Dieok-nyeong and No. 353 away. No. 25 (Yellow Team) seized the chance and punched Taek-gyeol to the ground. He grabbed the flag, but Taek-gyeol clutched his leg tightly and refused to let go. No. 25 kicked him in the face, knocking him unconscious, then ran off.
Sang-hwan and No. 25 reached their respective camps at the same time with the flags. Zhengli waved frantically at Sang-hwan. "Hurry!"
Both Sang-hwan and No. 25 raised their flags and moved to plant them. Just then, Chae-ho, who had been hiding in the yellow camp, rushed out and tackled No. 25 to the ground. Sang-hwan successfully planted the flag in his own camp. He and Zhengli embraced in celebration.
No. 25 angrily got up and was about to fight Chae-ho when—bang! Blood burst from his head, and he collapsed. Chae-ho was startled by the sight.
Sang-hwan, Zhengli, Chae-ho, Taek-gyeol, Dieok-nyeong, No. 353, No. 200, No. 148, No. 93, and No. 6 walked back up the stairs toward the dormitory. At that moment, a paperclip fell out of No. 148's pocket. Sang-hwan picked it up. No. 148 turned around, took it back, and said, "Thanks."
Sang-hwan asked curiously, "How did you bring that in? Didn't they confiscate it?"
No. 148 smiled. "I hid it in my mouth. They didn't notice."
No. 353 asked curiously, "Why bring a paperclip here?"
No. 148 raised his head and said, "As a locksmith, carrying a paperclip at all times is only natural."
No. 93 laughed. "That's interesting."
Soon, the game ended. The screen in the dormitory displayed 100 players remaining, 35.6 billion won prize money.
Sang-hwan smiled while eating a peeled egg. "Did you guys see No. 200 just now? Wow, he was like a bear. He blocked two people by himself."
Zhengli patted No. 200 on the shoulder. "Yeah, seriously impressive."
No. 200 shyly scratched his head after being praised. Chae-ho took a sip of soda and said, "If I hadn't knocked down the other guy at the end, it's hard to say who would've won."
No. 148 nodded. "Yeah, yeah, you're the greatest."
Dieok-nyeong laughed listening to them. Zhengli nudged Taek-gyeol and said, "I told you to guard the flag. How did you end up knocked out?"
Taek-gyeol lowered his head and said nothing, looking wronged. Zhengli saw the bruise on his face and said, "Alright, alright. I won't say anymore."
They all laughed and chatted happily.
Just then, No. 79 chased No. 160 past them. Laughing, No. 79 shouted, "Who were you calling useless?"
No. 79 tackled No. 160 to the ground. No. 160 grinned mischievously and said, "Sorry, sorry, my bad."
The two laughed brightly. No. 353 watched them and said, "I envy them. Even at a time like this, they can still have fun."
Meanwhile, on the other side, No. 415 said to Jeo-rim, "You have no idea how amazing Chae-eun was just now. She grabbed the hair of the person trying to take the flag."
Chae-eun waved her hand modestly and smiled. Jeo-rim looked at her and said, "As expected of a trafficker. Quite the methods."
Night fell, and everyone lay in bed to sleep. Zhengli stared at the piggy bank hanging above, then turned onto his left side.
The lights suddenly came on, and music started playing. Everyone groggily opened their eyes. Dieok-nyeong sat up and turned toward Sang-hwan. Sang-hwan weakly supported himself as he sat upright.
She looked at him and asked, "Are you okay?"
Sang-hwan smiled. "I'm fine."
Then the broadcast announced:
"Important notice. The third game will begin shortly. Players, please move according to staff instructions."
No. 415 looked at Jeo-rim. Jeo-rim shoved him lightly and said, "Let's go, brat."
Chae-eun followed behind.
Soon, they arrived once more at the all-white room.
The broadcast said:
"Welcome to the third game. This is a team game. You will compete in the same teams formed in the previous round."
Everyone looked at the teammates they had yesterday. Soon they lined up, and the doors opened. They entered the game arena.
Sang-hwan, Dieok-nyeong, Zhengli, and the others looked at a narrow bridge high above them.
Jeo-rim stared up at it and cursed, "Damn it!"
The broadcast continued:
"Welcome to the third game. This game is One-Plank Bridge. Before the game begins, two teams must stand at opposite ends of the bridge. Once the game starts, one team must push the other team off the bridge in order to win."
Sang-hwan and Zhengli exchanged a serious look for several seconds.
No. 353 said, "Oh boy."
Dieok-nyeong silently stared at the bridge.
Soon, masked guards chained together the ten members of Team One and Team Two with iron chains and locked them in place. Then the two teams stood at opposite ends of the bridge.
Bang!
The game began.
Both teams ran across the bridge toward each other.
No. 96 grabbed No. 78 by the hair. No. 78 punched No. 96 in the stomach. No. 96 cried out in pain and let go, but No. 78 shoved him hard toward the edge.
No. 96 was about to fall, but at that moment he grabbed No. 78.
No. 78 slapped his hands and yelled, "Damn it, let go!"
Their balance became more unstable. No. 96 dragged No. 78 down with him.
While the chained teammates were still confused, inertia pulled every one of them off the bridge one after another.
The bridge suddenly became empty.
Several heavy thuds echoed below as all twenty players from both teams fell to their deaths.
Sang-hwan trembled all over at the sight of the twenty people falling. Everyone gasped in shock.
Zhengli looked forward, then closed his eyes and sighed.
Sang-hwan's group took the elevator upward, preparing to go onto the bridge.
No. 148 looked at the silent group and said, "Don't lose heart. We still have a chance. Put two strong people in the middle, then the two girls on both sides…"
Soon they arrived on the bridge.
Taek-gyeol looked down at the height and trembled uncontrollably.
Chains were fastened around their waists. From front to back they stood as:
No. 148, Sang-hwan, No. 93, Dieok-nyeong, Zhengli, No. 200, No. 353, No. 6, Taek-gyeol, and finally Chae-ho.
Bang!
The game began.
No. 148 faced off with the opponent in front. Zhengli and No. 200 gripped the chain tightly.
The enemy rushed forward. No. 148 punched him in the face, then shoved him backward with all his strength.
Just as No. 148 tried to steady himself, his foot slipped, and he fell off the bridge.
Sang-hwan desperately held onto the chain to stop No. 148 from falling completely.
Seeing the enemy about to stand up again, No. 148 pulled a paperclip from his pocket.
Sang-hwan roared, "No! Wait—I'll pull you up!"
No. 148 straightened the paperclip and inserted it into the lock, twisting it.
Dieok-nyeong desperately held the chain and shouted, "Don't give up! There's still a chance!"
No. 148 shook his head.
Zhengli widened his eyes and stared at him.
The lock clicked open.
The chain around No. 148's waist loosened.
No. 148 smiled… and fell.
"No——!"
Sang-hwan screamed in despair.
Thud!
No. 148 crashed heavily onto the ground below. Blood spread from behind him.
Sang-hwan stared down at him, his eyes slowly turning to fury.
He stood up and charged at the enemy who had just gotten back to his feet.
After several screams, the opposing team all fell from the bridge.
Sang-hwan dropped to his knees and cried.
Dieok-nyeong hugged him from behind.
Chae-ho placed a hand on Taek-gyeol's shoulder, his eyes beginning to redden with tears.
Exhausted, Zhengli sat silently on the bridge.
When he turned his head, he saw No. 200 crying loudly.
The sight left Zhengli not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Dieok-nyeong turned to look at No. 353.
No. 353 looked back at her in silence.