During the evening walk, I left my cell and called Lie over. We checked the options in the store.
"I'm moving to the second layer. I want a two-person cell for five hundred game coins."
Lie looked surprised at my offer but nodded. "I accept."
"How much money do you have?"
"A hundred."
I arranged the layer transfer for two hundred and the room for five hundred. I had spent seven hundred points, leaving me with seven hundred. The guards completed the process, and we were placed in a two-person cell on the second layer.
The cells were nearly identical. Lie looked around, tense, and quietly moved to the other bed. I lay down as well, tried not to think, and slept.
During the morning walk, while we were eating, someone approached us. A boy with blue hair, average height, brown eyes, full of energy. He greeted us. The people around us were watching, keeping their distance. They knew I had defeated Shouya's group, so they were observing us.
I recognized him. Seiko. The official I had killed. He was standing before me, greeting me.
He read the shock on my face. He giggled. "You... how are you alive?"
His smile widened. "I have the cell regeneration machine to thank!" He raised his hands in the air, then turned his eyes toward me. "But as an official, I was punished for being beaten. My authority was stripped. I found myself here." He moved closer, his voice darkening. "To regain my authority, I have to kill you. I have to prove myself. I will destroy you."
He suddenly grew calm. He pressed a coin against my chest. A duel challenge.
"Also, I know the traitor you're thinking of."
"The traitor?"
"Yes. If you have any guts, accept. Let's set the penalties and rewards in the back room. Otherwise, I won't leave you alone. If you take the coin, you've accepted."
I took the coin. I accepted the duel. Shouts erupted from around us.
Lie panicked. "Rei, are you sure?"
"It's fine."
Seiko grinned. "That's more like it. Let's play."
We were called to the back room. The doors closed behind us. Keibo and the system screen stood before us. Elite profiles had already begun appearing on the digital displays.
Seiko wagered his life if he lost. No one was surprised. They were used to it. In return, he wanted my life.
"I accept. But in addition—all your game coins, and everything you know about the traitor."
He objected, but eventually agreed. The wagers were set.
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Rei: His life.
Seiko: His life, all his game coins, information about the traitor.
Game: Randomly selected by the system.
The system set up a three-on-three team game.
"Three on three?"
Seiko signaled toward the corridor with his hand. "I've already chosen my team!"
Shouya and the Leader emerged.
"How are they alive?"
"Same situation. Thanks to the machine."
Shouya and the Leader stood before me, but their old attitudes were gone. They just wanted to kill me now. I could sense a hardened resolve.
"Choose your allies. You can enter alone, but it'll be difficult."
I sent an invitation to Lie. She accepted faster than I expected.
"I don't have any other friends. I'll look for a player with game coins."
I found a short boy. Tou. He wasn't convinced at first, but agreed after I offered a hundred game coins and a share of the winnings. We were three.
The system voice announced: Dangerous Virus Game.
Everyone fell into thought. The game would be played inside an old experimental laboratory.
The rules were explained one by one. Both sides would wear button belts. Every thirty minutes, the light colors would switch. Those with red lights could press the green buttons of the opposing team, transferring that player to their own team. This could continue until one team was left with a single player.
A rectangular arena. A team's doors at one end, B team's at the other. Three corridors. A central hub in the middle. One room on each of the left and right corridors. The goal was to enter the opponent's correct door. Each team had three doors. The leader chose the correct door on a tablet. Entering the wrong door meant losing.
The corridors were not empty. Supplies, paintings, lab equipment. Locked rooms.
A robot carrying an axe would roam inside. It would try to kill everyone. It was slow, but caution was necessary.
The mission rooms provided an antidote. If used on a former teammate whose button had been pressed, they would return. If used on your own teammate, they would switch to the opposing team and start from that team's area. If used on someone from the opposing team, they would join your team. You couldn't use the antidote on yourself.
During the preparation phase, the leader selected the correct door, and a hundred coins could be spent in the shop to buy abilities or traps.
The number of players and the button switch timer were displayed at the top. If the game dragged on, new additions could be introduced.
The system told us to leave the room and said we would be taken to the surface in one hour. I headed toward the washroom. Lie came up behind me.
"I sensed something strange about our teammate."
"You sensed correctly."
"What do you mean?"
"That kid is a traitor. When Seiko entered the room, Shouya and the others were already waiting at the back of the corridor. They knew beforehand that it would be three-on-three. They have information about the game. They might know my social network and have figured out that you're the only one close to me. They predicted I'd look for a player for the three-on-three game and arranged this kid. His initial reluctance might have been staged too—if he agreed too quickly, it would raise suspicion. There are two possibilities: either he's the traitor, or they set up his behavior so I'd think he isn't."
"What do we do?"
"If I call you by your name, do the opposite of whatever I say. We'll use this as a weapon. The traitor will be close to us during the game. We might not be able to talk freely."
"I understand."
"We have two advantages. First, if this person is the traitor, they're overconfident in his intel. If they don't realize I've figured it out, we can manipulate them and create a deception chain. Second, all three of them are afraid of me."
"Afraid?"
"I drove Shouya and his group to their deaths in the last game. Their aggressive attitudes are gone—they're gripped by fear. And Seiko is afraid because I killed him in the past. Do you know what fear does?"
"What?"
"Fear makes simple actions seem bigger and more calculated than they really are. We'll use that."
I looked up at the ceiling and grinned.
"That man said some things, but I won't question you for now. If we survive, we'll talk."
"Fine."
We returned to our cell and waited for the game.