The moment Hasan received the red badge, the temperature spiked another three degrees to 47 degrees Celsius. Hasan was furious. The heat was making it impossible for him to think straight. Meanwhile, Rima collapsed on the floor from a heatstroke. Hasan looked at me, and I wasn't faring much better in the sweltering heat.
Hasan exclaimed, "What's the point of a game like this?! If you don't kill your enemies properly, they come back as zombies in the second round and as Undead in the third round. And if you kill them early on, you can't progress to the next round. Now, even after completing the game, they give me a red badge. This is a complete deadlock! I don't see any way out of this. And on top of that, we're about to pass out from this heat. How are we supposed to survive this?"
After hearing Hasan, I stayed silent for almost a minute. No words came to mind. My silence made Hasan even more anxious.
"Sakib, why aren't you saying anything? On one hand, this unbearable heat is causing physical pain, and on the other, your silence is giving me mental displeasure…!!"
Mental displeasure. Pleasure. Yeah, I also need mental peace...peace!! Suddenly, something clicked in my mind.
I told Hasan, "Hasan! Restart the game."
Hasan replied, "What's the point? There's no way to complete it."
"Don't worry. This time, it'll work."
"How?" Hasan asked.
"Just do exactly as I say. (Pausing briefly) I'll explain later."
Hasan restarted the game. As before, the screen displayed, "Press to continue on the adventure of Rubiland."
Hasan pressed the button. I told him, "Right now… throw away all your weapons."
Hasan asked, "Then how will I fight?"
"You won't need to fight. Just do as I say."
The dryness in my throat was making it hard to speak. Hasan obeyed and discarded all his weapons.
"What now?" Hasan asked.
"Do nothing. Just walk straight. No one will attack you."
Hasan walked forward. Nobody attacked him. Step by step, he entered Lilibel. He thought the enemies might have turned into zombies again, but he saw the same people from before, untransformed. Next, Hasan crossed into Zelbrick, where he found the same unaltered individuals—no one had turned into Undead.
Finally, Hasan reached the mayor. This time, the mayor smiled and said, "Congratulations! You have now become a citizen of Melrobark. Please take the green badge as an honor."
Suddenly, the room's AC turned on. Cool air began to circulate, gradually normalizing the temperature. The bottom drawer of the computer table opened automatically, revealing a two-liter glass bottle of water. Hasan grabbed it immediately and gave Rima a drink. Then I drank, parched with thirst. Slowly, Rima recovered. Afterward, Hasan took a sip himself.
After lying on the floor for two minutes, I got up again to save Meem. Hasan sat in a chair, unbuttoning his shirt. Hasan asked me, "Now, tell me what's going on?"
"All the people you killed so far were citizens of 'Melrobark.' They transformed into zombies or undead to take revenge on you. Honestly, there are no real enemies in this game."
Hasan said, "Are you saying they came after me because I had weapons?"
"Yes, they identified you as a threat because you were armed. That's why I asked you to drop all your weapons."
Hasan replied, "Oh, I see."
I asked Hasan, "Can you tell me what the first sentence on the monitor was when it turned on?"
Hasan said, "Welcome to the land of Melrobark, abundant with peace and prosperity."
"Exactly! In such a peaceful city, if someone starts violence, peace will no longer prevail. That's why the mayor marked you with the red badge. On the second screen, it was mentioned that you only needed to cross three towns. But we misunderstood and treated those towns as three rounds of the game, attacking the people in those areas."
"Oh! Now I get it."
Rima also sat up, her face still reflecting fatigue. I handed her a bottle of water. She drank half of it. Then I noticed Hasan looking a bit dejected.
"What's wrong? Why are you upset?"
Hasan replied, "Then what was the point of me playing this game? Anyone could have completed it."
"No, if I had played this game, I would have barely made it past two rounds. By then, the room temperature would have risen to 60 degrees Celsius or even higher. Because you completed the game quickly and received the red badge, I realized this game couldn't be completed in a conventional way. That's how I managed to figure out the correct solution in time."
Hearing my words, Hasan looked a bit happier.
Suddenly, a mascot-like bird appeared on the monitor.
Rima, half-drowsy, said, "I saw a doll like that in a suitcase over there. Wait, let me get it."
Instead of waiting, I fetched the doll myself. The bird had a switch on its head. I pressed the switch, and the bird produced a key from its mouth, saying, "Let me fly in the open sky."
I didn't like the sound of it. Could there be a bomb inside? I ran to the window and threw the bird outside. It exploded in the air. A delay of just three or four seconds could have put us in danger.
Anyway, we got the key. We unlocked the door with it and found Meem tied to a chair inside. We quickly untied her. Meem asked for water. Hasan went to the adjacent room to get some. Rima and I untied the rest of the bindings. When Hasan brought water, I helped Meem drink it. She regained consciousness and hugged me.
I knew she hugged me out of fear, but with Rima and Hasan watching, I felt embarrassed.
A moment later, three men entered. The man in the middle said, "Well done, Sakib. Really, you are a genius. And you also have true friends who help you in danger. I am really impressed with your performance."
From his words, I understood he was their boss—Ishtiaq Ahmed.
I suddenly didn't like their compliments. Wait, do they know me? I asked him, "Who are you? And how do you know me? Why did you detain Meem?"
The man laughed and said, "I heard about your talents from Shiblu. I was just testing to see if you're truly capable."
Hasan said, "Shiblu is my uncle's nickname."
I understood. Hasan's uncle was involved in this. I asked him, "What do you want?"
The man replied, "Your help."
He then told us about himself. He was a senior officer in the intelligence department. Because of Meem's kind heart, I agreed to help him. He instructed Kabili, "Take them safely to their home. They are my important guests."
We got into the car. Kabili and Hasan sat in the front, while Meem, Rima, and I sat in the back. Meem rested her head on my shoulder.
After a while, we reached Hasan's house. Everyone was happy to see us. Hasan's father scolded Hasan's uncle.
Shortly after, Miss Hena cut the cake and concluded her birthday party.
Meem was still holding my hand. I knew we had a long way to go together, so I lightly tightened my grip on her hand.