"Where is this?"
James slowly woke up, but his eyes felt as if covered by a layer of gray mist, making everything in sight blurry.
He tightly closed his eyes and tried once more to regain his vision.
"Rustle, rustle…"
Some sounds came from nearby. James opened his eyes, and his vision finally cleared.
He realized that he was actually in an unfamiliar place—a huge European-style living room.
The sounds came from the rustling of clothes from eight people not far away, who seemed to be waking up one after another, just like him.
What's going on? He was just lying in his armchair reading a book a moment ago.
How did he suddenly end up here?
James tried hard to remember but could not recall anything unusual happening while reading.
Was he dreaming?
But his real five senses told him that this was definitely reality. Had he been kidnapped?
Impossible.
James' parents had disappeared when he was a child, and it was his grandfather who raised him alone.
During his university years, his grandfather also passed away peacefully.
He was just an obscure third-rate detective novelist, running the small rundown bookstore left by his grandfather on the side.
He wasn't worth anyone's trouble to kidnap.
James got up, patted his pockets, and realized his phone and other personal belongings were gone. He then began to survey the surroundings.
The entire hall was very tall, nearly ten meters high.
The living room was filled with various luxurious decorations: massive paintings, sculptures, and vases.
A huge chandelier in the center was particularly eye-catching. Composed of many small crystals, it emitted a delicate glow that made the whole room appear soft and warm.
Directly beneath it was a long table edged in gold, gleaming brilliantly under the light.
As James turned his gaze back to the other people,
a deep, cold voice suddenly echoed out of nowhere, creating a starkly eerie contrast with the warm surroundings.
It was as if the temperature had pierced to the bone.
"Welcome to the Devil Game!"
"Do you want to gain extraordinary power? Do you want to acquire incredible wealth? Then… please win the Devil Game and survive!"
James looked up and realized there was no source of the voice; the corners of the walls were clean and tidy, with no speakers installed. Yet the cold, chilling voice still came as if in stereo, as if it were right beside his ear.
"This game is called——Devil's Rock-Paper-Scissors!"
"Player permissions: Restricted game."
"In the world, there are lucky people and unlucky people. The lucky ones have more resources and opportunities, and, of course, success without even trying. The unlucky ones might face constant failures and exponentially greater difficulties."
"Among you today, some will be lucky, while others will be unlucky."
"There will be a total of four rounds of Devil's Rock-Paper-Scissors, and in each round, at least one player will die."
"After four rounds, the surviving players will be the winners."
"Each player is valued at 1 million, nine players in total amount to 9 million."
"In addition to the completion reward, the final winning player will divide this 9 million. If only one player wins alone, they will get double the prize, that is, 18 million."
"When only one player remains, regardless of how many Devil's Rock-Paper-Scissors rounds are left, that player automatically wins immediately."
"Note, if players exert violence against each other and it is judged as a violation, that player will die immediately."
"Death in the game is real death. Please do not take chances—cherish your only stake—your life!"
"Now, players, please greet each other; the bell for the start of the first game is not far away."
"Who will be the lucky players today?"
A few seconds after the voice stopped, the chilling feeling gradually faded.
A slightly chubby middle-aged man spoke, his voice full of panic.
"Who? Who is joking? Have we been kidnapped?"
"No, no, this is real." Another burly middle-aged man trembled as he walked to the sofa and sat down as if completely weak.
"I didn't expect that after a month, I would enter this damn game again!?"
"I'm going to die! This game really can kill people!" The burly man buried his hands on his forehead, his face full of anguish.
"Th-This… is real?" a beautiful-faced girl in a light blue JK uniform said in a daze.
"Damn it, which bastard tied me up! Playing your damn games? I don't have the time for that!" a tattooed man with a fierce look said.
James had already started observing the other eight people earlier.
Three females, five males.
Three young women, two young men, one adult man, and two middle-aged men.
Hearing such a conversation, he reluctantly accepted the current reality.
This could only be the work of some super-scientific or supernatural power.
Because just after the demon's whisper ended, a game-like status bar suddenly appeared in front of him, as if it were a 3D projection.
[Player Name: James]
[Player Class: Trickster]
[Class Level: Rank 0]
[Status: Cursed (Death Countdown: 60 days)]
[Class Skills: None (Awakens after completing one demon game)]
[Talent Skill: Master of Fate (Special, upgradable): Manipulate the unstoppable momentum of fate, creating overwhelming waves. For any instant and independent event, no matter how improbable, it will inevitably achieve the desired result. (Usage 2/2)]
Master of Fate? This skill description is pretty badass. If it really exists, wouldn't that mean he could easily win by buying a lottery ticket?
But as his eyes shifted to the status bar, his face darkened.
Cursed? And a death countdown too?
He only has 60 days to live?
He couldn't help but greet this s-b interface with a mix of irony and friendliness.
At the same time, Su Yi noticed that when he saw the panel, the others didn't have one in front of them, as their eyes didn't linger at all.
And they couldn't see his panel either; this wasn't something modern technology could achieve.
James furrowed his brow.
If this really is a game, and it concerns life,
he obviously couldn't allow anyone to take his life casually.
Right now, he had only one goal:
Whether this is real or not, he must win this game first!
"You're lying to me, right? You're their accomplices. I—
I'll pay back, I'll pay back! Let me out! I know it's you, Scar King!"
"I'll pay! How much interest! I'll pay it all!"
Upon hearing the burly man, the slightly chubby middle-aged man became more agitated.
He kept pounding on the heavy door, yelling repeatedly that he would pay his debt.
"There are no windows, and the door won't open. It's probably locked from the outside," said a man in glasses wearing a white shirt.
"We probably can't escape for now."
At this, another young man in a leather jacket leaning against the wall said, "Hey, I'm talking to you, stop making noise!"
"Didn't you hear what the demon said just now? This is a demon game!"