novelraw Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Chapter 35
After I finished making my choice, January called out the next turn through the broadcast.
[2nd place James, expenditure 20 million won.]
A person called James emerged from the corner of the playground and walked trudgingly toward the Game Tower.
As could be known from his name, he was a foreigner.
Dark skin, a shiny head without a single hair, a tight black sleeveless shirt, and baggy cargo pants.
Above all, the practical compressed muscles built through labor were the highlight.
For a moment, my eyes met with James'.
“…….”
“…….”
James stared at me with bulging eyes and threatened me with his gaze, but I responded with a smile in my eyes.
An implicit smile would be more threatening than an intuitive threat.
The one who turned their eyes away first was James.
James scanned the standing signs one by one and then stood at a place far away from me.
James expressed that he had no intention of fighting, but I continued to stare at James for a while.
‘James…… In the setting, he was from the United States. I remember he was in a situation where he married a Korean person, was scammed while trying to start a business in Korea, and drifted all the way here.’
In the drama, he was a character who retired in the middle of Season 2.
Unlike his scary-looking appearance, he had a weak heart, so at times he felt endearing, and at other times he made one feel frustrated.
However, it was still unknown whether it would be the same in this game where the script had already been rewritten.
[3rd place Son Seok-yong. Expenditure 15 million won.]
From 3rd to 10th place, everyone was the same with 15 million won.
It was a case of not having spent anything other than hotel fees during the rest period.
Whenever it became their turn, people chose a suitable game and joined the queue.
Except for the line I was standing in.
While other queues had two or three people standing in them, the Musical Chairs game I chose was still occupied by me alone.
When 30th place was called out as time passed, I was finally able to escape my lonely state.
[30th place No Tae-jin. Expenditure 1.5 million won.]
The man named No Tae-jin was a youth with a monkey-like impression and bushy sideburns.
I had encountered his name in passing during the gym incident, but his appearance felt unfamiliar.
It was probably because he was a person who couldn't even make it into the supporting cast line, let alone a protagonist.
In the drama, he was a pure extra who had never received a solo shot.
I knew his ability, but I knew nothing at all about his personality.
No Tae-jin looked around and then joined the Musical Chairs game queue.
“Hello, I look forward to working with you.”
He offered a greeting in a somewhat cautious tone, and I just nodded my head slightly.
It was still a time for exploration.
It was a moment where eyes and intuition spoke more than words.
After No Tae-jin hesitated and slowly took the spot next to me, he suddenly spoke up.
“By any chance, what kind of work did you do when you were in society?”
I turned my head and looked at him.
I could see anxiety and a desire to form a bond of sympathy crossing beyond his hazy gaze.
“In here, if you respond to a background check, you're likely to become a sucker.”
“Ah, I didn't ask with a malicious intention. It’s just, how should I put it…… I just poked at you because I thought it would be nice if we could build a friendship.”
“In the 1st Round, there was also a person who attempted the same thing and then changed suddenly as soon as the game started.”
“Haah, because of people whose daily routine is stabbing others in the back, even people like me are being treated like the boy who cried wolf.”
I did not bother to answer.
Because silence is a way to induce more imagination.
Whether No Tae-jin interpreted my silence positively, he talked even more instead.
“This game is naturally a structure where you can stack up money bit by bit if you cooperate with each other. Anyway, we have to wait until the ship fare drops, so we can just collect it slowly; I don't know why they're trying to collect it quickly while fighting and killing each other.”
No Tae-jin's opinion is fundamentally correct.
Of course, that's only when the theory can be put into practice as it is.
Even if humans can somehow bear disadvantages, they are easily shaken in front of profit.
The pleasure that profit brings is just that sweet.
“If talking about jobs is uncomfortable, how about talking about hobbies? I actually belonged to several clubs in society. Soccer, a band, board games, bikes, volunteer activities……”
No, Tae-jin tried tirelessly to find a common topic with me.
However, my interest was elsewhere.
Whether No Tae-jin talked or not, I was busy looking at a woman staying alone at a place slightly away from the Game Tower.
‘As expected, January disguised a Dealer as a player and put her in. The purpose is clearly to take my money during play and keep me tied to the Money Game for a long time.’
About 20 meters away, a woman with short hair was standing leaning against a wall.
Her bangs were trimmed in an asymmetrical shape, so her hairstyle where the hair covered half of her face was impressive.
The woman was on the taller side, around 170cm, and because of the semi-casual combination of a dress shirt and black cotton pants, her already tall height felt even more elongated.
Furthermore, the thick black leather gloves she wore to protect her hands added flavor to the woman's chic atmosphere.
‘In the drama too, January put in a Dealer to keep Bang Su-hyeok in the game for longer. Even then, the person who put in first was August.’
The woman's identity was Dealer August.
In terms of players, she was a skilled person who possessed a first-prize winning ability.
The participation of a Dealer. It was the composition I had hoped for.
Because I was planning to copy the Dealer's ability in this 3rd Round.
Truly, the desired composition had been completed.
I felt so pleasant that I almost burst into laughter.
While I was watching August, the other game queues all filled their capacity before I knew it.
On the other hand, the queue for the Musical Chairs game still had only the two of us.
It became meaningless to distinguish the turns any longer.
