Chapter 2516 – 2516. The Devil’S Game
We held our guns, ready to fire as the elevator began descending to the first floor. We planned to shoot the moment the doors opened.
“How many do you think are inside?” I asked Yoo Jin-myung.
“There’s a high chance there’s no one. Or it could be carrying something that isn’t human. Either way, it’s best not to let our guard down, Do-hyun. If there are more than ten people, blow up the elevator immediately.”
“…Okay.” Shin Do-hyun carefully fiddled with the detonator.
*Ding.*
The elevator doors opened on the first floor.
Inside was a man holding a gun. My team and I reflexively pulled the triggers. The bullets passed through the man’s body.
Not piercing, but passing through. The man was an illusion, a fake.
“Hmm. We’ve been had. If the elevator goes up, the enemies will know we’re armed.”
“Does it matter?”
“Pyeong Cheon-soo will be more cautious. The chances of the enemies coming down in the elevator all at once… are practically zero. If they come down, they’ll use the stairs. It’d be better to move some dynamite and set it up near the stairs.”
“When do you think they’ll come down?”
“Today or tomorrow, or maybe in three or four days. Food aside, we’re running out of water, making it hard to hold out.”
“Since they played us, how about we send them a gift?”
We took a corpse, put it in the elevator, and sent it up. It was both a provocation and a way to get rid of the body. A win-win.
• • •
The elevator we sent down to the first floor began to ascend.
Pyeong Cheon-soo, with his subordinates in front, glared at the elevator. He had sent down an illusionary clone in the elevator using his subordinate’s ability, to gauge the reaction on the first floor. But the enemies, who he expected to try communicating via radio, quietly sent the elevator back up.
‘They have no intention of talking. This is troublesome.’
He ignored Park Tae-san, who was huffing and puffing on one side. Park Tae-san was a Grand Game winner, but he wasn’t actually helpful. Park Tae-san’s victory was due to his abilities, dice and intuition. But for some reason, the dice weren’t working.
‘There won’t be anyone in the elevator. No one in their right mind would come up in the elevator.’
*Ding.*
The elevator fully ascended, and the doors opened.
As Pyeong Cheon-soo expected, there was no one. Instead, there were three corpses. He also found bullet marks like scars on the elevator walls. Looking down, he could see bullets rolling on the elevator floor.
Pyeong Cheon-soo gritted his teeth.
‘Those bastards… They’re armed with guns. How they got them is secondary… The important thing is the enemy’s numbers. They would have fired at the illusionary clone immediately… Judging by those marks, there must be at least three of them. And the corpses…’
The corpses were killed not by guns, but by sharp blades. One was killed by a knife.
‘The six guarding the lower floor are quite skilled fighters. The fact that they were annihilated without even reporting to me… means the enemy’s power is considerable.’
Pyeong Cheon-soo first assessed the situation. There were a total of 17 people here, including himself. Seven of them were his subordinates. There were originally more, but they hadn’t joined. They were either dead, couldn’t come for some reason, or, in the worst case, had betrayed him.
‘The atmosphere isn’t bad. Well, if they were going to tremble at the sight of corpses, they wouldn’t have even participated in the Grand Game.’
Still, he was tense. Because of the bullets on the elevator floor. As modern people, everyone knew the fear of guns.
‘The only ones with guns here are me, Ji-chan, and Park Tae-san.’
They were pistols. They were his subordinates’ game tools, but they decided to use them. He had no choice but to give one to Park Tae-san, who was being a nuisance. Because, whatever else, Park Tae-san’s intuition was helpful.
“Chairman, what about the elevator? Should we send it back down?”
“Send it down. I don’t want to smell the corpses.”
The elevator that was sent down came back up again. The elevator still contained the corpses. If they sent it down again, it would come back up again. It wasn’t good. His subordinates were getting tense every time the elevator came up. The corpses in the elevator were slowly but surely messing with his subordinates’ mental state.
“Tch. Get rid of the corpses. There are plenty of rooms, so put them in an unused one. And wedge some furniture in the elevator. That way, it won’t go down.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“What about the food and water? You brought it five hours ago. How much is left?”
“…Only enough for today.”
“If we ration it, can we last three days?”
“That’s the rationed amount for today.”
“Damn it.”
At this rate, they might really have to survive by drinking their own urine.
“But we have the scouting team that went outside. They might bring other participants and kill those guys. The scouting team will also bring the supply boxes.”
“…That’s right.”
But if they did, there was a higher chance they’d be defeated. The scouting team was made up of expendables. Of course, Pyeong Cheon-soo didn’t say that.
*Beep beep.*
The radar he had placed next to him reacted. He picked up the radar he had obtained in this tower.
