The right side of Deon’s vision was filled with a translucent chat window, the messages appearing so fast that for one second, he genuinely thought the System had glitched.

[Live Chat]

[ClownWithWifi: LMAOOOO HE ACTUALLY BOUGHT CHAT]

[AuraMonster: Worth it. That play on Shinso Bridge was absolutely magnificent.]

[LovesAGoodBargain: spending 80 Points to talk to 9 people? You’re either a genius or a moron. And I can’t decide which one just yet.]

[ClownWithWifi: Obviously a moron! kkk]

[RandomToastEnjoyer: wait why is he moving without a flag lol]

[ChairGoblin_22: new round rules cooked him ngl]

As Deon read the messages, all he could do was simply stare. The mismatch in expectations and reality was just...way too apparent.

These are supposed to be mighty beings watching countless deaths on a whim...are they not?

Then why the hell are these usernames and comments just the same, no...even WORSE than my old comment section!

But as he opened his mouth to reply to them, a familiar feeling re-entered his body, like a muscle memory being woken up.

And through it, the corners of his lips lifted. "Alright chat, since you’re all apparently here now, let’s establish some basic rules."

Hana blinked. "You’re...talking to them?"

"I spent eighty Points. I’m getting my money’s worth."

[ClownWithWifi: What’s with this flip of the switch! Streamer mode activated? kkk]

[LovesAGoodBargain: Terms and conditions before the scam. Classic.]

Deon raised one finger without slowing. "Useful information is appreciated and useless comments will be ignored unless they’re funny."

"If you can follow these two basic rules," Deon said, his lips curving into a full-on grin. "Then stick around for the show, because..."

"I’ll be the best Contestant you’ll ever watch."

Hana’s eyes widened. "Deon!"

[AuraMonster: I like it! Magnificent speech! I’ll be around.]

[LovesAGoodBargain: It is, but there’s a single glaring problem right now...You’re still homeless.]

[ChairGoblin_22: second round needs 7 registered members. u got 2 and zero flag. mathematically tragic]

[LovesAGoodBargain]: You are not in the clear yet. You need a Flag, preferably one already attached to a team with exactly two empty slots.

For all their stupid names and worse personalities, they were right. He and Hana weren’t safe just because he unlocked chat. If anything, he had made himself weaker in the immediate sense.

[LovesAGoodBargain]: You have good leverage. Even if you lost your second place in the Leaderboard, you still have a healer and good Cards. Sell your value properly.]

"Sell it properly, huh?" Deon muttered.

Then all of a sudden...he broke into a sprint.

"Wha—Deon, hey!"

"Change of pace," he said. "We’re not looking for a team to take us in."

Hana hurried after him. "We’re not?"

"No," he glanced at the road toward the park district ahead. "We’re looking for a team that’s lucky enough to need us."

The chat continued flickering at the edge of his vision, ridiculous usernames and all. Deon ignored most of it, but he didn’t close the window.

Even if the Viewers were dangerous and cruel, they could provide invaluable information. He thought of it as an exchange—content for knowledge.

Deon crouched slightly beside the remains of an overturned delivery truck and looked ahead.

The street curved toward the park district, where the buildings opened into a wider road lined with dead trees and cracked stone planters. At the end of it, he could see the entrance arch to Mihan Park in the distance.

But before the park, there were people.

Four of them.

They were gathered near a collapsed bus stop, clearly arguing with each other. One had a long metal pipe gripped in both hands, while another held a small knife.

A third was limping badly, one arm wrapped around the shoulder of a girl who looked barely older than Hana. The fourth stood slightly ahead of the rest, looking clearly tired but wary.

No Flag...wait.

Deon looked again. Folded and clutched under the limping man’s arm, its pole shortened somehow, maybe collapsed for easier carrying.

A damaged team of four...exactly the kind of group Levi needed.

"Four people," Hana whispered next to him, coming to the same conclusion. "Should we—?"

But before she could ask, Deon had already stepped out from behind the truck.

The one in front raised his pipe. The girl with the knife flinched and moved closer to the injured man. The limping man tightened his grip around the folded Flag as if Deon might steal it from his hands.

Deon raised both hands, palms open. "Relax. If I wanted your Flag, I wouldn’t walk out in the open."

The leader’s eyes flicked toward Hana. Then toward Deon’s empty hands. Not empty, actually. [Blade] and [Trip] were only a word away, but they didn’t need to know that.

"Who are you?" the man demanded.

"Someone who knows where you need to go."

The girl with the knife swallowed. "Are you with another team?"

"Currently?" Deon said. "No."

That made all four of them tense. Hana glanced at him sharply, probably because that answer was both technically true and incredibly suspicious.

The leader noticed too. "Then why should we listen to you?"

"Because you have four people, a Flag, and no way to claim a Chair by yourselves."

The leader’s face changed, and that’s when Deon knew...his hook had landed. Now all he had to do was lay the bait.

"I know a group of three."

The injured man’s head snapped up immediately. "You do?"

"I do," Deon nodded. "But I want to make a trade..."

"I give you information. In exchange," he glanced toward the small pole tucked underneath the limping man’s arms. "You give me your Flag."

"What?! Why would we—!?"

"Because the team I’m telling you to go to already has one. It’s a win-win, is it not?"

The leader’s expression twisted. "You expect us to just hand over our Flag?"

"No," Deon said. "But right now, all it is...is extra baggage."

"You can keep carrying it and hope you find three strays. Maybe those three people don’t stab you for it. Maybe you don’t waste ten minutes running in circles while the Chairs disappear."

The girl with the knife swallowed.

"Or," Deon said, raising a finger, "you give it to me, run to Shinso Bridge, and join Levi Knox’s team before he finds another group of four."

The leader froze before hesitantly turning to discuss with the rest of his group.

Gotcha...now time to reel it in.

"The current first place needs exactly four people," Deon repeated. "If you join his team, that’s the cleanest survival route you’re going to find this round."

[AuraMonster: Good. Make the road sound like privilege.]

[ClownWithWifi: BRO CALLED THEIR FLAG LUGGAGE LOL]

Deon ignored them.

The leader looked suspicious, but the shape of it had changed. Before, he had been wondering whether Deon was a threat or not. Now he was wondering if his words held any weight to them.

"But why would Levi accept us?" the leader asked.

"Because you’re four and he needs four," Deon replied. Congratulations. For the next few minutes, your entire value is being the correct number."

The girl with the knife looked toward the injured man. "Aaron, should we...?"

So the leader’s name was Aaron.

Aaron didn’t look away from Deon. "If Levi Knox is there, why aren’t you with him?"

"I don’t need him."

The leader’s eyes narrowed. "And why is that...?"

Deon grinned because that was the exact question he’d been waiting for this entire time.

"Because I’m rank two."