District 014
With no other choice, the players began killing people.
As players, they each had at least a couple of items, and they also had the advantage in physical ability. They quickly tore a hole in the encirclement. The young men who had surged forward with such force were momentarily intimidated. Once the bodies had piled up in a ring before them, they lost their nerve and backed away.
But that didn't mean they would give up their chance. It didn't matter if they couldn't deal with the players for now—their families were ordinary people.
During the attack, the players' families had already been pushed far away. They'd been safe at first, but once the crowd changed targets, they became the perfect hostages. Some people even fought over them to seize the initiative. Adults were one thing, but several children were yanked around until they screamed and cried.
"Stop! All of you, stop!" When he saw several grown men holding his child by the arms and legs and pulling in different directions, a player around thirty years old leaped over. He chopped off two of their arms and snatched the child away. Blood smeared across his face and hands as he raised his knife and shouted at the people around him, "Have you all gone crazy? How could eating people turn you into players? The more people die, the stronger the stench of blood, and the more it'll attract Aliens. You're bringing about your own destruction!"
"You're a player, so you can survive. Of course you'd say that!" A woman around his age looked at him through tear-filled eyes. "But what about my child? He's only seven!"
Her challenge brought some sense back to the crowd. The knife-wielding player's anger eased, giving way to despair. "Don't you understand? So