Chapter 2489 – 2489. The Devil’S Game
“Seong Yu-jin, you are a murderer.”
“If you succeed in killing, you can escape the room whenever you want. If you escape, you will be judged as the winner of the game.”
“You can use the murderer’s time once.”
I quickly read the notification window floating in the air and almost let out a hollow laugh.
‘Isn’t this ridiculously advantageous for the murderer?’
You only need to kill one or more people.
If I went crazy, I could just kill the person right next to me. Of course, people are on guard because they know the murderer exists, but… I could definitely kill one person.
‘…No. Shin Do-hyun has a revolver. The weapon that appears when the murderer’s time is activated is a cold weapon. I can’t win against a gun.’
I shouldn’t act recklessly.
‘I want to maintain a good relationship with Shin Do-hyun as much as possible. If I kill someone carelessly, my relationship with Shin Do-hyun will be ruined.’
Rape Shin Do-hyun? Hmm. Shin Do-hyun has a gun, right? And Shin Do-hyun isn’t just an ordinary woman, she was a candidate for my girlfriend.
‘So, what do I do now? Who should I kill?’
• • •
Yoo Jin-myung understood the essence of the game as soon as he heard the rules.
Escaping the room is secondary; the real game is finding the murderer. It’s a kind of mafia game.
Therefore, as soon as the voice from the speaker ended, Yoo Jin-myung used the ability he received as a reward from the previous game.
An ability that can be used twice a day.
Truth detection.
It discerns the truth of the visible target. It can also determine whether the target’s words are true or false.
However, it wasn’t a lie detector. Rather, it was closer to an O/X quiz game. If you ask a question, the ability judges the truth and falsehood and answers the question.
Yoo Jin-myung looked at Seong Yu-jin and asked a question.
‘Is Seong Yu-jin the murderer designated by the Devil’s Game?’
「Truth.」
He found the murderer at once.
If he kills Seong Yu-jin and rummages through the corpse, he can get a crucial clue.
And if he wants to kill Seong Yu-jin, it has to be now. The sooner the murderer dies, the better.
‘Not good.’
Yoo Jin-myung had to continue the Devil’s Game. He had also investigated the Devil’s Game separately.
‘The Devil’s Game is basically about individual survival, but… surprisingly, there are many games that are played in teams. And just because it’s an individual game doesn’t mean you can’t form a team. Forming a team in an individual game can actually be more advantageous.’
A reliable ally is essential in this Devil’s Game. Yoo Jin-myung had his eye on Seong Yu-jin as that ally.
‘The physical ability to win against Jang Hwi-chun in a one-on-one fight. I’ve already seen Seong Yu-jin’s physical ability with my own two eyes. Considering the games ahead, Seong Yu-jin’s physical ability is essential.’
Yoo Jin-myung’s gaze turns to Seong Yu-jin’s side. There was a muscular man with bulging muscles. Just by looking at his appearance, he seemed twice as strong as Seong Yu-jin.
‘I don’t feel that eerie feeling I had when I first saw Seong Yu-jin.’
Still, you never know. He might be stronger than Seong Yu-jin.
‘First, I need to get information.’
• • •
The atmosphere around them became heavy as they all guarded each other.
I was nervous. Could anyone have noticed that I’m the murderer? Should I play politics? I haven’t played games lately, so I’m not good at politics.
‘If it’s revealed that I’m the murderer, Shin Do-hyun will shoot me without hesitation, right? I’m so scared.’
Yoo Jin-myung was the first to speak.
“Everyone. Let’s start with a brief self-introduction. There are some people I haven’t seen before. First of all, let me say in advance that the four of us have survived together in the previous game. You could say we’re acquaintances. How about the two of you?”
The burly man and the slender beauty exchanged glances and nodded.
“We also met in the last game and survived together.”
“Yes. We were lucky…”
The beauty’s face darkens. It doesn’t seem like a good memory.
“I’m Yoo Jin-myung. I’m a college student on leave for personal reasons.”
“I’m Bae Hyun-soo. I’m a high school student.”
Bae Hyun-soo didn’t leave Yoo Jin-myung’s side. Anyone would think they were siblings.
“…Shin Do-hyun.”
Shin Do-hyun gripped the revolver tightly. She was on high alert.
“Seong Yu-jin. Unemployed.”
I decided not to go to the factory, so I was unemployed. I can’t introduce myself as a debtor.
