Harry seemed to have fallen asleep while meditating. When he woke up, he was in a completely unfamiliar place.
Rust covered everything, the decay marking the passage of time. The old, worn-out equipment made the place feel ancient. Where was he? Harry remembered being at the hotel with Kaitou Kid. How did he end up in this damp, dark place that felt like a basement?
Around him were other people, just as confused.
"Ahhhh—!" Harry hadn't even figured out what was going on before someone screamed.
Everyone looked toward the noise and saw someone sitting in a shadowy corner. That person was what caused the scream.
"Good morning, everyone." The man didn't seem fazed by their fear. He smiled widely in an exaggerated way. His seaweed-like hair was unforgettable.
The Joker. No mistake—it was the Joker. But right now, he was trapped here just like everyone else.
Harry almost summoned Silver Chariot on instinct, but the communicator in his ear stopped him. "Harry, don't panic. This is just a trial. Remember—you're not allowed to use your Stand here."
Harry still didn't understand what was going on and whispered, "What's happening?"
"It's a trial, like a courage test. This place is way scarier than the corpse you saw a few days ago. Be ready for that. That's all—contact me after you finish the game."
The line went dead. Harry stood there dumbfounded, unsure of what to do next. He looked up at the terrifying Joker. Even though everyone here was in the same situation, the Joker still felt like a beast, and the others were just lambs.
The Joker rolled his eyes as he scanned the crowd, that mocking grin still on his face. Another Jigsaw game, huh? Looked like he'd really pissed off Jigsaw enough to get targeted.
The Joker was actually thrilled. He wanted to crush Jigsaw and his followers.
Nobody dared get within five meters of the Joker. His presence was too terrifying.
But besides the Joker, there were other frightening things. Like the room itself—and the heavy collars hanging around everyone's necks.
The black collars could only be removed with keys. Inside them were explosives—motivation to make everyone follow the game master's rules.
"I want to play a game." The creepy puppet appeared again. "Welcome to Jigsaw's game."
"You have four hours to find the key and unlock the collars around your necks. Otherwise, the collars will explode with enough force to kill you. The keys are your reward for completing each stage. You need to win four mini-games, each one in a separate room, to get the full set of keys and survive the whole challenge. If you follow the rules, it's not that hard. Whether you live or die… is up to you."
'Up to us'—yet they were forced to wear bombs. What kind of 'freedom' was that?
Harry touched the collar on his neck. Everyone's face had the same bitter look. What kind of nightmare was this? And to make things worse, the Joker was here. How were they supposed to play this game properly?
"Let me out! Do you know who my father is?!" a young man with multicolored hair shouted angrily. He hurled a chunk of cement at the TV, smashing it. "My dad's gonna find you. I'll make you wish you were dead!"
But just as the guy freaked out, the collars activated. The countdown for four hours had begun. When the time ran out—boom—everyone's head would be blown to pieces.
"Oh God, Jesus, please take this thing off our necks!" someone cried out. "God, you can't treat us like this!"
"F***, I'm gonna kill you!" More curses followed.
Harry stayed relatively calm. He knew he wasn't alone—Liu A'dou was watching over him. That was enough. This was a trial, a courage test. Harry told himself he had to make it through and impress Kaitou Kid.
"Enough, enough! Everyone shut up." Finally, someone calmed down. He realized that without the key, there was no way to remove the collar. "Listen, we don't know what kind of freak kidnapped us, but we need to figure out how to survive. Let's play this sick game and find a way out of this damn room."
Ordinary people needed a leader. As soon as someone stepped up, the group quieted down and started searching the room. No one dared go near the Joker, though. He sat proudly in one corner, his smile alone enough to keep everyone at bay.
The key to the first room hung from the ceiling on an iron chain. The chain was secured with a ceiling-mounted lock that was impossible to reach directly.
On both sides of the key were two sharp iron brambles, suspended from the ceiling about three meters off the ground. It would take one person lifting another to even reach them.
There was also an envelope hanging from the brambles. Inside was the rule for the first game.
To get the key, both iron brambles had to be pulled down at the same time, using equal weight and simultaneous force. They were connected to the ceiling lock, and only if both were pulled down successfully would the lock release and the key fall.
Just a warm-up, designed to help everyone understand the rules. If they wanted to survive, they had to be willing to suffer a little—to accept punishment.
There was no equipment in the room to help. "Everyone, take off your clothes and hang them on the iron brambles. Pull down."
It was the same guy who had calmed everyone down. A middle-aged man who looked like a white-collar elite and a fitness enthusiast. He was a lawyer, trained in boxing, a man of action.
Everyone had already checked their pockets—phones, wallets, and anything sharp were gone. Clearly, their bodies had been searched while they were unconscious.
"I had five hundred dollars in my wallet," the lawyer muttered, trying to lighten the mood.
"Don't even mention it. My credit cards are gone too," replied a skinny guy—turned out he was a delivery worker.
They started working together, chatting while they moved. They tied the clothes into two makeshift ropes and had the delivery guy climb up and hook them onto the brambles. Just like that, the setup was ready.
The Joker watched the whole thing like a spectator. Harry even offered up his fancy branded coat to help.
"Alright, this is simple. As long as we pull both sides together, we'll get the key." The lawyer sounded optimistic. "This game's twisted, but honestly, it's not that hard."
Everyone got into position like it was a tug-of-war.
"I'll count to three. Pull on three. Got it?" The lawyer stayed in command.
"Got it."
"One, two, three—pull!"
They all yanked the ropes backward.
Rip. The sharp iron brambles tore through the clothing. Everyone fell backward, staring up at the ceiling in shock.
"Hahahahahaha!" The Joker burst into loud laughter, wearing a look like he'd seen this coming. Jigsaw's rules were never that easy. No way could you cheat with clothes. The brambles had to be pulled by human hands—bare hands. And the person below had to pull downward too. Even if they wrapped their hands in clothes, the barbs would still shred them into bloody messes. That was the real rule of the game.
And if they wanted to live, everyone had to play by Jigsaw's twisted rules.