Chapter 043 - Skyscraper 03

  In front of the Upload Media Tower, I stopped by the nearby mall to grab a set of casual clothes for men.

  God knows what kind of chase might happen this time—my white shirt, black slacks, and leather shoes were definitely not practical.

  I also made a stop at a nearby gun shop and picked out a portable AR-15.

  Though firearms probably wouldn’t do much against urban legends or ghosts, it was better than nothing. With that thought in mind, I tucked the weapon under my clothes and cautiously entered the media center.

  Thankfully, I made it all the way to the broadcast room without any unexpected incidents.

  I stared at the control panel full of switches and buttons, searched online for instructions, and after a bit of fiddling, finally got the system up and running. I spoke into the mic:

  "Good evening to all contestants. I’m No. 32, Sylas Turing. I don’t know where any of you are right now, but based on my last hour of walking around without seeing a single soul, it’s safe to assume we’ve all been scattered. We have 47 hours left to regroup. Since we can’t determine a meeting point based on total path optimization, I suggest everyone head toward the center of the map—Sky Tower, Building A. This spot is reachable within 24 hours even from the farthest point. If you don’t have a map or a transit guide, check the convenience stores or malls nearby."

  I paused, then continued:

  "There are four important things to keep in mind:

  1. Pick up a phone or other communication devices. Electronics are working and there’s signal.

  2. Don’t wear clothes or shoes that restrict movement—you might get attacked by monsters and need to run. Gear up at the mall.

  3. The monsters are likely based on urban legends. Handle them cautiously. Avoid direct confrontation if possible.

  4. Collect weapons if you can—knives, cleavers, firearms. If you spot extra, bring them along for others."

  After a few minutes, I repeated the broadcast three times and set it to replay every fifteen minutes.

  Once everything was done, I reviewed the message to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, then left the building.

  By the time I stepped outside, a light rain had begun to fall.

  The misty drizzle blurred the streetlights, and under one of them stood a figure holding an umbrella.

  The silhouette was hazy.

  I tensed immediately, thinking another boss-level enemy had shown up, and carefully aimed my gun at the figure.

  Then he looked up.

  A faint smile appeared in his eyes under the umbrella’s edge. "Looks like we had the same idea—this was your first stop too, huh?"

  "Elliot?" I took a cautious step forward, still unsure if this was really him. "Is it really you?"

  He folded up the umbrella with a helpless smile and raised his hands. "It’s me, I swear. Not some ghost or monster. I don’t think any urban legends have figured out how to shapeshift into perfect human copies, right?"

  Still wary, I asked, "What was our first stage?"

  He answered without hesitation, "The infinite train in the snow."

  "And the second?"

  "The wooden tower on the lake—helping Yangjin find her skin. The third was the amusement park. And last—" He gave a cheeky whistle. "The prince and princess lived happily ever after, forever and ever. Also, you changed clothes. Anything else you want to quiz me on, Judge?"

  I lowered the gun and tossed him the spare handgun I’d been carrying. "Sorry. Just being careful. I had an extra—take it. The magazine’s full."

  "Fair enough." He caught the weapon steadily, checked the safety, and gave it a test hold. "If I didn’t already know you were up there broadcasting, I’d have grilled you just the same if we ran into each other mid-route."

  After testing the gun, he holstered it and opened the umbrella again. "Let’s go—Sky Tower, Building A."

  I nodded. "Yeah."

  ---

  The rain only got heavier as we walked, turning into a full downpour by the time we reached Sky Tower.

  We still had 45 hours left on the 48-hour countdown—plenty of time.

  We weren’t the first to arrive. A few others were already there and greeted us warmly.

  To my surprise, No. 137 had arrived too.

  Her twin pigtails bounced as she sat there in a cute schoolgirl-style sailor outfit, happily munching on a tub of popcorn.

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  When she spotted us, her eyes lit up. "Sylas! Elliot! Want some? It’s super sweet and buttery!"

  I: "..."

  Elliot: "..."

  I: "I’m good."

