The Crimson Game Chapter 20

I gasped for breath, looking up ahead. "Where did everyone go?"

The orbs were still on the table, but all the players had vanished.

I pressed my aching shoulder and moved closer to see.

Around the stone table was a ten-foot-deep trap, filled with poisonous gas.

The players inside...

I turned my face away.

This round ended. We clutched the four orbs.

The fourth person was the female player whose leg had been pierced by a bamboo spear.

She'd been clever enough to crawl on the ground after being injured, avoiding the attacks.

The space we occupied began to destabilize after we grabbed the orbs. The red sky occasionally showed streaks of black, like it might collapse at any moment.

Behind the stone table were several bamboo spear launchers.

If the system was going to collapse anyway, might as well help it along.

The girl watched me casually pull the small explosive cylinder from my underwear and screamed: "Jake! What are you doing?!"

I held the explosive near the bamboo launchers.

"Girl, tell me.

Why did I feel like I'd seen you before the first time we met?

Why did you suddenly have an extra pair of white gloves in round three?

In this bamboo forest, I could feel that whenever I was near you, the bamboo spears slowed down significantly!

And you killed that bald man, didn't you?

You've known about this game from the start. Tell me what the hell is going on!?"

By the end, I'd completely lost emotional control.

The game was ending. People around me kept dying. My peaceful life had been shattered by this bizarre game.

If I remained in the dark until the very end, I couldn't accept it. I couldn't stay rational.

The girl stood frozen. She looked up at the sky and laughed bitterly.

"Jake, of course you recognize me. I'm the one who brought you into this game.

Jake's car accident, Tank's computer explosion—these were all incidents caused by system intervention.

I... I'm not from your timeline.

This game is my coming-of-age test at eighteen. Your abilities and character were top-rated. My father secretly manipulated things, selecting you both to protect me.

At this same moment, countless other games like this are happening.

Jake, Tank, I'm sorry. You're good people. I didn't want you to get hurt because of me. I hope in future games, you won't be chosen again!"

She rushed forward, snatched the explosive from my hand, and threw it into the launcher equipment.

"BOOM!" After the explosion, the world before us gradually faded to gray. We were transported back to reality.