We were suddenly teleported again because someone had been eliminated on the third floor. We were all waiting once more for the system to announce the new rule.
"Rule added!"
"On the third floor, if you vote for the person who voted for you, the votes cast against you by the players from that person's previous team will be invalidated. However, the vote of the person who voted for you will remain valid."
When we heard the rule, we all dispersed to our rooms. Six hours had passed since we started playing, the game had begun at midnight. Since no one would be waking up at midnight, everyone should have been sleepy. Everyone decided to go to their rooms and get some sleep. They thought that if there was a floor change, they would notice it because of the teleportation. We all slept for a long time and woke up hours later. Since the time had been reset, no one was losing any time. Itsuki had figured out Rei's previous move and done the same thing on their own team, which was why they had been able to vote for Hina.
When I woke up, I slowly got out of bed and shook my head lightly to fully wake up. Then I headed toward the sink, washed my face, and took care of my needs. The atmosphere was calm, there was no sound at all. Maybe I had woken up early, the others were either staying in their rooms or still asleep.
After returning to my room, I lay down on my bed and continued thinking about the situation. Half an hour later, Ayame knocked on my door to come to my room, saying it was her. I told her to come in. Ayame entered the room and looked at me with her white eyes, then gently sat on my bed.
"Good morning, Rei."
"Good morning."
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, I slept well. And you?"
"I slept well too."
"What do you think about the latest rule?"
"It must have been added because the prediction right we used on ourselves can be predicted. It seems like it can be seen as a last chance for those who are targeted to save themselves. In short, it can help you get fewer votes, as you've understood."
"The game is progressing slowly, I think something will happen to speed up the game."
"Like what?"
"I don't know, maybe more aggressive rules or the voting could happen earlier. After all, the elites can come and watch the game, entertaining them must be the system's duty. Even if the game progresses with action depending on the situation, it's taking too long. One person has been eliminated, everyone has fully understood the cruelty of the game. I think now is the perfect time for them to do this."
"I understand, you're thinking logically. Things like you said could happen, but I think it would be both good and bad."
"Why?"
"The good side is that the game would end quickly. If we can win, it means the game will end faster, meaning we'll get out of this damn place sooner. The bad side is that we're fewer in number. I don't really trust the twins and the tattooed man, it seems like it's just the two of us together."
"You're right."
During the conversation, the robotic system voice was heard. It announced that the buttons had been found and that we would therefore be teleported back to the first floor.
"Seriously, these guys literally don't want to stay in one place."
We were teleported to the first floor. Since I had been lying down, I was lying on the ground in the same position when I was teleported. Everyone who saw my position looked at me for a short while, then I slowly stood up and opened my phone in advance, the truth question was going to be sent.
Shortly after, the truth question was sent, and everyone answered the question. The situation appeared on the board, no one had used their vote. The game seemed to be continuing calmly for now. While I put my phone in my pocket and kept standing where I was, the system voice spoke once more.
"Our viewers are getting bored, so we will speed up the game even more. The voting will now end in three hours instead of one day. Good luck!"
The old man reacted to the situation.
"They're wearing us out, damn it!"
The man seemed tense about the situation, the women next to him touched his shoulder and said supportive things to him. These women did whatever that old man said. I questioned whether they weren't tired of this situation. New ideas were coming to my mind, trying this wouldn't harm me.
The robotic voice was heard again.
"At the same time, we don't want the game to become overly complicated, otherwise our viewers won't be able to follow it. Therefore, no floor-specific rules will be added until one more person is eliminated!"
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When I heard the new announcement, I was pleased with the situation. Uncontrollable things couldn't emerge, at least for a while. The game wouldn't become overly complicated. We would have to do something with what we had. I wasn't uncomfortable with this situation, only the three-hour limit had the possibility of making things difficult for me.
I walked toward the old man, once again the two women were next to him. The three of them stopped and looked at me when I stood in front of them, they were trying to understand what was going on. I hadn't looked at the old man's face at all, I looked at the women next to him and spoke.
"Look at the state of these two women. What a shame, instead of doing everything an old man like this says, you could be living your own lives, right? Why do you listen to him, girls? You can just run away after the game anyway."
The old man understood what I was trying to do and reacted.
"Get lost from here, brat! What you're saying are lies and empty words, there's no game for you here."
"Fine."
Then I walked away. The women hadn't reacted to the situation, their suppressed emotions had perhaps been triggered by my words. The old man turned to them and said they shouldn't listen to people like me, acting caring toward the women. In response, they just slowly nodded their heads.
As I was heading toward the hall, I told everyone to search for buttons. But the twins and the tattooed man had already said they had formed a team, they had acted selfishly. Despite working together, they had chosen the easy way and resorted to this, and now they couldn't even look me in the eyes.
