Chapter 28: The Prideful Sprint

“Damn!”

He immediately turned and sprinted toward the exit.

[Game violation. 1 Game Point will be deducted every 3 seconds. If Game Points fall below 0, the player will be judged to have failed. Penalty: Obliteration Punishment.]

The mocking voice of the System Loli echoed in his ears.

Then came the notifications.

[-1]

[-1]

[-1]

Wasn’t that terrifying?

Yi Mo only had 139 points left in total!!!

If he didn’t return to his room within seven minutes, it would be game over!!!

“Damn, damn, damn, damn!!”

Yi Mo felt that this was probably his most desperate sprint aside from the previous game.

‘It definitely doesn’t look cool.’

But survival wasn’t a shameful thing.

He even nearly tripped while exiting the Thatched Hut.

He exerted every ounce of strength he had, although he had no memory of ever breastfeeding.

‘I should have at least that much power!’

Hmm???

Just as Yi Mo ran out of the building, he saw someone else rushing out of the neighboring communal Thatched Hut, sprinting for their life just like him.

He didn’t know if it was a telepathic connection or just a coincidence.

Exactly when Yi Mo looked at the other person, the other person spotted him too.

Then, both of them froze.

Yi Mo instinctively covered his face with his cloak, leaving only his eyes exposed.

The other person was wearing a skin-tight suit and a hood, looking like a little black silhouette.

They were much better prepared than Yi Mo.

Their first thought was that they couldn’t let anyone else know who they were.

Then.

“Baiduren!”

“Shiba Daye!”

Damn, they blurted out each other’s names instantly.

Well, there were only twelve players in total.

It was easy enough to tell who was who just by their body shapes.

The atmosphere was incredibly awkward.

Moreover, they were perfectly in sync, both stopping in their tracks and looking at the other warily.

“Hehe, coming out so late… could it be because you’re a Werewolf and don’t need to go back?”

Yi Mo feigned composure.

The “[-1]” sound of the System Loli in his ears was incredibly irritating.

But even though he was annoyed, he couldn’t lose face.

Hearing this, Baiduren rubbed the black hood over his nose and sneered, “Hehe, then perhaps you’re also a Werewolf and don’t need to go back?”

Baiduren kicked the ball right back into Yi Mo’s court.

The two of them stood there staring at each other, as if whoever moved their feet first would be a loser.

Yi Mo didn’t know how many points the other guy had, but he knew he didn’t have many.

He had less than five minutes of points left to get back to his Thatched Hut.

He knew stalling wasn’t an option.

Abandoning the act, he pulled down the black cloak covering his face and said, “I’m not a Werewolf; I’m a Hunter.”

“It seems I might have misunderstood you, hahaha…”

“We’re both good guys.”

“It’s just.”

“Brother Baiduren, do you have enough points?”

As Yi Mo spoke, he pulled a Refreshing Candy Cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

He swung his leg casually, looking like he wanted to have a long chat.

In reality, he was panicking inside!

But he didn’t want to lose to this stubborn guy!

This time, he was going for a total bluff!

Hearing this, Baiduren actually pulled an apple out of his pocket.

He rubbed it in his hand and looked at Yi Mo.

“Brother Shiba Daye, what’s wrong? Aren’t you going to light your cigarette?”

Yi Mo flicked the candy cigarette between his fingers.

“Hahaha, it’s rare to have a moment without interruptions. There’s no rush to chat more. I’m tired from running just now; I’ll smoke after I rest a bit.”

“Brother Baiduren, aren’t you going to eat that apple?”

Baiduren rubbed the apple, acting indifferent.

“Sigh, didn’t I just finish running? I’m afraid of stomach issues. I’ll wait a bit, too.”

***

As a result, the two of them were stuck in a stalemate again.

Were they anxious?

They were extremely anxious.

Yi Mo’s candy cigarette was nearly snapped between his fingers from his constant fiddling.

Baiduren rubbed the apple with both hands so hard that the skin was almost peeling off.

Finally, neither could hold it in any longer.

They spoke almost simultaneously.

“I say.”

“I say.”

The two of them paused.

Yi Mo waved his hand with an air of great generosity.

“You go first!”

Baiduren rubbed the apple, which had shrunk by a circle, and finally said, “Right. Since I have leadership skills and experience, I should be the one to speak.”

“Points are exchanged for lives. It’s not good to waste them for nothing.”

Hearing this, Yi Mo nodded quickly.

“You’re right. I don’t advocate for waste either.”

