The Cycle Continues: Alice in Borderland Novel

73) King of Hearts [4]

"Everything in this journal has been written from the bottom of my heart. No amount of psychology can hide someone's true goodness. Everything I've done has been in an effort to save as many lives as I could; that's precisely why all my games have a no-death solution."

Players left: 112/116
Round: 2

Added rules:
1. Volunteers allowed for trials

===Aulia Choi===

I had dragged one of the bodies I killed earlier to the chute, then unlocked the grate with the first key.

Upon opening, it revealed the metal rollers that would crush and dispose of the body. I pushed the body towards the crushers, looking away as I fed its head into the device. I yelped, turning away and closing my eyes, as the corpse crunched, bones splitting, blood spewing from the chute.

After a few moments passed, I opened my eyes; the corpse had been fed completely through, and only a bloody mess remained. My clothes remained clean except for a few blood splatters.

"Hint number one: Recall that the original Ten of Hearts had a unique solution, where no players had to die. Do with that information what you will."

"Another no death solution?" I questioned, turning around. Dotike remained afar, watching me, her arms crossed.

I shook my head. "No time to waste, I have to keep going from room to room." With that, I made my way to the largest room, the room facing the lobby that was inside the square hallway.

Upon entry, the room was a surgical room, six operation tables covered in partitions, counters and carts lining the sides. Dotike didn't follow me in.

My heart twisted; such a vast place had to have dozens of hiding spots. And as soon as I had that thought, two faceless figures charged, knives raised. I gasped, flinching, before raising my gun and shooting through them. They both dropped in a puddle of their own blood.

16:34
Kills left: 6 players

I stepped backwards, my eyes glued to their corpses, which led to a revelation: there was a large crease running through the middle of the floor which split the room perfectly in half, as if the floor was a massive trapdoor. And, across the room on the other wall was a massive red lever.

It was locked behind a glass case, with the number four embellished.

'The trials are probably linear, with me having to get each key in order. With that being said, each trial is probably harder than the last.'

I exited out of the room, moving onto the left room. But in that hallway were three other people hiding, behind a fortress of desks and cabinets. Their figures peeked through the furniture, and the light caught the glint of a gun, I gasped, diving out of the way, as a bullet struck where I had just stood.

Huffing, I checked my toolbelt, and my fingers brushed against a hard, round shell. It was a grenade.

'If I throw this, I might kill three people. But I have no other way of accessing that door.'

"Decisions, decisions..." Dotike muttered from behind me.

Shaking my head, I pulled it out; I had no choice. Spinning it around in my hand a few times, my fingers stopped on a small ring. "Is this... How I do it?"

I pulled, and something sparked. Without hesitating, I threw my arm back, before pausing. I needed to time this so it blew up when it made contact, so they don't have time to run and shoot. Biting my lip, I counted another second, before hurling it across the room. The three of them dove from their cover, but it incinerated the hallway, shaking the foundations of the hospital. They were all engulfed in the puff of flames, and my watch ticked down, signifying I had only three kills left.