Jaekai, 56, and 1 stood by the door watching the others return.
After a while, they spotted Junghyuk.
56 ran up. "You're still alive. That's great."
Junghyuk smiled and patted Jaekai on the shoulder as they headed back to their beds.
The broadcast began: "Now announcing the results of the second game."
On the screen, the number of participants started to drop.
"Out of 321 participants in the second game, 81 have been eliminated."
Above their heads, the piggy bank began to fill with money.
Everyone stared greedily at the piggy bank.
"The prize pool for this round is 8.1 billion won. The current total prize money is 21.6 billion won."
202 muttered, "F***, only that many died?"
A moment later, the broadcast continued: "It's now mealtime. All participants, please form a line in the center of the dorm."
1 took their food and walked over to Junghyuk. "Is the plan starting today?"
Junghyuk replied, "Not today."
56 asked, "Why not?"
Junghyuk said, "They might force us to kill each other tonight."
1 asked, "Seriously?"
Junghyuk nodded. "We survive today first, plan tomorrow."
Jaekai quietly watched Junghyuk.
56 said, "Since there's nothing else, let's exchange names. I'll go first—my name is Jang Youngjun."
1 said, "I'm Emma."
Jaekai spoke up, "I'm Kang Jaekai."
Junghyuk said, "Lee Junghyuk."
Meanwhile outside, Junsu was called back to headquarters.
Once there, his captain said, "We found a spent MP5 round at the port you mentioned. I've already reported it to the higher-ups."
Junsu replied, "You need to find that island fast, and deploy more men. It's already the second day. The whole game lasts just six days."
The captain said, "Alright, got it. I'll let you know if anything comes up."
Junsu said, "Thanks, Captain."
The captain gave Junsu a half-hearted look.
Back in the dorm, Junghyuk told the other three, "Tonight we take turns on watch. In case they attack."
The others nodded.
That night, 85 walked over to Sumi. "Can't sleep?"
Sumi looked up. "No, just scared of the people here."
85 asked, "Why did you come here?"
Sumi said, "I used to have a happy family... until the accident. It ruined everything."
85 asked, "What accident?"
Sumi said, "You know the Sewol Ferry disaster? My child died in it." A tear rolled down her cheek.
She continued, choking up, "At the time I was just raising the kid. No job. All income came from my husband. After the incident, he divorced me. I had no money, so I had to find work. The job I got paid almost nothing. Constantly at risk of bankruptcy. Eventually I had no choice but to come here."
85 gently patted her shoulder in comfort.
Sumi asked, "That guy who bullies you—what's your relationship?"
85 said, "Isn't it obvious? Look at all this fat." They both chuckled.
85 continued, "I'm jealous of you. You're so beautiful."
Sumi said, "You're beautiful too."
85 smiled. "Thank you."
Soon, the lights turned on.
The broadcast blared: "The third game will begin shortly. Please follow staff instructions."
Sumi was climbing off her bed when 18 approached. "Stay alive in the next game, yeah?"
Sumi snapped, "You bastard!"
18 said, "What's wrong? Don't like it? Your mom's not here. You can't go crying to her."
He then walked toward 239.
The players were led into a completely white room.
The broadcast began: "Welcome to the third game. This round is a team game. Please form teams of eight. You have ten minutes. Repeat: this is a team game. Form teams of eight."
Youngjun looked at Junghyuk's group. "There's four of us. Let's each find one more."
Jaekai said, "Okay."
Emma found Sumi. "Hi, if you don't have a team yet, we've got space."
Sumi nodded. "I have a friend with me, though."
Emma said, "That's fine. Where is she?"
85 stepped forward.
Meanwhile, 202 and 62 approached 239's group. "Wanna team up?"
Emma told Youngjun, "No need to look. I found two."
Soon, they all gathered—Junghyuk found one, Jaekai found one—exactly eight people.
The broadcast said: "Time for team selection is over. All teams, please line up at the entrance to the game arena."
Soon, the main doors opened.
Everyone stared in shock at the high platform ahead.
A masked man said, "Welcome to the third game. This is a quiz battle. You will answer questions on the platform. Get five correct within five minutes and the door ahead will open. Reach the second platform to win. You have 20 seconds per question. Now, let's draw the teams for the first match. Left platform team first."
He drew a number. "Team 5, stand up. Now for the right platform team."
"Team 3, stand up. Teams 5 and 3, please enter the arena."
Team 5 was 239's group. Team 3 was a mix of older folks and younger players with little education.
They took the elevator to the high platform. 202 looked down and trembled.
The front door opened, revealing a narrow platform barely a foot wide.
With a gunshot from the masked man, the game began.
A screen in front of them showed the first question: "How many presidents has Korea had?"
62 stammered, "Twelve… twelve."
The screen showed a ✔️.
Next: "What is Korea's total population?"
202 said, "45 million."
The screen showed a ❌.
239 shouted, "If you don't know, don't f***ing guess!"
Suddenly, the wall behind them pushed forward.
Team 5's 431 couldn't keep balance and fell hard from the platform.
Team 3 also lost two players.
Junghyuk watched from below, trembling.
Next question: "When was Korea founded?"
132 answered, "August 15, 1948."
✔️.
One minute in, two questions correct.
Another two minutes passed—they got one more right. Team 3 hadn't answered any correctly.
239 screamed, "F***! Answer something already!"
Another player fell.
After falling, all his internal organs were smashed to pieces.
Next question: "Name three Korean variety shows."
239 answered, "Running Man, Summer Vacation, Show Me the Money."
✔️.
Only 30 seconds left.
Next: "Name three cold-blooded animals."
18 answered, "Snake, crocodile, frog."
✔️.
They had five correct. The door ahead opened. 239, 202, 62, and 18 jumped to the next platform.
132 tried to jump—but time ran out. The wall pushed him off.
Team 3, having answered nothing, was also eliminated.
202 looked down at the bodies below, shaken.
The broadcast listed: "Eliminated players: 132, 235, 358, 66, 174, 409, 205, 79, 222, 61, 45, 40."