The hallway remained silent.
Three crimson envelopes rested in the girls' hands.
Nobody opened theirs.
Not yet.
Mei Chen turned hers over.
No seal.
No instructions.
No name of the sender.
Only a small silver symbol stamped into the paper.
XO.
She frowned.
"I officially hate red envelopes."
Yue Ning looked at hers.
"Don't joke."
"I'm not joking."
Mei Chen looked at her.
"I'm genuinely uncomfortable."
That silenced everyone.
Mei Chen rarely admitted fear.
THE DECISION
Lin Xia looked toward the empty corridor.
"Classroom."
They moved quickly.
They didn't go somewhere private because they trusted the room.
They went there because they needed somewhere they could observe the entrances.
Room 214 was empty.
Lin Xia checked the windows.
Yue Ning checked the door.
Mei Chen checked underneath the desks.
"Nothing."
"Good."
They sat around the teacher's desk.
Three envelopes between them.
Lin Xia spoke first.
"We open them together."
Yue Ning nodded.
Mei Chen took a breath.
"On three?"
"On three."
"One."
The room seemed to become colder.
"Two."
The lights flickered.
"Three."
Three seals broke at exactly the same time.
THE INVITATION
The envelopes opened by themselves.
The letters floated into the air.
Three identical messages appeared.
SPECIAL EXHIBITION MATCH
PLAYER: CONFIRMED
OPPONENT: UNDISCLOSED
GAME: UNSELECTED
VENUE: UNDISCLOSED
TIME: UNDISCLOSED
ACCEPTANCE WINDOW: 24 HOURS
Mei Chen stared.
"...That's it?"
Lin Xia read the message again.
"No."
Yue Ning pointed underneath it.
There was another line.
GAME SELECTION WILL OCCUR AFTER ACCEPTANCE.
Mei Chen immediately shook her head.
"No."
Lin Xia looked at her.
"You don't want to accept?"
"I don't want to accept something when they won't even tell us what we're agreeing to."
Yue Ning nodded.
"That's reasonable."
Lin Xia remained silent.
THE FOURTH LINE
A new sentence appeared.
REFUSAL WILL NOT RESULT IN PUNISHMENT.
Mei Chen relaxed slightly.
"Good."
Then another line appeared.
REFUSAL WILL RESULT IN LOSS OF ACCESS TO ALL ARCHIVES.
The room went silent.
Yue Ning slowly looked at Lin Xia.
"They're threatening our investigation."
"No."
Lin Xia shook her head.
"They're offering us a choice."
Mei Chen frowned.
"That sounds exactly like a threat."
"Because it is."
Lin Xia looked at the envelope.
"But technically..."
She exhaled.
"...we still have a choice."
BAI SHUYING RETURNS
The classroom door opened.
Bai Shuying walked in.
The girls immediately turned toward her.
"You followed us?"
"No."
She held up an envelope.
The same crimson envelope.
Her name was written across it.
Mei Chen stared.
"You got one too."
Bai Shuying nodded.
"Five minutes ago."
Yue Ning's eyes narrowed.
"But the system said the invitations would be delivered individually."
"They were."
Bai Shuying looked at the three girls.
"Mine arrived before yours."
Lin Xia stared at her envelope.
"You're the fourth candidate."
Bai Shuying didn't answer.
She simply placed the envelope on the desk.
THE REAL REASON
Yue Ning opened her notebook.
"The system mentioned a variable."
Bai Shuying looked at her.
"You saw that?"
"Yes."
"What did it say?"
Yue Ning showed her the final page.
THREE CANDIDATES
ONE VARIABLE
Bai Shuying read it carefully.
Then her expression changed.
"...That's not referring to me."
Lin Xia immediately looked up.
"Then who?"
Bai Shuying pointed at the three girls.
"One of you."
Silence.
Mei Chen frowned.
"What?"
"The system considers the three of you a single strategic unit."
Yue Ning's eyes widened.
"That's why our names appeared together."
Bai Shuying nodded.
"But one of you has a behavior the system can't predict."
Lin Xia stared at her.
"Which one?"
Bai Shuying didn't answer.
THE TEST
The lights suddenly shut off.
Complete darkness.
Then—
CLICK.
A projector activated.
A game board appeared on the wall.
Not chess.
Not Go.
Not Mahjong.
It was a simple children's game.
Chinese Checkers.
The girls stared.
The pieces moved across the projected board by themselves.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then the board stopped.
A message appeared.
PRE-MATCH ANALYSIS
QUESTION ONE:
Which player would you sacrifice to guarantee victory?
Mei Chen's expression hardened.
"None."
The message disappeared.
A second question appeared.
QUESTION TWO:
Which player would sacrifice herself if the others demanded it?
Yue Ning looked uncomfortable.
Lin Xia's eyes narrowed.
"This isn't a question."
Bai Shuying looked at the screen.
"No."
She spoke quietly.
"It's collecting data."
The screen displayed three percentages.
LIN XIA — 34%
YUE NING — 29%
MEI CHEN — 37%
Mei Chen stared.
"What are those?"
Bai Shuying's face became serious.
"Predictability."
THE GIRLS REALIZE
Lin Xia looked at the percentages.
"The system thinks you're the most unpredictable."
Bai Shuying shook her head.
"No."
She pointed toward Mei Chen.
"It thinks she's the most unpredictable."
Mei Chen blinked.
"Me?"
Bai Shuying nodded.
"Because you act emotionally."
Mei Chen frowned.
"That's supposed to be bad?"
"No."
Bai Shuying looked at the screen.
"To an AI..."
"...emotional decisions are difficult to calculate."
Yue Ning slowly understood.
"That's why it keeps watching us."
Lin Xia nodded.
"It can't predict what we'll do."
THE FINAL MESSAGE
The screen changed.
The three percentages disappeared.
Only one sentence remained.
PREDICTION MODEL INCOMPLETE.
Then—
another.
RECOMMENDATION: FORCE COOPERATIVE PRESSURE.
Mei Chen's smile disappeared.
"They're trying to make us turn against each other."
Lin Xia nodded.
"And they're testing which of us breaks first."
Bai Shuying picked up her invitation.
"I'm accepting."
All three girls looked at her.
"Why?"
She looked toward the dark screen.
"Because if we refuse..."
She paused.
"...we lose the Archives."
Lin Xia looked at Yue Ning.
Then Mei Chen.
Finally—
she picked up her invitation.
"I accept."
Yue Ning followed.
"So do I."
Mei Chen sighed.
"...Fine."
She raised her envelope.
"I accept too."
Four notifications appeared simultaneously.
ACCEPTANCE CONFIRMED
SPECIAL MATCH WILL BEGIN IN 24 HOURS.
Then the final line appeared.
GAME SELECTION WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE PLAYERS.
Mei Chen blinked.
"Wait."
She looked at the others.
"We get to choose the game?"
Bai Shuying nodded.
"Yes."
Lin Xia looked at the message.
For the first time that evening...
she smiled.
"Then tomorrow..."
She closed her hand around the invitation.
"...we choose something they won't expect."
Far beneath the school, a machine processed the four acceptances.
A red indicator flashed.
Then another.
Then another.
A voice whispered:
"They accepted."
A second voice answered:
"Good."
The machine displayed four names.
Then a fifth appeared.
OPPONENT: UNKNOWN
And beneath it:
DO NOT REVEAL IDENTITY UNTIL GAME SELECTION.
The system went dark.