Chapter 20: The Interference
It was February 13th, 2027.
3:45 AM.
Three buses waited outside the NIFL campus.
The first bus contained Class A and Class B students. The second contained Class C and Class D students. The third carried the staff members, including the principal.
I sat quietly in the second bus, looking through the window at the night sky.
The other students were exhausted. Some were sleeping, some were whispering, and others were simply staring forward, trying to process everything that had happened.
The special exam had already taken a mental toll on everyone.
For me, it was simply another variable to analyze.
The seat beside me belonged to someone I had barely ever spoken to.
Kengo Takamine.
A student who had somehow managed to become almost invisible despite being surrounded by hundreds of people.
Behind us sat Akari Senzaki.
I knew his name, but not much else.
That was enough information.
I had no reason to learn more.
" Kengo, what do you think the next game will be like?" Akari asked.
Kengo didn't even look up.
"As if I care."
His voice was empty.
"We'll never make it to Class A anyway."
Akari leaned back in his seat.
"I don't care about reaching Class A. I just want to graduate peacefully."
Their conversation continued.
I wasn't intentionally listening.
However, Kengo was sitting directly beside me, and Akari was directly behind us.
Ignoring it would have required more effort than simply hearing it.
Kengo's mindset was interesting.
He had already accepted defeat before the battle had even started.
A person like that was usually considered useless.
But sometimes those people were the most unpredictable.
Suddenly—
A loud sound echoed from behind us.
Because we were inside the bus, it was difficult to identify.
But because we were sitting near the back, we heard it more clearly than the others.
Kengo immediately looked toward the window.
"Was that... a gunshot?"
Akari's expression changed.
I turned toward the third bus.
Something was wrong.
The third bus had stopped.
A large section of the glass window had been shattered.
Fifteen minutes earlier, I had noticed someone entering the staff bus.
At the time, I assumed they were authorized personnel.
Now, that assumption seemed incorrect.
A gunshot.
A broken window.
An unknown individual.
The conclusion was obvious.
Someone had infiltrated the third bus.
However...
It had nothing to do with me.
There was no reason for me to interfere with a situation I had no involvement in.
Eventually, our bus arrived at the facility.
The building was completely white.
Not clean white.
Artificial white.
The kind of color that made a place feel less like a building and more like a laboratory.
Teachers were waiting for us outside.
Mr. Unagi looked around.
"Huh... where is the third bus?"
Nobody answered.
Most students simply looked confused.
I already had a theory.
The third bus had likely been taken hostage.
But even that explanation seemed too simple.
The timing was too convenient.
There was another factor involved.
Something bigger.
Still, without evidence, a theory was meaningless.
We entered the facility.
Before proceeding further, we were instructed to change clothes.
Our uniforms were replaced with plain white clothing.
No identification.
No individuality.
Everyone looked the same.
After changing, we waited.
At 4:00 AM, the remaining ranked students from each grade arrived.
Soon after, we were separated.
I entered one of the white rooms.
There were nineteen other students inside.
Among them were Kengo and Akari.
Minato from Class 1-B was also there.
And another familiar face.
Dusk.
A fourth-year student from Class 4-B.
I had last seen him during the Sports Festival.
He looked at me and smiled slightly.
"It's been a while, hasn't it, Kei?"
I looked at him.
"Oh. You're here."
Dusk laughed.
"I haven't forgotten how you outplayed us during the Sports Festival."
I didn't respond.
There was nothing meaningful to say.
The door behind me closed.
A lock activated.
Then the room became silent.
Almost immediately, the intercom turned on.
A staff member's voice echoed.
"Game 4: White Room Torture."
The explanation began.
Every ranked student would temporarily participate in this facility.
Hundreds of identical white rooms existed.
Twenty students would be placed into each room regardless of grade or class.
The objective was simple.
Survive five hours.
However, nothing at the NIFL was ever simple.
Each room contained a button.
Pressing it would immediately end the challenge.
The reward:
200 class points.
The punishment:
The person who pressed it would become nominated for elimination and would be forced into the fifth game.
A temporary victory.
A future risk.
If we endured the entire five hours without pressing the button, we would receive 2,000 private points.
A better reward.
But there was another option.
A puzzle.
A riddle.
If the students solved it together, they would receive 500,000 private points.
A ridiculous amount.
But failure came with a price.
If the group answered incorrectly, a student would be expelled.
The system would start with the student who had the lowest grades.
If the puzzle was attempted individually and failed, that person would immediately become nominated for elimination.
There was also a wired phone.
Three calls.
No more.
A limited resource.
Everything about the exam was designed around one concept.
Choice.
Every decision created consequences.
Minato looked around the room.
"Hmm... so either way, there are consequences for our actions."
He understood quickly.
That was expected.
The NIFL never tested intelligence alone.
It tested judgment.
Then the intercom activated again.
"Apologies for the interruption. Game 4 is currently experiencing a shortage of staff members."
The room became quiet.
Akari looked around.
"What do you think is happening?"
Dusk crossed his arms.
"I heard the third bus disappeared. Anyone know why?"
Everyone looked around.
Then their eyes briefly stopped on me.
I answered calmly.
"No idea."
It was a lie.
A small one.
I knew more than I admitted.
But information was power.
Revealing everything I knew would only create unnecessary variables.
So I remained silent.
The white room waited.
And so did we.
Five hours.
Twenty students.
One objective.
Survive.
END OF CHAPTER.