Laters better than never.

Chapter 15

"Is it recording?"

"Yeah, I think the camera's working."

Momoka and Asahi's voices came through the phone.

"What is this?" Usagi asked, watching the video play on Arisu's phone.

"It's a video Asahi left behind," Arisu answered, his expression tense as they both watched.

On the screen, Asahi and Momoka appeared. They stood in an empty street, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Unreal... There's no one in this town. Everyone in Tokyo seems to have disappeared." Asahi's voice echoed through the quiet.

The footage cut to another scene.

"Then, after a little while, we met someone. They took us to a place... and when we got there, we started working. We helped with... preparing and executing the games."

Arisu and Usagi remained silent, watching as the video changed again.

"Are you seriously going in there?"

The camera showed Asahi and Momoka inside a dimly lit subway system, flashlights in hand.

"There are these people known as dealers. They help facilitate the games."

"Sometimes we even join the games... or act as taggers. The other players don't know. Our job is to confuse them. But we're being watched the entire time. If anyone finds out we're dealers... we're dead."

The screen flickered as they continued moving. Asahi lowered the phone, showing a door in front of them. She reached out, revealing a hidden keypad beside it, and entered a code: 269525.

The lock clicked open. Momoka twisted the knob and stepped inside.

"Is this where the game master is?" Arisu muttered as he continued watching.

The footage now showed a massive underground room. At first glance, it looked empty, but as the camera panned, the darkness gave way to a network of cylinders filled with monitors and tangled wires. The walls were lined with transparent screens reflecting an eerie glow.

Momoka and Asahi stepped inside one of the cylinders. The screen illuminated rows of people working at computers, their faces lit by the glow of countless monitors. Each screen displayed different games in progress. The sounds of players screaming in terror filled the space.

"They're really going at it," a voice laughed.

A group of dealers sat nearby, watching the games unfold, mocking the players as they struggled to survive. Their laughter rang out, sharp and cold.

"Dealers win," flashed across several screens.

Usagi's hands clenched into fists. "Who the hell are these people?"

"So these are all the game masters?" Arisu questioned, voice tight with unease.

The screen cut to a new clip.

Asahi and Momoka now sat on a staircase, their faces pale and worn.

"So many have died."

Asahi's voice was quiet. Momoka sniffled beside her, her hands trembling.

"I remember one girl around our age... Our job was to make sure the game went the way they wanted. So we joined in. We made sure people died. Because of us, so many people die every day."

Momoka's voice cracked.

"I can't take this anymore. We kill people, win the game, and earn visa days. We get to live for another two weeks, but... I don't even know how many people I've—"