The words were so absurd that they didn’t feel like they belonged in the same wrecked and ruined station.

"...Musical Chairs?" Jason repeated from the side.

Mimi spun once in the air, ribbon-like ears fluttering behind it. "Correct! A nostalgic childhood classic loved across countless worlds, timelines, and species!"

Hana swallowed, eyes flicking from the flag to the floating mascot. "What...what does that mean? Are we supposed to sit somewhere?"

"Close!" Mimi chirped. "But not quite! Please pay close attention, contestants! Mimi will now explain the adjusted rules. Any misunderstandings resulting in death, loss of ranking, emotional trauma or betrayal, will be considered the contestant’s responsibility!"

[Adjusted First Game: Musical Chairs]

"The important distinction is—your Flag is the thing that’s supposed to sit!" Mimi continued. "There are various spots in different POIs that your Flag is supposed to "sit" in. Those special spots are considered the ’Chairs’."

"But of course, like Musical Chairs, there will be less ’Chairs’ than Flags," it chuckled. "So you’ll have to work quickly!"

Right after it finished, a list of additional subset rules flashed on their panel.

[Flags may be stolen, hidden, traded, protected, or destroyed.]

[Rule Two is still in effect. Direct contestant-on-contestant attacks and violence aimed to kill shall still incur penalties.]

Deon’s eyes moved across the rules one by one, eyes glancing over at their red flag planted near the East barricade.

There’s a loophole.

With the way the Rules are worded, we don’t even have to fight directly. All we have to do is steal another team’s flag and leave them without a way to claim a Chair...then let the system handle the execution.

Damn...the production team was smart to keep Rule Two in effect. That way, even squeamish contestants like Hana will participate.

Levi stepped forward, placing himself just slightly between the group and the mascot. "Where are the Chairs?"

Mimi perked up again as if the previous moment had never happened.

"Excellent question, Zero-Viewer Prince!"

Zero-Viewer Prince. So Mimi knew that too.

It lifted its microphone. "The Chairs have been scattered across District 4! Some are safe, some are not. But once you claim a Chair, you must defend it from the incoming monsters as well."

[Musical Chairs — Round One]

[Active Teams: 15]

[Available Chairs: 12]

Hana’s voice came out weak, realization settling in. "That means..."

"At least 3 teams die," Deon finished. "Or...15 contestants."

"I’m surprised only twenty-five people have been eliminated," Levi muttered.

Deon glanced at him. "What does that mean?"

But before Levi could answer, the station’s speakers suddenly whirled to life, even without any electricity.

The distorted music began a moment later.

It crackled through the station speakers. A childish melody played in even notes, cheerful and warped, like an old toy being wound past the point of breaking.

♩ "London Bridge is falling down... falling down... falling down." ♫

♫ "London Bridge is falling down... my fair lady..." ♩

Mimi bobbed in the air to the rhythm.

"When the music stops," it sang, "the Chair belongs to whoever claimed it! Everyone else..."

"Well..." it didn’t need to elaborate further.

Deon narrowed his eyes at everything he read, along with what the mascot said before asking. "How do we know what’s considered a Chair?"

The mascot’s grin somehow grew wider, pointing at their Flag. "If the area around where the Flag is planted is glowing, you’ll know it’s a Chair!"

Deon glanced over immediately, realizing any shine that was supposed to be on their flag was not there.

That meant...

"Good luck, everyone! I hope you survive!"

And with that, the mascot vanished, leaving only glittering sparks behind as it left.

"Shit..." Levi started. "We need to move...NOW!"

Jason nodded, immediately gunning for their red Flag. With one smooth motion, he wrangled it free and hurled it across his shoulders.

Deon turned immediately, already asking. "Fuck! Levi, what’s the plan?! From the looks of it, our area sure as hell ain’t a Chair!"

"Move first, ask questions later."

"Tch..." Deon clicked his tongue but didn’t complain.

He took the front with Levi, katana low in one hand while his eyes tracked everything around. Jason and Hana stayed in the middle where they’d be the safest, while Celine took the rear, bow already mid-draw.

The moment they burst out of Ghonam Station, Deon nearly stopped.

District 4 was crawling with monsters.

Infantry dragged themselves between overturned cars, their long claws scraping against the pavement. More moved along the sides of buildings, hunched bodies clinging to shattered windows and broken signs like insects.

Farther down the street, a few Hounds were barking at something they couldn’t see, while another shrieked from somewhere above them.

GRRRAAAAAAAK!

Hana flinched so hard she almost tripped.

Deon grabbed her sleeve and yanked her forward before she could fall. "Don’t stop!"

An Infantry turned its skull-like head toward them from the middle of the road, immediately noticing the group coming out.

Levi threw a fireball without slowing.

BOOM!

Flames burst across its shoulder and forced it back a step, but the creature didn’t fall. It only shrieked, raising one long arm as if to shield its head.

"Keep running!" Levi snapped.

They cut left into a narrower street, avoiding the main road entirely. Behind them, the Infantry’s claws hammered against the pavement as it gave chase for several seconds, but the collapsed cars and broken debris slowed its larger body enough for them to slip around the corner.

Even without the speakers, they could somehow still hear the music.

"...my fair lady..."

Deon’s breathing burned in his throat, but his eyes kept moving.

They weren’t the only ones running.

Across the street, another team dashed through the skeleton of a shopping arcade, their Flag whipping above them. One contestant held a spear while another dragged someone by the wrist. A third kept looking backward so often Deon knew he was going to be the first to die.

Then something dropped from the second floor.

CRASH!

An Infantry landed directly in their path. The spear-user panicked and drove his weapon into its chest. But it was the wrong place...as the blade bounced straight off.

Jason’s voice came from behind him, strained and breathless. "Are we helping them?"

"No!" Deon and Levi said at the same time.

"Right. Stupid question."

Another blue message flashed across the sky.

[Team 4 has occupied a Chair.]

[Available Chairs: 11]

Damn, already?

"Chairs aren’t highlighted," Celine said, scanning the ruined storefronts as they ran. "How are we supposed to find one?"

Deon looked ahead, past the ruined street and the monsters crawling over District 4 like the city itself had become a corpse filled with insects.

"Chairs won’t be hidden in random alleys," he said. "This is a show. They’ll put them somewhere that looks good."

Celine understood first. "Famous locations."

"Landmarks," Deon said. "Plazas, towers, malls, stages. Anywhere that makes the Viewers go, ’Oh, I know that place.’"

"Then what’s the closest?!" Hana yelled, barely dodging a piece of concrete from a nearby falling building.

"Shinso Bridge!" Deon yelled, the sound still causing his ears to ring.

Levi turned immediately. "How far?!"

"Two blocks! Maybe three if the road’s blocked!"

"We have no other choice! Let’s go there!" Celine exclaimed from behind them, ducking under the ruins of a collapsed bus just barely held up.

But before any of them can reply, the panel reminded them how bad their situation was.

[Team 2 has occupied a Chair.]

[Available Chairs: 10]

[Team 11 has occupied a Chair.]

[Available Chairs: 9]

[Team 5 has occupied a Chair.]

[Available Chairs: 8]

...

"Shit..."