In a secretive room in Los Angeles, filled with rows of servers, a man and a woman were watching an intense escape room game unfold on a massive screen.
"I didn't expect them to all make it through the first round," the man said with a sigh, sounding almost impressed by the players' success.
But the woman beside him knew he was far from pleased.
"Father, is the game I designed too easy?" she asked.
"No, Claire, your game is fine. I underestimated Nidi Lesnicki. That girl's intellect is on par with yours," Henry replied.
Claire frowned slightly. She didn't want to admit it, but her father was right.
"The good news is, we've got over a thousand concurrent viewers now, and the prize pool has already surpassed 150 billion dollars," Henry added.
The audience for this live stream consisted of American millionaires with net worths exceeding ten million dollars, including some secretive tycoons who stayed out of the headlines. For them, throwing around tens or hundreds of millions was no big deal, which made the betting pool for this escape room game insanely popular.
Beyond the bets on who would survive until the end—like the one Roy had seen—there were also wagers on how many people would die in each round. The fact that everyone survived the first round shocked all the bettors.
Henry had already made a fortune from this round alone, so he wasn't too bothered.
"Father, should we increase the difficulty for the next rounds?" Claire asked.
"No need. No matter the outcome, they're all going to die. We don't need to do anything that might tarnish our reputation," Henry said coolly.
Claire nodded and pressed the button to start the second round.
"Claire, what's the situation with Roy Black?" Henry asked.
"I tracked his IP to Beverly Hills. His browser is still open, but I can't confirm if he's actually at the computer," Claire replied.
"I bet he's out there looking for Nidi Lesnicki. We've delayed him long enough to fulfill the Council's orders," Henry said.
Claire turned to her father. "So, the Council's already making their move?"
"From what I know, they started moving after nightfall. The vampires are gearing up for a desperate fight this time," Henry said.
"Got it. Then it's time for us to relocate," Claire said.
She closed her laptop, entered a series of codes into the room's servers, and left with Henry.
---
The two reached the rooftop and boarded a helicopter, heading toward the outskirts of Los Angeles.
Inside an elevator, the group of players knew the game wasn't over yet. They took the chance to get to know each other better, hoping to improve their teamwork.
Nidi and Ashley needed no introduction—one was a genius computer science student, the other a decisive, action-oriented girl.
The Black woman in the group was a journalist (in the original story, she was a travel blogger), which explained how she'd uncovered some dark web clues earlier.
The round-faced woman, as they already knew, was a retired soldier with severe PTSD.
Surprisingly, the drunk guy turned out to be a priest. He revealed that in the previous game, all his fellow players were priests, and after that game ended, his faith had been shaken, leading to his drunken state.
The only person whose background remained unknown was the unconscious bald guy. Based on his clothes and behavior, he seemed like a reckless street kid.
As they chatted, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened. The group filed out, with the round-faced woman carrying the bald guy on her back, as she considered herself the strongest.
After setting the bald guy down on the floor, they began to survey their surroundings.
A black-and-white checkered floor and a massive open vault made it clear where they were.
"This looks like a bank," someone said.
"Obviously a bank!" another confirmed.
Nidi scanned the area for clues but only spotted a few cameras, nothing else.
No one dared to move recklessly. Finally, the priest broke the silence. "Do we need to enter that vault?"
The round-faced woman crossed her arms and glanced at him. "Why don't you try?"
When no one else stepped forward, Nidi volunteered. "I'll give it a shot."
She cautiously stepped onto the black-and-white floor. The moment she did, a broadcast voice blared: "Security system activated!"
Instantly, green lasers shot out from all directions, surrounding Nidi.
She froze, not daring to move or even look down, terrified of triggering the lasers.
"Nidi, the tile you stepped on sank! It's a trap!" Ashley shouted, realizing what had triggered the lasers.
"I know! Help me get out of this!" Nidi called back.
Ashley and the round-faced woman each grabbed one of Nidi's hands and carefully pulled her out of the laser grid.
Once free, Nidi's back was soaked with sweat. Even as a half-angel, she wasn't sure she could survive being sliced by lasers.
"That scared the hell out of me!" Nidi said, collapsing onto the floor and hugging Ashley.
"So, we can't step on the black-and-white tiles? The other floors seem safe," the round-faced woman said, stepping into the work areas on either side, which didn't trigger any traps.
Then the broadcast sounded again: "Ten minutes until security mode activates!"
At the same time, the vault door in the distance began to close slowly.
The meaning was clear: they had ten minutes to reach the vault, or they'd die here.
Nidi jumped to her feet. "We've only got ten minutes! Move!"
The group scattered to search for clues.
Aside from the entrance and work areas, the rest of the floor was covered in black-and-white tiles. The closest work area was about eight meters from the vault—too far for even a world-class athlete to jump.
For Nidi, this wasn't an issue. As an angel, she could fly everyone over. But she didn't want to cheat, and she knew countless people were watching this livestream. Revealing her identity would be risky.
