The glow of the message faded from my screen, but the words stayed etched into my brain like a branding iron. The Queen. I glanced at Zara, who was biting her lip, her eyes darting across the cafe shop as if she was expecting the "Queen" to suddenly appear. “This has to be a title,” I said quietly. “Not someone we know by name. Someone who’s already been crowned in secret, maybe by the system itself.” Zara snorted bitterly. “A secret queen in a secret game. How original.” I ignored the sarcasm, scrolling through my messages, but there were no other clues. Just the chilling phrase that echoed louder the more I read it:[ Bonus Task: Secure an invitation from the Queen. ] That meant whoever this Queen was… had power. A lot of it. And I didn’t. “I think we’ve been missing something,” I murmured, pulling Zara closer to me. “All this time, we’ve been focused on Olivia, Derek, even each other. But can you guess who the queen was?" I asked even though I knew she was new to the game.

The hallway suddenly felt longer, narrower—like the walls were closing in on me. My heart thumped in my chest as the echo of Scar’s words played over and over in my head: “You are the Lord Gang. You need to start acting like one.”But what the hell did that even mean? Power didn’t feel like power when it came with silence. With mystery. With fear. I walked faster now, trying to suppress the growing anxiety. I didn’t like being in the dark, not when everyone else seemed to be part of some grand design I wasn’t aware of.The school buzzed like a hive. Whispers, laughter, nervous glances—everyone was waiting. Most had already received their golden ticket: the queen’s invite to the party. The most anticipated event since the system took over. Yet somehow, I was left behind.“Jason!”I turned. Zara jogged towards me, her auburn hair tied up in a high ponytail, sweat glistening at her temples.“I just came from the admin block,” she panted. “Still no list posted. But you need to see this.”

I lay back on my bed with my suit ironed out. I had gotten the invitation at last. The thought of what was going to happen was the only thought on my mind. Who was the mysterious queen? And was I going to be nominated for the elimination that night?"The gentle breeze blew into my room as I shut my eyes, trying to grab some sleep. I knew Mrs. Tracy had noticed my moody countenance. I couldn't hide it. Each time I shut my eyes and tried to sleep, all I ever saw were different ways the system killed me. The blaring alarm woke me up from another deep sleep. [Ah!]I shouted as I yanked the duvet that was covering my body off myself. The door opened afterwards, and my mother walked in. "Are you alright, Jason?" She looked at me.My chest was heaving up and down as I stared at her. I gulped down the thick saliva at the back of my throat with my gaze locked on hers. "I am fine. Just a bad dream." I said immediately. Mrs. Tracy looked at me for quite some time. "You know, you can tal

Drops of water in my pants. I could feel my undies a bit soaked, and yet I still don't understand why I needed to be scared if I was indeed the Lord Gang. Or was it just a fucking title? Then I felt it. The A/C was on, but I felt colder than usual. My hand went towards my forehead, and boy, I was sweating under the A/C. Cold sweat. The kind that came from knowing death had a habit of choosing at random—or maybe not so random. Maybe it was watching every move we made, every whisper we dared speak. I shoved the phone back into my pocket, gripping the stem of a crystal glass just to feel grounded. Around me, conversations had dissolved into murmurs. The music shifted into something more haunting, slow, and crawling, as if even the melody sensed what was coming. Celeste stood there, watching me. Still. Steady. Her expression was unreadable. “You look pale,” she whispered, and for a moment I saw something in her eyes—sympathy? No. Something more dangerous. Hunger. “You’re scared.”

After I pressed the message, I waited. I could literally feel the water streaming down the side of my face. My heart thudded fast like it was going to explode, and I could feel the eyes on me. All waiting for my death. To be executed. But Leo had shown me the way, and I have seen who my enemies are. [System Message: Lord Gang Jason has been granted permanent immunity.] I froze. My hands trembled as I stared at the glowing message on my screen. permanent immunity? Was this some kind of joke? Or maybe... maybe someone interfered. But who? My breathing was erratic. The party noises faded into the background as the words burned themselves into my mind. Twelve hours. That was all I had. A borrowed time, like death was just taking a coffee break before it came for me again. "He cheated!" "How could he have escaped execution?" "I am sure he did something." Another said A gentle smile appeared at the side of my lips. I could see the anger in their faces, and that