'Dammit!' Min-ho screamed in his head, his mind becoming frenzied.
He tried to keep his calm.
'The others haven't noticed yet. They must be too wrapped up in solving the puzzle,' he guessed, not wanting to alarm anyone.
He wasn't going to tell them, and he couldn't rely on the timer for help anymore. He had to think of a solution.
As frustration began to find a home in his heart, he began to scratch his thumb.
'What do we do now?' he questioned, thinking of a slew of solutions.
Perhaps slam the walls, maybe the echoes would carry faster.
Or maybe call for help from the outside.
'No, no,' he shook his head. All those solutions he knew would fail.
The echo from slamming the walls would still travel through the same tubes that granted communication.
And he doubted those on the outside could hear him, since he couldn't hear them.
Though it may have been worth the effort, he didn't want to alarm the Z-Streamers solving the puzzles, while potentially failing to attract actual help.
He began to pace as desperation settled in.
"We have… twenty seconds left," Ji-su whispered, pausing Min-ho in his tracks.
His heart stopped upon hearing this.
'He knew?' Min-ho questioned, but that didn't matter—what did as of now was that they were running out of time.
'Come on, think think think.' Min-ho continued to scratch his thumb, this time with such aggression that he tore his skin.
Suddenly, like a flame being born from a spark of light, the pain in his finger jolted an idea into his head.
Acting on impulse, he summoned his System.
[Name: Mee Min-ho, Rank: E]
[Affinities, Equipment]
[Inventory, Shop]
[Coins: 41,150]
[Developer Options]
Ignoring everything else, he peered at the section titled Developer Options, and when he saw it was no longer grayed out, his heart leaped.
'Maybe we still have a chance.'
On the outside, the Z-Streamers continued to get pushed back.
Now, what was left separating the Spectors from the glowing line was the width of two people.
"Dammit, what's going on in there?!" Jang-book yelled while fighting vigorously. He was covered in wounds and blood, but he did not stop.
Sae-wee attempted multiple times to join the fight, only to be held back by Im-hee.
Everyone who wasn't fighting couldn't do anything but stare at the timer.
0:20
Panic settled and cries broke out. Some Z-Streamers rushed into the horde of Spectors, ending their lives on their own terms before the Tower would make that choice for them.
The horrifying sight of Z-Streamers being torn apart as their cries seared the air weakened the rest of the Z-Streamers, causing many more to fall by accident.
As they fell, openings were made on the line of humans, granting Spectors safe passage in.
Without thinking twice, Sae-wee and the other wounded Z-Streamers rushed in, blocking the gaps and trying to push back the Spectors.
Clenching her jaw, Sae-wee fought through the pain while doing everything she could to attack and evade.
'Come on Min-ho,' she thought, desperation becoming all that she was as she fought.
Inside the puzzle room, Min-ho had thought of an idea. He wanted to dive into the System Center and pull out the cords connected to the Affinities of the puzzle-solving Z-Streamers. If he did it all at once, they would know exactly when to put their pieces together.
Yet there was a problem. He didn't know if he would be able to hear anyone inside the System Center, and he was afraid that coming out to find out would lock him out for several hours.
'Dammit,' he thought and thought.
"Just one piece left!" Pink-hair blurted, his words shocking Min-ho.
'He actually managed to do it?'
A moment later, another spoke up.
"Me too."
"Me too."
The last two voices came at the same time.
Min-ho couldn't believe it. They had pulled through.
Now, it was just Ji-su left.
He turned, praying with all his heart that Ji-su was almost done. But when he turned around, his heart pulsed when he saw Ji-su's finger hovering over the last piece.
He was also done.
"Twelve seconds left," Ji-su said, his whisper so low Min-ho barely heard it.
Feeling the end draw near, Min-ho let all his concerns go.
"Listen to me all of you! We have only eleven seconds left. I need you to tell me your names right now! And don't ask any questions!" Min-ho said, his voice more desperate than ever.
The solvers barely hesitated before doing as told.
Once he got all their names, he began to recite them in his head.
"Now, pull up your Systems and check your Affinities. Once you see something strange happen, put the last piece into place!"
After saying this, Min-ho mentally selected the Developer Options.
At once he was thrust into the world of whiteness, cords, and screens.
Without wasting time, he thought for the Search Bar and it appeared.
"Seven seconds," Ji-su said, his voice somehow audible in the System Center.
Upon hearing this, he acted faster. He immediately typed in the first name and hit search.
Once he had done so, ten screens appeared before him.
"What?" Min-ho said, his eyes widening.
"What's going on?" he asked, wondering why ten screens—each with different names similar to the one he typed—had appeared before him.
Was the System Center glitching?
"Six seconds."
His heart thudded.
He bit his lip and swam through the Systems, reaching for the one with the name he needed.
"Five seconds."
He found it. Keeping it aside, he typed in the second name. Once again, ten screens appeared.
'What the hell is going on?' he thought as he scoured the screens for the name he needed.
"Four seconds."
Outside, the Spectors had pushed deeper in, leaving barely the space of one person's width separating them from the finish line.
All the Z-Streamers that remained had joined the fight. Each one dying as the seconds went by.
Sae-wee, covered in blood and wounds, looked up at the timer.
0:03
"Dammit," she said, her hope wavering. But she didn't give up. With a pain-filled cry, she pushed back, stabbing and slicing.
"Two seconds."
Min-ho searched frantically for the last name—that of Ji-su's. He pushed screen after screen away. Until finally, he saw it.
"One second."
With the speed of a machine, he expanded the sub-menu, then pulled the cord connected to Ji-su's Affinity along with the others he had already opened up.
Upon seeing their screens glitch, the puzzle solvers pushed the last piece in.
Outside, the Spectors had pushed through. But just as they were about to cross the line…
CREAK!
SWOOSH!
SLICE!
"GGGGGGAARRRRRRGGGG!"
The giant sword fell on the enormous Spector.
As though feeling the pain, the smaller Spectors froze in place, crying out.
The timer froze, and one by one, the Spectors fell.
[Event 'Culling Games' Completed]