Only eight Chairs left already?!

But even without saying anything, the group seemed to understand their predicament, as they started to break into an even heavier sprint.

Deon moved in front, the world around them becoming a mess of collapsed storefronts and half-toppled streetlights.

Every few seconds, another monster shrieked from somewhere nearby, and every time it did, Hana flinched beside him but kept running.

Celine ran behind them with her bow already in hand, loosing an arrow that caught one of the Hounds mid-lunge.

Jason, meanwhile, just barely managed to use his shield to block another Hound’s attack before he threw it to the side. It rammed into an abandoned car head-first before going limp.

[Team 8 has occupied a Chair.]

[Available Chairs: 7]

"Damn it!" Jason shouted. "They’re disappearing too fast! What if Shinso Bridge is already gone?!"

"Just keep moving!" Levi replied from right behind Deon. "We’ll see when we get there!"

Ahead, the road split into two paths. One led through a shopping arcade half-collapsed beneath its own sign. The other led down a wider street where smoke poured from the windows of abandoned cars.

Deon’s eyes darted between them. The arcade path was shorter, but there would be too many blind spots, and it was too narrow. If they were ambushed there, they’d be trapped.

"Right!" he shouted.

They cut toward the wider road just as a hound burst from the arcade entrance, crashing into the spot where Hana would have been if they had chosen wrong.

Hana yelped, looking back with wide eyes. "How did you—?!"

"Lucky guess!"

"That was not a lucky guess!"

"Then praise me later!"

The hound lunged after them, claws extended. But just as it was about to reach them, a Fireball crashed straight into it, turning it into absolute char.

The bridge came into view at the end of the street a few seconds later.

Shinso Bridge.

Even half-buried beneath smoke and ash, it was still recognizable. A massive steel bridge stretched over the black river that cut through District 4, famous for its twin archways and the rows of old lantern poles lining both sides.

Before all this, tourists used to come here at night just to take pictures of the city lights reflected over the water. Now, the river beneath it was dark and still, carrying pieces of debris like floating corpses.

A circular platform of pale light had formed between the two largest arches, glowing against the cracked pavement like a stage spotlight.

It was obvious what the glowing platform was: a Chair.

Deon glanced around, not seeing any other teams.

Yes! We got lucky!

"Flag!" Levi said.

Jason ran towards the platform, where there was a circle suspiciously big enough to put the pole in. He immediately slammed the end down into the hole, and almost instantly—

Ding!

[Team 1 has occupied a Chair.]

[Available Chairs: 6]

A small translucent barrier appeared before them as one of the Hounds that had just been on their tail crashed into it, jaws barking and scraping. But no matter what it did, it couldn’t pass the threshold.

"Phew..."

They all breathed out in unison, tensions relieving from their shoulders as the first part of the challenge was accomplished.

[Chair: Shinso Bridge]

[Preparation Time: 05:00]

[Please defend the Chair as the Claiming Process is taking place.]

A timer appeared above the glowing platform with their Flag inside it.

05:00

04:59

04:58

But before any of them could say anything, a burst of confetti exploded over the bridge, completely at odds with the ruined city around them.

Mimi suddenly appeared in a burst of smoke, the small ribbon-eared mascot spun around in the air above, waving both tiny arms.

"Congratulations, Team 1!" Mimi chirped.

"You have located one of the wonderful Chairs prepared for today’s game!"

Deon’s eye twitched. "I hate this thing."

"Mimi heard that!"

"Good!"

Mimi ignored him and spun in the air again. "Now then! Since today’s game was adjusted suddenly due to exciting Viewer intervention, all remaining contestants will be granted one complimentary spin on the Wheel of Fortune!"

What in the—

A massive wheel of light appeared above the bridge, divided into dozens of glowing sections. Some shone gray while others green, with a few blues mixed in there. Deon even saw one tiny purple slice near the top that looked almost impossible to land on.

Celine stared up. "A free card?"

"Correct!" Mimi sang. "A gift from the production team to ensure fairness, excitement, and a more diverse range of tragic outcomes!"

The wheel shrank suddenly, splitting into five smaller panels that appeared in front of each of them.

[Spin?]

Deon stared at the panel.

There was no reason to refuse. In a game where one card could be the difference between living and dying, even trash had value.

He tapped it.

The wheel spun so fast the colors blurred together. Gray, green, gray, gray, blue, gray, green, purple—

"Come on," Deon muttered. "Epic. Epic. Epic. Even a Rare is fine!"

[Common Non-Consumable Card Acquired.]

[Trip]

A gray card materialized in Deon’s hand.

Beside him, Hana’s wheel stopped a second later with a bright green flash.

[Uncommon Non-Consumable Card Acquired.]

[Physical Boost Minor]

A green-bordered card appeared in her palms.

Deon slowly turned his head toward her. "Are you serious?"

Hana blinked down at the card, then gave a small, awkward smile. "Ah... I’ve always been pretty good with gachas."

"This isn’t a gacha game!"

"It kind of is?"

"No, it is not kind of—" Deon stopped, looked back at his own card, and scowled. "What does Trip even mean? Tripwire? Travel? Am I sending someone on a vacation?"

As Deon was busy complaining about his Card, Jason walked over to them.

"What did you get?"

"Nothing," Deon straightened immediately, putting his own Card into his pocket before standing in front of Hana to cover hers.

Hana immediately opened her mouth. "Oh, I got—mmmph!"

Deon clamped a hand over her mouth without hesitation, immediately turning over to Jason and speaking flatly. "We’re not obligated to share our Cards."

Jason’s expression stiffened for a moment before turning into a frown. "Aren’t we supposed to be a team?"

But before Deon could answer, Levi spoke from the side. "He’s right. Cards are private assets. In the Miracle Royale, they’re part of a contestant’s worth."

"Asking is fine. Expecting an answer isn’t."

Jason turned his face away completely. "Fine."

Deon stared at him for another second.

Then, because the universe had given him a stupid card and he was the kind of person who needed answers immediately, he lifted the gray card slightly.

[Trip]

The Card flashed as it worked its magic. Jason’s foot suddenly caught on absolutely nothing, his whole body lurching forward before he nearly slammed face-first into the bridge pavement.

"Wha—?!"

He barely caught himself with his shield at the last second. Deon tried to suppress the small smile on his face, but he was obviously failing.

"Well," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Now you know what my Card is."

"You—!" Jason started, but Levi stopped him.

...

"Now’s no time for jokes," the actor said. "Everyone, open your Systems."

Deon frowned. "Why?"

"Because if you wait until the Horde arrives, you’ll die with unspent Points."

The actor turned back to his own Panel. "If you go to the Shop, there should be another option that says [Levels], open that up and spend your Points."

"Hold on." Deon’s eyes narrowed. "You want me to spend my hard-earned Points because you said so?"

Levi’s gaze shifted toward him.

He didn’t back down. "Unless I missed something, the lowest-ranked contestant gets executed at the end of a Scenario."

Deon tapped the side of his head. "So forgive me if I’m not excited to burn my safety net because a suspicious actor told me to."

The group went quiet, the only noise filling the bridge was the clicking of the timer behind them.

03:58

03:57

03:56

Levi stared at Deon for one second longer before speaking calmly. "If you don’t spend them, everyone on this team dies."

Then Levi added, without any hesitation, glancing towards Hana...

"Except you and me."