Nothing in life hits harder than having a net worth of over a hundred million, marrying the love of your life, and reaching your wedding night—only for your mom to slap you awake and tell you to get your butt to school.
At least, that’s how the Solo Fan felt. The only difference was that he didn’t have to go to school. He was getting up for work.
It felt about the same as watching the Exorcism Talisman disappear before it had even warmed up in his hands.
With the Exorcism Talisman gone, the Solo Fan and Yimo settled down again.
They huddled carefully and properly against the steel, their feelings complicated.
After a moment of silence, Yimo glanced at the Solo Fan beside him. He looked fairly amiable.
The Solo Fan was gritting his teeth, his crossed legs trembling nonstop as if he were thinking something over.
He… was way too nervous…
“Hey, bro.”
“Can this game really get people killed?”
At that, the Solo Fan’s legs finally stopped shaking. He tried to put on the air of a veteran player, but felt like he couldn’t pull it off. He shook his head and said seriously to Yimo, “Kirito, bro, now that the game’s started, don’t doubt that for a second.”
“If you do, you’ll definitely die!”
“Not one of the newbies I ran into in my first two rounds made it out alive!”
Yimo looked at the Solo Fan, who was completely serious, then thought for a moment before asking, “How… did you survive?”
The Solo Fan closed his eyes. After a moment of silence, he said, “I got lucky…”
“And… you know that term, right?”
“Chuunibyou. I’ve got a bit of that in me.”
“I treated all of this as real from the start. I kept my harmless, earnest act up, so nobody singled me out. In the end, I made it through.”
Yimo nodded. “Can’t we just refuse to take part?”
The Solo Fan opened his eyes and patted Yimo on the shoulder. “Bro, if you survive, you’ll find out.”
Yimo’s gaze suddenly turned serious. He looked at the Solo Fan and said, “I guess only one person can survive this game.”
“Either you or me—or someone else.”
“You and I… are on opposite sides.”
At that, the Solo Fan suddenly laughed. “Kirito, bro, I could tell from the start that you weren’t ordinary. Now I’m even more convinced you’re one sharp guy.”
“You’ve figured out a lot. You just haven’t said it.”
“Don’t worry. You can trust me until it’s down to just the two of us.”
Yimo thought for a moment. “I don’t really need to ask, but I still want to.”
“Is it because we have some of the same interests?”
The Solo Fan waved a hand. “No. You’re wearing slippers, and you’re pretty weak.”
“Compared to anyone else, I’ve got a better chance of winning if you’re the one I face at the end.”
Yimo felt a little bitter and didn’t say much more, but he did feel relieved.
The Solo Fan meant what he said.
That was what Yimo thought.
Ding-a-ling.
The Killer struck a player holding an Exorcism Talisman. The Killer died. A new Killer has emerged.
Players remaining: 8
Deaths: 3
And just then, someone else died.
Now, apart from the Killer, the only ones left were the four people hiding in the factory.
The Solo Fan didn’t react much this time. He just turned to Yimo and asked, “Do you have it?”
Yimo shook his head.
Looks like his luck really was pretty bad.
“Who do you think the Killer is?” Yimo couldn’t help asking.
The Solo Fan answered casually, “I just hope it’s someone weak. But anyone weak wouldn’t have made it this far.”
“Come on. We have to stop them!”
As he spoke, the Solo Fan stood up and shouted at the woman and the high schooler, who had come out from between the piles of steel and seemed about to leave. “Hey! Where are you going?”
The high schooler seemed hesitant, but the woman was resolute. She pulled him along, stopping him from speaking, then called back to the Solo Fan, “That’s none of your business!”
“Don’t follow us!”
The Solo Fan gritted his teeth and shouted, “How is it none of my business?!”
“If you hadn’t followed me here, you might already be dead!”
“Apart from the Killer, there are only four of us left alive—and the Exorcism Talisman is in your hands!”
“And you’re seriously thinking of going off on your own?!”
“Don’t you get it? The four of us sticking together is our best shot at taking down the Killer!”
The woman gave a cold snort. “Hmph. And then you can kill everyone all at once?”
“You can only fool those younger than you.”
“You fatso, don’t come after us. If I become the Killer, you’ll be the first one I kill!”
The Solo Fan was itching to fire back, but he didn’t have much confidence in himself. In the end, he could only watch the woman and the high schooler leave.
“She’s really got it in for you.” This time, Yimo patted the Solo Fan on the shoulder, as if to comfort him.
“Ah… I’m used to it.” The Solo Fan spread his hands, not taking it too seriously. “It was pretty much the same at school and at work. I had to work extra hard just to get people to, at best, not dislike me.”
“You’re different. You’re good-looking and skinny.”
“Sure, you’re a little short, but I guess your type’s popular these days.”
Yimo didn’t get mad. He just shrugged. “You set the bar too high for height. I’m 1.74 meters—not tall, but with elevator shoes, I’m not exactly short either.”
“I didn’t eat well as a kid. What can I do?”
“Anyway, what do we do next?”
The Solo Fan had been leading the way since the game began, so Yimo planned to keep listening to his advice.
The Solo Fan replied, “What else? We stay here and wait to die!”
Yimo looked at the Solo Fan’s expression and could tell he was joking. “That doesn’t sound like you. I don’t think you’re the type to give up.”
The Solo Fan nodded. “Of course I’m not going to give up that easily.”
“I’m guessing the woman took the Exorcism Talisman.”
“She doesn’t look like the type to sit still. She’s definitely planning to go find the Killer and try to kill them first.”
“After all, whoever dies, the Exorcism Talisman changes hands. She wouldn’t want to miss her chance.”
A glint flashed in the Solo Fan’s eyes. “So we just wait for them to kill each other.”
“Whoever wins…”
“We’ll stay here and have our big showdown with the Killer!”
“The Killer has the advantage when there are lots of people around. With fewer people, they’re not nearly as dangerous!”
“In a way, this game’s still pretty fair. There’s no guaranteed winner.”
“I just don’t know what happens when only two people are left.”
Yimo nodded and silently opened the game rules screen.
When it came down to it, the hidden rules would be revealed, right…
And so, Yimo and the Solo Fan actually relaxed a little more than before and started chatting about anime and manga.
But…
That brief moment of peace didn’t last long.
About ten minutes later…
Two system alerts in quick succession shattered the calm.
The Killer hadn’t changed.
The woman and the high schooler.
They were both dead…
