Less than five minutes after entering the selection time, games with full capacities appeared one after another.
Naturally, the first group to enter was the players gathered for the 1 billion won game.
Inside the entrance of the 1 billion won game site, there was an elevator door, and as the elevator door opened, they boarded one by one starting from the front of the queue.
At the very end of the queue was Yoon Ji-ho.
Yoon Ji-ho swung both arms grandly and restlessly, as if he had become a star athlete entering an arena.
"Hey! Friends! Let's all see each other again with hefty bags of money on our backs!"
His appearance, smeared with someone else's blood, and his innocent movements created a sense of dissonance.
I remembered that Yoon Ji-ho's original profession was a musician who played drums for an indie band.
According to the drama setting, everyone except him was cast by an agency and made their major debut, and he, falling into despair and engaging in misconduct, ended up in the Money Game after falling into debt.
Since he was thirsty for attention and often committed eccentricities unrelated to money, I didn't know when or how he would act outside the existing scenario.
He was a person of interest in that there were many variables.
After the players participating in the 1 billion won game entered, those lined up for the 500 million won game and several 100 million won games followed into the game sites.
Meanwhile, the 100 million won game site where I stood was not filling up its capacity easily.
'In the drama, they focused the screen on Bang Su-hyeok and Yoon Ji-ho, so the rest of the characters were hardly shown. Since this is a real situation, there are many elements that take time here and there.'
Most of the players who could not participate in the 1 billion and 500 million won games were hovering around the tower, examining the games one by one.
Since they were all 100 million won anyway, they were being careful to choose a game where their chances of survival seemed higher.
Currently, there were 5 people standing in front of the Cops and Robbers game site where I stood.
Five more people were needed.
At the front of the queue was Park So-yul, and I was the second person in line.
Was it because the waiting time grew long and boring?
The third person standing behind me suddenly spoke to me.
"It seems choosing an event that doesn't look popular on purpose was the right answer. If it's this quiet, eventually only the weaklings who were pushed out of the popular events will gather."
Looking back, a young man with a messy impression was smiling awkwardly at me.
I wondered who it was, and it turned out to be one of the trio who had thrown questions at January in the gym earlier.
A lumpy physique reminiscent of a croissant.
A tracksuit with mysterious stains remaining on it.
Greasy hair.
His appearance of not even doing minimal self-care was impressive in a bad way.
'This jobless role was someone who hit on Park So-yul in episode 1 and then disappeared later without anyone knowing. Even though he's an extra just like me, it would be better to be wary since I lack information.'
I replied moderately.
There was no need to get deeply involved.
Especially if it was the type that approached casually out of nowhere.
"Everyone here is probably similar. We'll have to wait and see who the real weakling is."
Even though I replied coldly, the jobless man couldn't read the atmosphere and spoke to me as if we were close.
"Oh, your confidence is no joke. You must have obtained a good ability. What rank were you?"
"You weren't throwing that question expecting me to answer sincerely, were you?"
"True. In this place, even leaking one thing might make you a corpse in a few days. But if everyone keeps hiding their rank, that would be advantageous for the 1st or 2nd place winners in its own way."
It wasn't entirely wrong.
It was a standard strategy for the 4th and 5th place winners, who were relatively weak ability users, to band together against the 1st or 2nd place winners.
Everyone should be aware of this simple logic.
The more the timing of banding together is delayed because the weak are wary of each other, the more the strong will gradually reduce the number of the weak.
By the time everyone figures out each other's ranks publicly, the weak will have significantly decreased, and even if they band together then, there's a limit to the abilities they can exert.
The jobless man placed his left hand vertically against the nasolabial fold on the right side of his face and whispered in a small voice audible only to me.
"I'm 4th rank. Defensive type."
Then he added, as if there was something between us.
"But, I feel like I can talk to someone like you. So to speak... aren't you the same type as me?"
"Same type?"
"Quiet on the outside, but quick with calculations on the inside. Or was I being rude?"
What. This guy is testing my reaction while making a move.
I replied without a single eye smile.
"If something goes out, something should come in... I don't see why I should go along with your misunderstanding."
"It's worth a shot, so I'm just throwing it out there. Shouldn't I trust the other person first for them to trust me back? And if possible, please call me Yu Jin-cheol."
Pay trust first and buy trust in return?
That was out of the question.
If it were someone else, they might have been tempted and considered joining him for a moment.
But I had the copy ability.
'If he truly trusted me, the ability would have reacted.'
I repeated to myself as I carefully scanned Yu Jin-cheol's pupils.
But there was no foreign sensation.
My head was quiet too.
A judgment was made immediately.
His mouth was smiling, but his heart was elsewhere.
It was the moment the fact that he attempted a conversation to muddy the waters was confirmed.
'He's suggesting we join forces while measuring the angle to betray me at any time. Then there's no guarantee that the rank and ability he told me are real.'
There are largely two ways to handle the type that acts like a good person while shamelessly laying out lies.
Either treat them pretentiously as well and use them in reverse, or block their approach entirely.
I chose the latter.
"I'm not in the mood to try social activities yet. I don't want to make a fuss already when I don't even know the game's contents."
When I didn't fall for the suggestion, Yu Jin-cheol shrugged his shoulders awkwardly and spoke to the people lined up behind.
Unlike me, several people were tempted by Yu Jin-cheol's words and responded to the introduction.
