After Zeno uttered those words, Minsu found himself speechless. If Zeno, a mere high school graduate, could make it in, what was the bar that Gene PD had set? The crew, monitoring the flurry of comments, turned their eyes toward Gene PD, who appeared to be on the edge of slumber. Preparing for three shows a year was anything but a stroll in the park!
“Sir, they’re really grilling you in the comments. They say you shouldn’t have cast Zeno!” one crew member piped up.
Gene PD waved them off with a dismissive gesture. “How many people are tuned into the livestream?”
“Half a million,” came the prompt reply.
Gene PD closed his eyes again, his lip curling into a faint smile. “That’s enough for me. Besides, someone has to go home on the first day, you know?”
The crew fell silent, letting his words sink in. Well, that was undeniably true.
With a slight shift, Gene PD opened his eyes and cast a glance at the screen. At that moment, Zeno’s face dominated the view, eliciting an involuntary exclamation. “This is what he came for! Such an eye candy.”
– I get surprised every time Zeno is onscreen.
– I don’t recall him ever looking this good in The Forsaken Prince.
– Plastic surgery?
– Zeno has made it. Now he has these allegations to boot.
“I wonder what game we’re playing for the first day,” Ari chimed in.
Suddenly, a loud noise erupted, causing most of them to instinctively cover their ears. Some, however, remained blissfully unfazed. Zeno flinched. He had sensitive ears!
The lights dimmed, and the television flickered to a static screen as the walls around them shifted. It was subtle at first until the ceiling began to pulsate with a soft, ominous red glow. Then, at last, the screen illuminated in front of the group.
A shadow crept into the frame.
Lucy.
She—or whatever it was—appeared as nothing more than a silhouette. A humanoid figure, blurred and featureless, its voice resonating with calmness that didn’t quite sound human. It was robotic and genderless, sending chills down their spines.
“Welcome, contestants,” the eerie voice began. “This is Lucy’s Game.”
– It’s finally starting!
– Wait, wait—we’re getting to watch the episode in real-time?
– I thought only the introductions would be live!
– Dang, this is so exciting!
– I need to make more popcorn!
“You don’t mind if we stay here for the night, do you?” Risa asked, completely absorbed in the unfolding drama.
Daeshim chuckled. “Be my guest! I also need to see how this ends.”
Lucy’s shadow twitched slightly. Then, the screen behind the figure burst into life, showcasing the glossy marble floors of their current surroundings.
“The house is comprised of two zones,” Lucy explained. “The Life Area… and the Death Area.”
The screen shifted to depict clips of the Life Area. A massive living room with leather couches and soaring ceilings and a wide kitchen, fully stocked. A gym complete with top-of-the-line equipment. Private bedrooms designed like luxurious retreats. And a cozy garden topped with a glass dome that seemed straight out of a fairy tale.
“Where you find yourselves right now,” Lucy continued, “is the Life Area. Enjoy it while you can.”
Then the footage switched—and the tone pivoted. Fast, violent images filled the screen.
The Death Area. Cold, uninviting concrete walls. Harsh, glaring lighting. A daunting arena with steel doors and platforms. A countdown clock flashed 00:30 in blood-red font.
“The Death Area is where elimination games will take place. This is where you will gamble your very lives.”
– The budget for this is insane!
– I’m scared, and I’m not even there!
– I salute these contestants. They seem excited.
– Except for Zeno. I can’t even begin to predict what that man is thinking.
Silence hung in the air. Not even Minsu, who had been cracking jokes mere moments ago, dared to speak.
Lucy’s voice reverberated once more.
“Now… to survive, you must understand value.”
The screen transitioned again, showcasing a graphic that displayed ten digital profiles, each marked with a “0” beneath their names.
“Each of you possesses a value. The objective of this game is to achieve the highest value of all. Here’s how it works. Every game creates opportunities to raise or lose your value.”
The ten profiles glitched and shifted into color-coded meters—blue, green, red—like power levels in a video game.
“After each game, the winner will be given an opportunity… to eat.”
“Eat?” Minsu muttered, his eyebrows shooting up in disbelief. “Are we going to be deprived of food?”
“I highly doubt that,” Minjae interjected with a knowing smile. “What I think Lucy means is we get to eat the values of others.”
“To eat the value of another contestant,” Lucy echoed, picking up on Minjae’s thought immediately.
The others turned toward him, impressed. Minjae squared his shoulders, wearing a proud smirk, carrying his knowledge like a badge of honor.
– Minjae really looks like he knows his stuff.
– Yeah, he’s the kind of guy you want in your group during a project.
– Because he’ll do all the heavy lifting?
– Yup! Just be prepared for some degrading comments in return, but hey, grades are everything!
Lucy continued, her tone serious as the contestants listened intently.
“You’ll eat with your rank. If you have a higher value than the person you choose, you gain all of theirs. If your value is lower than theirs… well, let’s just say you’re eliminated instead. They eat you.”
Annie flinched visibly, and Mandy narrowed her eyes, processing the implications.
“So winning doesn’t guarantee survival,” Lucy clarified. “Only perception does. The higher people believe your worth, the higher your value. The more power you hold.”
“Today, all of you start at zero.”
The screen returned to the ten profiles. Still zeros. Blank slates, waiting for the chaos to unfold.
– Are they going to play right away?
– Please, please, let Zeno survive!
– HAHA. Zeno’s fans are praying for him to survive when he literally has nothing to offer.
– Zeno might be a decent actor, but he does not belong here.
Meanwhile, his friends, who were also tuning into the show, cursed at those underestimating him.
“That must have been true back then,” Eli began. “But Zeno is damn smart now.”
“You’re right,” Doha agreed. “Now, you even seem a little dim-witted in his presence.”
Eli opened his mouth to scold him but ultimately decided against it. Well, that much was true.
“Zeno needs to show everyone just how capable he really is. I hope the game is something like that,” Minji muttered in a hopeful voice.
However, she had spoken too soon, as Lucy pressed on with her announcement.
“Your values for the first day will be based on other people’s perception, or rather, first impressions. Each contestant will have the chance to rank the others.”
“Your rankings will be averaged. Rank one will receive the highest value, while rank ten gets the lowest.”
The room fell completely silent.
“And the bottom two values will be sent to the Death Area immediately.”
– Zeno’s in trouble.
– Utterly, completely, and undoubtedly in trouble.
“Only one will return. One… will go home.”
Lucy’s silhouette flickered once more, then vanished into static, leaving a chilling anticipation behind.
“Let MY game begin.”