“No,” Yang replies.

At least it was honest.

Also, Amandi didn’t notice any life-threatening injuries on Fujisaki. The most dangerous things were the wounds in both side of his head, which Amandi quickly treated with bandages and other wound-treating things.

---

"Oh dear, this is concerning. Fujisaki sustained wounds to both sides of his head." Dr. Uwem said after he treated Fujisaki's wounds. "Best we can do is to make sure he doesn't hit his head too hard. Otherwise, it could worsen the wounds..."

“Jesus Christ...” Suyin mutters. She seems relieved to hear that his injuries weren’t life threatening. “At least we don’t have to worry about that bomb going off for awhile.”

"I guess we know to be careful from now on, then..." Sun Taikong grumbled, before nodding to Dr Uwem. "At least it's nothing life-threatening.

"Sorry this happened, Fujisaki. I'll try to transfer points to you later, if I can."

"Well, that's unfortunate." Monk grit his teeth. "Didn't expect all this to happen. 'Least it's nothing too serious... Sunny's safe for now, too."

He took out his fiddle, playing a gentle melody to try and comfort the others.

---

"The only utility of that pain was to make you all think that your choice was somehow wrong. Cat decided to artificially manipulate your perception after the fact," X looks closely at Fujisaki's body, getting in the way of the people trying to help him. She smirks, "Alternatively, the Cat has a particular problem with the Rooster and enjoys seeing him in pain. The Rooster can tell us if he has any ideas about that."

"I chose to drain of course. I stand by my decision."

"This means mr. Fujisaki is super tough! He got up like it was nothing!!! I-it still sucks that it had to happen tho.... I voted for pass of course!!! I think...."

"Um... what do we do now?"

Fujisaki grunts, though it's difficult to tell if it's from his pain, or the words X said.

"I know as much as you lot." He frowned. "Maybe you'll all get a chance similar to mine later in this damned dungeon."


"Thank me later, kid." Fujisaki looked up at Sunny's screen. "When we get you out of there." He flashes a pained grin towards the screen, and goes back to scanning the room methodically.

"Do you know anyone who would enjoy seeing you in pain? It seems this may not be your first run in with a malicious Cat," X points at the scars on Fujisaki's face. "Out of everyone, you were deliberately chosen for this exercise when it could have easily been someone else. This gives you a special role."

"We explore!" Sun Taikong replied. "Your room's gotta be around here somewhere, kiddo! Plenty time on the clock now though, so I guess we can afford to be a little cautious while we do. We should watch out for any traps, so we don't get a repeat of what just happened."

"No." Fujisaki shook his head. "Nobody specific. Especially nobody in China."

He mumbled and rubbed his head, but ultimately nodded in agreement with Taikong. "Yes. Searching. I can't cross any gates. But I'll still look where I can."

Eventually, the group steps into the antechamber behind the throne room, which contains the [龙] door, the [12] door, and the metal door.

furious text-skipping

“You have all gained access to the East Wing. I recommend you begin your search there,” Yang continues, “When you open the door, you’ll notice a Meridian Gate. At the moment, it is inactive, but it will turn on once you pass through.”

Mao pulls open the wooden door on the right side of the antechamber, revealing an inactive Meridian Gate glowing faintly red.

“Hey, if Fujisaki stays on this side, I bet that gate will never turn on!” Suyin remarks.

Everyone except Fujisaki walks through the gate. Indeed, it remains off. Fujisaki agrees to remain on the other side, knowing that if he passes through he’ll have no means of returning.

———————

“I don’t like this place,” Mei says.

Past the Meridian Gate is even more hallways, but these seem to be in a far worse state than even the throne room. The walls are scorched beyond recognition, and some areas are completely blocked by walls of rubble. Abandoned stretchers and gurneys are scattered about, and ash floats in the air. It feels as if the group is stepping into Hell.

They pass a door marked with [蛇]—the symbol for Snake. Across from the door, odd graffiti has been sprayed on the wall in red paint—four symbols all in a row: a grenade, a dagger, a bullet, and a shuriken.

“Huh. Does this mean there’s a Snake player in the game after all?” Monk asks, “And what do these symbols mean?”

“Without that player’s bracelet, there’s no way for us to get inside,” Amethyst says, “Maybe we can find it in one of the other rooms.”

Deciding this sounds reasonable, the group continues on through the narrow corridors. Eventually, they discover a sizable parlor, featuring expensive couches, desks, and chairs—all with ruined upholstery. Two massive staircases climb up to a balcony on the floor above. To the left, a door leads to stairs descending deeper into the facility. Across from them is a door decorated with [虎]—the symbol for Tiger.

Amandi opens the Tiger door, but discovers an Afterlife Gate. Yang appears on a nearby monitor to explain the lethal nature of these gates, causing Amandi to scowl in annoyance.

