Pain, shame, and anger burst in his heart. Leo watched as the alligator man swayed the gun in front of his eyes. Then, a few meters away from him, he saw some movements.
Huge, sharp red eyes looked in his direction. Leo’s body instantly froze in surprise.
The alligator mask man looked over his shoulder. His gaze landed on the mutated monster coming this way, and his lips curled into a cruel smile.
"If you kill them right now, the monster will spare you. Just like that man below."
Leo bit down his lips. His eyes turned red and puffy from crying. His physique looked extremely weak as he trembled. Beneath the faint red light in the corridor, the whole body of the ‘mutated monster’ came into full view. It’s huge feet stepped on some shard glasses and everyone stopped.
They looked behind them.
The alligator mask man did not take his eyes off the frail boy. His sharp eyes looked straight onto the red puffy eyes, his hand holding the gun.
"Want it? You will never stand a chance against the monster. But you can still survive if you help it kill the players. When the number is reduced to 150, you will be one of the survivors... So how about it?"
As the ‘mutated monster’ stepped forward, the two high school kids who were holding Leo up immediately let him go and turned their backs on him. The big bully also whimpered, and seeing his friends turn and run, he unhesitatingly followed.
The ‘mutated monster’ had its eyes on Leo. Its long, vicious tongue licked the sides of its sharp fangs.
I don’t want to die... Leo gulped.
I don’t want to die.
He grabbed the gun from the alligator mask man, twisted his torso, and fired aimlessly. The bullets managed to hit all his nine classmates. It wasn’t because he has superb marksmanship. Leo’s hands were shaking, and he was trembling all over. He flinched every time the bullet left the barrel.
The gun in his hand has unlimited bullets. And Leo, who was scared shitless, never noticed this.
Leo was out of breath; the air was rushing in and out of his mouth. The ‘mutated monster gave one last look at him before turning its back.
It’s like all the adrenaline rush that filled Leo’s muscles depleted instantly. His knees buckled as he clasped the gun tightly in his hands. The alligator mask man curled his lips. He patted Leo in the shoulder.
"Congratulations," The alligator mask man whispered in a low voice. "You are now my prey."
Leo was still too numb to register what the alligator mask man was saying. He just looked at him dumbly.
"What?" Leo was still trembling. The alligator mask man patted his shoulder.
"You don’t have time to rest. The game is not yet over. Let’s go and hunt more players before other strong ones catch you and take advantage of you like this."
"Strong ones?" Leo whispered.
"Yes. As a hunter and a judge in this game, I chose you, Leo. But that doesn’t mean I can save you. There are still lots of strong players out there, chosen by my companions. I chose you. Prove to me that you are worthy of being my ‘prey’ and defeat them."
Leo was still shivering, but he forced his legs to move.
The alligator mask man was pleased to see Leo get up and go out of the office space sluggishly. He was about to stand and follow him when he noticed someone’s gaze.
He narrowed his eyes at the corner. The alligator mask man could not see anyone. But he did not lower his vigilance. Leo was no longer in sight, but he did not follow him yet. He went to check the corner.
As expected, there was no one in sight. He also could not sense human presence. The alligator mask man left the corner and went after Leo.
On the corner, there was a row of drawers lined up with thick documents stored inside. In the last row of the cabinet, a small figure was crouching down. Her breathing is faint. Faint enough that even a rat could not hear her breathing.
She was holding a bloody claw in her hand. A small trophy she picked for herself when she was attacked by the ‘mutated monster’. With her small hands, she snapped the claw in half and used it to pierce the ‘mutated monster’s chest.
The monster died instantly. She also did not get away unscathed. Her arm had an ugly wound that trailed from her right shoulder right to her elbow. She came inside the mall to hide.
And to also treat her wound. But she did not expect to witness that scene.
Another alligator mask creeps, brainwashing a human into killing other human by giving them weapons. She scoffed, hugged her knees closer to her chest, and took a breath.
Her school uniform has the same design as that of those ten high school boys earlier. Her school ID is hanging on her neck. The blood of the ‘mutated monster’ had already smudged some parts of it, but her name can still be read clearly.
Xyris Caddel.
A gunshot rang out not far from where she hid. Heavy footsteps echoed in the quiet open space. Her head snapped forward, alert to the incoming intruder. She stayed cooped up in the corner, not daring to move. She even her breath.
After a few hours since this ridiculous game start, thousands of people have died. Most of them are not killed by ‘mutated monster’, they are killed by other players brainwashed by those alligator mask creeps.
Even her bestfriend….
She bit her lip, trying not to cry and expose her location. She forcibly closed her eyes. Not wanting to remember how her mother, her only relative left, was shot dead by her best friend.
Bitter tears suffused her eyes, but she forced them down.
Soon, that heavy footstep echoed in front of her; the glass walls of the office space were the only thing that separated her from the newcomer.
The author has something to say:
Author: Is it good that I make the female lead appear at this point?
My cat: (ﾐዋ ﻌ ዋﾐ)ﾉ *I-don't-care-just-give-me-food-look*
Author: *gives cat food* But I think some of my readers will probably drop my book because of this.
My cat: (๑ↀᆺↀ๑) *ignore mode* *Don't-bother-me-I'm-eating-look*
A few moments later ~
My cat: Sleeping quietly.
Author: *rubs belly* *squished the cute fluffy face*
My cat: (ﾐΦ ﻌ Φﾐ)∫ *startled awake* *irritated*
Author: What do you think? Should I publish this chapter or revise it and have the female lead appear later?
My cat: ♡(ﾐ ᵕ̣̣̣̣̣̣ ﻌ ᵕ̣̣̣̣̣̣ ﾐ)ﾉ *not-in-the-mood-to-listen* *extremely-sleepy*
Author: I don't know, I'm soo confuseed!! *buried face in the belly and rub aggressively*
My cat: *extremely angry* MEEEOOOWWWW!!!! *scratched annoying hooman's face* *turn back to sleep*
And that's how smooth my conversation with my cat had been. Thank you for reading ♥ If you like what I do, please consider fuelling me with ko-fi or dropping an ink on Tapas to show support (^_^)☆