[Four out of the five games have become full. Since there is only one option left, the announcement of subsequent turns will be omitted. Remaining players, please join the Musical Chairs game queue.]
The expressions of the players approaching the queue were quite a sight.
Every single one of them had a gloomy face, as if being dragged to a slaughterhouse.
Even though today's weather was clear, dark clouds were full only on their faces.
“I should have just spent a little more money…… Why did I insist on not spending a single cent? If I had eaten my fill and taken on a penalty, I wouldn't even feel wronged.”
“Does it make sense for frugality to become a penalty?”
“Dammit, it's not like getting money taken back during the year-end tax settlement. What's with giving a disadvantage just because I didn't spend?”
They were grumbling, expressing that participating in the same game as me was a penalty.
In their minds, it seemed a mental correction had entered that a person like me is a murderer who does not hesitate to massacre in order to earn money.
Go ahead and evaluate as you please.
Just as I don't simply feel happy just because it's a good review, I don't simply feel bad just because it's a bad review.
No matter how they evaluate me, it's not like my balance decreases.
As soon as the time for selection ended, we went through the entry procedure.
[From now on, the 3rd Round of the Money Game will begin.]
[All players, please enter the Game Tower according to the guidance of the Dealers.]
Dealers wearing silver masks took charge of the queues line by line and led them inside the Game Tower.
The guide for the Musical Chairs game was November, with the number ‘11’ engraved on his mask.
We boarded the elevator following November.
While the box carrying a total of eleven people including the Dealer ascended, the rules for this game flowed out through the speaker.
[Welcome, players participating in the Musical Chairs game.]
[Before moving to the game site, we will guide you through the total prize money and rules first.]
[The total prize money for this game is 900 million won.]
Everyone held their breath and listened carefully to the explanation.
As if the explanation of the rules was a life jacket to survive in the rapid current called the game.
[Game: Musical Chairs.]
– All players start the game at their respective designated positions.
– Ten chairs will be placed inside the game site.
– Find and sit in a chair within 30 minutes.
– A fine of 10 million won will be imposed on those who fail to sit in a chair.
Ten participants.
The number of chairs was ten.
Originally, it was a game that could only be established if the number of chairs was fewer than the number of people.
However, in this game, the number of players and chairs was the same.
The reason why the number of chairs was the same was revealed soon.
– Each chair is ranked. The amount of prize money that can be received is different for each rank. (ex. The highest-ranked chair has a prize of 200 million won.)
– When the ‘Search Time’ ends, you must spend the next 30 minutes in ‘Rule Time’.
– One hour combining ‘Search-Rule’ is 1 set, and the game ends after completing a total of 3 sets.
It was completely identical to the Musical Chairs game in the Money Game I knew.
A game where you find a chair, but you must find and protect a high-ranked chair.
That was exactly the Musical Chairs game inside this Money Game.
In order to earn a lot of money, one had to find a higher-ranked chair before others, or steal a higher-ranked chair discovered by someone else.
I could maintain calmness since I knew the rules inside out, but it seemed the exotic rules didn't quite resonate intuitively for other people.
“I understand that there are ranks, but what is Rule Time?”
“Is that the end? Are they not going to tell us about Rule Time?”
“Ah~ I get it. They're saying to find out the rest directly after going inside.”
Questions were rampant among the players regarding the keyword ‘Rule Time’, which was just thrown out as a noun without an explanation.
However, soon the players even lost the luxury to feel questioned.
The last rule, which was thrown out dryly in the announcement, made the players’ breath hitch.
[During the Musical Chairs game, the ‘Balance Seizure’ authority is granted to all players.]
[Upon killing another player during the game, the other player's funds are transferred entirely.]
Seizing balance upon killing.
They said that the privilege, which was given only to the class president in the 2nd Round's Class President Election Game, would be provided to all players from the start in this game.
People's gazes focused on me.
It wasn't a gaze coveting my money.
It was the opposite.
They were afraid that I would start a massacre from the beginning, relying on the balance seizure authority.
No Tae-jin swallowed his saliva and cautiously asked me.
“That…… Ju-seong ssi? May I ask what you are thinking right now?”
I answered him honestly.
“After hearing the rules, there is only one thing to do. Contemplating what kind of way to use to solve the game. Is there a need to do anything other than that?”
“Does the method you are considering also include a bloodshed situation?”
Just then, the elevator door opened, and a heavy metallic sound echoed in the space.
That sound felt like the tolling of a judgment bell.
People looked at the threshold with different expressions.
Those trying hard to hide their anxiety, those sharpening their gazes, and those smiling even amidst the confusion.
While the gazes of many people still lingered on me, the light came on the LCD screen inside the elevator.
A map was being reflected on the screen.
It was a map indicating the starting point of each player.
[This time, there is no separate order for moving. Please enter all at once and move to the designated positions.]
The person who entered first was me.
I took a step slowly but firmly.
The sensation of the ground changing was transmitted from my toes.
The moment my body fully entered the game site, I looked back and answered No Tae-jin's question from earlier.
“That depends on all of you.”
Then, I shot a gaze toward the tall woman staying quietly at the very back of the group of players without any presence.
August, you’d better stay sharp.
To other people, this game will be a game of stealing chairs, but I plan to play a different game alone.
Your ability, I will definitely take it.
My solo Ability Snatching game.
Start.