-Ding-

    Someone has been killed by the murderer.

    The system message announced the murderer’s first move. Considering that kills could only happen every ten minutes, it was relatively early.

    “They struck as soon as the cooldown ended... Who could it be?”

    Even Ji Hye-min, the organizer and host of this collab, had no idea who the murderer was. After all, knowing the identity in advance would inevitably give it away.

    It was a purely random assignment—a necessary choice to preserve the immersive tension of the content.

    However, there was a potential risk: compared to the [Squirrel Crew], who had played this "Hide and Seek with the Murderer" content countless times, the Fantasia members were less experienced. If one of them ended up as the murderer, their inexperience might result in a dull, anticlimactic game.

    That’s why several precautions had been put in place.

    One of them was the inclusion of a role called the "Spy."

    Spies assisted the murderer by sowing discord among the citizens or framing specific players as the murderer. If the spy and the murderer were the last ones standing, the spy would also win.

    The role required more skill and strategy than that of a regular citizen or even the murderer. For this reason, Ji Hye-min had decided beforehand that she would take on the role of the spy herself.

    -Ding-

    Someone has been killed by the murderer.

    "...At this rate, I probably won’t even need to help."

    Barely ten minutes after the first kill, another system message announced yet another murder. Judging by the pace, Ji Hye-min figured she could stay back for now. If she intervened too soon, the citizens might get wiped out entirely without a fighting chance.

    For now, she decided to focus on maintaining the balance of the game to keep the experience thrilling.

    That was when she spotted Diah wandering nearby.

    “That’s not Ha-eun. That’s Diah. That’s not Ha-eun. That’s Diah...”

    Ji Hye-min chanted silently to herself. Up until now, she’d always spoken formally to Ha-eun. But addressing Diah, who was role-playing as a one-year-old spirit, with honorifics felt a bit... odd.

    “Hey, Diah~. Have you found anything~?”

    “...I haven’t found anything yet....”

    “Huh? Why does your voice sound like that?”

    “...I’m scared....”

    Ji Hye-min adjusted her tone, treating Diah like a younger sibling for the sake of the broadcast atmosphere.

    "She''s too cute, seriously.""Her voice is literally shaking.""Baby Diah is scared of the big bad murderer!""A 1-year-old left at the mercy of a 30-something spy (not fake).""This could stir up some drama, lol."

    Ji Hye-min ignored the increasingly chaotic chat. She trusted her moderators to handle the trolls swiftly.

    Taking advantage of this encounter, she decided to ask Diah about her experience so far. Maybe she could offer some advice if Diah seemed to be struggling.

    Before Ji Hye-min could say anything, though—

    “Um, boss...”

    “Hm?”

    “I found something earlier. It was in a chest, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t jump high enough to reach it....”

    Diah made her request so innocently that Ji Hye-min immediately felt compelled to help.

    “Where is it?”

    “Over there, on that brick rooftop....”

    Seeing that Diah had no clues about the murderer, Ji Hye-min decided to retrieve the chest’s contents herself. It required a bit of skillful jumping, something Diah claimed she struggled with.

    Years of Minecraft streaming had made Ji Hye-min an expert at parkour. Helping a novice like Diah was a minor favor and hardly a game-breaking advantage.

    The challenge began. Ji Hye-min’s avatar leaped from one platform to the next, steadily approaching the chest. She was nearly there when—

    -Thud.-

    “?!”

    She turned just in time to see Diah’s avatar standing right behind her. Before she could react, Diah swung her fist, knocking Ji Hye-min off the platform.

    Ji Hye-min’s avatar plummeted to the ground, taking heavy fall damage.

    As she landed, Diah calmly jumped down beside her. In one fluid motion, Diah pulled a small, sharp item from her inventory and muttered softly,

    “Idiot.”

    -Slash!-

    Ji Hye-min’s avatar, weakened from the fall, died instantly.

    -Ding-

    Someone has been killed by the murderer.

    “What the—?! What is this?!!!” Ji Hye-min shouted, her disbelief evident in her voice.

    - Hahaha!

    - OMG lolol!

    - Totally baited!

    - Imagine getting outplayed by a one-year-old spirit with 11 years of Minecraft streaming experience (no lies here).

    - RIP Spy.

    - I can hear her rage-shots from here, lol.

    Ji Hye-min felt utterly dumbfounded. Was this what it meant for your brain to completely shut down in disbelief?

    She had played "Hide and Seek with the Murderer" dozens of times over the years. And yet, this was the first time she’d ever died like this.

    She was the Spy, for crying out loud—the master strategist meant to assist an inexperienced murderer.

