As the group of dead people huddled together while watching him with puzzled and wary faces, one of them immediately approached Rayen.
It was a male that has a light brown hair with green eyes. Almost two heads taller than Rayen, his body was quite buffed.
"Do you know what this place is?"
Slightly intimidated by the large person's build, Rayen hadn't been able to respond right away.
"Brother?" The man called out to get his attention.
Hearing his voice, Rayen snapped out of his trance. He considered the man's question.
Should he answer or not?
One second later...
"I'm also clueless."
In the end, he didn't tell them.
'I was also brought here without my knowledge, so don't ask me!'
That's what he actually wanted to tell them, but he also didn't want to infuriate this group of "dead" people. He didn't want to make an enemy in this place. The word "survival" was still echoing in his mind after all.
Having no idea what kind of survival show they're in, a group of enemies is the least possible thing Rayen would want. Perhaps it would literally be a 'kill or be killed' situation.
Yet, thinking about it, will this show really turn out like that?
What did dancing have to do with the word survival, anyway?
However, although he didn't want to make enemies, that didn't mean he would also share information that could be of advantage for him.
"I just entered the building like all of you did." He pointed to the jukebox not far away from them. "And that jukebox demanded me to sing and dance. It didn't with you?"
What he told them could still be considered the truth, but he withheld some things.
Seeing the group shift their focus away from him, crowding around the jukebox, he wanted to enjoy the show before heading upstairs.
Rayen walked away before the group of people even noticed it. He sat on the couch on the corner and didn't bother to converse with anyone.
They would soon learn what kind of strange machine is that jukebox.
That's a killing machine!
'I almost died out of shame!'
One person among the group moved toward the strange jukebox. Everyone followed and stared at the thing when its screen suddenly flashed open.
[Select a song to sing]
This time, there was no strange and distorted voice.
Was Plotter too busy to deal with the second person in the interview that he couldn't even monitor the people in here?
For convenience, Rayen decided to just call that person with uncertain gender a "he" for the time being.
Someone who felt confident tried to probe the jukebox, selecting a song to sing from among the list on the screen.
The others watched intently. Even the people who had just entered the building and had no idea with what's going on in this odd retro-style lounge felt the strange atmosphere.
Everyone was drawn towards one thing—the jukebox.
After the person selected a song, it began playing.
The person had a decent voice and techniques, making Rayen understand why this person had the guts to step out first.
Claps and whistles sounded in the room, making the tense atmosphere lively.
When the song had come to an end, just as what Rayen said, the jukebox's screen displayed another message.
[Select a song to dance]
This time, the man decided to forgo this part.
He didn't want to dance in front of so many people! In singing, he was somewhat confident. However, when it comes to dancing, he couldn't do it. It's a different topic.
"Can someone dance next?" he asked the crowd around him.
'Oh, that's actually smart of him.'
Rayen hadn't thought of that solution earlier.
Well, it's not as if he had the choice back then. The second person only arrived after he finished dancing.
But perhaps, it could be done.
Everyone swept their gazes around to find another volunteer, until a little girl raised her hand.
"I-I want to do it..."
The crowd parted and made way for the girl. But just as the man was about to sigh in relief, the familiar distorted voice broke his silent cheering.
"You have to dance after you sing. No one is an exception!"
Buzzing noises filled the room.
"What if I don't want to?"
As expected, the distorted voice answered. However, it reused the line it said to the second person after Rayen.
"For a dead person, you're quite a yapper. Select a song or disappear?"
'Can't you think of another line? You sound like an NPC...'
The distorted voice was met by silence from everyone.
Those who hadn't yet realized their deaths had blank expressions as if not understanding what was just said, while those who remembered dying just didn't know what to do.
"What disappear?" Everyone had a similar question.
Without answering their question, the jukebox remained silent. It didn't seem eager to answer, pissing off some people inside the lounge.
Moments later, the same man who refused to dance kicked the jukebox out of annoyance. "Why don't you answer?"
The jukebox was silent, until...
Screeeeeechh!
Rayen and the others covered their ears.
"What you're doing is machine violence!" the distorted voice screamed after the screeching sound faded. "Do you want to disappear?"
However, these words didn't faze the man at all.
"Why don't you do it? Bet you're just threatening us with nothing! How could you even make us disappear?"
'Please manage your anger issues, brother ah... That's a person with supernatural ability you're talking to.'
The jukebox went silent again.
The man thought he was right and was just about to rejoice. However, Rayen thought he was rejoicing too early.
When Rayen met that strange person with uncertain gender, he scared him out of his wits while clearly enjoying messing with him. And that's even when that person proclaimed that he was Rayen's fan.
'So, what would happen with this man?'
As expected, something did happen.
After a finger flick sound, the man who had just executed "machine violence" started dissipating on spot.
Like a dandelion flower, several parts of the man turned into glowing petals and fell on the floor. These glowing petals fragmented into what looked like welding sparks, bouncing off the surface before gradually fading.
A few moments later, the only thing that's left of the man was a speck of light floating in the air. It remained floating until another snapping sound rang out and it flew to the jukebox, out of sight.
There was nothing but silence in the room. Even Rayen was stunned silly by the sight.
'What just happened?'
"Next person. Please show us a good performance~"