Chapter 5

The next morning, Mira woke up and, as usual, found her friends lying like logs on the floor. She kicked them awake since they were already late for breakfast. They cursed her for waking them up like that, but they got to work getting ready. Honestly, these boys take more time to get ready than any princess out there.

Once they were done, they headed out to feed their growling stomachs. After walking for a few minutes, they reached the dining area. they also started introducing themselves to some of the other teams. Sure, they knew they were their rivals—but still, they chose to open up and be friendly.

While talking to them, they learned something shocking. Many people had been lured into this city and had lost everything—their money, their identity. Things had gotten so bad for some that they even had to sell their passports just to survive. A few had been stuck here for years. They earned money through the game and spent it here, but couldn’t leave because they didn’t know where their passports had ended up.

It hit hard. These tourists were suffering so much. That’s when reality sank in: it's either they’d survive, or these three would. There was no in-between.

Mira couldn’t help but wonder if they’d even make it through the next stage. For the first time, she realized just how valuable life really is. they had been taking it for granted.

After breakfast, they saw that 1,000 points had been added to their team score. they now had a good chunk of money... and a dangerous thought crept into Mira's mind—'what if we just tried to escape this game?' But that idea was immediately shut down. Escaping was forbidden. And deadly.

they decided to make the most of our rest day. There were quite a few fun things to do around the city. One of them was a photo booth that let you dress up as anything you wanted—they even provided the costumes. Mira thought '

If we're going to die, we might as well enjoy a little first'

So they did.

They clicked dozens of photos—different backgrounds, different costumes, just pure fun. After such a tense day, it felt good to relax and laugh together.

It turned out there was a festival going on. There were numerous stalls, filled with free food, all three of them ravished the meal as if they'd go hungry if they didn't eat now.

they ate from almost all of the stalls. The food tasted amazing. They say free food always tastes better—well, at least for them, it did. Everyone has their own opinion, of course.

This part of the city felt so different from the rest—warm, alive. Real people were running the stalls, not robots. It was a refreshing change. It looked like some of the stranded tourists had created a little town of their own here.

They ate so much that they skipped lunch entirely—not that they could’ve fit in any more food anyway. Stuffed and content, they returned to their room and took a nap.

Later that evening, there was a carnival as part of the ongoing festival.

They woke up around 4:30 or 5 p.m. and stepped out again. They didn’t even need to lock our room; it was against the rules for contestants to enter each other's rooms. Still, they latched the door from outside—just for their own peace of mind.

The whole place was decorated beautifully with red ribbons and large red balls—maybe they believed red would bring them luck. Compared to the morning, there were even more stalls now. Some were vegan, while others served pork and beef.

There were many rides too—like the giant wheel, carousel, cup ride, water ride, rollercoaster, and much more. Since it was their festival, everything was free, and of course, they didn’t hesitate to try them all. They started with the giant wheel—Mira's choice. Then came the carousel, the water boat, the cup ride, and finally, the rollercoaster.

After finishing all the rides, they went to watch a clown show the park had arranged. It wasn’t particularly impressive; the tricks were pretty outdated, but the three of them still laughed. It felt like as long as they had each other, they could enjoy anything—even their deaths.

As they were walking down the street, they spotted a place offering free drinks. they went in. That night, they just wanted to let loose—to experience everything: joy, sorrow, bliss, pain... everything life had to offer. So, they decided to get drunk.

It was probably their first time drinking. Not because their parents were strict or anything—they just never felt the urge before. But now... now was different, they wanted to experience everything before something inevitable happens.

Only beer was free, so they ordered two bottles. Samay poured drinks for the three of them. they raised their glasses, shouted “Cheers!” and downed them in one go. The taste was bitter—really bitter. It burned slightly going down the throat, but somehow, they liked it.

They ended up drinking two more bottles each and were completely wasted. They could barely stand. Mira weakly got up and slurred,

“We... should probably go now... I’m really sleepy...”

“Me tooooo!” Silas yelled.

“Me threeee!” Elliot chimed in.

People were staring at them—they were a drunken mess. Both of them leaned on Mira for support. If she was sober, she would’ve shoved them off, no doubt.

They stumbled their way back, arms wrapped around each other for balance. But then, as they were walking, a man suddenly bumped into Mira. She apologized and tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her wrist. Her friends didn’t notice right away, and she tried to pull away, but his grip was tight.

“Women like you shouldn’t even exist!” he barked.

“Hey... what are you talking about? Let go of me!” she snapped.

“I feel like killing you right here!”

“What the hell did I even do to you?”

“You’re a slut! Collecting men like trophies!”

“Watch your mouth!”

“You—” he raised his hand to hit her.

But before he could touch her, Silas appeared and blocked the strike.

“Don’t you dare touch her!” he growled.

Then, Elliot punched the guy square in the face, knocking him down. He jumped on him and started punching him repeatedly. Mira rushed over with Silas, and together, both of them pulled Elliot back.

“How dare you call her that?!” Elliot shouted furiously.

“Let’s just go. Leave him,” Mira whispered, trying to calm him down.

Before they left, Sameer gave the guy one last kick.

As they started walking again, Elliot said,

“Hold our hands. There are freaks all over this damn place.”

“Yeah, and stay between us. These people are seriously pissing me off,” Silas added.

Mira nodded silently and walked between them, clinging tightly to their arms.

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