"Attention, everyone," The reporter's voice cut through the air on the radio and television. "A severe thunderstorm with extreme lightning will hit the city tonight. The meteorological department predicts that today's lightning is likely to produce a high-power outage. Please, everyone, stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel. Be safe...." The voice fades slightly amidst the howling wind outside, replaced by the sounds of cars and bikes' horns on the busy road. On the streets, people rushed to their homes, shopkeepers pulled down their shutters and locked them tightly, and a tension etched on their faces from the announcement. Dry leaves swirled at the corner of the footpath. Among them, a middle-aged man's hand curled tightly over the handlebars as he struggled to push his heavy, repaired motorcycle against the dusty, heavy wind. In the distance, a lightning strike in the sky looked like veins, and thunder roared sharply. The tiny raindrops fell, a middle-aged man whispering to h

A man raised his brows in confusion in the crowd wearing baggy pants. "Level 1? " He muttered, his voice incredulous."Huh? Gamers," the short girl questioned, glancing at the remaining crowd."I thought it was a dream." A tattooed girl ponderedAn old man with a bloodied lip and bruises on his face stood up, dusting sand off his torn clothes. He stood after hearing the noise.Again, a familiar AI voice rang out, calm and mechanical, breaking the uneasy silence. "Welcome to the Land Game." The group froze, the voice cutting through the desert air like a knife. Everyone listened and followed the AI voice with sort of confusion.AI continued. "You are in the Land Arena Game. Your target is to reach the endpoint of this desert circle. Rules:- Gamers can start wherever they want.- Each person is provided with one bottle of water.- The desert is 1 kilometer wide. Gamers must reach the end within one hour.Your game starts in two minutes.If Gamers reach the end endpoint, the Game is c

"If we identify each correct and wrong square checking step. For every row, there are two possibilities, so it is multiplied by two, making the 2666 checking square step possible to reach the end." Xavier explained his perspective and his calculation."Wait…. This is insane… "Danny was stunned by Xavier's explanation."Then, how can we reach the end?" The braided girl pushed, biting her nail in curiosity, her eyes still it's remained on Xavier's calculation drawn in the sand. "Do you have a solution?" a young boy hesitated and asked in a low, trembling voice.Xavier nodded in answer, "Yes.... I do. If we go straight by Dean's method, by checking 1333 steps." He noticed everyone's shocked reaction in disbelief and continued, " If a person took 30 seconds for each step to guess the square, whether correct or wrong? 30 x 1333 is equal to 11 hrs. 11 minutes to reach the end point. Thus, we are already dead by this time."Shit! 11 hours…. It's crazy, "a ragged sound caught in Danny's thro

Noticing no more pulse beat, a wide Danny's face narrowed, realizing the truth as His head tilted slightly. "No!" he whispered. He stood up brokenly, without saying anything, his eyes lost their spark, walked towards the endpoint direction slowly, guilt and veins pulsed visibly at his neck towards the people on his face clearly etched, and his mind reeled to his bitter past. "Mom, I brought my favorite chocolate ice cream!!!!!" Danny called out, his voice filled with youthful excitement. He looked younger, holding an ice cream cone in his hand, a cream stain over his upper lip.Danny's mother stood in the huge crowd of people. She nodded with a smile, watched Danny, and waved him to wait there.Danny nodded in agreement as he licked his ice cream and closed his eyes in enjoying every bite."Buy 1 Get 1 Free!" a man with a loud voice announced in front of the shop in the supermarket. After hearing an announcement, a crowd of more than five hundred people rushed towards the single sh

All players, eyes scanning back and forth, tilting their heads to the side in confusion. "Where the hell did the sound come from?" he asked, listening to the sound direction carefully.A man's brow furrowed deeply, a crow's wrinkle appearing in the corner of his eyes. "Level 1?" He muttered, his voice incredulous."Huh? Gamers, what does it mean?" The Asian girl enquired, glancing innocently at the remaining crowd, and flipped her card repeatedly.Again, a familiar AI voice rang out, calm and mechanical, breaking the uneasy silence. "Welcome to the Fire Game, Gamers."The group froze, the voice cutting through the trees like a knife. Their ears and minds focused and followed the AI's voice.AI continued. "You are in the Fire Arena Game. Your target is to reach the midpoint of this maze square.Rules:- Gamers can start the game wherever they want in this square.- Each person is provided with one bottle of water.- The Maze is 1 kilometre wide. Gamers must reach the midpoint within for