Heavy rain poured down on the forest of Island 0 without mercy. The sky water was freezing, bone-chilling, and mixed with mud, turning the forest floor into a slippery and dangerous swamp. However, for Group 27, this rain was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it masked their tracks from Septian; a curse because the body temperature of the wounded Udin was dropping drastically.
Under the protection of an overhang on the bank of a small river, the five of them huddled together.
Udin lay on the ground lined with wild banana leaves. His face was deathly pale, lips blue and trembling violently. The expensive bandage Salim had just bought was already soaked red, but at least the active bleeding had stopped. The new problems were infection and fever.
"Body temperature is 39 degrees," Alya reported. Her voice was flat, emotionless. Her hand rested on Udin's forehead, which was covered in cold sweat.
Salma looked at Alya with concern. "Al, are you... are you okay?"
Alya turned slowly. Her gaze was empty. Not the look of someone in shock, but the look of someone who had just switched off their feelings. In the medical world, this is called clinical dissociation. To function maximally amidst trauma, a doctor sometimes has to view the patient not as a suffering human, but as a biological machine that is broken and needs fixing.
"I don't have time to be 'okay', Sal," Alya answered coldly. "Udin's wound is dirty. Adel's knife was definitely not sterile. There's a risk of tetanus or sepsis. I have to clean the wound again using the leftover alcohol in this small swab. It's going to hurt him a lot."
"Does he need anesthesia?" Rehan asked, horrified.
"No points to buy anesthesia," Salim cut in from the corner of the cliff. He was standing facing the rain, letting the water wash his dirty face. "Just do it, Al. Gag his mouth so he doesn't scream."
Alya nodded. She tore the sleeve of her own uniform shirt, rolled it into a ball of cloth, then forced it into Udin's mouth.
"Bite down, Din," Alya ordered firmly.
Alya then opened the bandage slightly. She took the alcohol swab—usually only for injections—and heartlessly pressed it inside the stab wound on Udin's waist to clean the interior.
"Mmmphhh!!!" Udin groaned, muffled, his body seizing violently, eyes widening until the veins showed red. Tears of agony streamed from the corners of his eyes, mixing with the rain.
Salma looked away, unable to watch. Rehan covered his ears.
But Alya? Her hands didn't tremble in the slightest. She continued cleaning the wound with robotic precision, ignoring her best friend's whimpers.
"Done," Alya said after a torturous minute. She re-wrapped the wound. "This will hold off infection for a few hours. But he needs oral antibiotics immediately. And food."
Alya removed the cloth gag from Udin's mouth. Udin passed out instantly from pain shock.
"Good work, Al," Salim said. He walked closer, showing his tablet screen to his friends.
REMAINING POINTS: 85.
TIME REMAINING: 01:25:00.
The numbers blinked red, as if mocking them. One hour and twenty-five minutes before their necks exploded.
"We don't have time to mourn our fate," Salim said. His tone was now as sharp as a razor. Salim's transformation was nearly complete. His pity had been buried along with Adel's betrayal. "This rain masks sound. This is the best time to hunt."
"Who's the target?" Rehan asked, his voice shaking slightly but ready. He was sick of being a victim.
"Group 12," Salim answered. He zoomed in on the map on his tablet. "I've been monitoring their movements. They are at coordinates 1.5 kilometers from here, downstream. They are split up. Two signals separated from the other three. The distance is far enough, about 200 meters."
"Two separated people..." Salma muttered. "That's prey."
"Correct. Two lost sheep," Salim said. "We need their points. Minimum 500 points per person so we can survive until tomorrow and buy medicine for Udin."
Salma looked at Salim. "How, Lim? We have no weapons. Our wooden sticks are no match if they have knives like Adel."
Salim looked Salma straight in the eye.
"We have a weapon more deadly than a knife, Sal," Salim said. "We have you."
"Me?"
"Adel managed to infiltrate us because she exploited our empathy. She exploited the psychological weakness of humans who can't bear to see a girl cry," Salim explained. "We're going to do the same thing. Copy-paste the enemy's strategy."
Salim explained his plan. A plan that was simple, cruel, and effective.
"Salma, you be the bait. Pretend your leg is broken or stuck under a rock by the river. Scream for help. Put on your most pitiful face as the wise but helpless Student Council President."
"Rehan and I will wait behind the bushes and mud. As soon as they get close to help—or to bully you—we ambush."
Salma swallowed hard. She had to act. She had to become Adel.
"Okay," Salma said, steeling her heart. "I'll do it."
"Alya, you guard Udin here. Don't go anywhere. If we aren't back in an hour..." Salim didn't finish the sentence. Alya understood the meaning.
"Go," Alya said coldly, holding Udin's wrist again. "Bring me Points. Or don't come back at all."
Thirty minutes later. On the rocky riverbank.
The rain still poured heavily, obscuring vision.
Two male students from Group 12 were walking along the river. They were soaked, shivering, and looked frustrated.
"Where are the others? Damn it, because of you we got lost!" snapped the slightly chubby student, named Boni.
"Sorry, Bon! I thought it was a shortcut!" replied his skinny friend, Dika.
Suddenly, they heard faint screams amidst the sound of rain.
"Help! Help!"
Boni and Dika stopped. They looked at each other.
"A girl's voice?" Dika asked.
"That direction. Behind that big rock," Boni pointed.
They approached cautiously. Initially, they were wary, holding river stones as weapons. But when they peeked behind the large boulder, their guard dropped.
There lay Salma Nur Azizah. The famous Student Council President. Her leg was trapped between two large rocks (staged). Her face was full of mud and tears.
"Salma?" Dika was surprised. "It's the Student Council President, Bon!"
