Chapter 42: Notice of Publication of the Match History of the [Betting Team]

Lee Jinsu, Choi Jaeha, Hwang Juyeon, Jung Jiho, and me.

The order for entering the betting room after Yoo Hyunjae had already been decided.

I had made sure of that myself.

Once I finished convincing them, Hwang Juyeon began asking Lee Jinsu various questions about the games.

Choi Jaeha wandered around the office muttering something to himself.

It was rather unsettling.

Jung Jiho was nice because he behaved himself.

He didn’t even try to talk to me.

I sat comfortably beside him and reviewed the match history one more time.

[Opponent｜Hong＊＊ (50 years old, green)
Game｜Janggi
Result｜Victory
Remarks｜A rewarding match that allowed me to observe the opponent’s janggi]

[Opponent｜Kwon＊＊ (30 years old, black)
Game｜Rummikub
Result｜Victory
Remarks｜I hate boring opponents above all else]

[Opponent｜Jo＊＊ (30 years old, blue)
Game｜Mercenary Chess
Result｜Victory
Remarks｜It is always amusing to watch an opponent who does not know the concept of the “■■■ Formation” construct it naturally]

According to the records, approximately forty people had wagered against Do in their respective labyrinths.

It was fewer people than I expected.

Far fewer, considering the number of people who should originally have been in this building.

Most of them had probably already been on the 11th floor before the labyrinth transformation began.

That meant very few people had managed to survive the other floors and make it this far.

[Opponent｜Lim＊＊ (40 years old, male)

Game｜10×10 Trap Othello
Result｜Victory
Remarks｜Why do they think they can win without losing anything?]

[Opponent｜Baek＊＊ (30 years old, beauty)

Game｜Highest Card
Result｜Draw
Remarks｜A result caused by a clash of deceptions. It was decided to change games and play an overtime match. It was fun]

[Opponent｜Baek＊＊ (30 years old, beauty)

Game｜Blocking Backgammon
Result｜Victory
Remarks｜As a sign of respect, I compressed the opponent to fit inside a regular dodecahedron mold and preserved them]

I spent the time reading that fascinating match history.

And then, when it was almost six in the evening…

The door to the betting room opened, and Do came out.

“The match has concluded.”

A new line appeared in the history.

[Opponent｜Yoo＊＊ (20 years old, red)

Game｜38 Gwangddaeng Texas Hold’em
Result｜Victory
Remarks｜I would like to meet the creator of this game]

Yoo Hyunjae had died.

Was it already the second time?

He always died whenever he became involved in events determined by probability.

He really was an unfortunate person.

…Though, viewed from another angle, that also meant he had never died because of a mistake of his own.

Not even once.

“Who is my next opponent?”

“I-I’m… it’s me…”

At Do’s question, Lee Jinsu stood up awkwardly.

The contrast between the man who had lost an eye during the Happyland game and the flesh die with twenty-one eyes was rather curious.

“Please win… Thank you for everything.”

“Ah… yes.”

After receiving Hwang Juyeon’s farewell, Lee Jinsu approached each of us and bowed.

He has good manners for someone on his way to death.

I also nodded slightly in farewell.

“Yes. Do your best.”

Though, being a passive suicidal person, I didn’t really expect him to play particularly well.

It was advice given with the best intentions possible.

Judging from the records, Do did not seem to like unmotivated opponents very much.

He probably would not have a pleasant ending.

Well.

He can figure it out himself.

“Enter.”

The door to the betting room closed.

***

“The match has concluded.”

Another line appeared in the history.

[Opponent｜Lee＊＊ (30 years old, khaki)

Game｜Muk-jji-ppa
Result｜Victory
Remarks｜After 913 draws, he finally showed a slight desire to keep living]

I covered my mouth the moment I read the remark.

So that was what they had been doing for more than twenty minutes.

Do had deliberately been playing with Lee Jinsu, forcing draw after draw, and the moment he detected even the slightest desire to live, he immediately defeated him.

How unpleasant.

“You may enter.”

“Then… I’m going, Hwang Juyeon. See you later, Mr. Seon Yuhan. Jiho, see you outside.”

Choi Jaeha said his goodbyes after taking a deep breath.

“Yes. Have a goo—I mean, do well.”

If luck and skill were on his side, I would probably never see this accountant again.

I did not believe that Choi Jaeha was destined to lose one hundred percent.

Do could not even begin a game that guaranteed his absolute victory.

That would not be a wager.

For a game to exist, the human side had to have at least a 1% chance of winning.

As I said goodbye to Choi Jaeha, I picked up a book from an abandoned desk.

It seemed to be some kind of self-help book.

“Mm… Mr. Seon Yuhan. Are you sure you’re okay? Don’t you feel any discomfort? Anything different from usual?”

“No, nothing in particular.”

Hwang Juyeon looked at my hands and began worrying unnecessarily.

“By the way, Hwang Juyeon. When you get out of here, what’s the first thing you want to do?”

I thought she might be nervous, so I changed the subject to her to distract her.

And while we passed the time talking, the door to the betting room opened again.

“The match has concluded.”

[Opponent｜Choi＊＊ (30 years old, drunk)

Game｜Monopolized Yutnori
Result｜Victory
Remarks｜Particularly vulnerable to psychological games; made mistakes early on by confusing them with deception tactics]

That’s true.

He was a person who had difficulty hiding his emotions.

“Then I’m off. Jiho, when we get out of here, we all have to meet up with your mom, okay? And Mr. Seon Yuhan. You know I’m truly grateful to you, right? You were always the one who took the first step and handled everything. I’m sure you’ll get out too.”

“Yes. Be careful and… good luck.”

Once again, time continued to pass.

Jung Jiho remained the same polite and kind child as always.

