“Hahaha.”
“…As expected of the Section Chief.”
“Pfftt—!”
Contrary to the world outside, everyone within the Guild was having the time of their lives reading the comments and staring at the Section Chief.
“He really went and did it.”
“…He should’ve done worse. I expected more from him.”
“You’re right. Am I bad for half-expecting him to just jump at the reporters?”
I looked at the scene around me in stunned silence. As expected, this place wasn’t normal.
Everyone here was crazy.
“Funny.”
Even Kyle looked amused.
I didn’t know what to say. He had been corrupted by this darned place.
Staring at the press conference that had erupted into chaos and seeing the smile that lingered on the Section Chief’s face as he looked at the cameras and the chaos around him, I really felt like he was the one who was enjoying the situation the most.
’What did I even expect from him?’
Eventually, the chaos died down, and the Section Chief put his finger away, albeit reluctantly.
A new reporter stood up.
I could feel it through the screen that this reporter had a bone to pick with the Section Chief.
—Do you feel no shame for your actions? Everyone here came expecting a professional and sincere response. Yet instead, you insult us all? I must say, I’m extremely disappointed in this Guild.
—Is that so?
—Yes!
The Section Chief looked at the reporter before looking elsewhere.
—Alright, cool. Next.
—Wha-!
The reporter was brought away, and a new one appeared. Learning from the previous one, this reporter went straight to the question.
—Can you tell us more about the game? Why did you decide to use this for training? Do you think that people are just misunderstanding you? I heard that it’s not a virtual game. How do you expect a common game to serve as a good training program?
This reporter was a lot milder than the previous ones.
He didn’t look antagonistic and just asked the right questions.
The Section Chief smiled at the reporter as he brought his head closer to the microphone.
—What can I say? The game is good. There’s no real misunderstanding. It’s just that Samual unfortunately left before he could try out the game. I didn’t stop him because I don’t need people who are scared of playing a simple game.
“Pftt!”
“Hahaha!”
The subtle diss towards Samual didn’t go unnoticed as several people laughed.
I didn’t laugh, but I did find my lips slowly pulling into a smile.
’That was pretty funny.’
—…Either way, the Guild has no shame in using the game as a training tool for its employees. We don’t simply do things because we’re doing it on a whim. We actually do things because we believe in them. There’s a reason why we’ve climbed up all the way toward the Queen-Grade despite being so young.
The Section Chief no longer looked to be trying to bait the people and viewers into rage.
He looked more serious as he spoke.
—I understand that many of you will have doubts regarding our actions, but if you really do doubt our means, then why don’t you try the game for yourself?
—Huh? We can try the game?
—…Is it possible for us to try? Or could this be a show?
—You’re not going to pick pre-picked volunteers, no?
Hearing the comments made by some of the journalists, the Section Chief couldn’t help but laugh.
—No, no.
He waved his hand.
—I didn’t mean just you.
He looked directly at the cameras.
—I mean all of you.
The press conference turned silent.
—We’ve released a beta version of the game to the world. It’s not exactly the true version of the game that we provide to our trainees, since that is for training purposes, but this version that we’ve released should do well enough to give a little clue about what our game is like.
Pressing his hands against the table, the Section Chief slowly stood up from his seat.
—The game is titled A Twisted Game, and it’s available on Dock. You can purchase it for the modest price of just five dollars per person.
The Section Chief then smiled before waving at the cameras and interviewers.
—Do check out the game if you don’t believe me. You’ll soon understand why I find this entire thing laughable.
And with that, under the barrage of flashing cameras and relentless questions from the reporters, the Section Chief made his exit.
Even as he walked away, the questions continued to pour in.
But it was useless.
The Section Chief had already left.
Moments later, the screen faded to black, marking the end of the conference.
The Containment Department fell into a state of silence shortly after as everyone stared at the monitors in front of them.
And then—
“Let’s go. I’ve got quite a bit of work to catch up on.”
“That was fun.”
“…Really worth coming back.”
Everyone began leaving the area. I looked at the people speechlessly before shaking my head.
’I think I’ve already said it, but the people here are really just a bunch of lunatics.’
But more than that, I felt my heart beating loudly inside my chest as I hastily pulled up the comments and read them.
[This… this has to be some desperate rug pull by the Guild? Don’t tell me they created this entire fiasco to get people to buy the game and make them a shit load of money? Fucking scammers!]
[Idiot, it’s only 5$. It’s really not that big of a deal.]
[That’s still money retard.]
[I actually tried the game. It’s pretty scary.]
[Paid bot]
There was a lot of discussion about the game, and soon, #ATwistedGame started to trend.
“….Kek.”
I tried my best to hold my laugh, but that proved to be a way harder task than I had previously anticipated.
I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about the amount of sales that I was going to receive from this stunt.
’If I have to make an estimate, I may even break the six-digit numbers. No, maybe even more…’
I didn’t think I’d be able to cross the seven figures since this was mainly a regional situation, and all the people that were truly interested were from this island, but even so, the amount of money I was going to make from this was going to be massive.
“You seem quite happy?”
A certain voice brought me out of my thoughts, and the previous excitement that I felt slowly started to dissipate as a pair of dimples appeared in my vision.
He smiled at me with genuine warmth.
“…I can see why you’re happy. I’m sure you’re going to make quite a bit of money from this. Looks like things are working out for you.”
I really felt like puking.
However, seeing how everyone was looking at us, I forced a smile.
“…Thanks.”
Myles nodded before walking next to me and patting me on my shoulder.
“I’ve also heard that you’re going to become a squad leader. A counselor. A game developer. And now a squad leader. You sure are very talented. I’m… quite envious of you.”
I felt the pause in his last statement, and as I turned my head towards him, he pulled his hand away from me and walked past me.
“…I’m glad that you’re doing well. I am cheering for you.”
These were the last words he said before leaving.
I could only stare at his retreating back while trying my best to keep myself composed.
But as if adding insult to injury, Kyle stood up while alternating his gaze between the two of us.
“You two sure get along well.”
I pressed my lips together before nodding.
“…More than you’d like to imagine.”