After splitting from the other players, [Fire Queen] followed her own plan—cutting through obstacles like a blade through silk—until she finally reached the prison yard for outdoor time.
“This damn prison is disgusting,” she muttered, yanking off the now-useless talisman from her face, irritation written all over her expression.
It had only been an hour since the dungeon began, and she’d already used up two items. She managed to dodge the lasers on the stairs, sure—but the entire B1 level was crawling with violent lunatics.
Even with invisibility, it was hell to sneak past.
She could’ve fought her way through using her skills, but doing that would blow their cover. Exposing the prison break this early?
Not an option. So she had to grit her teeth and hide.
Finally, she made it to the ground floor. Breathing in the fresh outdoor air, she let out a long sigh of relief and headed toward the edge of the field, hoping to find an exit.
Just as she was about to sneak past two guards stationed at the entrance to the yard, their conversation caught her attention.
“Why can’t we just kill those guys?” the guard on the left asked, puzzled. His voice wasn’t too loud, but just enough for anyone nearby to hear.
“They’re death row inmates anyway, and they’re obviously up to something.”
The right guard shrugged, sounding like someone in the know.
“Politics. Some bigshots are playing chess with those criminals. If we kill them before their sentence is officially carried out, the warden’s gonna be in trouble.”
“Ugh, what a pain. Good thing there’s a mole among them,” the left guard sighed, then perked up again.
The right guard gave a thumbs up.
“Smart move by the warden—planted the mole ages ago.”
The left guard nodded, then lowered his voice.
“I just got a signal. He’s on the yard now. If he makes a move, we back him up fully.”
On the yard already?
Well, well… if you’re so eager to die, who am I to stop you?
The corner of [Fire Queen]’s lips curled into a cold smile. She immediately abandoned her search and climbed a tree with a perfect view of the field, ready to observe.
Shortly after she left, the left guard—who had rested for barely thirty seconds—started repeating the exact same line: “Why can’t we just kill those guys…”
The conversation looped. A baited script.
Not long after, a short, middle-aged man in his forties sneaked into view. Shifty eyes, sneaky demeanor.
He approached a group of prisoners out for air and started chatting with one while holding a cigarette.
“It’s him!”
[Fire Queen]’s eyes widened in disbelief, locking onto the man.
She hadn’t expected [Semiconductor], the guy who could literally generate maps out of thin air, to be the mole.
She’d seen him conjure maps with her own eyes.
But thinking about it, it actually made perfect sense. An undercover NPC would have to know the layout of the prison.
All he’d need to do is tweak a few details on the map—and boom, their team would walk straight into a trap.
A fireball flared to life in her palm. With fluid grace, she leapt down from the tree and charged straight at [Semiconductor].
“They’re already fighting?”
[Sparta] watched the fierce clash through a one-way mirror, visibly surprised.
But the mastermind behind all this—Su Shisan—wasn’t.
“That’s just who [Fire Queen] is—hot-tempered. And [Semiconductor] definitely looks shady. Between his skills and his creepy mannerisms…”
Honestly, if it had been someone else, like [The Lord], [Fire Queen] might not have taken the bait so easily. But the seeds of doubt had already been planted.
Su Shisan’s ‘catalyst’ had only helped them bloom.
And if anyone but [Fire Queen] had overheard that staged conversation, they might not have reacted this violently.
Sparta was genuinely impressed by how deeply Su Shisan understood the players’ personalities in such a short time.
Still, one question nagged her: “How did… you know… they’d meet on the yard?”
“[Fire Queen] mentioned in passing that [Semiconductor] should go to the yard,” Su Shisan replied offhandedly.
It was a reasonable suggestion. The yard was the most important place for [Semiconductor] to map, so it was highly likely he’d go.
And the fact that [Fire Queen] had suggested it meant she considered it a priority too—so she’d probably be the first one there.
Without explaining further, Su Shisan strolled to Sparta’s side.
“What about you? Any progress?”
Sparta smirked.
“One down. [Almost Dead]… second floor.”
One player eliminated already?
Su Shisan, suddenly aware of her own slow pace, leaned in. “How’d you do it?”
Instead of speaking, Sparta simply played a surveillance clip.
In the video, an unassuming man moved purposefully toward the elevator leading to B3, as if guided by some hidden instinct.
