“Your mission is to reach the remains of the Statue of Liberty.”The robotic voice sounds flat as it gives us the information about Phase Three.“Of the ten remaining teams, only five will qualify.”What did it say? Five? That means...“You have twenty-four hours to reach Liberty. Good luck.”That means we have to kill each other off with the other teams.Oh God, has the game finally reached the insane and brutal stage?The first thing I think about is where that statue is and what it looks like. I have never left the underground district in my entire life.This place, this city, is nothing but ruins. Plants with wild roots spread everywhere, and streets are covered in rubble.“Easy,” one of the Shifters says.He looks excited, even though we nearly died over the past few days.Is this how Shifters are? As if they carry no weight on their shoulders and always underestimate their opponents?“Easy for you to say,” someone else shoots back. “We’re going to run into Psyon! You know how po

“We have no choice but to stick together and find the location of the Statue of Liberty,” Fredrick muttered.“Then why are we still here? Come on, move. Our lives are in danger too!” Loki shot back impatiently.Loki moved first, heading toward another exit. We had no choice but to follow him, since the only source of light came from Loki’s palm.We stepped outside and looked around. Tall grass blocked our view in every direction. The sounds of battle were no longer audible.Either we were already far away, or… too many lives had already been claimed.We continued on cautiously. We tried not to make a sound, walking in a line behind the partially collapsed buildings.By the time the sky turned red, we still hadn’t found the Statue of Liberty. It felt like we were going in circles, with no idea where we were headed.I walked beside Ash and Fredrick, both of their expressions grim.“How much time do we have left?” Ash asked. “Damn it, I’ve completely lost track of time.”“Until tomorrow,

We continued down the damp, chilly corridor, where a faint breeze brushed against our skin. My instincts told me there was nothing down here, just darkness.At least, our escape had taken us far enough away from the other players.I stopped at the end of the corridor and crouched down. Ash and Fredrick did the same. Whatever movement I made, they followed suit.“We’re going down here. Be careful,” I said. “We’ll keep following this path.”“Oh, my God. Are you sure about this, Maddie? I can’t see a thing.”I ignored Ash’s protests and descended the steps. The soles of my shoes scraped against the cold concrete and long metal plates beneath my feet. I could smell the rust.The two of them climbed down carefully and caught up with me. Fredrick sniffed the air, then bent down and touched the ground beneath us.“Rails,” he said without hesitation. “Are we in a subway tunnel?”I shrugged. “Yeah, looks like it. I’ve never seen a subway before.”“We have them where I’m from.”“Me too,” Ash ch

No, not just one… There were several of them, and they were getting closer.“Several people are approaching.”“Are you sure?” Ash asked warily, already preparing to use his water-channeling ability.I nodded slowly. “I'm positive.”“How many?” Ash asked again, his expression serious. “I can't see anything up ahead, Maddie.”“I'm not sure. They all have different scents.”Fredrick looked at me. “Scents? What are you talking about?”“Just turn off the flashlights for now!” I ordered.Fredrick furrowed his brow, giving me a questioning look as if he suspected something.Ash and Fredrick exchanged glances, but I said nothing. Instead, I closed my eyes again and focused on separating the scents flooding my nostrils.“They're… their scents are coming from behind us,” I whispered, tension rising in my voice.I didn't know how I could tell, either. But ever since the change, my body had felt different. All my senses had become incredibly sharp, growing even more sensitive whenever I focused o

All Chapters of Alpha of the Deadly Arena: Chapter 31 - Chapter 34

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