Levi looked at Deon for a moment, then toward Hana.

The station stayed quiet as the timer continued ticking down. A few seconds may not have been much, but with the threat of elimination hanging above their heads...

Time was of the essence.

"Fine...come in."

Hana’s shoulders loosened as though she’d been holding her breath the entire time. Deon, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow.

He trusts us that easily? Maybe the threat of the next event is more than I initially thought.

Levi had decided that [Blade] and [Basic Heal] were worth the trouble, at least for now. Deon didn’t need to be liked by him, he just needed to know what the actor knew.

So he stepped down from the stairs and entered Ghonam Station with Hana following close behind.

Only then did Deon properly look at the other two people already inside. The first was a woman wearing formal clothing near one of the station pillars. She had sharp features and a straight posture with her dark blonde hair tied neatly in a ponytail.

Even now, with the dust on her clothes and exhaustion around her eyes, she carried herself somewhat confidently. Deon could immediately tell what type of person she was without having to second-guess himself.

A ’justice-addict’ as he coined the term. He hated those types the most.

Levi gestured toward her. "Celine August."

Celine gave a small nod, though her expression remained guarded. "Nice to meet you."

The second person was a broad-shouldered man standing a little behind her, one hand resting near his pocket as if he was ready to pull something out at any moment. He looked older than Deon, maybe late twenties or early thirties, but noticeably better built and muscular.

When his eyes met Deon’s, the man raised one hand awkwardly.

"Jason Crowe."

Hana’s eyes widened as Deon himself swallowed the thought.

So this is the real Jason Crowe...makes sense a guy like him would be capable enough.

Even with such a brief introduction, Levi continued on anyway. He stepped closer to the center of the platform, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a card.

"As a token of trust, I’ll show mine first."

Levi held the card between two fingers. It had a green border that shimmered faintly, brighter and cleaner than the gray border of the [Blade] Card.

Deon’s eyes widened, as this was one of the Cards he had his eye on in the Shop.

"That’s—"

"[Fireball]," Levi cut in, already knowing Deon would recognize it.

A small sphere of flame ignited above the actor’s palm, spinning softly without roaring or exploding like Deon thought it would.

Hana instinctively took half a step back while Jason glanced away from the flame as if he had already seen it but still didn’t want to get too comfortable near it.

But the terrifying realization had now reached Deon:

Fifty points. That was the price of a non-consumable uncommon Card. Which meant the bastard hadn’t just spent the 28 Points he had on the leaderboard yesterday.

While he and Hana had been barricaded inside a café, sleeping like idiots, Levi Knox had been out there hunting through the night.

Damn it...is this guy even human?!

Levi closed his hand, and the flame vanished as the card settled back between his fingers. "I won’t ask anyone here to reveal something I’m not willing to reveal myself."

He looked at the two other members of his group, before they both nodded in response. Celine reached into her coat and pulled out a gray-bordered with the same faint shimmer.

[Bow]

Gray light gathered in her hands before morphing itself into the shape of a wooden bow. A matching quill containing around 20 arrows formed behind her back just a moment later.

Then Jason pulled out his own card with a somewhat awkward expression, matching the same rarity as Celine’s. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

[Shield]

The same light formed over his forearm, hardening into a round metal shield strapped against his arm. It looked plain, but solid enough to stop teeth from tearing straight through him.

Deon narrowed his eyes, doing the math in his head.

A common, non-consumable Card costs 10 points...that would mean Jason also probably hunted throughout the night, seeing as he had 3 yesterday.

As for that woman...it can’t have been her drop, seeing as she had no points yesterday. Levi probably gave it to her.

But that begs the question...why keep someone like her with no value?

Yet even as he thought about it, he was technically doing the same thing with Hana.

"Your turn," Levi glanced toward him now.

Deon clicked his tongue. He still didn’t like it. Showing options meant handing other people information they could use against you later.

But if he refused now, the fragile trust they had just bought with words would immediately rot.

So Deon reached into his pocket and pulled out the gray card.

[Blade]

Beside him, Hana watched him for confirmation before slowly taking out her own Card with both hands.

[Basic Heal]

Levi’s eyes widened as he looked toward Hana before glancing back at Deon. "So you were keeping a big trump card all along?"

Deon didn’t reply, as he already knew what the actor meant.

Healing was rare and important. In a death game, a person who could kill was valuable. But a person who could keep others alive was priceless...even if only one person could win in the end.

Hana seemed to shrink a little under the attention, clutching the Card closer to her chest. "U-um...it only heals basic injuries, I think. I haven’t used it much."

"That’s already enough," Levi said, seemingly in the middle of recalculating his plan.

The timer in the corner of their panels continued ticking down, but for the first time since entering the station, it felt like they had a solid team...or what resembled one anyway.

"So we’re on the same page?" Deon asked.

"For now."

"Good," he folded his arms. "Then I get one question."

Levi didn’t answer immediately, probably thinking the question was simple. But what left Deon’s mouth next was something he’d never expect.

...

"How many Viewers do you have?"