Performance
Performance
CQC(Close Quarters Combat).
A tactical system for dealing with enemies within around 30m.
Simply put, a technique that could be called 'close combat'.
In some comics, this CQC is depicted as some kind of superpower(?) that can instantly subdue all enemies within a certain domain.
Well, that kind of directing is only possible because it's a comic.
In reality, it wasn't anything that grand.
Anyway, having eliminated one competitor, I gauged the distance.
One on the left. One straight ahead.
All of them are within 30m.
- Number 452 eliminated.
- Number 466 eliminated.
Every time the footholds flashed red, eliminated participants cropped up one after another.
Are they already getting eliminated even though it's still the early stage?
I looked at the eyes of the two whose gazes were concentrated on the footholds.
Eyes dyed with fear and panic.
Those eyes head downwards.
They jump in time with the timing of the foothold under them glowing red.
I lightly leaped over that, evaded the flashing red foothold, and.
At the exact same time I landed, I kicked off the foothold with all my might.
I closed the distance in an instant.
The man who belatedly noticed my approach tried to respond, but.
It was already far too late.
Ududuk-!
- Number 497 eliminated.
I turn my head.
I see Number 498 with a terrified expression.
The man whose gaze met mine bit his lip.
"Uwaaaaak!"
The man came running in while screaming and entered the domain.
I dug into the inside of Number 498 who swung his fist first and fed him a counter.
His jaw turns.
Due to the impact, the man's balance collapses.
I trampled the neck of the collapsed Number 498 with all my might just like that.
Kwajik-!
- Number 498 eliminated.
[45/50]
Having cleaned up the area, I inspected the entire field.
At some point, the red footholds completely disappeared, and.
Green Zones glowing in green were generated all over the surroundings.
The Green Zone is a limited area.
Physical struggles are inevitably bound to occur.
There was nobody in the Green Zone that appeared near me.
It would be fine if I just entered the Green Zone like this, but.
That wouldn't be fun, right?
Three people were engaging in a physical struggle to occupy a Green Zone.
One of them pushed the other two away and shouted.
Was he letting out a roar of victory or something?
To ensure the two people's journey wouldn't be boring, I forcefully pushed the back of the man who let out the roar with my foot.
Kudangtangtang-!
The man who was sent flying looks at me with a dumbfounded face.
His expression dyed in panic soon distorted into anger, but.
That anger never ended up being directed at me.
Ppiiing-!
Along with a chilling sound, all footholds excluding the Green Zones flash red.
-⋅⋅⋅Eliminated!
-⋅⋅⋅Eliminated!
-⋅⋅⋅Eliminated!
Eliminated participants occur in massive numbers.
[35/50]
10 people left until the end of the game.
Setral, who was in charge of broadcasting Group J, gradually lost his words as the match progressed.
The most publicly known mechanism of Tech Run was surviving for a long time by avoiding the red footholds.
Physical struggles between users could occur in that process, but it wasn't to the extent that the essence of it would change.
However.
Number 500. The woman who had written down a strange specialty was different.
The number of eliminated participants she had single-handedly eliminated had long since surpassed the double digits.
The essence of the game was thrown into disarray just by that woman's existence alone.
Setral looks at the chat window.
He looks at the chats scrolling up so fast it was hard to believe slow mode was applied.
Banjjak- Banjjak-
Above the chat window, a flashing admin-only chat room.
Setral opened the admin-only chat room so it wouldn't appear on the broadcast screen.
Cereal - Setral, I'm heading over to the Group J broadcast too
Setral - Yes? But⋅⋅⋅ Representative-nim is doing the Group A broadcast⋅⋅⋅
Cereal - You can't handle it by yourself right now
Cereal - I should at least go and help
Just like Cereal's words, Setral had long since been devoured by the performance showcased by participant Number 500.
If he had been holding onto his sanity, his number of words wouldn't have decreased and he would have properly continued the broadcast.
Paat-!
A cluster of light luminesced once.
The one who revealed his figure within that cluster of light was Cereal.
He smiled broadly towards Setral's camera and waved his hand.
"Viewers watching the Group J broadcast, nice to meet you. I am Cereal! I heard the news that there was a special participant here and ran over immediately but⋅⋅⋅ Is it true? Setral."
"Ah, yes. It's true. What should I say⋅⋅⋅ A real homicidal maniac is running wild. To the point where even I, who am just watching, am frozen in fear."
"My word⋅⋅⋅ To think that chatterbox Setral would freeze up? Let's just see if a play fitting of that terrifying name is really taking place! This Cereal will personally confirm it with my own two eyes."
The gazes of the two people head towards participant Number 500 sprinting across the field.
That figure running while leaping over the footholds flashing red diagonally was reminiscent of a beast chasing its prey.
All the participants of Group J were already conscious of Number 500.
They had no choice but to be conscious of the predator indiscriminately hunting herbivores.
A Green Zone is generated.
Three or four people bunch up and keep a lookout in one direction.
The direction where the predator who had devoured half the field was.
"Ah, what is this. Could the reason they bunched up in threes and fours be⋅⋅⋅?"
"What Cereal-nim is imagining is probably correct. It's to survive from the crazy homicidal maniac. Ah, excuse me. I will correct it to homicidal maniac."
"Haha! That must mean the performance showcased by participant Number 500 is just that amazing. However⋅⋅⋅ We didn't place restrictions on teaming play, but to think a situation like this would come out. I truly couldn't even imagine it."
The 7th stage, where the last Green Zones appeared, ended, and.
