Subjugation on Broadcast (28)

Once both teams' contestants had filed into the game room, a staff member spoke up.

"Team leaders, please proceed to the table in the center. Everyone else, wait at the holding areas to the left and right."

A single table with two chairs sat in the middle of the room. From the holding areas, nothing on that table was visible, which meant there was no way for anyone to help with the game itself. Every move would have to come down to each team's leader and their judgment alone.

Yoon Jin-ju and Dong-hyun took their seats.

Yoon Jin-ju offered him a pleasant smile.

"Whoever wins, let's make it a good game."

She still didn't seem to know about Lee Yu-rim's condition. As far as she was concerned, Dong-hyun was simply a worthy opponent — and that suited him just fine. It would make the game more interesting.

"Of course. We'll deal with whatever comes after once it's over."

"Exactly."

"Leaders, please place your nine pieces on the table."

A partition wall stood between them at the center of the table, so neither could see how the other was arranging their pieces. Both of them sat thinking as they set their pieces down.

By a curious coincidence, the two teams' gender ratios were exact opposites. Aside from team leader Yoon Jin-ju herself, every member of her team was male. Dong-hyun's team, conversely, was entirely female. They had traded away their only female slave and only male slave to each other, and received the opposite in return.

Dong-hyun had already finished his arrangement based on Han Gyeo-wool's advice before they'd even walked into the room. His back row held pieces 6, 7, 9, 1, and 8. The front row had 3 and 5 on the left, 2 and 4 on the right, in that order.

Once both sides had finished placing their pieces, the staff member removed the partition, and each team's arrangement came into full view.

Yoon Jin-ju's team had 1, 6, 7, 2, and 3 in the back row, with 9, 5, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠8, and 4 across the front from left to right.

A camera hung directly above the table, broadcasting the board onto a large screen inside the game room.

"We'll determine the first move with a coin toss."

The staff member flipped the coin. Dong-hyun won first move.

He advanced piece number 2. If the opponent's 5 came forward, they'd be in position for an immediate confrontation. But Jin-ju didn't touch the 5 sitting in the center. She pushed her 8 forward instead.

Dong-hyun advanced his 2 again. Now the opponent's 5 sat directly in front of it, with their 8 off to the right.

"Piece number 2 has come into contact with two opposing pieces. Which one will you challenge first?"

Since Dong-hyun had been the one to approach, the choice of opponent was his.

"I'll challenge piece number 5 first."

Dong-hyun's piece 2 was Lee Yu-rim. Aside from Han Gyeo-wool, she was the only one on his team with genuinely exceptional intelligence. He'd moved the 2 first specifically to test whether Yu-rim was ready to fight for him. If she wasn't, things could get dangerous later on.

Following the staff's directions, Lee Yu-rim headed to Room 1. From Yoon Jin-ju's team, a shifty-looking man went in as well.

He was one of the men who had enslaved Kim Seon-ha and treated her with brutal cruelty. The same man who'd looked so vicious while tormenting her now wore a distinctly more cautious expression. His opponent, after all, was Lee Yu-rim — the contestant who'd placed fourth in the intelligence game.

Yoon Jin-ju had made him a slave, but she'd never once abused or mistreated him. Even so, losing the opening match wouldn't do him any favors, so he focused everything he had on winning.

The moment both of them entered the room, a countdown appeared on the screen, and then the colors began to flash in sequence. Once again, a full hundred colors appeared.

The opposing man's face went ashen. No matter how hard he tried to memorize them, his brain simply wasn't up to the task. He'd only managed to lock in six — and even those were slipping away, leaving him increasingly frantic.

"Both contestants, please hold up the first color."

The man and Yu-rim each lifted their papers. From the very first one, the colors didn't match.

The man visibly panicked. The color he'd held up was green. Yu-rim's was white.

Ah... a mistake right from the start... I was sure it was green...

"What?!"

The one who was shocked was the man. He hadn't thought he'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠won.

"The winner, please return to the waiting area. The loser, please proceed to the elimination seats."

The result from Room 1 played out on the screen for everyone to see, and the entire room was stunned. Yoon Jin-ju's team was just as shocked as Dong-hyun's.

The one person who wasn't surprised was Dong-hyun. He'd more or less expected it. Still, watching her lose so pathetically made him angry. But dwelling on it would only make things harder on himself, so he swallowed the anger down.