“I’m Oh Geun-seong. I used to be a national Taekwondo team candidate, and now I run a gym. If you come to our gym, I’ll give you a discount. Haha.”
A Taekwondo athlete? And a national team candidate?
Would I lose if we fought? He doesn’t look that strong.
“I’m Jo Na-young. I was an idol trainee… I’m debuting this time.”
An idol? No wonder she’s pretty. She’s slender but has a firm physique.
‘Hmm. Is her chest about a B cup? Not small. Not small, but….’
Compared to Shin Do-hyun, it was small. Shin Do-hyun has two watermelons on her chest.
“Hey, Shin Do-hyun. Is that gun real?”
Oh Geun-seong asked Shin Do-hyun. His voice was stiff, so he must have been very nervous. Well, it’s natural since the other person has a gun.
“Do you want to test if it’s real or fake?”
Shin Do-hyun held the revolver with both hands and pointed the barrel at Oh Geun-seong.
“No. No. I believe you. I was just curious how you have a gun. Could you, uh, lower the barrel?”
“…Let me tell you in advance. I’m not the murderer. If I were the murderer, I would have shot and killed someone right away. That’s the easiest way.”
Among us, only Shin Do-hyun has a weapon. And it’s a pistol. She was the strongest here.
Yoo Jin-myung raised his hand and interrupted.
“Okay, everyone, calm down. It’s important to find out who the murderer is, but… right now, we need to focus on escaping the room. Shin Do-hyun’s pistol is probably a reward from the last game. Oh Geun-seong and Jo Na-young, didn’t you receive any rewards?”
“Rewards? I suddenly got some money. Do they give out guns too?”
“…I’m talking about additional rewards. It seems like you get an additional reward if you kill all the Jang Hwi-chuns within three hours. Did you perhaps not kill Jang Hwi-chun?”
“…We were barely able to hide and run away. No, how can you fight Jang Hwi-chun with bare hands?”
“Ah. I see. We were lucky enough to kill Jang Hwi-chun in reverse. Was the location a school by any chance?”
“School? It was a large hospital.”
“It’s a bit different from us. We don’t have time, so let’s talk about the details later and look around this area first.”
To say we were looking around separately, the room was only about 10 pyeong in size. It was a small space where we could all keep an eye on each other. There were desks, drawers, and a computer. When I turned on the computer, the only thing I could do was play Minesweeper.
There were two keys in the drawer. Red and yellow keys of different colors.
There were a total of three doors in the room. Two of them were red and yellow doors, respectively. They had handles where you could insert keys. The door in the middle was a door that required a password to enter.
“It’s a door that you can only escape through by entering a password. There’s no limit to the number of attempts, but… there’s a time limit. You can only enter it once per minute. The hints are probably inside those doors. Let’s split into three groups and go inside the doors to get the hints.”
Jo Na-young objected to Yoo Jin-myung’s words.
“Do we really have to split up? It’s safer to move together. A murderer might appear like in the last game…”
Yoo Jin-myung shook his head firmly.
“This game and the last game are different types. A murderer won’t appear. And we don’t have time. There’s only one murderer. If three people move together, it becomes a 2-on-1 situation. The murderer can’t act recklessly. I’ll go to the red door with Hyun-soo and Shin Do-hyun. Do you have any complaints about the personnel arrangement?”
“…I have no complaints. Yes. That sounds good.”
Jo Na-young glanced at Oh Geun-seong and said. It seems she thinks it’s okay because Oh Geun-seong, who she was with in the previous game, is there.
‘I want to move with Shin Do-hyun and Jo Na-young… but I don’t have a reason.’
Should I force it?
If I say I want to be with the women, I’ll be suspected of being the murderer.
‘Damn it. I don’t know what to do. Should I just watch for now?’
There’s no need to be too hasty. Escaping the room is just the first step, and there are more than 2 hours and 40 minutes left.
I opened the yellow door and went inside with Jo Na-young and Oh Geun-seong. A long corridor stretched out. There was no conversation as we walked. It was because we were all suspicious of each other.
‘Especially since they’re openly suspicious of me.’
I could tell just by looking at their eyes.
It wasn’t good to move now.
Sss! Sss!
About 30 snakes appeared in front of us.
“Kyaaaaah!”
Jo Na-young screamed and ran backward. Oh Geun-seong and I were also startled and stepped back.
