Seth stared. "They... you mean besides Harrison, there are others?"
To satisfy his curiosity—and to show off my grand plan—I clapped my hands.
The rabbit-masked staff removed their masks.
Among them were many familiar faces from the game.
"Vivian, Rosa... Sophie—oh, you wouldn't know Sophie. She's the one Harrison took the fall for. Every game needs some melodrama, just like a TV show. Otherwise the audience gets bored."
Seth stood in stunned, hollow silence.
I felt a twinge of pity. "Actually, I built a lot of puzzle clues into the game. You just never found them. Like the piano piece that played every night on loop—'The Thirteenth Pair of Eyes.' It's about the devil deceiving humans into suicide, making them lose their chance at heaven and become his slaves forever. Such an obvious hint, and you still didn't get it. Not my fault, right?"
What I didn't tell him was this:
During the first patrol mission, the long-haired man imitating the Mona Lisa pose had been my first body.
Seth let out a bitter, cracked laugh. "You're right. It's not your fault. It's mine. I got cancer and actually believed rebirth was real. I'm an idiot."
I gripped his hand. "Don't be afraid. I'll find you a new body. All you have to do is promise you'll stay with me forever."
Seth sneered. Then he fixed me with the most venomous look I'd ever received—and delivered the cruelest curse a human being could utter.
My enthusiasm evaporated. I let go of his hand. "Boring. Suit yourself. You won't live much longer anyway. Some viewers like the innocent, kindhearted type—might fetch a high price as a robot."
I waved dismissively. Seth was hauled away by the rabbit staff.
Even as they dragged him off, his mouth never stopped—he cursed me every step of the way.
I rolled my eyes. "Lucky, but stupid."
5
After Seth was removed, I returned to my office.
Every game's end brought a mountain of business to process.
I was a businessman—I never missed a profit opportunity.
Harrison came in to report. "Master, the sticker did contain a pinhole camera. It has been destroyed."
I nodded. "Well done."
He should have left, but he lingered, watching me.
"Is there something else?"
Harrison said, "Contestant number 3721—Quinn—has completed the robot conversion. Would the master like to see him?"
My interest was piqued. "Now that's a find. I absolutely must see him."
No one had ever fit my criteria so perfectly.
Ruthless enough to avenge his brother. Cunning enough to do whatever it took.
If he were still alive, I'd have kept him by my side.
I all but ran to the operating room. I pushed through the doors—and there sat Quinn, eyes vacant, motionless on the table.
I ordered Harrison to wait outside and approached Quinn alone.
He didn't salute. He didn't follow any programmed directive.
Probably because the surgery was fresh—his systems hadn't calibrated yet.
I lifted Quinn's mechanical hands and examined them.
They'd been replaced with brand-new prosthetic arms, sheathed in lifelike synthetic skin—virtually indistinguishable from the real thing.
I traced the palm, remembering the two different numbers I'd once seen printed there.
I burst out laughing. "Quinn, Quinn... so you'd been through this twice. We really are fated. The person you swore revenge on was sleeping right beside you every single night, and you never knew. You even gave me your shot at survival. Handed me all the evidence. Ha—I wish you were alive. The look on your face when you learned the truth would have been absolutely priceless."
Then I remembered the roster I'd taken from the instructor's office.
I laughed again. "Number 865, number 866—Quinn and Quentin. How could I forget? The most popular twin brothers from the previous tournament. Handsome, brilliant, strong. You two brought in so much traffic—without you, we might not have been able to stage this year's event for years. Tell you what, Quinn—want to see your brother? I'll take you to him in a moment, how about that?"
Quinn sat perfectly still, staring at me with empty eyes.
I frowned. Something was off.
His reaction was consistent with a body that had been mechanically converted but not yet had its neural programming uploaded.
I reached for a scalpel, intending to pry open his skull and check the chip.
That was when the operating room doors were blasted open with a deafening bang.
Harrison strode in, a little girl in tow, moving fast.
"Master, emergency. The system has detected a large force of police vehicles converging on our base. I've initiated Level One evacuation. Please evacuate immediately."
I stared. "How is that possible? The evidence was destroyed."
The words barely left my mouth when a white-hot realization struck. I whipped around to stare at Quinn.
From where I stood, I could see Quinn's eyes fixed on me.
His right eye was flickering with a red light.
A cold laugh escaped my lips. "You son of a bitch, Quinn. You had a backup plan all along."
I grabbed the scalpel, strode over, and drove it into his eye socket, gouging out the eyeball.
It was a prosthetic. And inside it—another pinhole camera.
The red light hadn't been there before.
Which meant the camera had only been activated during Quinn's body conversion.
It had transmitted everything to the police in real time—including our location.
Furious, I hurled the scalpel aside and pointed at Quinn. "Get everyone out. Take this one with you. On top of Level One—activate the emergency protocol."
Harrison's face remained expressionless. "Yes, Master."
I crouched down to the little girl beside Harrison. "Lucy, Uncle Alex has run into some trouble and can't take care of you anymore. From now on, you do whatever Uncle Harrison tells you. Don't run off, okay? The world is full of monsters that eat people. Only Uncle Harrison will protect you with his life."
Lucy nodded obediently. "Lucy understands. I'll be good and not make Uncle Harrison worry."
She stepped forward and hugged me, reluctant to let go. "I'll miss you."
My eyes grew hot. I kissed her forehead. "Lucy, Uncle Alex's biggest regret is you. If we ever meet again, I'll give you the best of everything."
Harrison said, "We're out of time, Master. I'll take them away now."
I sighed and nodded. "Go."
Harrison led Quinn and Lucy out.
The little girl had never experienced parting before. She sobbed openly, turning back to look at me every few steps.
Watching her go carved something deep out of me.