At the same time, the dealers gathered one by one on the top floor of the tower.
The top floor was the tower control room.
Inside the control room, dozens of monitors were installed in a semi-circular shape to observe the situation inside the game site.
In front of the monitors, dozens of employees wearing copper masks busily tapped on keyboards and operated various information collection devices.
The dealers in silver masks occupied the center of the control room where they could check all monitors and exchange opinions with each other.
The dealer with the number 11 engraved on their mask spoke.
"In this batch, an interesting fellow has entered. Was his name Yoon Ji-ho? I did not expect a player who causes trouble even before the game starts to be mixed in."
The person who answered November was the woman wearing the mask with the number 8, August.
"Since he was a being who had deviated from the rules since he was in society, it is not strange. Rather than that, I am paying attention to the man named Bang Su-hyeok."
"Heh, your taste is consistent."
"It is an opinion that excludes private domains."
"Let us leave it at that. Since you say he is a man whose appearance is to August's taste but say it is not so, I should believe you."
Since the first game had just begun, all opinions had no choice but to be based on speculation or personal taste.
Each dealer had a player they liked separately, and paying attention to their play was one of the few entertainments of the dealers.
August asked for January's opinion to forcibly stop the conversation with November.
"January, who do you think will stand out?"
"I found my eyes drawn to the girl named Park So-yul. Her irrepressible rebellious temperament is impressive. A rebellious personality always produces unexpected results."
"Fufu, November. Why don't you tell January that his taste is also consistent?"
At August's counterattack, November playfully stumbled and expressed his intention to surrender.
Thanks to November and August, which had particularly high tension among the dealers, the atmosphere of the control room became much lighter.
However, the appearance of the players reflected on the monitor was far from light.
A player who moves alone recklessly to monopolize the prize money by himself.
A player who forms a group while taking the risk of not knowing when they will be stabbed in the back.
A player who prioritizes instinctive desire over prize money.
One could glimpse various groups of human beings.
January looked at July through the eye holes of the mask with a deep gaze and asked for an opinion.
"July, which player do you think will distinguish themselves? Yoon Ji-ho? Bang Su-hyeok? Park So-yul?"
The dealers, including January, were evaluating Yoon Ji-ho, Bang Su-hyeok, and Park So-yul as the three prominent strong players.
In fact, Yoon Ji-ho was the only 1st place winner, and the abilities of Bang Su-hyeok and Park So-yul were 2nd place ranks that were infinitely close to 1st place.
Furthermore, all three had personalities suitable for surviving in the Money Game.
However, only July was looking at a screen far removed from the monitors where the three influential people were reflected.
"If we only look at individual abilities, Yoon Ji-ho would be picked as the best."
"It sounds like you mean it will be different if we consider it comprehensively."
"There is a player I am a little, just a little, concerned about."
July trailed off and turned their head slightly.
On one side of the monitor, in a spot that did not stand out well, there was a man.
His name was Lee Ju-seong.
His ability was 5th rank, the lowest, and his ability was also a copy type with difficult conditions.
But why was it?
The unusual aspect he had shown during the test kept making July harbor vague expectations.
The expectation that Lee Ju-seong, he would make this Money Game even more stimulating.
***
30 minutes after the game started.
I, Lee Ju-seong, was walking through the bushes at a place 500m away from the starting point.
It felt like an excessively short distance for 30 minutes of travel, but there was a reason for the slow movement speed.
'If it is the Cops and Robbers game, it was broadcast lightly for about 5 minutes when the focus was on Park So-yul in Season 1 Episode 2. Although it was short, my situation is better than players who have not seen it. It is as good as having previewed it as a taste.'
The top priority task was, as expected, not being discovered by the cop.
Unfortunately, in the broadcast part, it did not appear who the cop was.
However, since there were only two survivors in this room at that time including Park So-yul, it was clear that it belonged to a high difficulty level unlike a 100 million won game.
The bushes that had grown up to my waist became a useful cover.
I lowered my body and moved slowly while keenly watching the surrounding situation.
During the move, the sound of trees falling or hitting sounds were heard from afar occasionally.
Someone was engaged in a battle.
'Has the cop found a thief. Maybe the thieves are fighting over a gem among themselves.'
The enemy of this game was not only the cop.
The game called Cops and Robbers was one where even the same thief could become an enemy at any time.
The number of gems is ten, and if one monopolizes them alone, it is a whopping 60 million won.
Furthermore, if one luckily even obtains a hidden bonus, it was a structure where one could earn a total prize money of 100 million won in three hours.
100 million in three hours.
How much is it per hour?
I thought comparing it with the dopamine that comes from stock futures trading rather than hourly wages might have a much wider range of intersections.
No wonder the monetary sense of the Money Game participants had no choice but to be paralyzed as time went on.
Moreover, since violence or murder is even legal here, it would not be strange for one's eyes to roll back.
'Others are others. I am me. Let us not be impatient and achieve the small goals set initially one by one. Right now, I am preparing the materials to copy Park So-yul's ability.'