Only after creating some distance could we find a note placed among the snakes. The note was folded, so we had to unfold it by hand to know the contents.
“Those look like pit vipers.”
Oh Geun-seong said. I looked at him and asked.
“Are you sure?”
“Doesn’t it have a triangular head? But why are you speaking informally?”
Oh Geun-seong glared at me with narrowed eyes. I frowned and glared back.
“Ha, never mind. I don’t want to argue with someone like you. The problem is how to get that note over there. There’s nothing that can be used as a weapon…”
“I give up.”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t want to get bitten by a snake and die just to get a hint. I’m out.”
It was the moment he stepped back.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out from behind. Shin Do-hyun had shot someone.
‘Shin Do-hyun isn’t the murderer, so she wouldn’t have shot a person.’
Unlike me, Oh Geun-seong and Jo Na-young’s expressions hardened like stone. I turned my back on them and went outside. After hesitating, the two of them followed me outside.
Yoo Jin-myung’s group returned after about 5 minutes. He was holding a note in his hand. Bae Hyun-soo and Shin Do-hyun’s expressions looked somewhat serious.
“We got two numbers. It says 24.”
“We couldn’t get it. There were 30 pit vipers inside. We came out because we didn’t want to die.”
“30 pit vipers are a bit scary. There was one wild dog on our side. It was so ferocious… We would have been in big trouble if it weren’t for Shin Do-hyun. Let’s leave the yellow door alone for now and try to solve the Minesweeper on the computer first. If we clear Minesweeper, it will probably give us a hint. I’ll do it.”
In a 16×16 grid, he had to find 40 mines. Yoo Jin-myung grabbed the mouse and clicked continuously, clearing it in one minute. A hint appeared. 0000. It seemed to be telling us that the password was four digits.
“Hmm. Before we find another hint, should we try entering a password? 2468.”
Beep beep beep.
The door opened.
“We’re lucky.”
Yoo Jin-myung smiled.
“Oh! As expected of Jin-myung hyung!”
“Haha. I’m glad it worked out.”
Everyone was happy. Even I, the murderer, forced the corners of my mouth up to show that I was happy. If I was the only one who was upset, it would be obvious that I was the murderer.
We moved to the next room.
There were red, yellow, and blue doors, and an iron door with a password.
In the center of the room, there was a chair, a dining table, a chessboard, and a small refrigerator. The refrigerator contained water, alcohol, and soft drinks.
‘If you don’t know the answer, give up and search, huh?’
There were words written on the red, yellow, and blue doors.
-Two people must enter.
To get a hint, we had to open those doors and go inside.
‘The fact that only two people can enter means… I have to go in with the murderer. This room is for the murderer.’
I understand why there is a dining table and chairs. It’s to expose the murderer in this room.
I could clearly feel the game organizer’s intention.
‘I can kill someone when I get the chance. If possible, I want to kill Oh Geun-seong….’
It wouldn’t be bad to go inside the door with Shin Do-hyun and Jo Na-young. Now that it’s come to this, I have to graduate from being compassionate.
Click.
Shin Do-hyun moved. Her revolver rose, aiming at Oh Geun-seong’s head. The distance was only about 2 meters. It was an impossible distance to avoid.
Oh Geun-seong raised both hands with a stiff expression.
“Shin Do-hyun, what are you doing? I’m not the murderer. And the magazine seems to be empty.”
“There’s one bullet left. If you think I’m lying, try testing it.”
“Hey, everyone. It seems like Shin Do-hyun is misunderstanding something….”
Oh Geun-seong, who was speaking, shut his mouth. It was because Yoo Jin-myung was too calm. Bae Hyun-soo was also nervous, but he wasn’t agitated. Only Jo Na-young and I were flustered.
That’s right. Shin Do-hyun’s actions were pre-planned.
“There is a strategy with the highest probability of winning this game. That is to choose a victim. It would be best if that victim was the murderer. Even if it’s not.”
Yoo Jin-myung looked at everyone once, and then finally looked at me. He looked me straight in the eye and said.
“We can let the murderer kill the victim. We have decided to join hands with the murderer. The murderer should kill Oh Geun-seong. The murderer will achieve the victory condition, so there is no reason to cause conflict with us. The hints here are enough to escape the room.”
He still didn’t take his eyes off me as he said.
“The murderer should kill Oh Geun-seong.”