“Well, it seems we can’t actually enter my room yet,” Amandi mumbles, “So let’s all split up. Some of us will go down the stairs to the left, and the others will go up to the balcony. We’ll reconvene to report our findings.”

The group agrees to this plan and randomly spreads in either direction. About fifteen minutes later, both groups are back in the foyer.

“We took the stairs up to the balcony,” Juanli explains, “On the landing there we found a door labelled Ox. Then there was a door leading to a large, circular chamber with a huge chandelier. It looked like it used to be quite regal in there…Anyway, there were two doors there. One labelled Rat, the other labelled Rabbit.”

Suyin stands in front of the fireplace, which casts her in a sinister glow.

“We went down the other staircase to this huge basement room. There was so much rubble that it was hard to get around, but we did find two rooms. One was just a round, totally empty room, but the other was the Sheep room. It was also blocked by an Afterlife Gate though.”

She casts a jealous glance toward Mao, who smiles proudly in the corner.

“Our next course of action is obvious,” he says, “I’ll bring a team through the Ox door. Sun, I trust you will be able to handle the Rat door?”

“Of course, General,” Taikong replies.

“Then I’ll take the Rabbit door,” Juanli says.

“Good,” Mao continues, “With Fujisaki out of commission, we can easily divide up into three groups. Let’s get to it, men!”

“You’ve got this, guys!” Sunny shouts, “Maybe one of those doors will have the key to this room?”

[Juanli, Mao, and Taikong are the team leaders. Everyone must pick the team they wish to join. Each team can only have three players.]

---

"Rat team," Mei says, apparently wasting no time.

Sun Taikong shot Mei a thumbs up and a bright grin.

“Just make sure you stay on task, lovebirds.” Mao barked.

Sun Taikong chuckled, then threw a salute. "Won't be a problem, sir," he said ambiguously. He refrained from retorting with a comment about Mao and Suyin, much as he wanted to.

"Well... I think I'll go with Juanli's group, if that's alright with her." Dr. Uwem requested as he looks back toward where they came from. "It's a shame that we couldn't have Fujisaki with us. I am certain that he'll holds out on his own."

Mei nods to Taikong before glaring at Mao.

It took all of the woman's willpower to not retort and it was evident by how she was deathgripping her pockets.

Mao looked at Mei curiously. “What? I’m right, aren’t I? Or is this just camaraderie between two soldiers?”

"What I feel for Mei, sir, goes beyond romance," Sun Taikong explained, well aware that his explanation might well go over Mao's head. "She's my angel. When I was at my darkest, lowest point, she was there for me. It's not an exaggeration to say that she's my reason for living," he said completely earnestly. "It's really thanks to her that I can continue to fight the good fight."

"If these are our options, I'd like to go with the general." Amethyst said. "I do wonder what's in those doors that decides what sign they get..."

Mao briefly looked at Suyin as if to say “kids these days”, but it went unnoticed by the others. He just nodded at Taikong, “I see. A loyal friend is a rare thing, both of you should consider yourselves fortunate.”

He then looked at Amethyst, somewhat surprised but ultimately pleased. “I trust you’ll be as competent as your brother? You have big shoes to fill.” He said before winking at the camera.

"I'm... Sure I do." Amethyst answered, feeling a migraine coming up. "You two, uh, know each other?"

“Yes, he was a true professional.”

Mao went on to explain how Kwon had actually developed the Yang that was running this game, which I’m pretty sure wasn’t brought up this timeline but if it was oh well old men repeat themselves.

“We didn’t work together long, but he was a true standout among our recruits. I can’t help but feel he’s involved in this mess somehow...”

"I want to go with Mao." Suyin said. "I trust there won't be any issues with this?" She asks, looking around at the others.

As the teams are chosen, X can be heard in the background, analyzing the the others' decisions and coming up with conclusions about the relationship.

When she realizes that either her or Monk will be the last to go, she speaks up in a cool voice, "The Rat and The Horse have a strong bond. The Rat has more enthusiasm for the connection, but it is doubtlessly reciprocated. His personal relationship with her will take precedence over my life if I am in trouble. If it will get me away from Dr. Uwem though, I will gladly take a spot with their team. I choose the Rat," X cracks a grin at the young man. "I was going to comment on Cat's insight into the lives of these lovers, but if the general knows about it, it must not be a secret."

Mei opens her mouth to respond, but Taikong gets his words through. She stops and instead just looks at him in the most 'what are you doing??' fashion.

Once he's done, she crosses her arms and looks away, "... something like that, I guess, is the way it is for me too. We just care about eachother."

Juanli smiles curtly as Mao refers to everyone as "men" before shooting Suyin an incredulous look, but seeing as she is not putting the teams together, there is little she could do about it.

"I'm happy for both of you," she says nodding to Mei and Taikong "But please take care, I don't know what Madam Yang plans for us so please look out for one another." She giggles slightly seeing Mei's response "Just remember to please stay 'friendly' there are children watching after all."