While machinations were rampant even before the start, the number of people in the queue increased one by one.
6 people, 7 people, 8 people, 9 people.
When there was one person left until 10, July approached, took out a card that looked like an employee ID, and held it against the elevator's display panel.
Beep!
The elevator door opened with a cheerful mechanical sound.
Those in the queue counted the numbers one by one from the first person to the last person.
And they tilted their heads after repeatedly confirming that the head count was only nine.
"Huh? There are nine of us?"
July stepped aside by the door so we could board and said in a gentle voice.
"There are only a few game sites where we can proceed even if the number of participants is odd. After a meeting, we decided to reduce the capacity here to nine people. Of course, the total prize money amount will not change, so rest assured."
Right, the 200 people were reduced to 199 as Yoon Ji-ho committed an eccentricity.
One place had to reduce the number of people by one, and as a result, this game site was selected.
Park So-yul, who stayed at the lead, boarded the elevator calmly.
As if the number of people didn't matter.
I also followed Park So-yul and boarded the elevator, taking a spot.
The rest of the people boarded one by one, and once everyone was on board, the elevator doors closed slowly.
Just before the door closed completely, July's voice flowed in softly through the narrow gap.
"By all means, have an enjoyable game."
The elevator ascended at a high speed, and since there was no display panel inside indicating the floor number, I couldn't tell at all which floor we were going to.
A horizontally long rectangular monitor was attached where the display panel should have been.
The monitor's power was off, so the scenery inside the elevator was being reflected on the black screen.
Nine humans are densely situated in a narrow elevator.
It was a scene as stifling as a chicken coop crammed with chickens.
While ascending endlessly somewhere, three men, including Yu Jin-cheol, had a conversation in whispers as if showing off their intimacy.
"Three out of nine is a third, so we won't lag behind in numbers for the most part."
"The 1st and 2nd place prize ability users would have flocked to the 1 billion and 500 million won game sites, so they'll likely be players of 3rd place prize or lower. Let's move while taking that into account."
"If a situation arises where we have to have an individual match, let's cooperate at least until only the three of us are left."
For people engaging in a game for the first time, they were unexpectedly strategic.
These days, games have become common, and works with survival subjects are released in various genres, so everyone possessed at least the minimal basic common sense.
Tension and anticipation hovered inside the elevator.
Not a few minutes later, the door opened with a cheerful mechanical sound.
Ding!
Simultaneously, the rectangular monitor installed inside the elevator turned on.
A map appeared on the monitor screen, and numbers from 1 to 8 were marked in various places on the map.
At the bottom of the screen, what the numbers on the map meant was written.
[From now on, please move to the positions on the map one by one starting from the person called. We will proceed with the game in earnest after all eight thieves have arrived at their positions.]
[Ms. Park So-yul, please move to position number 1.]
Park So-yul stepped out of the elevator and headed toward the position marked on the map.
I was next.
[Mr. Lee Ju-seong, please move to position number 2.]
As I stepped out of the elevator, the scenery of the game site came into view at a glance.
The game site was so wide that it was hard to believe it was indoors.
It was wide enough to fit an entire park, and the ceiling reached 20 meters.
In the center of the ceiling, there was a giant light reminiscent of the sun, lighting the interior as brightly as broad daylight, and the interior had various trees and weeds under rocks planted to recreate the scenery of a summer forest.
For an artificial environment created to hold a game, the scale and quality were amazing.
Perhaps some of it was implemented by mobilizing the abilities of ability users.
I admired the organization's endless scale anew as I walked toward the designated position.
'If it's the Cops and Robbers game, I know what the rules are. The difficulty is medium-high. It's a game that's tough for a 5th rank ability user to break through alone. Whether I can copy another player's ability at the start or not will determine my life or death.'
Not long after, a guidance sound flowed out through the speakers on the field.
[All players have arrived at the starting points.]
[From now on, we will inform you of the Cops and Robbers rules.]
[Game : Cops and Robbers.]
-The game time is three hours, and players are divided into one cop and eight thieves.
-There are ten 'gems' on the field. Each gem holds a value of 6 million won, and at the end of the game, thieves can have their prize money settled according to the number of gems they possess.
-The cop can catch thieves and lock them in the prison in the center of the field, and at the end of the game, can obtain 5 million won per thief locked in the prison.
-When locked in the prison, the gems the thief had are immediately destroyed.
-Hidden bonus clauses exist for both sides, the cop and the thieves, and a bonus is received upon satisfying the clause.
Other than that, elements consistent with the existing Cops and Robbers play followed, such as how even if a thief is caught by the cop, they can be rescued if another thief opens the prison door from the outside.
I listened to the guidance and repeated the rules in my head by making them into a simple diagram.
'1 cop vs 8 thieves. A total of 10 gems, 6 million won each. Cop arrests thieves, 5 million won per person. A thief locked in prison can be rescued by another thief. Is this roughly the summary.'
Up to this point, it was true that the cop was overwhelmingly disadvantaged compared to the thieves.
Not only was the head count high, but if the eight thieves joined forces and finished off the cop at the start, the game would end right away.
Was it consideration for the cop?
From the field speakers, the content of the final measure for fairness flowed out.
-The cop's ability effect will be strengthened tenfold for this game only.
What was given to the cop was an overwhelming merit.
It was a supernatural baton that could freely wield both sides of desire and violence.