The One-Third Game
"I'll talk, I'll talk!" The woman glanced fearfully at the syringe and hurried to tell him what she knew.
"I really didn't mean to hurt you. Someone else forced me to—"
"Tap!" Xu Huo knocked his index finger against the table. The woman tensed, then immediately changed her story. "It's a game. Everyone in the city is playing it!"
"What game?" The "Game Point" signs all over the streets were certainly strange, but apart from that, he hadn't seen anyone talking about this game.
"It's called the 'One-Third Game.' I heard a Player brought it here. It's been in Buliu City ever since. Everyone who comes in has to play, and they can't leave whenever they want..." The woman studied Xu Huo's expression and quickly added, "Players can leave, though. Once they clear the game, they can leave on their own."
"What triggers the game besides going out at night?" Xu Huo decided, for now, to take her word for it.
"Leaving your unlocked area," the woman said. "Everyone has a starting point when they arrive. That's their unlocked area. You can move around inside it without triggering the game, but if you accidentally step outside, that counts as joining. I don't know if there are any other ways... I really don't. Players are the ones who enter the game most often. Ordinary people like us can't survive long in there. Sometimes we die without even knowing what happened. I've never left this street since I was born. I was afraid of entering the game."
"What's the game about?" Xu Huo frowned slightly. This kind of forced game reminded him of the Black and White Wheel used by Bai Tiaoyi, one of the Ghastly Sound Knights. It was an item, but once used, it effectively turned into