    "Trust is overrated, honestly.""Whose fault is it for believing the murderer?""But honestly, who would’ve guessed Diah was the murderer?!""That wasn’t beginner luck. She’s got skills. Damn.""Oh no, Diah’s about to get canceled!""RIP Diah’s career. She’s homeless now.""Let’s all take a breath and enjoy the show, folks.""You can practically hear Ji grinding her teeth from here."

    -BOOM!

    A bolt of lightning shot down from the heavens, striking Gnyuk’s avatar and reducing it to ash.

    This was the penalty for one citizen killing another.

    “Uh...?”

    In the blink of an eye, two innocent citizens were gone.

    Sangchoo, the last remaining citizen, froze in disbelief. His mind struggled to process what had just happened.

    Finally, he managed to ask the obvious question.

    “D-Diah... why did Gnyuk die?”

    “...Do you really want to know?”

    A chill ran down Sangchoo’s spine.

    “No... no, of course not...”

    “...Your last words are kind of short, though☆.”

    In less than a second, shing.

    Diah’s avatar, which had been empty-handed until now, pulled out a sharp, deadly dagger.

    Swick!

    Ding!

    The murderer has killed someone.

    No justice was served.

    Only eerie silence and the stench of metaphorical blood remained.

    Diah had successfully eliminated every last citizen.

    And as the final reckoning of the game drew near—

    Ding!

    [Zurine has donated $100!]

    Message: “Type ‘Noob’ in chat for an extra $50!”

    “...Fifty bucks? Hell yeah!”

    Diah’s keyboard clattered as she typed her response.

    Diah: Noob.

    The chat exploded, and the chaos spilled over into internet forums. Diah’s first official collab had come to an unforgettable close.

    LIVE UPDATE: Diah types ‘Noob’ as the finale.“Honestly, who would’ve suspected her? She played scared so well!”

    ? “Remember how she stammered the moment she heard ‘murderer’? No way anyone guessed.”

    ? “??? : ‘Have you all enjoyed yourselves?’”“The final murder isn’t killing with your own hands; it’s making them kill each other.”

    ? “Oh God, Kurosaki Ichigo, not you again!”

    ? “We call this poetic justice now.”

    ? “No, no, it’s political strategy. Let’s keep it simple.”

    ? “What’s complicated about that?”“Diah Teabagging GOAT.”

    ? “When she called the squirrel ‘stupid,’ I lost it.”

    ? “The fact that she actually said it, though!”“Who taught her how to deliver those death-line one-liners?”“When she pushed Hye-min off the ledge, I got Rachel flashbacks.”

    ? “You... you just said the ‘R-word.’”

    ? “Wait, do today’s kids even know the Rachel meme?”

    ? “Excuse me, sir, how old are you?”

    ? “Welcome to the retirement home.”“The squirrel crew is dead! Diah and the Twilight Guild now reign supreme!”

    ? “It’s just one lucky win, dude, calm down.”

    ? “Lucky? Your leader got wrecked in the first round.”“Is this the first time the cops failed to craft handcuffs in Murderer Hide and Seek?”

    ? “They had all the items.”

    ? “Why didn’t they craft it?”

    ? “Because they all died before they could.”

    ? “Fair enough.”

    The news about this historic collaboration spread like wildfire. Fans were stunned by Diah’s unexpected brilliance, and even the participants couldn’t stop talking about it.

    When the game ended, the other players bombarded Diah with questions.

    But Ha-eun, with only 10 hours left until she had to be filming the opening of 2 Days & 3 Nights in a remote mountain village, knew she had to excuse herself.

    “I... I have to get up early tomorrow morning, so... I’m really sorry, but I think I’ll have to leave now.”

    Her tone was cautious, apologetic. After bidding the collab members goodnight, she logged off, shut down her computer, and collapsed into bed.

    Despite sleeping fewer hours than usual, she was up before dawn, boarding Ju Jung-yoon’s black van.

    Half-asleep and swaying with the ride, Ha-eun eventually found her seat being reclined back by Ju Jung-yoon, who insisted she get more rest.

    Back to dreamland she went.

    The lingering thrill from her first collab still clung to her as she slept.

    It’s been so long since I’ve seen her smile like that....

    Ju Jung-yoon noticed the faint, uncharacteristic smile on Ha-eun’s face as she slept.

    Click.

    She couldn’t resist capturing the rare moment on camera.

    Ju Jung-yoon immediately sent the photo to Na-yeon and Sung-yoon.

    Of course, she swore them to secrecy. Ha-eun would never find out.

    When they finally reached the filming location for 2 Days & 3 Nights, Ju Jung-yoon gave Ha-eun a cheerful send-off.

    “If you end up falling into the water, make sure to call me. I’ll bring you a change of clothes... and, uh, totally not come just to take photos.”

    “...Did I just hear something weird in the middle of that sentence?”

    “It’s your imagination! 100% imagination!”