Death Game: Beyond Reality

I groggily opened my eyes, expecting the familiar sight of my own bedroom. But instead, I found myself in a strange room.

"What the…?"

'Everything had been perfectly normal when I went to sleep—so how did I end up here? Have I been kidnapped?' The thought instantly put me on edge, removing any trace of sleep from my mind.

Suppressing the urge to sit up, I narrowed my eyes, scanning my surroundings carefully, 'It looks like a warehouse, about fifty square meters, with no windows.'

There is an oversized LCD screen on the wall—easily over 80 inches. A coffee table, topped with a few bottles of mineral water.

Beyond that, the only furniture in the room is a single couch, with four people lying unconscious around the room’s edges. They all seemed to be asleep.

Frowning, I felt an odd sense of déjà vu. 'Is this really a kidnapping? Or have I somehow gotten caught up in some kind of military exercise? A government operation, maybe? Or…'

"Seems appearances can be deceiving. Who would've thought that an ordinary student would be the first to wake up, not to mention remain so calm and feign sleep to assess the situation. Such alertness is rare."

"Who's there?" I jerked as a robotic voice echoed in my ear. It hadn’t mentioned my name, but it was clearly talking to me.

Sticking to my low-profile approach, I stubbornly pretended I hadn’t heard anything, hoping to sleep my way out of this.

"Amazing self-control, Lucas. But there’s no need to keep up the act. As the first to awaken, and someone who’s managed to impress me, I’m inclined to offer you a little reward."

At this point, I could hardly keep faking it. Reluctantly, I sat up, my gaze locking onto the source of the voice: the television screen on the wall.