Yoon Jin-ju then advanced the 8 sitting in the center another step. Dong-hyun's piece 9 was the king. If that 8 moved forward one more time, it would be an immediate loss. To stop it, he advanced his piece 5.

A burly man from Yoon Jin-ju's team headed to Room 3. He was one of the men who'd chosen mutual cooperation from the start, and had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠never once been made a slave.

Dong-hyun stood up from his seat. His team's piece 5 was Dong-hyun himself.

Han Gyeo-wool had advised him to take the 5. It was the optimal position for someone who could perform well in both physical and intelligence matches.

"So you were the 5? Good luck. For the record... that guy learned boxing. Said he's even entered a few tournaments. Don't push yourself too hard."

Yoon Jin-ju smiled as she watched him rise.

"Heh. That so? This should be fun."

Dong-hyun wasn't particularly worried. He'd fought bare-handed with Sirian until he was sick of it, and Ahn Jin-woo's body was exceptionally sturdy and strong. He hadn't received any traits, so he was weaker than his actual self — but if things got dangerous, he could always use Possession. Nothing to lose sleep over.

When Dong-hyun and the man entered Room 3, an octagon cage stood waiting. Dong-hyun let out a short laugh at the sight. It reminded him of the octagon where he'd fought Han Su-yeon.

The man caught the smirk and had something to say about it.

"Hey, pal. What's so funny? Looking at that body, you've done some training. But fighting ain't the same as working out."

The man swaggered as he spoke.

"I hear you've boxed a bit. Let's see what you've got."

"Pfft. Yeah, you're the type that needs a few hits to the head before you wake up. Get in here."

The man crooked a finger, goading him. From Dong-hyun's perspective, it was almost comical.

The two of them stepped into the octagon. The cage door locked, and a broadcast came over the speakers.

Unlike previous games, the announcement made it clear that a loser declaring surrender wouldn't end things on its own. Even if you walked in and immediately shouted that you gave up, the match wouldn't end until the winner accepted it. Which meant anything could happen inside that octagon. The winner could do whatever they wanted to the loser, and nobody would intervene.

"You heard that, right? Surrender now and I'll just rough you up a little before I accept. How about it?"

The man was as cocky as they came.

"I'll throw that right back at you."

With that, Dong-hyun settled into a fighting stance.

"Fine. Let's do this."

The man stepped his left foot forward, left hand out, fists clenched — a textbook boxing guard. Then he snapped that lead foot forward and threw a punch. The claim that he'd trained in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠boxing seemed legitimate. The strike was clean and fast.

But Dong-hyun pulled his rear foot back in time with the man's lead step, shifting his body out of range, and the fist cut through nothing but air. The man's feet crossed as he dashed forward again, throwing a rapid combination. The movement was faster than expected, but Dong-hyun weaved his head left and right, slipping every shot.

The punches were surprisingly easy to read. It wasn't that Ahn Jin-woo's agility was particularly high — Dong-hyun's eyes had simply been trained by countless fights. He'd seen more fists than he could count.

The man grew flustered as Dong-hyun evaded his punches with almost insulting ease. Dong-hyun wasn't even holding a proper guard. He was slipping every punch with nothing but head movement.

The man threw a jab and immediately followed with a hard straight, aiming for the direction Dong-hyun was weaving toward. Dong-hyun dropped his knees, ducking under the incoming fist. At the same time, his lowered left hand drove a vicious body shot into the man's ribs.

The man, still extended from the straight, felt the fist bury itself in his side. He staggered backward — then suddenly dropped to one knee. Dong-hyun's left hook had landed flush as a liver blow.

"W-wait..."

A liver shot locks the body up instantly. You can't move. The man begged him to stop, but Dong-hyun didn't hesitate. He planted a soccer kick square into the man's face.

A fountain of blood erupted as the man flew backward.

"GAAAHHH!!"

Two or three teeth went flying.

"H-habo..."

"What was that again? The game doesn't end until the winner accepts the loser's surrender?"

"I-I'm thorry..."

With his teeth broken, the man couldn't even speak properly. He clasped his hands together and begged. Two attacks had been enough to completely shatter his will to fight.

"Now, what should I do... Hmm. Fine. I accept."