Unlike the protagonist Bang Su-hyeok who gathers colleagues based on competence, Park So-yul was a personality who measured others based on trust rather than ability.
Therefore, meticulous preparation and a delicate approach were essential to copy the ability.
I planned to use the gem, the core object of this game, as the material to be used for the deal.
I looked around carefully throughout the movement.
'If I think logically, they would not have designed it to search inside this wide game site recklessly. It is impossible for only eight people to find all the gems within three hours without any clues. It is highly likely that they scattered clues here and there.'
When filming the Money Game in the drama, there were several rules that the director always insisted on.
For any game, open up the possibility of everyone's survival according to the rules.
Make sure to put in elements that will serve as signposts for the players.
Prepare elements where even a weak ability user can overturn the situation if they try.
If it is a reality where the drama is reflected as it is, the three laws will be applied.
What I was looking for was the signpost corresponding to item number 2.
Whether it was worth moving with a clear goal, I found the signpost as expected before long.
I found two compasses in a row inside the thick bushes.
The usage was written on the back of the compass.
[Gem Detector]
-When using the detector, the compass points to the place where the gem is.
-However, it constantly emits a loud alarm sound until arriving at the place where the gem is.
It was a tool where one could enjoy the effect of knowing the location of the gem, but had to bear the risk of one's location being discovered by the cop.
Since it was impossible to find the gem by looking recklessly with one's eyes anyway, I had to use it someday.
However, the timing of use was the key.
'Depending on how I use it, I can reduce the risk as much as I want. For example, using it at the same time when another person uses the compass.'
If I used it alone, the cop would hear the sound and track only me as a target.
But if I use it after someone else uses it first, the cop cannot track me because they are busy chasing the other person.
The problem is that other people might think the same way as me...
As if my worries were useless, a noise equivalent to a siren sound occurred from somewhere.
Waaaaaaing!
Another player had used the compass immediately without looking back because they were blinded by the gem.
Was it because they had a corner to trust, or was it just because they were stupid.
Either way, what does it matter?
I cannot miss this opportunity.
I used one of the two compasses immediately.
Waaaaaaing!
Now this warning sound will not stop until the gem is found.
Since it would be a fight against time, I used the stored physical strength explosively and ran at full speed.
Perhaps because it was a body that had lived a profligate life in this world, my breath reached the tip of my chin in no time.
It felt like invisible pressure was grabbing and squeezing my lungs.
Twigs brushed my face and left scratches, but I did not care and insisted only on moving forward.
How much did I run?
The area where the bushes were thick ended and a small pond covered with water hyacinths appeared.
The compass was pointing to the pond.
Since the depth of the pond was only a level that submerged up to the knees, the depth of the water was not a problem.
When I entered the pond and went near the center, I could find the diamond that was caught in the water hyacinth stems.
Gem, with this, it is the first one.
When I dipped my hand in the water and grabbed the gem, the compass that was crying out loud stopped its crying as if it were a lie.
Inhaling my breath, I laughed shortly.
"Heh."
Now it was the beginning. This was just a bait for survival.
It had no value at this point.
This gem possesses a value of 6 million won only when surviving the game.
Until survival is confirmed, it was nothing more than a potential 600-million-won 'strategy material'.
Whether I found the gem relatively quickly, the siren sound was still ringing in a distant place.
Still, there was no sign of the cop chasing me.
If so, they must be in the middle of a chase with a player in another place.
'They are having a chase for a long time without being caught. Maybe they used the compass openly because they were confident in their feet.'
It was something for me to welcome.
Because the unknown player earned me the leisure to use the remaining compass.
I used the second compass.
Waaaaaaing!
The second compass pointed east.
When I ran toward the east in the same way, a sunflower flowerbed appeared this time.
After digging into the sunflowers that grew higher than my height and checking the floor, I found the second diamond.
The moment I leaned my waist forward to pick up the diamond placed on the floor, a long blade suddenly popped out from between the densely packed sunflower stems.
The moment the sword-shaped blade was cast in front of my nose, the sunflowers in front parted to the left and right, and a chilling voice flowed out.
"One gem. Two thieves. In the end, only one person can have the gem. I hope you make a wise choice."
The person who appeared pushing aside the sunflowers was a woman in gray work clothes.
Brown hair that was half-faded of dye, a small face that looked like it would be hidden if one clenched a fist, yet clear features that had everything they should have.
It was Park So-yul.
Seeing her up close, she was the same as the Jung Ah-young I knew, so I almost felt glad to see her.
However, the blue-cold sword cast in front of my eyes and the cold gaze made me realize that she was Park So-yul, not Jung Ah-young.
Although it was a situation where it would not be strange if my head fell off at any moment, conversely, a smile spread across my lips.
I was planning to visit from my side soon, but to think she would visit first from that side.
Thanks to that, I saved the trouble of having to find her.
I picked up the gem while ignoring the sword pointed in front of my eyes.
And as if it were nothing, I quietly raised my head.
"Do we necessarily have to have one of us monopolize it? There should also be the option for the two of us to turn this one gem into ten together?"