Ayame and I were left teamless as two people, we had to search for buttons together. We found the buttons within fifty minutes. We were all suddenly teleported to the second floor again. Everyone seemed hungry, so they headed toward the cafeteria indifferently.
Ayame and I were left alone again, we headed toward the corridor. When I reached the cafeteria, I quickly got myself some food and ate while walking. While everyone was focused on their food, I left the dining hall. I had told Ayame beforehand that I was going to do something. Itsuki noticed my departure, even though the area was large.
Itsuki turned his face to Daito sitting next to him, across from them Zei was eating his food quickly and rudely. In the distance, Ayame continued eating her meal alone, the other trio was together at another table.
"Daito, where do you think Rei is going?"
"I don't know, he didn't seem to want to waste time."
Zei joined the conversation.
"He might be stressed, let's eat our food first. We have the advantage anyway."
Zei was acting relaxed. Itsuki, not being fooled by Zei's relaxed behavior, had an idea come to mind. He suddenly stood up from the iron white chair he was sitting on and spoke in a loud voice. Itsuki had understood what Rei was trying to do.
"Now I get it! Rei wants to hide the buttons!"
"Ha, that really could be it. The third floor would be to his disadvantage, let's not allow it."
Everyone heard their conversation and shot glances at Itsuki. Then the trio of Daito, Itsuki, and Zei left the dining hall and set out running to prevent Rei from hiding the buttons. Within a few minutes, while walking in the corridor, they saw me. Zei immediately looked at me and spoke.
"Did you hide all of them, you bastard?"
"Yes, and I hid them good. Go ahead and find them."
I walked past them and continued walking, heading further down the corridor. The three of them were looking at me. Zei seemed angry, I had shattered his ego, this was normal. Itsuki decided to talk about the situation to calm Zei down.
"Zei, calm down. We still have a chance of finding the buttons. And even if we can't find them, being on this floor doesn't mean we're at a disadvantage, it just means Rei saved himself. There's no need for you to get stressed or angry."
"You're right, let's search for the buttons quickly."
"Alright."
"But how did he find the buttons in such a short time?"
"I'm not sure, he could be bluffing. Or we've been playing the game for a while, he might have calculated the possible locations from the areas where the system places the buttons."
"Are you saying he calculated the system's button placement habits?"
"Exactly, that must be it."
"Wow, what a bastard..."
"Let's keep searching for the buttons."
"Alright, let's hurry, Itsuki!"
The three of them quickly started searching the rooms to find the buttons. After a while, when they realized, they noticed that not only had he hidden the buttons, but he had also moved objects around as if he had hidden the buttons. This made finding the buttons even more confusing.
The Old Man's Side
"That bastard Rei wants to hide the buttons, I see..."
"What should we do, sir?"
"He tried to pull you to his side, act as if you believe him. He'll come back to talk to us while there's still time on this side. Head toward the corridor, act as if you believe him, we'll use this later to deceive him."
"Alright, sir, we're on our way."
The two women had a good appearance, they could play their roles well. In truth, even if they weren't really satisfied with the man deep down, they had to do what the old man said because they could get into trouble after the game. The old man had control over them for some unclear reason. The two women did as he said and headed toward the corridor, and shortly after, they ran into Rei across the path.
When I saw the two women, I could guess why they were there, after all, they normally never left the old man's side. The two women, when they saw me, approached me with innocent eyes and said they had told the old man they were going to the bathroom.
"Rei, we think what you said is right, but we're afraid of betraying him. What should we do? Will you help us? We'll help you too."
"Of course, I can help. Do you want to eliminate that man, or do you have another target?"
"No, we hate him, we want to eliminate him. That's what we want."
"I see, then let's secretly help each other. When I tell you, be ready to vote for that man."
"What will you do then, who will you vote for?"
"If I can convince the others too, we can secretly vote for that old man, it depends on the situation. I need to talk to the others as well."
"I understand, we'll need to talk under the excuse of going to the bathroom from time to time then. Or we can whisper, that old man's attention isn't very strong anymore."
"Alright, we'll do that. I'll let you know, I need to talk to the others now. You go to the bathroom, if we come back at the same time it'll be suspicious."
"We trust you, Rei."
"Thank you, I trust you too."
While the two women were heading to the bathroom, I went to the dining hall and sat next to Ayame. When I arrived, Ayame looked at me for a short while with her white eyes, then continued eating her meal while trying to talk to me.
"Is the game going well, Rei?"
"It seems so, we have a chance if we don't move to the third floor. I hope they can't find them."
"I hope so."
Shortly after, the two women returned to the dining hall, came next to the old man, and kept standing beside him. The old man, in a low voice so the others wouldn't hear, called out to the two women and asked what the situation was. The women said that they believed the role was working and told him what had been said.
"Good, we'll deceive him and use this later. If it works, I'll give you a promotion."
"Thank you, sir."