  I asked casually, "How’d you get here so fast? You didn’t run into any monsters on the way?"

  "Nope!" she said proudly. "I dropped into a department store nearby, changed clothes, watched a movie, and then heard your broadcast, so I just walked over."

  I: "..."

  I pointed to her shoes—heels at least six or seven centimeters high. "Change into something flat."

  "Okay." She pouted but agreed. Then she noticed my new outfit and blinked. "Hey, you changed too? Though I still think a suit fits you better. What’s that phrase... you look like a ‘wolf in gentleman’s clothing’—no wait, ‘refined rogue’—"

  I shot her a chilly look. She immediately zipped her mouth, stuck her tongue out playfully, and turned to Elliot. "Elliot, don’t you think he looks best in a suit?"

  Elliot was flipping through newspapers at the rack. He paused, seemed to think it over, then said with a sigh, "They both look good."

  I: "..."

  I shooed No. 137 off before taking a good look around.

  The place seemed like a typical office building, but there was also a commercial section.

  The coffee shop on the first floor still had working machines. Not wanting to fall asleep, I brewed myself a cup of black coffee and called out to Elliot from a distance, "You want anything?"

  He was leaning back on a leather sofa in the lobby, studying the map intently. He glanced up and replied, "I don’t drink coffee. Got any hot milk?"

  So I brought him a cup of warm milk, set it on the glass table, and took a seat across from him. After a sip of strong coffee, I asked, "How’s the map look?"

  He spoke softly, "This city is huge. But here’s the thing—see this line?"

  He pointed to a straight line running across the map. "It’s not far from here. I think we should check it out. The terrain around it is semi-symmetrical. Some place names even follow a mirrored pattern. Like here: Sky Tower A. Across from it is Sky Tower A Prime."

  I noticed that when I first got the map too.

  Some areas in the city had mirrored names—but it wasn’t a perfect reflection.

  Elliot fell silent for a moment. I let him think without interrupting. After a while, he said:

  "Sylas, I just realized—each of our maps has some kind of internal connection."

  "Go on," I said, placing the coffee down and giving him my full attention.

  Elliot: "In the first stage, the infinite train, we had the mirror at the end—we had to break it to escape. The second stage, Yangjin’s attic, also had a mirror—a water surface acting as one. Both of the first two stages shared that theme: mirrors. Then the third stage and the second both had shadows—statue shadows in the amusement park, and the moonlit shadow in the attic—"

  I nodded, catching his train of thought. "So this stage likely shares a key element with the third one. That might be the trick to solving it."

  I paused. "Like the partially mirrored city layout. And that mirrored line."

  Still, it felt too easy.

  The system gave us 48 hours this time—strangely generous. By the time everyone arrived, only 7 hours had passed.

  When the last person entered the tower, a mechanical voice rang out:

  *Beep. Congratulations to all surviving players. You are now gathered within a 200-square-meter area.*

  The announcement was abrupt. I tensed up. No. 137 looked at me curiously. "What’s wrong?"

  "I miscalculated," I muttered.

  Old Man No. 9 was sitting nearby, puffing on a cigar he’d somehow found. He said, "We should’ve used the full 48 hours. Let everyone stay scattered and collect info from all over."

  I didn’t respond. He was right.

  Sure enough, the mechanical voice came back, sounding more ominous this time:

  *Players, based on the scattered information across the city, please deduce the reason for humanity’s disappearance—and locate the humans. Countdown begins. When time runs out, space-time will completely fold and collapse.*

  As it finished speaking, the rain outside came to a sudden stop.

  Blinding sunlight broke over the city.

  "What does it mean by 'folding'?" someone asked nervously.

  No one answered—none of us knew.

  But we would soon find out.

  The city was starting to fold.

  Like a sheet of paper, slowly being creased from both ends toward the center.

  One half of the city stayed grounded.

  The other half folded upward.

  Looking out from the tower, we could already see the roads nearby warping upward—bending unnaturally, defying reality.

  The folding had begun.