CHAPTER 87: ABORTED

Min-ho and his team stood frozen in place as the notifications rang into their ears. The voices like chimes of a death bell.

[Evaluating]

[Evaluating]

Min-ho stared at the new screen with confusion in his eyes.

[Several Registered Members Fatally Wounded]

[Event ’Culling Games’ Aborted Until Injured Members Have Recovered Or Are Terminated]

[All Registered Members Are Not Allowed To Participate In Any Events]

With that, the voices and screens disappeared.

Ji-su exhaled, hunching over and panting hard as he felt his spirit about to shatter.

Dok-su and Jang-book said nothing. Though they were shaken, they tried to keep their composure while struggling to grasp what had just happened.

Min-ho, on the other hand, could hear his heart pulse into his ears. His hands quivered as a cold washed over his skin.

Gulping, he squinted his eyes and tried to focus his mind.

When he opened them, he found his gaze shifting to the room Sae-wee and Im-hee rested.

’The Event was called off because of them,’ Min-ho thought, his emotions mixed and his mind confused.

"Is something wrong?" a voice rang out, snapping Min-ho out of his daze.

He turned to the voice and found Curly Hair standing next to Greenhead, with the three new recruits flanking them. Each one donning a confused expression.

It was then that Min-ho realized the notifications were exclusive to him and his teammates.

He gulped hard, then shook his head.

"Nothing," he said, his voice shaken.

He didn’t like to admit it, but neither he nor his friends were ready to return to any Event just yet. Right now, no Coin was worth it.

He turned to Ji-su, who was still hunched over and panting. He tried to raise his hand but found it was still shaking.

Taking in a deep breath, he calmed himself. Now having control over his limb again, he placed a hand on Ji-su’s shoulder.

Ji-su turned to him, his eyes almost void.

Min-ho gently gripped his shoulder, affirming that they would be fine.

Ji-su nodded frantically, then with a gulp, he straightened.

Without wasting time, they made their way down the pile of shelves.

Dok-su, who had been quiet the whole time, got closer to Min-ho, then he whispered, "You got a notification, right? Was it about the Culling Games?"

Min-ho paused, then he nodded. Dok-su’s eyes widened.

"I got the same notification," Ji-su whispered, his gaze fixated on Jang-book who was up ahead, a hollow gaze in his eyes.

They continued forward, forgetting the fact that their whispers—though muffled—could still be heard.

Curly Hair and Greenhead exchanged glances. And so too did the three behind them.

Min-ho and the others made their way down the shelves.

Now, the hallway was practically empty, as all Z-Streamers had returned to their rooms, having breakfast and mentally prepping themselves to leave.

Min-ho glanced at the direction the trio stood moments prior. Relief overcame him when he couldn’t see them anywhere... or was it dread that overcame him? He didn’t know.

Upon reaching Jang-book, he entered the room, not waiting for Min-ho and Ji-su to meet up with him.

They all made it into the room and shut the door behind them.

"The five of you, please wait over there, we need some time to deliberate." Min-ho pointed to the direction with the pile of books and outcropping bookshelves. The same place Sae-wee and Im-hee were laid.

Curly Hair and Greenhead didn’t complain, and neither did the three new recruits. They did as told and walked over to the pile before finding a spot to sit.

"What was that?" Jang-book blurted the moment the five were out of earshot.

"Were we actually going to get recalled to that Event?" Dok-su questioned.

"I don’t know. Such a thing has never happened before in the history of the Z-Tower," Ji-su said.

"Shit, I didn’t actually think that damned notification would mean anything," Jang-book said.

"So what happens if Sae-wee and Im-hee weren’t injured? We’d be right back there?" Dok-su said, silencing everyone as the dreadful thoughts sank in.

While they spoke, Min-ho found his thoughts adrift.

The Tower had been off ever since coming to it. First, it was his System, with this strange Glitch. Then it was the Event Hall with the Event that changed from Treasure Hunt to the Culling Games. And then the Glitch in his System continued to glitch.

From the moment the search bar stopped working properly, to the night prior—when he entered the System Center.

***

Once Min-ho was done talking with the Greenhead—who he had forgotten to ask his name—he sat back and selected Developer Options.

At once he was taken into the space of all-consuming light.

Just like always, the world slowly came into being with the screens, then the cords, and the massive world in the center.

But unlike always, something changed.

Before Min-ho’s very eyes, several of the screens became encased by strange cubes.

Min-ho frowned.

’It was like the System was trying to keep me out,’ Min-ho thought, dread pooling in his stomach. He pondered what was actually going on—if the Z-Tower was somehow collapsing—and if he would lose such an important boon even though he barely utilized it.

In the end, he managed to take advantage of Systems that weren’t encased... but what would happen if they all were? Or eventually would be?

This thought alone was one of the reasons Min-ho did not sleep the night before.

He stayed up stealing Coins from as many Systems as possible. By the time he was called out by Ji-su, who had discovered several mutilated bodies, he had accumulated over 100,000 Coins.

’I have to go back again tonight and get as many Coins as I can,’ Min-ho thought, scratching his finger.

"Min-ho?" Ji-su called out, snapping Min-ho out of his thoughts.

He blinked twice and then ran his eyes across everyone. Each of them staring at him with concerned expressions.

"Did you hear what we said?" Dok-su asked.

Min-ho took a moment, then he spoke.

"There’s no point in dwelling on what happened. It’s obvious what the notifications meant, and where we’ll be going in four days. At the very least, it’s a good thing that we know so we can prepare ourselves for whatever the Tower throws at us," Min-ho elaborated.

Dok-su folded his arms, lowering his gaze. Jang-book placed both hands on his face, hating the idea that they were tethered by the Z-Tower. Forced to join an Event they didn’t even want to.

He felt suffocated by the thought alone and wanted to lash out, but did his best to keep his calm.

Ji-su didn’t say anything. He only dreaded how useful he would be in such an Event. He’d just be a liability.

Min-ho waited for a response, but no one gave any. He cleaned out his eyes, then turned on his heel.

"Let’s head back to the others, we have to—"

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

The sound startled everyone, causing smoke to swirl in each of their hands.

Min-ho turned to the door, anxious of who was waiting on the other side.