He cleverly knocked out a guard and stole the ID badge. But unfortunately for him, the elevator also required a passcode. Without it, he got trapped.
Experienced as he was, the player quickly tried to use an item to phase through the wall. But Sparta had prepared for that. The elevator plummeted without warning, and he was crushed into pulp.
Brutal—but effective.
Seeing Su Shisan’s impressed face, Sparta shrugged.
“Luck. No escape item.”
Normally, even B-rank players carried at least one life-saving tool.
But this guy must’ve been broke—nothing on him. Sparta took him out effortlessly.
Su Shisan had taken the first kill. This was the second.
“The fight’s almost over,” Su Shisan said, glancing outside. Sure enough, [Fire Queen] had the upper hand. Her fire-based skills were pure offense—overwhelming and aggressive.
Sparta’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.
“Nice. Time to finish it.”
The first two days of this dungeon came with restrictions—players couldn’t be killed outright.
The guards’ conversation was true: players were essentially suicide squads sent to destroy the prison, and they had some political immunity to prevent open execution.
As the undercover NPC, Su Shisan could kill players only outside the designated safe zones.
Day two?
The moment they’re caught on camera, pursuit begins.
By day three?
No rules. If they weren’t in their cells, they were marked for escape, and the manhunt was on.
Now, one player had been killed mid-fight. Though they’d fought in a secluded area, Su Shisan had pre-arranged NPCs to monitor the scene.
From the prison’s perspective, it was a public brawl. [Fire Queen] had even killed [Semiconductor]—giving them every reason to act.
“You go on ahead. I’m going to check on [Almost Dead],” Su Shisan said, uninterested in the already-decided outcome.
She returned to her monitors. She had to be there the moment [Almost Dead] died—just in case he tried some kind of resurrection trick.
Sure enough, as Sparta said, he was trapped. Hiding in a trash can, surrounded by elite black-clad guards. Even with invisibility, escape was impossible.
And they were sweeping the area thoroughly. He’d be found in minutes.
Realizing he had no options left, [Almost Dead] sprang from the trash, knuckle dusters on his fists, and charged at the nearest guard.
For the next five minutes, Su Shisan witnessed just how terrifying a B-rank player could be. He dropped two guards almost instantly, then engaged in a gunfight with the rest.
He even used corpses for cover, dodging bullets in the chaos.
In the end, sheer numbers overwhelmed him. A bullet pierced his forehead. He dropped.
Su Shisan was genuinely impressed. The man was a beast.
Luckily, her dungeon didn’t rely on brute force—or she’d be in real trouble without native NPCs to help.
She stood up and walked out of the control room. “Cremate the body,” she told a nearby NPC.
“I’m heading to the cells.”
[Almost Dead] had claimed he could fake death and revive once—but never explained how.
There were two likely mechanisms: either he’d reawaken after a while like in a turtle-breathing state, or he’d respawn at a designated safe point.
If it was the first, cremating the body would do the trick. If it was the second, then the only safe zone he had was the prison cell.
Time to wait.
When she got there, [Heaven Above]’s corpse was still lying in place. No one had been back.
Even though she was alone, Su Shisan put on a convincing act—rushing forward with a shocked expression.
“Wait—wasn’t this supposed to be a safe zone? How did he die here?”
Who knew if [Almost Dead]’s soul was watching from above? Better to be careful.
Her patience paid off. Half an hour later, there was a faint noise from the exact spot [Almost Dead] had died.
She turned and saw him materialize, dazed and confused.
“[Almost Dead]? You’re back?” she asked, feigning surprise.
His gaze darted to [Heaven Above]’s corpse. Alarmed, he turned to her.
“I need protection. Just for a bit. I’ll make it worth your while.”
So he had a vulnerability period after reviving?
Su Shisan raised an eyebrow and played dumb.
“What do you mean?”
“I used a skill to escape. But I’m defenseless for now. I think Old Qian is the mole. He said this was a safe zone—but [Heaven Above] died here.” He looked serious.
“This place isn’t safe. I need you to get me out. Don’t worry, the reward will be generous. If not, feel free to trash me on the forums.”
Su Shisan lowered her head, pretending to consider it—hiding the smile in her eyes.
“…You make a good point. Alright, let’s go. I just found a hidden passage.”
She turned to lead the way, voice sweet and full of subtle menace:
“For a generous reward, I’ll make sure you’re… very well protected.”