CHAPTER 86: FOURTH DAY

"Despite everything you’ve said, there are still three spots open. Why can’t we take it?" Shin-ji asked, staring at the crowd who were speaking to Min-ho’s short and timid friend.

"That’s the thing. I’ve recruited some Z-Streamers..."

Shin-ji’s frown deepened.

"And they are not as seasoned as the three of you," Min-ho explained. "None of us are. We’re all still trying to understand each other and fight as one. But you three—I’ve seen the way you fight."

Min-ho ran his eyes over them.

"You fight as a unit. Your timing and precision are impeccable. I’d kill for my teammates to have what you three have," Min-ho said, trying to sugarcoat it any way he could without it being obvious.

Everyone remained silent.

Shin-ji and Hang-wa felt angered by the fact that they couldn’t counter him. They knew what he was doing, but they couldn’t really say anything at this point without it coming off as antagonistic.

Meanwhile, Seo-bi felt a sense of pride at how cunning Min-ho was.

"It’s not like we can do anything about it." Shin-ji glanced at Min-ho. "You are the boss, after all."

Min-ho’s heart thumped, hearing those words like a threat.

"I’m sorry. You three should just act like the Affinity didn’t even exist. You were going to live before knowing about it anyhow."

"And yet you told us about it," Shin-ji said with a crooked smile.

Min-ho paused.

"Didn’t think it would be right to leave members of our group in the dark. You are still members of our group, right?" he asked.

No one answered. Seo-bi knew what her answer would be, but was afraid Shin-ji would say otherwise.

"Of course we are. You don’t think we could survive out there alone, do you?" Shin-ji asked.

Min-ho hesitated.

"I suppose not," he responded, then turned his back to them. "If you want to talk, you know where to find me."

With that, he walked away. He tried to keep his composure, even though his heart was thundering in his chest. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride—even if just a little.

’He just makes me want him more by the day,’ Seo-bi said, rubbing her neck.

Once he was out of earshot, Hang-wa spoke up.

"Do you think he’s bluffing?"

Shin-ji didn’t respond immediately. He continued to stare at Min-ho.

"There’s no way to tell for sure. But it wouldn’t be wise to find out by attacking him," Shin-ji said. "We’ll wait till we know if he’s telling the truth."

"Or I’d have gotten him before then," Seo-bi said, then walked to the edge of the wall and sat against it, her heels burning because of the inclined floor they stood on.

Shin-ji frowned, unsure if he was willing to give the kill to someone else. Min-ho was proving himself to be stubborn prey, and Shin-ji always found pleasure in ending stubborn prey.

Once Min-ho made it to the others, Jang-book was the first to meet him.

"How did it go?" he asked Min-ho, his body tense.

"I honestly don’t know," Min-ho responded, then turned his sights to the library observatory.

His heart sank when he saw Sae-wee and Im-hee were still unconscious.

"This is stupid. Why can’t we just deal with them now?" Jang-book said.

Dok-su remained silent. He listened in while still watching his brother.

"I’ve already told you, Sae—"

"I know, I know. We’ll be needing them." Jang-book ran his hand over his hair. "Can we really risk our lives like this just because Sae-wee—"

"Sae-wee has yet to be wrong, Jang-book. So I’ve yet to find reason to doubt her," Min-ho said, now having enough of this conversation.

"Just, watch her and Im-hee," he said, then walked off.

"Hold on," Dok-su said, following behind Min-ho.

The moment they made their way toward Ji-su, most of the crowd began to disperse. Each of them returned to their rooms in preparation to head out, while eyeing one another with scrutinizing gazes.

"How did it go?" Ji-su asked as Min-ho and his brother walked up to him.

"I don’t know yet. Hopefully what I told them should keep them at bay," Min-ho responded. Then he turned to the Z-Streamers all walking away.

"What did you tell them?" Dok-su asked, taking the words out of Min-ho’s mouth.

"I just said that they should get themselves ready to head out. I said they should always move in groups and keep watch over one another," Ji-su explained.

"Did you tell them about your Affinity?" Min-ho asked, turning to Ji-su.

He shook his head.

Just then, six Z-Streamers walked up to them—four of which they had recruited. The other two being curly hair and greenhead.

From a distance, Shin-ji stared as the Z-Streamers approached Min-ho.

He narrowed his gaze to the curly hair and greenhead, having remembered seeing them before.

Then he smiled.

"So what now?" one of the new recruits said.

Min-ho looked over the entire crowd, then made his way down the pile of shelves.

"We’ll talk further in our room," Min-ho said.

"There’s something I wanted to talk to you about," Ji-su said, rushing down the pile to Min-ho’s side.

"What is it?" Min-ho asked, while the others followed behind him and Ji-su.

"Today is the fourth of May, which means..."

"The Events," Dok-su said, eyes widening.

Min-ho froze in place, the realization slamming into him like a bullet train.

The others came to a halt, a little bit confused.

"What’s the problem here?" Greenhead asked, speaking for the rest of them.

"If we don’t want to, we can always avoid them," Curly Hair said.

Min-ho stood silent, their words falling on deaf ears.

His mind ran amok, and his heart thumped into his ears as he remembered the horrors they went through in the last Event. And... the notification they received back then.

"You don’t actually think that..."

Ji-su didn’t get to finish his thought process before something interrupted him.

[Recalling Registered Member ’Han Ji-su’ For Event ’Culling Games II’]

The voice sounded like death in his ears, and the notification only made his heart sink.

[Recalling Registered Member ’Han Dok-su’ For Event ’Culling Games II’]

[Recalling Registered Member ’Ji Jang-book’ For Event ’Culling Games II’]

[Recalling Registered Member ’Lee Min-ho’ For Event ’Culling Games II’]

Min-ho’s eyes widened, and his heart pulsated.

’Not again.’