THE ELIMINATION ARENA ( One Hundred Enter. One Survives)

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The bridge creaked under their feet.

Kade moved first. Slow. Careful. The stone was ancient, cracked in places. One wrong step and the black water below would swallow them whole.

"Don't look down," Jax muttered behind him.

"Wasn't planning to."

Daniel followed last, gripping the rope railing like his life depended on it. It probably did.

They reached the other side. Solid ground. Kade exhaled.

The exit glowed ahead. A steel door built into the cavern wall. Blue light pulsing around its edges. But something else caught his attention first.

A metal crate sat beside the door. Silver. Clean. Out of place in this filthy underground hell.

[SPONSOR DROP DETECTED]

[RECIPIENT: PLAYER 77 - KADE RIVERS]

[CONTENTS: CLASSIFIED]

"What the hell is that?" Daniel asked.

Kade approached the crate. His name was printed on top in gold letters. A small screen displayed a message.

"CONGRATULATIONS, PLAYER 77. YOU'VE CAUGHT OUR ATTENTION. A GIFT FROM YOUR SPONSOR. USE IT WELL. - V.K."

"Sponsor?" Jax frowned. "Someone's watching us?"

Kade opened the crate. Inside: a tactical vest, a combat knife with a serrated edge, energy bars, water purification tablets, and a small device he didn't recognize.

[ITEMS RECEIVED]

[TACTICAL VEST: +15% DAMAGE RESISTANCE]

[COMBAT KNIFE: +20% ATTACK DAMAGE]

[UNKNOWN DEVICE: SCANNING...]

[DEVICE IDENTIFIED: TRACKER JAMMER]

"Nice gear," Jax said, eyeing the knife. "Who's V.K.?"

"No idea."

But the system knew.

[SPONSOR IDENTIFIED: VICTOR KANE]

[STATUS: HIGH-VALUE OBSERVER]

[INTEREST LEVEL: MAXIMUM]

Someone powerful was watching him. Betting on him. The thought made Kade's skin crawl.

"This changes things," Daniel said. "If people are sending you stuff, that means—"

"It means we're entertainment." Kade strapped on the vest. "Rich people watching us kill each other for fun."

"That's disgusting."

"That's the world, kid."

Jax crossed his arms. "I've heard rumors. Underground death games for billionaires. Never believed them." He looked at the crate. "Guess I was wrong."

Kade pocketed the device. A tracker jammer. Useful. It meant the game had ways to track players. And now he could hide from them.

"We need to move. This gift means eyes are on us."

They approached the exit door. It slid open automatically. Warm air rushed out. Daylight.

Kade stepped out carefully.

Desert again. But different. The red sky was gone, replaced by harsh yellow sun. Rocky terrain stretched ahead.

Mountains in the distance. And scattered across the landscape, structures. Buildings.

[ZONE 3 COMPLETE]

[PROCEEDING TO ZONE 4: THE RUINS]

[PLAYERS REMAINING: 90/100]

"We lost two more during the crossing," Jax noted.

Kade didn't respond. Three dead. Ninety left. The numbers were dropping fast.

A massive screen flickered to life in the sky. Holographic. Visible from everywhere. A voice boomed across the zone.

"ATTENTION PLAYERS. ZONE 4 INTRODUCES A NEW ELEMENT. SPONSORS MAY NOW SEND GIFTS TO ANY PLAYER THEY CHOOSE. PERFORM WELL. EARN FAVOR. SURVIVE."

The screen displayed faces. Player rankings. Kill counts. Kade saw his own face. Rank 12. Four kills.

Jax whistled. "You're popular."

"Not by choice."

Daniel's face appeared too. Rank 47. Zero kills. The kid looked sick seeing it.

"This is a show," Daniel whispered. "We're just actors in their sick show."

"Then give them a performance worth watching," Jax said. "Sponsors send weapons. Supplies. Medicine. You want to survive? You need their favor."

"I won't dance for murderers."

"Then you'll die." Jax shrugged. "Your choice."

Kade studied the ruins ahead. Old buildings. Collapsed walls. Perfect ambush territory. Other players were already moving through, fighting, dying.

"The exit will be in the center," Kade said. "Deepest part of the ruins. That's where they always put it."

"How do you know?" Daniel asked.

"Game design. Make players fight through everything to reach the goal."

Jax nodded. "Smart. Shall we pass together?"

"For now."

The buildings were designed as ancient. Stone and metal fused together. Some civilization that existed long before. Or maybe just elaborate set design. Hard to tell what was real anymore.

[HOSTILE PLAYERS DETECTED: 3]

[DISTANCE: 100 METERS]

[WEAPONS: GUNS]

Guns. That changed everything.

"Down!" Kade yanked Daniel behind a wall.

A gunshot cracked through the air. Stone exploded where Daniel's head had been.

"Sniper!" Jax pressed flat against the cover. "High ground, two o'clock!"

Another shot. Closer this time.

Kade's mind raced. The system scanned.

[SNIPER LOCATION: TOWER, 150 METERS NORTHEAST]

[WEAK POINT: STRUCTURAL DAMAGE - BASE OF TOWER]

"The tower's unstable," Kade said. "We need to hurry up, we need to bring them down."

"With what?" Daniel's voice cracked.

Kade looked at Jax. "You still have those explosives from the camp?"

Jax grinned. "Two charges. Was saving them."

"Time to spend."

They moved. Cover to cover. The sniper fired again and again, but they were too fast, too unpredictable.

Jax reached the tower base. Planted the first charge. Then the second.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

The explosion shook the ground. The tower groaned ,collapsed in a cloud of dust .

The sniper's body hit the ground with a thud.

[PLAYER 52 ELIMINATED]

[+100 EXP]

Two more players emerged from hiding, panicked by the explosion. Kade met the first one head-on. The new knife flipped through the air, opening the man's throat. Jax handled the second with brutal efficiency.

[PLAYERS REMAINING: 89/100]

Silence again.

Daniel stared at the bodies. "This never ends, does it?"

"Not until there's one left." Kade cleaned his blade. "Keep moving."

They pushed deeper into the zone.To the exit waited.

And somewhere above, sponsors watching them. Placing bets. Sending gifts. Enjoying the show.

Kade touched the tactical vest. Victor Kane. Whoever he was, he wanted Kade to win.

The question was: why and what would he want in return?