「Supply Radar
Indicates the location of supply boxes containing food and water.」
The radar showed the location of seven supply boxes. It seemed three new supply boxes had appeared. The problem was, they couldn’t go outside because of the guys occupying the first floor.
He had to make a decision.
Go down the stairs or elevator and fight them, or hold out here.
‘Fighting is risky… and holding out is too reliant on luck.’
If they were lucky, a monster might invade the tower and wipe out the guys on the first floor. But that was only if they were really lucky.
‘In times like this… I need to look at Park Tae-san.’
Park Tae-san, with his intuition ability. His ability would definitely be helpful.
“Park Tae-san.”
“What.”
The response was sharp. A sign that he was mentally cornered.
“What do you think? Should we go down and fight? Or should we hold out?”
“……”
Park Tae-san was silent for a moment, then said,
“We hold out for now.”
Pyeong Cheon-soo used his ability without hesitation. He could see Park Tae-san’s thoughts.
〈Shit. I have a bad feeling. Going down, holding out, neither is good. Neither is good… Damn it. What should I do? At this rate…〉
Going down and holding out. Both had similarly bad outcomes. Pyeong Cheon-soo narrowed his eyes.
‘Park Tae-san’s ability only activates for things related to himself. For example, his intuition only activates for stocks he’s invested in. It doesn’t activate for stocks he hasn’t invested in.’
Pyeong Cheon-soo’s mind began to work quickly.
The leader of the first floor was Seong Yoo-jin. Park Tae-san’s old friend. That guy definitely held a grudge against Park Tae-san.
‘I’ll try to negotiate using Park Tae-san.’
Pyeong Cheon-soo looked around and chose the most useless guy he could find. It was a man from outside.
• • •
I killed five participants approaching the tower. I captured one alive and interrogated him, and he turned out to be Pyeong Cheon-soo’s subordinate. He said they were a scouting team of three. Two were participants who had chosen to join. The scouting team had supply boxes with food and water, so we ate well.
Then, we set up a watch schedule and went to sleep.
“I, I’ll take the first watch. It’s the least I can do to help.”
Bae Hyun-soo said something sensible for the first time in a while. He was a bit unreliable, but he had the map, so it should be okay. But Yoo Jin-myung shook his head.
“We’ll take the watch in pairs. Hyun-soo and I, and Do-hyun and Na-young will take turns. Even with Hyun-soo’s map, it’s too much for one person.”
The team members accepted without complaint. The reason I was excluded from the watch was because of the fighting. The team members wanted me to maintain my condition.
I lay down on the floor and slept.
“Yoo-jin, please wake up for a moment. The elevator that was stopped upstairs has started moving. Please use your advice to check if they’re coming down.”
“…Do I really have to use advice?”
“Yes. The elevator coming down now… there’s a chance it’s to attack us. If it’s Pyeong Cheon-soo, he’ll split his people between the stairs and the elevator.”
If they decided to attack, they would attack fiercely before it got any later. That was the right thing to do. As time passed, they would only get more exhausted due to the lack of food and water.
I used advice.
〈The person coming down in the elevator is Jo Soo-kyung. He is Pyeong Cheon-soo’s subordinate, and Pyeong Cheon-soo wants to negotiate.〉
The advice told me even what I didn’t ask. It was convenient.
“Negotiation… I see. Pyeong Cheon-soo will try to negotiate using Park Tae-san.”
“You figured that out right away? You’re smart.”
“Because Park Tae-san is the only one Pyeong Cheon-soo can negotiate with. What will you do?”
“What’s your opinion?”
“I would listen to the negotiation and then betray them. We’re in an overwhelmingly advantageous position to do so. Another option is… to reveal the negotiation through the radio. We can turn Pyeong Cheon-soo and Park Tae-san against each other. But if we do that, Park Tae-san will be killed by Pyeong Cheon-soo.”
“I’ll kill Park Tae-san with my own hands. The same goes for Pyeong Cheon-soo. There will be no negotiation. As soon as Pyeong Cheon-soo’s subordinate comes down to the first floor, we’ll kill him and send him back up.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“…You’re not stopping me. I thought you would.”
“You’re the leader, Yoo-jin. I’ll follow the leader’s decision. Honestly, with you here, I don’t think we’ll lose even if we fight head-on.”
*Ding.*
The doors of the descending elevator opened.
A man stood in the blood-soaked elevator with his hands raised. I aimed my pistol at him.
“I don’t want to fight. I’m Jo Soo-kyung, sent down by the Chairman. I’m here to negotiate.”
*Bang.*
The fired bullet pierced Jo Soo-kyung’s forehead.
Yoo Jin-myung sent the elevator back up.
