It suddenly shortened by more than half?
Fumiya Jin glanced up at his own again.
Still over two hundred and sixty seconds. No sudden change.
So only her time got shorter?
Why?
Is it because I decided to press it?
But if I press it, there are only two outcomes. One is she dies and I don't, in which case my time should extend significantly. That can't be right.
The other is that she also presses it, and we die together. But in that case, the time difference would definitely not exceed five seconds.
Yet right now, the time difference is about three minutes?
After she dies, I live for another three minutes?
Or could it be that this countdown isn't necessarily the time of death?
Thinking back, the only time the countdown had failed was when he was pulled into this game.
If entering the game is considered a point where the countdown hits zero, could clearing it be one as well?
Fumiya Jin's mind raced, his forehead tingling slightly.
Without any other evidence, it was impossible to determine which hypothesis was correct.
But one thing was certain:
The chainsaw would fall in about a minute and a half.
If he pressed the button, Nijika would die. But if he didn't, they could both survive this stage and live for at least another three minutes.
Realizing this, Fumiya Jin looked at Nijika's countdown again...
Just as he thought.
255... 254... 253...
It was the same as his own time again.
'Hey! Say something! You haven't decided to press it, have you? If... if you do that, I... I'll press it too! I really will!!' Nijika said, putting on a stern face, trying to look fierce and intimidating.
However, even as she said this, Fumiya Jin noticed that the numbers above his own head remained completely still, without the slightest sign of change.
Fumiya Jin suddenly couldn't help but chuckle.
The threat of death was still present, and his heart was still tense, but he just couldn't hold it in.
It was partly because he saw a glimmer of hope, and partly because of this girl who didn't mean what she said.
'Hey, hey, hey! What are you laughing at? It's terrifying!' Nijika's face gradually turned pale. 'I... I don't want to kill anyone, but I don't want to die either... There has to be another way, right? If it really comes to it, that thing you said about cutting off a hand... I... I can try my best to do that too. Although I'm not sure if I can... but I'll do my best!'
Fumiya Jin suppressed his smile and looked at her seriously. 'Miss Ijichi, I have an audacious request...'
Nijika's lips trembled slightly. 'It's not... asking me to die, is it?'
Fumiya Jin shook his head. 'No, I want to ask you to promise me that when the chainsaw starts, you'll join me in not touching that button. That way, we might be able to survive together.'
'Huh?'
Nijika was very surprised. 'We can... survive together just by doing that? The rules didn't say anything about it.'
'It's my hypothesis, but it's based on a few things,' Fumiya Jin explained as concisely as possible.
'First, neither the rules nor the video recording gave any outcome for the 'neither side presses' scenario; they only mentioned the results for 'one side presses' and 'both sides press.' This seems like a deliberate attempt to mislead us into thinking we have to kill the other person to survive, making us overlook the possibility that both of us can live.'
'Second, the doll's final words warned us not to hesitate and not to 'betray the value of life.' But if we rashly choose to kill the other person just to survive, isn't that also 'betraying the value of life'?'
'Third, this trial clearly has elements of the prisoner's dilemma. But the prisoner's dilemma is a classic largely because it has a highest-yield outcome that is almost impossible to achieve, which makes one ponder. If this trial completely eliminated that possibility, it would be far too uninteresting.'
As Nijika listened, her eyes couldn't help but widen.
Such a perilous situation. Such a tense atmosphere.
Her mind was a complete mess.
How can this guy still think about so much so logically... Are you a superman?
'What you're saying... makes sense. If we can really both survive, even if it's just a guess, I'm willing to believe it. But...' Nijika hesitated for a moment, then said, 'is a verbal promise really enough? Even if I agree, aren't you afraid I'll go back on my word? Besides, I also suspect that you might be saying all this just to calm me down and lower my guard, only to suddenly press the button later...'
'As long as you promise, I'll trust you,' Fumiya Jin said decisively. 'In return, I will also show you my sincerity.'
He lowered his head and began to move his right hand.
His wrist was fixed in place and couldn't move, but his hand could still move to some extent.
He twisted his right hand to the right as hard as he could, extending his pinky finger as far as it would go.
Since the armrests of their chairs were about twenty centimeters apart, with his full extension, the tip of his pinky just barely crossed the halfway point of the gap.
'Try it. Extend your left pinky. Can you touch my finger?'
Nijika didn't know what he was trying to do.
But she tried to copy him anyway.
Although her hand wasn't as long as Fumiya Jin's, the girl's joints were more flexible.
So, without much difficulty, the tip of her pinky touched Fumiya Jin's.
'Good,' Fumiya Jin said, applying a little more force.
His pinky hooked forward, gently interlocking with hers, making a pinky promise.
'Huh?' Nijika was a bit dazed. 'What are you...'
'This is my sincerity,' Fumiya Jin said.
'Sin... cerity?'
Nijika didn't understand at first.
But when her gaze passed over their interlocked fingers and she saw the red edge of the button to the left of his armrest... she suddenly realized!
Fumiya Jin's chair was on the left!
So, of the hands they had linked, Fumiya Jin's was his right, and Nijika's was her left.
And both of their buttons were located on the left side of their respective right armrests, meaning they could only be pressed with the right hand. Pressing it required slightly turning the hand to the left to push the thumb down. This was in complete conflict with Fumiya Jin's current state of stretching his hand to the absolute right.
In other words, Nijika could press her button now without any hindrance.
But for Fumiya Jin to press his, he would have to go through a series of actions: pulling his hand back, turning his palm, and pressing his thumb down.
This would not only cause a significant delay but also give the girl a clear warning.
So it could be said that by doing this, he was completely ceding the first move to Nijika. The possibility of him backstabbing Nijika and surviving on his own was now virtually nonexistent.
'Are... you serious?' Nijika looked at him in astonishment. 'If I suddenly go back on my word, you might not even have time to take me down with you.'
'That's why I need you to promise me. Otherwise, I can break free from your hand right now,' Fumiya Jin said matter-of-factly.
'But what if I do promise?' Nijika didn't understand. 'You'll just trust me not to break my word? We've only just met!'
Of course, Fumiya Jin had his reasons, but he couldn't possibly tell them all to the girl.
So he just gave a bright smile and said something charming: 'No particular reason... I'd just rather choose to trust you than walk out of here over someone's dead body.'
'You...'
The girl looked at Fumiya Jin's sunny smile, suddenly feeling a bit lost, as if it wasn't real.
So she stared intently at his face.
Staring and staring.
Trying to find a trace of deceit or concealment in his expression, in his eyes.
But...
She failed.
On that face, which wasn't delicately handsome but could be called clear and good-looking, she couldn't find the slightest hint of pretense or evasion, only frankness and composure.
Why?
Is it because I'm a poor judge of character and can't see through his disguise?
Or is it...
'Are you... an idiot?'
The girl's eyes grew slightly hazy as she whispered softly.
But in the next second, a roar erupted from above, and her dazed eyes instantly turned to terror.
*BZZZZ—VRRRROOOOM!—*
The chainsaw had started!
_____
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