“The match has concluded.”

[Opponent｜Hwang＊＊ (30 years old, jade)

Game｜Heads-Up Poker
Result｜Victory
Remarks｜Her hand skills were interesting]

“Jiho. It’s time to go.”

Now she can’t even look adults in the eyes?

“Yes. Goodbye.”

It felt as though time was moving slowly.

Everything was quiet.

Peaceful.

It had been so long since I had been alone for such a long time that it almost felt like a new experience.

“The match has concluded.”

[Opponent｜Jung＊＊ (7 years old, lead)

Game｜Dice Blackjack
Result｜Victory
Remarks｜?]

After reading even that entry, I closed the folder.

“You.”

Do’s eyes stared down at me from above.

“You won’t be able to face me.”

For some reason, that voice no longer seemed as captivating as before.

“So you really can recognize me.”

“Even if you wagered your life, it would not be enough to exchange for a simple handkerchief. On the other hand, even if you offered this entire labyrinth, it would still be insufficient to pay the price of your freedom.”

“That much?”

“You’re asking me? The scales are inside you.”

“Let’s not talk about scales. I have trauma related to them.”

Do let out a mocking laugh and began spinning slowly.

“Now leave. It will be considered that you have forfeited the match, and you will lose a future opportunity for good fortune.”

If I left the Strategic Planning Department on the 11th floor without wagering against Do, it was guaranteed that some unfortunate event would occur later.

And apparently, the severity of that misfortune was completely random.

“But you’re the one who wouldn’t let me participate. Isn’t it unfair to impose a mandatory disadvantage on me?”

“In the wager called life, you possess the advantage of ignoring death. That restores the balance.”

“I don’t exactly consider that an advantage, but whatever.”

I opened the self-help book I had picked up earlier, placed a finger against one of its thin pages, and…

Sshk.

Slid it.

“Ah.”

A sharp pain pierced my pinky finger for an instant.

That was the conclusion I had reached after thinking during the entire time the others had been wagering.

If I couldn’t avoid the misfortune that was approaching…

Wouldn’t it be enough to deliberately trigger an unfortunate event under my own control?

“I cut myself.”

Running a sheet of paper across your finger does not always cause a cut.

I had been experimenting while I waited.

Changing the angle, the speed, and even the moisture on my hands.

Even under the same conditions, the results were not always the same.

That was why I concluded that whether or not I cut myself on the paper depended, at least in part, on luck.

“It’s a shame you can’t wager against me. It would have been a truly interesting match.”

Do stared at the small drop of blood that had formed on my finger before looking away.

“Right now, you are participating in a wager that repeats forever. Just because this time it landed on an odd number does not mean the next time will also be odd. Do not forget that the essence of wagers lies in their unpredictability.”

The fact that he warned me in that way meant…

That cutting my finger with paper was not a perfect solution that would always work.

But at least it sounded as if, this time, it had worked.

“Yes. Take care.”

I immediately left the office of the Future Strategy & Budget Planning Team, where that flesh gambler had established his territory.

**

14. Do Not Bet If You Are Not Confident You Can Win

**

The heavy metal emergency exit door opened with a crash.

After briefly searching the 11th-floor corridor and finding nothing relevant, I headed directly down to the floor below.

“Floor 15…”

[15th Floor｜Shingye Daily, Moment O’Clock]

While recording the order of the floors in my diary, I reviewed the information.

Shingye Daily was a mid-sized newspaper.

And Moment O’Clock? What kind of company was that?

It sounded familiar.

[Moment O’Clock｜moment o’clock]

As I looked directly at the company plaque, I saw the name written in an elegant, clean typeface.

“Hmm.”

The moment I opened the door and stepped inside, I stopped at the sight that spread out before me.

To begin with, there were two human corpses lying on the dark office floor.

A young woman.

And a middle-aged man.

The woman lay on her back staring at the ceiling.

An open bottle of hand sanitizer lay beside her head.

Whitish vomit could be seen around her mouth and on the floor.

She appeared to have died after drinking hand sanitizer.

But what stood out most was the way she was dressed.

Bleached blonde hair.

A black skirt with two sides of dramatically different lengths.

Long black boots.

A completely free style, as if no dress code existed.

“Ah.”

I remembered.

Moment O’Clock.

It was a multi-brand online store specializing in clothing and accessories.

Lee Nahyun.

Assistant Manager of the Merchandising Team at Moment O’Clock.

After checking her ID, I turned my gaze toward the middle-aged man.

He wore a dull suit that contrasted completely with the woman’s appearance.

I read the employee badge hanging around his neck.

Kim Youngho.

Head of the Society Team at Shingye Daily.

And in the mouth of that man, who lay curled on his side…

A necktie?

Strangely, the necktie protruded from his mouth.

And judging by the color of his face, the cause of death appeared to be suffocation.

He had probably choked while trying to swallow it.

But the strangest thing of all was something else.

Beside each corpse stood a mannequin positioned in exactly the same pose as the body.

As though it were mocking them.

Then.

Click.

The door to the storage room at the back of the office opened.

And a white mannequin walked out.

It advanced toward me without making the slightest sound and stopped to my left.

At first, my body shuddered reflexively.

But only for an instant.

Now all I felt was curiosity.

Seeing a mannequin move on its own was no longer particularly frightening.

Even now, formulas calculating my weight piece by piece still appeared in my mind.

I could still hear the sound of my bones being cut one by one.

And the smell of blood that had soaked my clothes still seemed to brush against my nose.

Perhaps it helped that I had seen those crash-test mannequins in the parking garage during the previous loop.

Driven by curiosity, I extended a hand to touch it…

“Ah. It’s imitating me.”

The mannequin also extended its left hand.

The same posture.

The same direction.

As though it were copying me.