Chapter 2: Three of Clubs
The venue for the first game was a nondescript office building in the nightlife district. The neon signs were dark, the usual hum of generators absent.
Renji stood in the lobby. The air here was stale, smelling of old carpet and anxiety. He leaned against a pillar, checking his fingernails, while Arisu, Karube, and Chota stumbled in, breathless and panicked.
A moment later, the final piece of the puzzle arrived. Saori Shibuki. The frantic office lady, her suit rumpled, her eyes darting around like a trapped animal.
"Phones," Renji said, breaking the silence. He pointed to a table in the center of the lobby where a row of smartphones sat. "Pick one up. Facial recognition required."
"Who put these here?" Karube demanded, grabbing a phone. "Is this a prank? A reality show?"
"A reality show requires an audience," Renji mused, picking up a phone. The screen scanned his face instantly.
REGISTRATION COMPLETE.
PLAYER: ZERO.
VISA: 0 DAYS.
"We have no audience here," Renji continued. "Only a judge."
The elevator chimed. The doors slid open, revealing a dark maw.
"We have to go up," Shibuki said, her voice trembling. "The arrow... it points up."
They crowded into the elevator. The tension was palpable. Arisu was sweating. Chota was praying under his breath. Karube was clenching his fists.
Renji stood in the back corner, humming a pop tune. He watched the floor numbers tick up. 1... 2... 3...
The elevator opened onto a dimly lit hallway. At the end, a single door.
They entered a square room. It was stark, industrial. Two doors stood on the opposite wall. One marked LIVE. One marked DIE.
In the center, a monitor flickered to life.
GAME: DEAD OR ALIVE.
DIFFICULTY: THREE OF CLUBS.
RULE: SELECT THE CORRECT DOOR WITHIN THE TIME LIMIT.
"Three of Clubs," Renji noted aloud. "Clubs: Teamwork and balance. A difficulty of Three? A warm-up."
"Live or Die?" Chota panicked. "We have to choose? What happens if we choose wrong?"
"We die," Arisu said, his voice hollow. "Look."
He pointed to the floor. Vents. And from the vents, a thick, white smoke began to hiss.
"Gas!" Shibuki screamed. "It's poison gas!"
A timer appeared on the wall. 2:00.
"Two minutes!" Karube yelled. "Which one is it? Arisu! You're good at puzzles! Think!"
Arisu was hyperventilating. "I... I don't know! It's a fifty-fifty chance! There's no clue! No riddle!"
Renji watched Arisu spiral. Disappointing, he thought. In the original iteration, Arisu needed time to process the geometry of the building. But right now, panic is overriding his cognitive functions.
Renji stepped forward. The group was arguing, pushing each other. Shibuki was about to suggest sacrificing someone.
"Silence," Renji said.
The word wasn't shouted, but it carried a kinetic force. They stopped and looked at him.
Renji walked to the center of the room. He looked at the LIVE door, then the DIE door. He didn't look at the map on the wall. He didn't measure the room with his steps.
"It's a logic puzzle based on spatial awareness," Renji lectured, as if he were a professor addressing a remedial class. "But you're all too busy hyperventilating to notice the architecture. We entered on the north side. The building is narrow. The 'Die' door leads to the exterior wall. Unless you can fly, that door leads to a drop."
He walked toward the LIVE door.
"Wait!" Karube shouted. "Are you sure? If you're wrong—"
"I'm never wrong," Renji interrupted.
He kicked the door open.
CLEAR.
The next room was identical. Another timer. 1:50.
"He was right!" Chota cried, tears streaming down his face. "Zero-san! You're a genius!"
Renji ignored the praise. He moved to the next set of doors.
"Which one now?" Shibuki asked, clinging to Arisu's arm.
Renji paused. He knew the pattern. He knew the layout. But simply walking through was boring. He needed to plant a seed.
"Arisu," Renji said, not looking back. "What represents the length of a standard BMW 5-series?"
Arisu blinked, confused. "What? A car? About... 4.9 meters?"
"Correct. And the average width of a room in a commercial building of this era?"
"Maybe... four meters?" Arisu's eyes lit up. The gears were turning. The panic was receding, replaced by the comfort of data. "Wait. We saw the car outside. The building's width matches the car length. If this room is square... the next room on the right would extend past the building's structural frame."
Renji smiled. A small, genuine smile. There he is.
"Exactly," Renji said. "So, which door?"
Arisu pointed to the left door. "That one. The other one leads to empty air."
Renji opened the left door.
CLEAR.
They moved through the rooms with increasing speed. The gas hissed at their heels, but the panic was gone, replaced by a frantic rhythm of survival. Renji led them, but he forced Arisu to validate each choice, sharpening the boy's mind, forcing him to evolve from a slacker into a player.
They reached the final room. The exit was visible.
GAME CLEAR.
They stumbled out onto the fire escape, gasping for fresh air. The night sky of Tokyo was dark, devoid of the city glow.
Arisu collapsed against the railing, coughing. "We... we made it."
Karube slapped Arisu on the back. "You did it, man! You figured it out!"
"No," Arisu shook his head, looking up at Renji. "He figured it out. I just did the math."
Renji stood apart from them, leaning against the brick wall. He held a playing card in his hand. The Three of Clubs. He flipped it over his knuckles with the dexterity of a magician.
"A decent performance," Renji said. "For a debut."
"Who are you?" Shibuki asked, staring at him with a mix of fear and awe. "How did you stay so calm?"
Renji pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Fear is a biological reaction to the unknown," Renji stated. "Once you understand the variables—the room size, the gas density, the psychological profile of the Game Master—the equation solves itself. There is no room for fear in a solved equation."
He pushed off the wall and began to walk down the stairs.
"Where are you going?" Chota called out. "We should stick together! It's dangerous!"
"Sticking together is a strategy for the weak," Renji called back. "I have things to do. Maps to draw. Resources to acquire."
He paused and looked back at Arisu.
"Get a visa, Arisu. Survive. I'll be watching."
Renji disappeared into the shadows of the alleyway. As he walked, he brought up the menu on his phone.
VISA: 3 DAYS.
"Three days," Renji murmured to the empty street. "Plenty of time to rewrite the script."
He looked up at the moon. It looked the same as the one in the real world, but Renji knew better. This moon was digital. A projection.
He activated his 'Infinity'—or rather, the heightened state of spatial awareness and reflexes that mimicked it. He could feel the flow of the air, the vibration of the distant generators, the heartbeat of the city.
"Let's see if the Hatter is as disappointing as the Three of Clubs."
Renji walked into the night, a predator in a city of prey.
(To be Continued)