"Look! There's a key!" the priest suddenly shouted, spotting a small key hidden inside a bowl of lollipops on a desk.
If there was a key, there had to be a lock. The journalist noticed rows of safety deposit boxes in both work areas, the kind banks use for small items.
"That key must open one of those boxes!" she said.
The round-faced woman grabbed a lollipop, smashed it on the ground, and picked up a key to try the boxes. Ashley found another key in a lollipop and went to the other side.
But with hundreds of boxes on each side, finding the right one in ten minutes seemed nearly impossible. And dark web puzzles were never that simple—there had to be more clues.
Then the priest noticed a sound coming from an ATM nearby. Curious, he approached, and the machine lit up, emitting a voice: "Welcome to Bright Bank! After your loved one's death, you'll receive compensation! Please enter a four-digit code!"
Everyone heard the broadcast.
"A four-digit code? We need a four-digit code!" the priest said, looking at the others.
Nidi took charge. "Keep trying the boxes with the keys! Priest, check around the ATM for any hints!"
The journalist started rifling through stacks of documents, desperately searching for four numbers.
Nidi didn't bother with the papers, knowing most were likely useless. The key was in the puzzle's hints.
"I see a plaque next to the ATM that says, 'Follow instructions, don't forget the receipt!'" the priest called out.
Nidi repeated the phrase to herself, trying to decipher its meaning.
Suddenly, Ashley shouted, "The boxes have three-digit numbers on their plaques, but one has a name—Sonia!"
She inserted the key, and the box opened, spilling out a pile of artificial diamonds.
"I found a special box labeled 'Sonia,' not a number! The key worked!" Ashley said.
Inspired, the round-faced woman stopped trying random boxes and searched for another with a unique plaque. She found one labeled "Sonia" too, and her key opened it, revealing two stacks of paper that looked like cash.
"What's this supposed to mean?" she asked.
As Ashley bent to pick up the diamonds, they cut her hand, drawing blood.
Nidi rushed over, ready to use her holy light to heal Ashley, but when she saw the blood, something clicked. "What's the money called that you get after a loved one dies?"
Ashley answered instinctively, "Blood money?"
It hit everyone at once. Ashley had blood, and the round-faced woman had "money."
"Quick, bring the money over!" Nidi shouted.
With six minutes left, the round-faced woman hurried to deliver the paper money to Ashley but didn't notice a pressure trap on the counter. The moment she stepped on it, lasers activated, nearly slicing her in half.
The others flinched as the lasers narrowly missed them—one beam passed between the priest's legs, almost ending his future.
The round-faced woman lost her balance, and one stack of paper money flew from her hand, igniting as it hit a laser. Luckily, her fall took her off the pressure trap, saving her from being cut in two.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" she screamed, overwhelmed by another brush with death.
The journalist grabbed the remaining stack of paper money and carefully navigated to Ashley, avoiding the traps.
Ashley smeared her blood on the paper, revealing four numbers: "0526!"
Nidi frowned. She remembered seeing "0526" on a subway car in the previous round, but it hadn't been relevant then, so she'd ignored it. Could the rounds be connected?
The priest quickly entered "0526" into the ATM. A wall clock showing different time zones spun and stopped: Los Angeles at 12:09, London at 3:02, Shanghai at 12:03.
As they puzzled over this, the ATM spat out a receipt. The priest read it aloud: "Draw the path with the hour hand, walk the steps with the minute hand."
Nidi glanced at a map on the wall and made a call. "The hour hand points the direction, and the minute hand tells us how many steps! The entrance is here!"
With five minutes until the vault closed and the lasers fully activated, Nidi's theory was untested. The first person to try would be risking their life.
The round-faced woman took a deep breath, ready to take the lead again, but the bald guy stood up. "Let me do it."
He'd been awake for a while but was still regaining control of his body after being paralyzed.
The journalist looked at his unsteady stance, skeptical. "You sure you can do this? One wrong step could kill us all!"
The bald guy gritted his teeth. "You could've left me behind, but you saved my life. I owe you one."
Surprisingly, he was a man of honor—rare for the streets of modern America.
"Alright, follow our directions and stay steady!" Nidi said.
The priest chimed in, "Grab the bowl of lollipops. Place one on each tile you step on so the rest of us don't get lost!"
It was a smart idea. Without markers, the others could easily take a wrong step and ruin everything.
The bald guy grabbed the bowl of lollipops and stepped onto the black-and-white tiles as Nidi directed.
The first black tile didn't trigger any lasers, confirming the map was correct.
"Straight for nine tiles!" Nidi called.
The bald guy, fearless as ever, placed a lollipop on each tile and moved quickly, covering nine tiles in seconds.
The others held their breath, watching him.
"What's next?" he asked.
"Three steps to the right, then three steps forward!" Nidi instructed.
He followed her directions, but as he stepped onto the next tile, it sank beneath his foot.