Chapter 3

"Hey, handsome. What a coincidence," I chirped.

The giant snake, which was now in human form, was dressed in flowing black robes with long white hair cascading over his shoulders like moonlight, giving him the air of a charming, old-world gentleman.

The slight flush on the tips of his ears added a touch of vivid beauty to his otherwise cold and severe features.

"30 survivors left."

The icy mechanical voice interrupted my thoughts. In just half a day, a quarter of us were already dead.

Seeing the increasingly dangerous look in the man's eyes, I instinctively wrapped my arms around his strong waist and pulled him closer. There was no avoiding each other—the space between us was impossibly tight.

Suddenly, a pair of enormous wings sprouted from the man's back, and the scales on his body seemed sharper than ever. There was even a faint, eerie shimmer about them.

At the same time, a wave of drowsiness hit me, almost causing me to fall asleep instantly. In my groggy state, I could still feel the scorching gaze fixed intently on me, and I heard a muffled, indistinct voice whisper by my ear.

"I'll keep you around for a few more days—for now."

When I woke up again, it was the next day. My little pocket snake was somehow now coiled around the snake-man.

He still wore that calm, indifferent expression, but I knew he was not as harmless and docile as he appeared. Who knew how many people he had eaten at this point?

"All players, please take note. Congratulations! You've triggered the hidden stage. All players must immediately bring their host families and gather in the clearing by 2:00 pm."

A hidden stage?

Though my mind was filled with suspicions, I didn't dare refuse to go. I could only turn to the snake-man beside me for help. But what I saw startled me terribly. In his hands was a severed head, and he was steadily sucking out its contents through a straw.

The slurping sounds were loud, echoing clearly throughout the cave we were in.

Brain matter mixed with some unknown fluid—pale yellow and red—was savored with relish. He even wore a faint grin at the corners of his lips.

The other snakes nearby also gathered around, coiling obediently at his feet. It was as if, with a single command from him, they would all swarm the decapitated corpse and devour it completely.

As I fought back the urge to vomit, I finally recognized the headless body. It was none other than my bastard ex-boyfriend.

Noticing my gaze, the snake-man handed the head to me and smiled. "Want my help? Sure. Have a drink with me first."

The eyes of my ex-boyfriend stared straight at me, as if conveying his terror. It sent chills down my spine.

If I didn't accept, the snake-man wouldn't help me, let alone bring me to the clearing. But if I took the head, I'd have to…

After thinking for a few seconds, I reached for the head, smiled, and said, "Sure. Let's have a drink together."

As I spoke, I casually tossed the head aside, then pulled out an unopened can of soda from my backpack and took a sip.

I tentatively offered it to the snake-man. "That stuff isn't good for you. Try this."

He stared blankly at the can in my hand for a long while before accepting it. After taking a gulp, his eyes brightened noticeably.

I glanced down at my watch. It was currently 1:57 pm, with only three minutes left until the time mentioned in the broadcast.

With that in mind, I couldn't be bothered with anything else. I reached out, grabbed the snake-man, and dragged him along with me.

When we finally reached the clearing, everyone was watching us.

I also noticed that in just a day, half of the people were gone. Meanwhile, our former class president was missing a leg, and the remaining survivors all bore injuries of varying degrees.

"Next, we will commence the role-playing stage. Every player must participate along with their host families.

"Those who do not participate… will die."

As it spoke those words, the mechanical voice grew noticeably colder.

My heart sank completely. Hidden stage? As if. We were clearly just pigs waiting for slaughter.

As despair settled over me, an elbow nudged mine. A sweet female voice said, "Do you want to swap host families with me?"

I looked up and immediately recognized her. It was my college roommate, Crystal Caldwell.