The 8th stage began to start.
Number 500 was standing in the center of the field.
"Do you happen to know what stage it is right now?"
"What stage is it? Uh⋅⋅⋅ Don't tell me?"
"It's the 8th stage. It's also the most infamous section."
In the 8th stage, the red footholds continuously track the player.
It meant that the foothold at the player's location would continuously flash red, and.
This soon meant that one couldn't stand still.
Furthermore, the red footholds generated in this stage do not turn off until it moves on to the next stage.
In other words, it meant that the space one could move in decreases while they had to keep moving.
"I was wondering what participant Number 500 was doing after stopping her 'hunt', but. She's luring and trapping the remaining participants."
"Trapping them? Wasn't she just running around avoiding the footholds?"
At Setral's commentary, Cereal read participant Number 500's movement path.
She was going back and forth up and down the center of the field, dyeing the footholds red.
To an extent that could absolutely not be crossed with an ordinary person's jump.
The participants of Group J fear the predator, Number 500.
The fear imprinted in their minds once made it so they didn't dare to step into the predator's domain.
During that time, Number 500 drew a line upwards that could absolutely not be crossed.
The northern sector divided by the line ended up having far too many people compared to the space, and.
The southern sector, which was much wider than the north, ended up being used by participant Number 500 all by herself.
"Ah, it's not just that she's good at combat. Participant Number 500 who even makes use of an immense strategy! She really is a scary person!"
Cereal let out a gasp of admiration while looking at the northern sector that was rapidly being dyed in a red color.
Elimination messages poured out endlessly through the speakers.
Annihilation.
Everyone excluding the 1 predator was exposed to the red footholds.
However.
"It's a shame for participant Number 500 who eliminated everyone except herself but⋅⋅⋅! The eliminated participants are only 25 people! Because that was the rule in the first place!"
Among those who were eliminated, the footholds of those who were eliminated relatively late glowed white.
The 24 people who were finally able to survive because they were eliminated late.
And the one predator who showcased a crazy performance of eliminating everyone.
The survivors of Group J, who finished the match first, were moved from the field to the waiting room.
The game ended and I was moved to a room with white scenery.
I feel a gaze. And a majority of gazes at that.
The survivors of Group J who were moved together with me.
Um⋅⋅⋅ This is burdensome.
I turned my gaze to the electronic display board.
The broadcasts of other groups were playing on the electronic display board in the waiting room.
Is the one playing right now Group A's broadcast?
'There are still only 10 eliminated participants.'
At this rate, will it even end today⋅⋅⋅.
Teob-
While I was indifferently watching the matches of other groups.
A participant who looked to be a woman approached and sat by my side.
Number 451.
I remember her starting in the exact opposite position as me.
"Do you mind if I call you eonni?"
"⋅⋅⋅."
I ignored her.
Conversation is an act of exchanging emotions with one another.
As long as she was a competitor, she was merely a target for elimination.
Well, she could survive if she got lucky like this time, but.
"Eeh? Ignoring me is too mean."
"⋅⋅⋅."
"Moshimoshi~ Is anyone there? Are you in an away-from-keyboard state or something⋅⋅⋅?"
"⋅⋅⋅."
"Well, if you're going to consistently ignore me, I guess it can't be helped."
Beyond the mask.
A strange color dwells in Number 451's eyes.
"Thank you. Because I came up comfortably thanks to you, eonni."
Leaving those words behind, Number 451 left her seat.
'What a strange person.'
Among the survivors of Group J, there was nobody who wasn't scared of me.
That was no exception for Number 451 either.
Irregular breathing, trembling, unnatural movements.
A sight of being scared of me no matter who looked.
Even so, for her to approach and attempt a conversation means⋅⋅⋅.
It must mean her curiosity is greater than her fear of me.
She had a personality that would immediately die a pointless death if thrown onto a battlefield.
Since curiosity on a battlefield mostly acts as poison.
Anyway, with the nuisance gone, I comfortably watched the matches of the other groups.
As the matches ended, the survivors were moved to the waiting room, and.
The preliminaries that started with 500 people now only had 250 people remaining.
Kung-!
Cereal, who fell from the ceiling, stood on the podium below the electronic display board.
"Congratulations on surviving! Survivors. However, the preliminaries are not over yet."
All the lights in the waiting room turn off and the electronic display board lights up.
[Project Eden]
"I will introduce the second preliminary event. Its name is Project Eden!"
"Your next stage is an apocalyptic worldview swarming with zombies!"
"Your goal is to somehow escape to humanity's final paradise, Eden. However⋅⋅⋅ The prepared seats in paradise are merely seats for 50 people. Participants! I hope fortune is with you on the next stage as well!"
The spotlight shining on Cereal turns off and a video plays on the electronic display board.
A destroyed city. Swarming zombies.
Survivors struggling to survive.
It was a trailer that felt like watching a movie trailer.
Even at a rough glance, I could feel that the field was overwhelmingly wide.
With it being that wide⋅⋅⋅ It would be inefficient to go around looking for other competitors and eliminating them.
Like that, the trailer video for 'Project Eden' ended, and.
A semi-transparent window appeared on one side of my vision.
An email that arrived from Cereal Company.
The second stage, Project Eden.
Rules or information related to it were written down.
Due to there being too much content, it was definitely too much to check it all here right now.
I should ask Aki to give me a three-line summary when I get back.
"Then, survivors. See you tomorrow."
Along with those words, a familiar loading screen appeared, and.
Not long after, I returned to the virtual reality lobby I was originally in.