Before the Split

There wasn't much to see there, so Heming and Rie didn't wander for long before returning to their room. After tidying up a little, they headed to Zeng and Deng's room.

Feisu Chinese Network

This time, Rie knocked. They quickly heard a response from inside.

"Come in. We finished eating a while ago!" Deng called.

The two went in. Zeng was already sitting on the sofa, and Rie greeted them warmly.

"Did you succeed yesterday? We found that guy on our first try and finished the game pretty quickly..."

"He was actually hiding under the bed. At first, I wasn't going to pick under the bed, but then I suddenly thought it'd be fun, so I chose it. I didn't expect him to be hiding there. Heh, we were really lucky."

"Later that night, we hid inside the TV cabinet. The two people searching couldn't find us either. Yeah, that TV cabinet was really big. It could fit both of us."

"Today's the last day of the first stage. If you earn enough points, you can advance to the second stage. Let's see... Hiding earns one point, killing earns one point. We've already got three points, so all we need is to kill someone today or hide successfully, and we'll advance." Deng cheerfully recounted their results from the day before.

Zeng continued, "The second stage won't start right away. They'll announce the exact time and place later. What a pain. I thought the games would be back-to-back, so I told you to take such a long leave, but I didn't expect them to suddenly change the format. Even people who participated last year won't know what kind of challenges they'll face this time."

Heming nodded. "We also got one point for hiding and one for killing yesterday, so we have two points. If we hide successfully today, we'll advance too. Last night, we killed the guy in Room 3 on the seventh floor. He was hiding under the table. When I lifted the tablecloth, he shouted, 'Oh my god, a Chinese person!'"

Zeng and Deng burst out laughing. Deng asked, "No way! He really..."

Deng went on, "Once this is over, if we have time, let's go to the United Kingdom together. We need to find someone there anyway, and we can check out what fun games they have while we're at it."

Before Heming could answer, Rie agreed on his behalf... She'd probably heard the word "games"...

Deng grinned at Heming. "If you're okay with it, then it's settled. I heard there's some kind of survival game in the United Kingdom. It's supposed to be really exciting. I've wanted to try it for ages, but never had the time. This time, I'm definitely checking it out!"

"A survival game? What's it about? Is it the one they advertise on TV, Between Seconds?" Rie jumped in as soon as Deng finished speaking.

Deng paused, then said, "Oh, right, Between Seconds. I'd forgotten about that. I saw on TV a few days ago that it had recently been upgraded to a special edition. There are over a thousand people online at once, each entering a different part of the city. Before, you only won by escaping, but this time they've added a new way to win: kill all the monsters. Sounds pretty hard!"

"Nonsense! Two thousand people online at once—it sounds like so much fun. I wish we could go sooner..." Rie suddenly spoke at length in Japanese.

"So if we pass, we can go out tonight? There's something I want to ask. If I hide successfully but die while killing someone, do I still get the point?" Heming voiced the question on his mind.

"No. If you die, you don't get any points at all. Keep in mind, if you hide successfully this afternoon, there's no need to take that risk tonight. Lots of rooms are empty now, so you can just choose one that you think no one's in and spend the night there. That's much safer. To be extra cautious, you should pick a few places where nobody's hiding." Zeng answered Heming's question...

"Oh, so if I make it through the hiding round this afternoon, I should be fine tonight. There's a loophole in these rules, isn't there? I can just choose myself as the person to kill again, and then I'll get through the night, right?" Heming asked again.

"That's right. The rules of this game are that there aren't really any strict rules. You're free to do a lot of things," Zeng replied. Deng had actually been about to speak.

Time passed quickly. Heming and Rie said goodbye to Zeng and Deng, then returned to their room.

There wasn't much to look forward to. This time, Heming would have to face the same two killers as before—if they were still alive and came back. They would surely choose one place they'd searched last time, then another place they hadn't. The important thing now was to think about which of the places they'd already searched was most likely to be picked again.

As soon as they returned to the room, Rie started practicing controlling her magic. But from Heming's perspective, she seemed to have no heart left in the room; her thoughts had already flown to the United Kingdom... Maybe she was already imagining how she'd play that game...

Heming had no reason to disturb her. He quietly thought through each step on his own. He had to win this time, because he'd received a secret order from Kuo Ming last night. The order was simple: he had to win this round, no matter what.

The simpler an order was, the more important it was. Heming understood that all too well. Now he could only rely on himself. Perhaps he should contact Kuo Ming once he got out...

"Submission complete." Heming had successfully submitted his hiding place. This time, he chose to hide behind the dressing table, because he didn't think anyone would come.

This time, Heming gently held Rie as they hid behind the dressing table and waited for the killer to enter. If no one came in before time ran out, that meant they'd completed the task—at least the first stage.

Right on time, someone came in. Heming and Rie could see the intruder's movements. It seemed Heming had been wrong for the first time, though perhaps this was normal.

Heming watched the killer. If there was only one killer, that meant he had two chances to search. If he failed the first two times, then a successful third search would only bring death.

The killer started by searching the cabinets. He carefully opened each one. Heming recognized him: this was one of the two killers from last time. His movements were very similar.

No one was in the cabinets. The killer went into the bathroom and chose the bathtub this time. Unfortunately, there was nothing inside. If only he'd picked the bathtub last time. What a shame...

He returned to the living room and walked toward the dressing table. He was done for...

Just as he was about to look behind the dressing table, Heming said, "Game over! I'm using my counterattack!"

The man stared blankly at Heming...

"Were you hiding in the bathtub last time?" the man asked quietly.

Heming nodded without saying anything.

"If I'd come alone last time, the bathtub would've been my third search. That means the other person saved my life. Yeah, you're strong! I hope you make it to the end!" The man said this out of nowhere, then left.

Rie watched the man's retreating back and said, "That guy's so strange. What was that about..."

Heming nodded, then sat down on the sofa.

Now all he had to do was choose a place he'd already searched tonight, and he'd have completed the first stage!

Heming looked at Rie. She didn't seem to notice him. She'd started practicing magic again, perhaps thinking it would make the time pass faster...

Heming shook his head and started doing his own thing.

"Heming passed too. If he survives tonight, he'll make it through the first stage. Zeng and Deng succeeded as well," a Pitch Black operative reported.

Kuo Ming stood up and said, "I believe in them. I believe in what they can do. So starting today, there's no need to keep an eye on them. They'll have someone bring the item over when the time comes. You can get back to work."

Ming Jian sat on the sofa beside Kuo Ming. He looked at the photograph in his hand. This person...

Could it really be that guy?

Somewhere, on top of a massive clock tower, several black silhouettes spoke about something...

The Clock of Fate began turning once more, facing Heming and Pitch Black...

Feisu Chinese Network