“Then…”

“Run!”

At Baiduren’s shout, both of them began to sprint at the same time.

Yi Mo watched his points drop to less than 80 and felt extremely anxious.

His legs moved so fast that Yi Mo thought they were like propellers.

Only…

Damn!!!

That guy Baiduren was running way too fast.

In the blink of an eye, he had pulled more than 100 meters ahead.

Yi Mo looked at his remaining 31 points and finally roared, “Brother Baiduren, I have something to say!”

Baiduren was stunned.

He stopped, looking a bit rushed.

“What is it? Are you running too slow? Since you claim to be a Hunter, do you want me to give you a hand?”

“Hehe, it’s not impossible. Call me ‘Big Brother’ and obediently tell me everything you know later, and I might help you out.”

Although Baiduren’s hood was soaked with sweat and his legs were trembling from the rush, his tone remained arrogant.

‘Hmph, Shiba Daye, I’m faster than you. I can outrun you easily!’

As for Yi Mo?

Whoosh!

He suddenly lifted his cloak.

Reaching forward with his left hand and covering his right eye with his right hand, he struck an extremely “chuunibyou” pose.

He brushed aside the bangs on his forehead, revealing eyes filled with mockery and excitement.

“No, no, no. I just wanted to tell you.”

“I’ve arrived! Bye-bye to you!”

With that, he dove directly into the nearby Thatched Hut.

What about Baiduren?

Seeing Yi Mo’s infuriatingly smug entrance into the Thatched Hut, he was stunned.

After three seconds — at the cost of another 1 point — he let out a loud cry:

“Damn!”

“You just wait for me!”

Then, he turned around and sprinted toward the small Thatched Hut at the very edge.

That speed…

Heh, it was incredible!

***

Yi Mo returned to his Thatched Hut.

Before he could even close the door, it shut with a loud bang on its own.

It was actually quite startling.

Yi Mo tentatively tried to pull the door, but it could no longer be opened.

The oil lamp in the room wasn’t lit, so it was pitch black.

Yi Mo pressed the button to light up his Electronic Watch.

Using the faint light, he fumbled his way to the wooden table, removed the cover of the oil lamp, and lit it with a match.

Only then did the small room gain a dim glow.

The brightness wasn’t great, roughly equivalent to three candles.

Yi Mo used this opportunity to walk over to the window and observe carefully.

The window, which originally had a good view, was now completely dark.

It was impossible to see anything outside.

‘That makes sense. If you could see what was happening outside through the window and find out who the Werewolf was, then the Werewolf wouldn’t be able to play at all.’

Yi Mo understood, but he was very unhappy with that pitch-black void.

‘Good grief!’

‘I’m the one who usually enjoys a bit of dark humor, but this game system has even worse taste?’

‘Couldn’t you at least hang a limited edition Mizua Akahoshi Maid Stainless Steel Welfare Poster here?’

‘This is already a Death Game, which is stressful enough. It would be nice to have something easy on the eyes!’

‘Making it pitch black and having it swirl around like a mist… are you trying to scare people?’

With this kind of atmosphere, a timid person would probably lose sleep from the fright!

After all, if an octopus monster crawled out of that black mist, it wouldn’t even feel out of place.

Yi Mo stopped thinking about it.

He walked to the door, considering using a wooden stick or something to try and poke a hole.

But he looked at his remaining 10 points and wiped away his sweat.

‘Never mind.’

‘I don’t want to survive the other players only to die from being too reckless.’

Lost in thought, he pulled out his Identity Card.

The Identity Card, like the Game Card drawn at the start, could be materialized.

The difference was that Game Cards could be made public, but Identity Cards could not be shown to others.

Yi Mo’s face darkened significantly as he looked at his Identity Card.

After checking the door again and finding it still locked, he put a calming candy cigarette in his mouth and muttered.

“I wonder what time the Werewolves can move, or what time I can go out in the morning…”

“Forget it, I won’t think about it…”

Yi Mo stood up, walked to the table, and blew out the oil lamp.

The room returned to darkness.

Then, by the faint light of his electronic watch, he fumbled his way to the wooden cabinet, opened the door, and climbed inside.

After closing the cabinet door, he fit perfectly inside the small, dark space.

Expressionlessly, he set the alarm on his electronic watch for 5:00 AM.

He leaned against the wall of the wardrobe and closed his eyes, clearing his mind of all thoughts.

Compared to the bed in the room, this narrow space where he could touch the walls by reaching out gave him a greater sense of security.