She turned to Doctor Uwem "And of course you are welcome to join me Doctor but will Miss X be alright on her own without you looking after her?"

---

"Aww, I didn't know you felt the same!" Sun Taikong said with a goofy smile. Was he perhaps trying to lighten the mood for everyone?

Mei looks incredulously at Juanli after the last few words, evidently surprised they were even spoken. "You fffff-" The nurse starts, before cutting herself off upon glancing to Sunny. "Why did you have to put it like that!"

Monk shook his head, a cheeky smile on his face seeing Taikong and Mei interact. "Ah, this reminds me of my youth, I gotta say..."

"Anyway, I guess most of these teams are already decided, so there's not much of a choice left for me. I'm happy enough to go with Juanli, though. Let's try to find some of those red envelopes, yeah? Or a key to the exit, whichever works", he chuckled.

---

Juanli nodded with determination "Right yes, of course Mr Monk! We'll do everything we can to get my Sunny out of there and then out of here."

---

Rat: Taikong, Mei, X
Ox: Mao, Amethyst, Suyin
Rabbit: Juanli, Amandi, Monk

Having made their decisions, the group heads for the stairs and climbs them up to the balcony.

They immediately spot a door on the left with [牛] (Ox) sprayed over the front. Mao nods at the others and then walks over to scan his bracelet. On the other side, he spots several display cases filled with treasures. He continues inside through the Meridian Gate, followed by Suyin and Amethyst.

The others continue through the next door and eventually enter a circular antechamber. Tiles on the floor create a delightful mosaic depicting the Sun. Three more doors are here, though one is completely blocked by rubble. The one on the right and the one directly ahead read [鼠] (Rat) and [兔] (Rabbit) respectively.

Taikong’s team follows him to the door, where he scans his bracelet. They can’t make out much of the room on the other side, which seems to have been consumed by rubble. Taikong runs through the Meridian Gate, with Mei and X on his tail.

Meanwhile, Juanli scans her bracelet at the Rabbit door, revealing an extravagant bedroom. A Meridian Gate sits here as well. She steps inside with Monk and Amandi.

Upon entering the rooms, everyone checks their bracelets again. It seems that everyone, aside from Fujisaki, now has [4] points.

Speaking of which, the group wonders where Fujisaki is now…

[Check your QTs for your rooms! Sunny will once again be able to spy on all rooms.]

[Post-Game Edit: Here’s the Room QTs for each group.

Ground Zero: https://www.quicktopic.com/53/H/bwxtcGAuQi6
The Treasury: https://www.quicktopic.com/53/H/NVns2DNUPZut
The Royal Bedroom: https://www.quicktopic.com/53/H/3KuqFreAVjmcA
The Armory: https://www.quicktopic.com/53/H/Kth5hdchpdE9
]

---

Last edited by Planetbox on Thu Feb 11, 2021 2:09 am, edited 2 times in total.

Secret File Discovered in the Royal Bedroom!

---

Secret File discovered in Ground Zero!

---

Secret File discovered in the Treasury!

---

The group meets up again on the balcony. Mao seems to have blood on his head, but he leads the group down the stairs, seemingly unfazed.

The group descends into the foyer and back through the hallway, intending to reunite with Fujisaki at the throne room. However, something catches their eye on the way.

“Hey, the Snake door,” Amethyst says, “It’s open!”

The group glances inside and sees a fully-stocked armory, loaded with weapons. The entrance is blocked by a Meridian Gate, but the group can see loads of swords and guns on the other side as well as a loaded tank.

“Geez,” Taikong says, “That’s a lot of weapons.”

“Let’s just not worry about that right now,” Juanli says, “If anyone steps through, they’ll take a heavy point loss anyway.”

They continue through the hallway and step through the Meridian Gate, entering the throne room. They spot Fujisaki standing in the middle of the room, looking thoroughly bored.

“Ah, you’re back,” he says, “Now, I’d like to hear what you all found.”

[Discuss your discoveries for now. Eventually, the Gifting Phase will begin.]

---

Dr. Uwem steps forward. There was a look of solemn on his face. "Before we can reveal what we found in our room... There's something that I need to share with two of us." He then looks to Mao and Taikong.

"Mao? Taikong? May I have your attention, please?" The doctor requested as he seems to be focused on the task at hand. Once he have made sure that he got both their attention.

"I do hope you two know about a Sun Haiyang?" He asked, as he eyed both the general and the soldier. It seems like he might know something.

"Oh! Is that where you went, mr. Fujisaki?" Sunny asked referring to the Snake room.

"There were some pictures of you in the Rabbit room! It was a bit weird... one was of you in a room full of weapons, so that's why I'm asking!"

"Well, our team found some great news." Amethyst said, holding up a green key with a dragon design for everyone to see. "I think this will help us free Sunny! We also found a red envelope for Fujisaki."

She makes absolutely no comment about Mao's bloody head.