Alright, it was time for the special crossover event—and this one could be legendary enough to go down in the yearbooks, urban legends, and possibly even court records.
The Scavenger Hunt.
Each team had four players—two males and two females—but don't let the word team fool you. This was every man, woman, and goblin for themselves.
And to no one's surprise, the referee once again was none other than Sam. Of course, he didn't just walk in like a normal person. No—he made his entrance riding on the claws of a JCB, aura flaring, hair glistening, and mud still dripping.
He took out a box containing slips of paper, each with a random item written on it. He gave it a shake—not because it did anything, but because it looked cool—and held it out to the players like he was giving food to the poor on the street, such an act of charity.
One by one, the players drew their fates.
Before they could even peek at their slips, Sam raised his voice and announced the rules.
Time limit: 30 minutes.
Bring back your item within:
10 minutes = 50 points
20 minutes = 20 points
30 minutes = 10 points
Fail to bring the item?
Your team loses 200 points.
Ako, in his usual composed manner, said to his team that the reward was good—200 points in a single game—but it only applied if all of them completed it within 10 minutes.
Along, ever the carefree guy, added, "Is 10 minutes even necessary? I'm sure we can find our items in a minute or two."
Cherry, the hot-headed girl, snapped back at Along. "We're not going to be finding stones or gravel. Don't take this game lightly."
Along replied, "Don't worry. It's not like they'll ask us to find some mythical creature like a griffin or a unicorn. Relax—I'll get the reward for us."
Zen, the calm one, spoke next.
"Rewards aside, if we fail to find our items, we'll lose 200 points. We barely even have 200 points right now. If we fail, we'll drop straight to the bottom."
Ako added, "Exactly. The reward is high, but with every passing minute, the reward decreases while the risk keeps getting closer."
Also on the other team Hops murmured in the background, "So if we all bring our items back within 10 minutes, we'll get 200 points total for our team."
Villy added, "If we play this right, we can get more points from this single game than all the games combined. This is a turning game."
Toshi, ever the cautious one, countered,
"But we don't even have 200 points to begin with. If even one of us fails, we'll go into negative points—and the more people fail, the more negative points we collect."
Hops added nervously, "We can't afford to go negative. We must not let anyone fail this match. Toshi, you should help me to find my items once your find yours to increase our chances and for me to avoid getting negative points."
Sam then quickly added another stipulation, clearly enjoying the rising panic.
"Also—no leaving campus. All items are within school grounds. If you can't find it, then discover it. And no revealing your item to anyone, so others can't help even if they want to. This is a solo mission."
Hops lost his composure after realizing no one could help him anymore. The pressure was already high, and now they couldn't even rely on one another. The reward was high, but the stakes were even higher. At this point, the only thing that could calm them was getting an easy item to find.
Then the players finally opened their slips to see what they had to find.
For some, the pressure turned into relief.
For others, it turned into despair.
White Tigers:
Toshi – **** (Hidden: Chinese monkey)
Arola – Their vice leader
Villy – ****** (Hidden: ₹500)
Hops – Principal's daughter's number
Red Beans:
Along – A unicorn (alive)
Cherry – Dog poop (warm)
Zen – **** (Hidden: hybrid animal)
Ako – Five-leaf clover
Not every item was revealed, for extra suspense and excitement.
The timer began.
And chaos was unleashed.
The "A" duo—Arola from White tigers and Ako from Red beans—seemed unfazed, as they had relatively easy items to find.
The dynamic duo of Zen and Cherry, on the other hand, looked like they were about to puke, somehow managing to swallow it back once it reached their throats.
Hops was stuck in a dilemma. Asking the principal's daughter for her number was either social suicide or grounds for expulsion.
Toshi began rethinking his life choices, even debating whether faking a twisted ankle could disqualify him and prevent losing points. But knowing Sam, there was probably no escape—even with an injury.
And Along?
I don't even know where to begin.
A unicorn? Alive? On a school campus?
What next—a shark with wings?
He wondered to himself if he can actually predicted the future.
Along stood frozen, wondering whether researching the process of summoning mythical creatures was even legal. He then looked at something and realise—
Toshi, ever the smart and strategic one, quickly snapped out of his short despair and marched straight into their base, searching for a specific person.
"You're the one I'm looking for! Please come with me," Toshi said enthusiastically, staring directly into Vice Leader Jangla's eyes.
Jangla blinked, thinking to herself Who just cleaned herself from falling into the mud pool.
"Am I hearing things?"
Arola rushed in as well.
"Wait! I need her too!"
"I'm sorry," Toshi said dramatically as he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, "but she's the only one I need."
Arola grabbed her other hand.
"Could you find someone else? I need her specifically—she's the only one."
Jangla turned so red she could practically become the Red Ranger. She was living the life of her dreams, with two people fighting for her hand.
Toshi, being the reasonable one, said,
"We're on the same team. Why are we even fighting over her? There's no rule saying we can't bring the same item. Let's both take her."
After exchanging flustered glances, the two finally agreed to "share" Jangla and dragged her straight to Sam.
Elsewhere:
Ako gracefully wandered into the garden and found a five-leaf clover within ten minutes—because apparently, he's blessed.
Cherry continued her poop pilgrimage with righteous fury.
"Why do I have to find DOG POOP? And why does it have to be WARM?! Who specifies temperature on poop?!"
Zen wandered near the White Tigers' base, searching for something that technically shouldn't exist.
Hops debated between risking everything or transferring schools later, wondering if sacrificing his team was better than going negative.
Ten minutes down.
Only three participants had completed their missions:
Toshi
Arola
Ako
The remaining five?
Villy
Hops
Cherry
Zen
Along
Will they find their items before time runs out?
Time is ticking. ⏳