"Help..." Salma moaned, her acting convincing. "My friends left me... My leg is stuck... The water is rising..."
Boni looked around. No one else. Only the helpless Salma.
A sly smile appeared on Boni's face. The fear of death turned his cowardly nature into that of a bully.
"Well, well. The arrogant Student Council President finally needs our help, Dik," Boni said, dropping his stone. He saw the lit tablet in Salma's hand.
"Do we help her or not?" Dika asked hesitantly.
"Help? Why?" Boni laughed wickedly. "Our points are running low, Dik. She must have points. Let's just take her tablet. Leave her here. She'll die of hypothermia anyway."
Salma's eyes widened, this time her fear was genuine. Turns out humans could be this evil.
"Don't... please..."
Boni approached, bending down to snatch Salma's tablet.
"Sorry, Madam President. Survival of the fittest," Boni mocked.
Just as Boni's hand almost touched Salma's tablet, the river water behind him exploded.
SPLASH!
Salim emerged from the river water where he had been submerged holding his breath for a minute. His mud-covered body leaped like a crocodile attacking prey.
Salim's arm wrapped around Boni's neck from behind. Rear Naked Choke. A chokehold technique he learned from watching Udin train.
"ARGH!" Boni struggled, but the shock and the slippery mud made him fall backward.
On the other side, Rehan jumped from behind the bush, carrying a wooden stick the size of a baseball bat.
"Dika! Watch out!" Boni shouted, choked.
Dika turned, but it was too late.
THWACK!
Rehan swung his wooden stick with all his might, smashing Dika's shin.
"AAAGH!" Dika screamed, falling to his knees holding his leg.
Rehan didn't stop. He kicked Dika's chest until he was on his back, then pinned him down, pressing the sharp end of the wooden stick against Dika's neck.
"Move a muscle, and I put a hole in your neck!" Rehan threatened, breathing heavily. His eyes were wild. This was his first time inflicting physical violence, and strangely... he felt powerful.
Meanwhile, Salim wrestled with Boni in the mud. Boni was heavier, but Salim had the locking position. Salim tightened his choke.
"Quiet! Or I snap your neck!" Salim whispered in Boni's ear.
Boni struggled for a moment, then went limp as the oxygen supply was cut off. Salim loosened up slightly, enough for Boni to breathe but not fight back.
Situation controlled. Two opponents neutralized in ten seconds.
Salma "released" her trapped leg (which was actually just tucked in), then stood up. Her pitiful face vanished, replaced by a cold stare that gave Boni goosebumps.
Salma picked up Boni's fallen tablet. Rehan took Dika's tablet.
"Unlock it," Salim ordered Boni. "Transfer all your points to Salma's tablet. Now."
"D-don't... if my points run out, I die..." Boni pleaded, tears mixing with mud on his face.
"You were about to leave Salma to freeze to death, right?" Salim retorted sharply. "You wanted to rob her. Now the positions are reversed. Fair, right? Karma mathematics."
Salim pressed on Boni's neck again. "Transfer. Or I kill you manually right now with my own hands. Your choice: die now, or die tonight. There's still time for you to find other points if released."
It was an offer of false hope. Salim knew, with little time left and no weapons, Boni and Dika were almost certain not to find points again. But that hope was enough to make Boni obey.
With trembling hands, Boni pressed the transfer button on his tablet.
TRANSFER 450 POINTS TO: SALMA.
YOUR REMAINING POINTS: 10.
Dika was also forced to do the same by Rehan.
TRANSFER 480 POINTS TO: REHAN.
YOUR REMAINING POINTS: 15.
"Done... I transferred it..." Dika sobbed. "Now let us go..."
Salim stood up, releasing Boni. He looked at the two now-helpless prisoners. Their points remained 10 and 15. Meaning, they only had 10 and 15 minutes left to live before their collars exploded.
Unless they killed someone else in 15 minutes. Which was impossible.
Salim had just passed a death sentence on them.
"Go," Salim said coldly. "Run. Use your last 15 minutes to repent. Or to find your other friends."
Boni and Dika crawled up, then ran scrambling through the rain, crying hysterically. They knew their end was in sight.
Salma watched their retreating backs. Her hands trembled holding the tablet now filled with looted points.
"We... we just killed them, Lim," Salma whispered in horror. "Technically, we killed them."
"The System killed them, Sal. Not us," Salim corrected, trying to rationalize his sin. "We just took what we needed to live. Survival of the fittest, they said, right?"
Salim looked at Salma and Rehan.
"Now we have a total of 930 additional points. Enough to buy antibiotics, food, and extend our lives until tomorrow afternoon."
Rehan wiped the mud off his face. He didn't look remorseful. He looked... relieved.
"Let's go back to the cave," Rehan invited. "Udin is waiting."
The three of them walked back through the rain. No one spoke. The burden on their shoulders grew heavier, not because of backpacks, but because of the sin they now carried.
In the distance, ten minutes later, a small explosion was heard.
BOOM.
The sound of Boni's collar exploding.
Followed five minutes later.
BOOM.
The sound of Dika's collar exploding.
Salma's steps paused for a moment. She closed her eyes, holding back vomit. Salim held Salma's shoulder, pushing her to keep walking.
"Don't look back, Sal," Salim whispered. "Look forward. Udin is still alive. That's what matters."
That night, inside the cold cave, Udin got his medicine. He survived. But the price paid for Udin's life was the lives of two other students and the humanity of his three best friends.
Salim sat in the corner of the cave, staring at the prusik bracelet on his hand.
I've started, May, Salim thought. I've started to become a monster.
And outside, the storm continued to rage, welcoming the birth of the new predators on Island 0.